5.1. MDA¶

Prior to reading the rest of this section, go read the paper MDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research. The first couple of sections are very academic - feel free to skim until you reach the section entitled MDA.

This is one of the few academic papers that achieved wide exposure within the game industry (it probably helps that the authors are experienced game designers). There are two parts of this paper that made it really influential. The first is the Mechanics/Dynamics/Aesthetics (MDA) conceptualization, which offers a way to think about the relationship of rules to player experience, and also the relationship between player and designer.

• Mechanics are a synonym for the “rules” of the game. These are the constraints under which the game operates. How is the game set up? What actions can players take, and what effects do those actions have on the game state? When does the game end, and how is a resolution determined? These are defined by the mechanics.
• Dynamics describe the play of the game when the rules are set in motion. What strategies emerge from the rules? How do players interact with one another?
• Aesthetics (in the MDA sense) do not refer to the visual elements of the game, but rather the player experience of the game: the effect that the dynamics have on the players themselves. Different games appeal to very different interests in players. Aesthetics is the term used to describe what itch the game seeks to scratch in the player. Is it a chance for them to compete against others? To escape to a different world? Master a skill?

Before the MDA Framework was written, the terms “mechanics” and “dynamics” were already in common use among designers. The term “aesthetics” in this sense had not, but has gained more use in recent years.