"MDA: A formal approach to game design and game research" Robin Kunike, Marc LeBlanc, Robert Zubek
MDA has been described as a framework in which we can break down and design games. In the article it describes these tools in detail and how they effect the designers and the audience.
MDA stands for Mechanics, Dynamics and Aesthetics. These are 3 tools which are part of the structure of the game and heavily effect the designer and the audience of the game. In the order they come (MDA) they are looked at differently by designers and the audience.
The designers look at the mechanics of the game first which then leads to the dynamics, but the audience looks at the aesthetics of the game first, they look at how the game feels and what it's like to play. The designer will create and add the components of the game for examples the rules, they will add the representation of the player and a lot more, basically the game atoms. Then these mechanics will effect the dynamics of the game for example the tactical choices which need to be made to pass a certain point. These then create the aesthetics which make the game more real to the player. This is like the competitive urge the player gets or the happiness when the player wins.
With MDA the designer can easily change the aesthetics of the game simply by giving the player fewer choices. For example the game Amnesia: The Dark Decent the user is made to feel very afraid and helpless, mechanics such as using very small very low lit corridors, adding small things which would catch your eye and make you jump and of course the only defence being a sprint key. This all makes the game much more tactical because the user has a lot more chance or being killed, so the user needs to make the tactical choices under the conditions which brings a whole new feeling with the aesthetics.
Understanding the MDA framework I find will be extremely useful in the future, especially with the group project we are working on. We can use the MDA to fine tune the games we create and make them as good as they can get.
Good notes, you could, very usefully, apply the MDA framework to your game right now.
ReplyDeleteWhat are the key mechanics you are considering? How do you think these will interact? what kind of Aesthetic feelings are you wishing to create in the player, how will the former lead to the latter?