8. The Four Freedoms of Play
1. Freedom to Experiment
The player's motivations are entirely intrinsic and personal. The process is open-ended.
2. Freedom to Fail
Losing is part of the process.
3. Freedom to Try on Different Identities
Players aren't necessarily limited by their bodies or surrounding physical context.
4. Freedom of Effort
As described in Peter and Iona Opie's classic ethnography of playground culture, children may scramble around in a game of
tag, avoiding being caught for twenty minutes, and then suddenly stop and allow themselves to be tagged once they have
reached a certain degree of effort or perhaps want to move on to another activity.
Scot Osterweil (MIT Comparative Media Studies, Education Arcade Project)
11. Hero’s Journey
1. A character is in
a zone of comfort
3. They enter an
unfamiliar situation
3 Adapt to it
4. Get what they
wanted
5. Pay a heavy
price for it
6. Then return to
their familiar
situation
7. Having changed.
2. But they want
something
12. User’s Journey
1. A USER is in a
zone of comfort
3. They enter an
unfamiliar situation
3 Struggle to get it
4. Initial success
5. Greater
challenges
6. Then return to
their regular life
7. Having changed.
INTO A HERO 2. But they want
something
17. Ambitious Reluctants
Tutorials?
Goal: I’m going to make something
spectacular
Motivation: “I’m an artist. Really”
Conflict: I want to get making, not
learning.
Goal: Learn just enough
Motivation: “I don’t want to look stupid”
Conflict: You moved everything! It’s hard
now!
Who else? The Specialist?
Goal:
Motivation:
Conflict:
Goal:
Motivation:
Conflict:
18. 1. Clear Goals
AND REGULAR CHECK POINTS.
LEVELS AS CHAPTERS. LEVELS AS REWARDS.
33. In this clip from Indie Game: The Movie
(http://www.indiegamethemovie.com/), Edmund McMillen, co-designer
of Super Meat Boy, explains some key principles of game design.
50. Leaderboard
s
There is a certain satisfaction in kicking a
friends bum. However, if you have a place
where not much social is
happening, be sure to motivate me by
making me beat my own high score. Not
feel lonely.
64. There is no shortage
of “organization
porn” on the web.
We have a deep
seated dream of a
place of tidy
harmony.
There is big
business in selling
peace and order
68. Time
Pacing – speed trials vs reflection
Breaks – where can people pause
Limits – forced breaks “out of
Levels
69. Levels
Can act as progress markers
Can be like chapters- a place to stop
Can be a warning of increased difficulty
Can represent space and allow for
unlocks and progressive reveals
75. No Frontloading
“If you frontload your tutorial and teach
the player everything at the beginning,
they’ll be overwhelmed with
information and undersupplied with
engagement.”
Extra Credits in “Tutorials 101,”
92. References
Extra Credits: Tutorials 101
How I Got My Mom to Play Through Plants vs. Zombies
Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us
Game Design Deep Dive: How Rogue Legacy handles
tutorials without being boring
Rethinking Mobile Tutorials: Which Patterns Really
Work?
GamiCAD: A Gamified Tutorial System for First Time
AutoCAD Users