MDA is a highly useful theoretical and practical framework to both game research and game design. This presentation is an annotated elaboration on the 3rd part of my lecture, "Connecting the Box", given in Google's Campus TLV, August 23, 2017

1. The MDA model
An Approach to Game Design
Samuel Miller (@samtelegram)
Campus TLV, August 23, 2017

2. D Rules of Play
Homo
Ludens
Models of a Game
Man, Play
and Games

3. Huizinga (1938)
The Nature of play:
It is freedom
It is separate from life
It is order
It is not for gain
Homo
Ludens
Homo
Ludens
Models of a Game

4. Man, Play
and Games
Caillois (1958)
4 patterns of play:
Agon - competition
Alea - chance
Mimicry - simulation
Ilinx - Vertigo
Man, Play
and Games
Models of a Game

5. Man, Play
and Games
Salen & Zimmermann
(2003)
Theoretical Framework for Design
Games are multilayered systems
Games are play of purposes
Games are cultural constructs
Rules of Play
Models of a Game

6. MDA: A Formal Approach to
Game Design and Game Research
http://www.cs.northwestern.edu/~hunicke/pubs/MDA.pdf
Hunicke, LeBlanc, Zubek (2004)

7. D AM

8. D
Mechanics are the core elements of design:
Cards, dice, capture, elimination, collection, and
hundreds more
D AMechanics

9. Dynamics are the behaviours derived from the
way Mechanics are structured together:
Competition, cooperation, combat, chase, 4X,
D20 and countless other gameplay constructs
Dynamics AMechanics

10. Aesthetics are the experiences that the player is
intended to undergo during the game: Sensation,
Fantasy, Narrative, Challenge, Fellowship,
Competition, Discovery, Expression, Submission
Dynamics AestheticsMechanics

11. Dynamics AestheticsMechanics
Game designers work with their toolbox. It starts
with creating systems comprising game
mechanics, structured into dynamics in the goal
of achieving a desired set of aesthetics

12. Dynamics AestheticsMechanics
The player is first experiencing the game, from
the perceived aesthetics, learning the dynamics
gradually and deciphering the mechanics
Model of a Game

13. Dynamics AestheticsMechanics
The player’s experience is the key to a successful
game
Model of a Game

14. Dynamics AestheticsMechanics
But designers cannot control the way these
experiences go
Model of a Game

15. Dynamics AestheticsMechanics
The way for a designer to achieve a desirable set
of aesthetics, is to constantly iterate, through
play testing
Model of a Game

16. Thank You!
Samuel Miller (@samtelegram)
Campus TLV, August 23, 2017