Fun in game design: The four forms of play (with an example)
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One of the goals of game designers is to create fun. As part of the fun, players can feel rewarded, accomplished, fulfilled — they beat a hard boss, achieve a difficult goal, master a specific skill. But unlike many elements of a game which can be designed to be objective, fun is highly subjective — and in fact, what can be a laugh to a player can be a horrifying experience to another.
If a game is not fun, and there are no incentives, the player will most likely stop playing, and thus not even recommend it. And if you or a company depends on its revenue, it can be catastrophic.
So how is it possible to design a game while making sure that it will be fun to as many players as possible? Are there elements that can help to more objectively create fun?
Four forms of play
It turns out, there are some elements that can be worked on more objectively. In his book from 1958, “Man, Play and Games”, Roger Caillois, a famous french sociologist, highlights four forms of play, these being Agon, Alea, Mimicry and Ilinx. He also defines two types of play, Ludus and Paidia — which respectively refer to structured activities with explicit rules and unstructured and spontaneous activities — which will be covered in another article. In this article, we explore the four forms of play defined by Robert Callois.
Agon — Competition
By allowing competition, it creates tension. Some games are almost only played in this form, like Chess. With Agon, players test their mastery and knowledge of the game against each other, or in teams, and the reward is at least bragging rights, and/or a sense of one’s superior mastery over another.
Alea — Chance
By adding chance, it immediately creates replayability and tension. Now the player does not have full control, and has to consider chance and take risks, which leads to tension, and sometimes adrenaline rush. It can also present itself simply as exploration and discovery, because the exploration of unknown content is by itself chance taking, and has an unknown outcome for the player. Slot machines rely almost purely on this element from the four.
Mimicry — Simulation
Simulation, or role-playing, allows the player to take on a role which normally he does not possess. It is to provide a way for imagination and creativity to flow, be it by narrative, fantasy, allowing the player to create. But this only works if the player is willing to suspend his disbelief — accept that he is a racing driver in a high competition race, a sniper in a warzone, a mayor running a town. It is important that there is no friction to suspend this disbelief.
Ilinx — Vertigo
Ilinx, or vertigo, has a very important role. It causes disorientation, temporarily distorts perception, and is a very powerful way of creating anxiety, adrenaline and fear. It is related to sensory stimulation and arousal. Examples are Super Hexagon, and Amnesia: The Dark Descent spectacularly delivers it too. In Amnesia: The Dark Descent, when the monster is nearby, the screen gets distorted and it gets hard to move, the character starts to black out, and combined with an exploding heartbeat it takes the player into a sudden distortion of perception, provokes anxiety, fear and adrenaline.
An example
In his talk, Sonic the Hedgehog’s gameplay and stage designer Hirokazu Yasuhara gives a great example. Taking a playground slide as a target, he starts adding each of these elements.
Simulation: if you take a simple slide, and a slide with elephant shape, what is more fun?
Vertigo: if you take an elephant slide, and a longer, taller dinosaur slide, what is more fun?
Chance: if you take a dinosaur slide, and a dinosaur slide with random water sprays as you pass, what is more fun?
Competition: if you take a dinosaur slide for a single person, or one with two slides next to each other, what is more fun?
Taking each of these elements at a time, it is possible to objectively design an experience to be fun. What was a simple slide became a dinosaur slide with perception distorting, chance taking on getting wet and the goal of beating your friends in the ride.
Conclusion
While fun is highly subjective, it is possible to design experiences that more objectively create fun. And although not all games can benefit from all four elements, it is possible to almost always design with at least one in mind. So next time you are not sure whether it’s fun or how to add more fun, remember: Agon, Alea, Mimicry, Ilinx. Or easier to remember:
Competition, Chance, Simulation, Vertigo
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