Concept

Player experience

You might say: what the game feels like to play

Player experience is what a target player perceives, understands, feels and does while interacting with the game, shaped by mechanics, dynamics, information, pacing and presentation.

What it does

Gives every lower-level design choice a target beyond feature completion.

Ask

What should the player feel, understand and want to do next?

Parts

• Player mental model: The player’s mental model is a working explanation of how the game works, built from perception, prior knowledge, expectations and interaction.
• MDA: MDA links designed mechanics to run-time dynamics and then to the aesthetic experience the player feels.
• Felt experience target: A felt experience target names the emotions, choices or situations the designer wants players to have, instead of treating every desired outcome as simply fun.
• Narrative design: Narrative design structures a game's stories, how players learn them, and how they respond to player actions.

Sources

1. Robin Hunicke, Marc LeBlanc and Robert Zubek, MDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research, pp. 1–4Aesthetics describes the desirable emotional responses evoked in the player, when she interacts
2. Ernest Adams, Fundamentals of Game Design, introduction, p. xiiiChapter 12 is about user experience design: the way the player experiences and interacts with the game world.
3. Celia Hodent, Cognitive Psychology Applied to User Experience in Video Games, author article: UX definition, player mental models, perception, attention, memory and motivationThe user experience of video games happens in the player’s mind
4. Celia Hodent, Cognitive Psychology Applied to User Experience in Video Games, UX definition; player mental models; perception, attention, emotion and motivationThe user experience of video games happens in the player’s mind
5. Daniel Cook, Building Tight Game Systems of Cause and Effect, mental models, mastery and feedbackAt each stage of learning, you create a hypothesis, test it via your actions and refine your mental models
6. Raph Koster, A Theory of Fun for Game Designgames can be critically important teaching tools, incredibly immersive venues for story and entertainment, and a powerful mass medium.
7. Anders Drachen, Pejman Mirza-Babaei and Lennart E. Nacke, Games User Research, ch. 1 pp. 1–8; ch. 2 pp. 15–29The field of Games User Research aims to provide data-informed feedback during game development to help the intended experience of the game, created during the design process, be realised by players.
8. Celia Hodent, Developing UX Practices at Epic Games, slides 3–7, 36–45So UX is all about making sure that your user is going to experience the game the way you, as a designer, intended.
9. Raph Koster, An atomic theory of fun game design, opening essay; Building a subgame atom; In the endWhen you break down what makes MMOG combat entertaining, there turn out to be a surprising number of required elements:
10. Steve Swink, Game Feel: The Secret Ingredient, opening; The Garden’s Ecosystem; Response; RulesIt’s mostly subconscious, a combination of sights, sounds, and instant response to action.
11. Steve Swink, Game Feel: The Secret Ingredient, opening; Context; ConclusionIt’s mostly subconscious, a combination of sights, sounds, and instant response to action.
12. Ian Schreiber, Game Design Concepts, Level 5: Mechanics and Dynamics, opening; Now, About That MDA Framework Thing…; The Process of Playthe effect that the dynamics have on the players themselves.
13. Tynan Sylvester, The Simulation Dream, Player Model Principle; Creating apophenia; Creating Story-RichnessThe whole value of a game is in the mental model of itself it projects into the player’s mind.
14. Christopher W. Totten, An Architectural Approach to Level Design, Introduction, p. xxxvLevel design is concerned with the sequence of spaces in a game level and how they create a better gameplay experience for users.

Use it on your project

teardown-apply: hold "Player experience" (player-experience) from the teardown at https://teardownatlas.com/game-design/ against my project

Paste it into a coding agent that has the teardown skills.

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