Slides from the 2016/2017 edition of the Video game Design and Programming course at the Politecnico di Milano. More information at http://www.polimigamecollective.org Some of the video games developed by the students during the course are available at https://polimi-game-collective.itch.io

1. Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi
Theory of Fun (for Game Designers)
Videogame Design and Programming

2. Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi
Readings
• Raph Koster. Theory of Fun for Game Design
Second Edition 2013
• Jesse Schell. The Art of Game Design
(2nd Edition) Morgan Kaufmann 2015
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mancala

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there are games we love, games
that bore us, games we hate.

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http://nicolelazzaro.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/4_keys_poster3.jpg

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Nicole Lazzaro’s 4 Keys
Easy Fun
Hard fun
People fun
Serious fun
poster: http://xeodesign.com/4k2f/4k2f.jpg
white paper: http://www.xeodesign.com/xeodesign_whyweplaygames.pdf

8. Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi
Nicole Lazzaro’s 4 Keys
• Easy Fun
§ Focus on the sheer enjoyment of experiencing the game activities.
§ Maintains focus with player attention rather than a winning condition.
• Hard fun
§ For many players overcoming obstacles is why they play.
§ Creates emotion by structuring experience towards the pursuit of a goal.
• People fun
§ Players might play games they don’t like to spend time with their friends.
• Serious fun/altered states
§ Changes how players think, feel, behave or make a difference in the real
world. The excitement of games enlivens otherwise boring tasks.
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9. Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi
Marc Leblanc’s 8 Kinds of Fun
http://8kindsoffun.com/
• Sensation
§ Game as sense-pleasure
• Fantasy
§ Game as make-believe
• Narrative
§ Game as unfolding story
• Challenge
§ Game as obstacle course
• Fellowship
§ Game as social framework
• Discovery
§ Game as uncharted territory
• Expression
§ Game as soap box
• Submission
§ Game as mindless pastime
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10. Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi
14 Forms of Fun
• Beauty
• Immersion
• Intellectual Problem
Solving
• Competition
• Social Interaction
• Comedy
• Thrill of Danger
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• Physical Activity
• Love
• Creation
• Power
• Discovery
• Advancement and Completion
• Application of an Ability
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/227531/fourteen_forms_of_fun.php

11. Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi
why? can we engineer fun?

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“A Theory of Fun for Game Design” Ralph Koster © (http://www.theoryoffun.com)

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Cartoon from “A Theory of Fun for Game Design” Ralph Koster © (http://www.theoryoffun.com)

14. Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi
Cartoon from “A Theory of Fun for Game Design” Ralph Koster © (http://www.theoryoffun.com)

15. Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi
Cartoon from “A Theory of Fun for Game Design” Ralph Koster © (http://www.theoryoffun.com)

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Highway to Hell by AC/DC © AC/DC

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The world's ugliest music: Scott Rickard perTEDxMIA

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humans love patterns!

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Super Mario
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NnhWpI-EPM

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Super_Mario_64_jumping.jpg

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Indie Game the Movie

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'A Minute to Learn…
A Lifetime to Master’
James R. Becker

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grok
MDA Model
DynamicMechanics Aesthetic
Player
Game Designer

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Cartoon from “ATheory of Fun for Game Design” (http://www.theoryoffun.com)

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Cartoon from “Level Up!”

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vW8nXTzroos

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XV478axBuiU

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uigWhf2zRbQ

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140
http://vimeo.com/59001919

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Thomas was Alone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K4zjNtQ3y8

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chunking & grokking

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Flow (M. Csikszentmihalyi)

35. Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi
games that fail to exercise the brain become boring
fun is all about the brain feeling good (endorphines)
the moment of triumph when we learn to master a task
triggers the release of chemicals triggering good feelings
fun comes from “richy interpretable” situations

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Theory of Fun for Game Designers
• Brains are mostly voracious consumer of patterns
• Games are just exceptionally tasty patterns to eat up
• The brain is good at cutting out the irrelevant
• The brain notices a lot more than we think it does
• The brain is actively hiding the real world from us
• These are all example of chunking
• We usually run on automated chunked patterns. Thinking is in fact mostly
memory, pattern-matching past experiences
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39. Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi
Many developers always lose their objectivity
during the course of production.
Theory of Un-Fun
If you find something in the game that is not fun
(or un-fun) remove it. After you have removed
all the un-fun, all that should be left is the fun.

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