GDC09 presentation by Scott Rigby at Immersyve
Powerpoint deck and white paper available at:
http://www.immersyve.com/downloads/
- Fun can have negative aspects – not always positive
- work involved, stress, etc – all can be fun
- Collecting Behaviorial Data (telemetry)
- Outcome based rather than Causal
- The underpants Gnome Dilemma (South Park reference)
- 3 part business plan
- Collect Underpants
- Something
- Collect Profit
- We know that if we make the game fun then people will love it, but what is the middle part – how do we ensure fun
- Motivational Research is happening at the academic level
- Player Experience of Need Satisfaction (PENS) Model
- Competence – to grow in skill
- Autonomy – experience personal agency/choice
- Relatedness – meaningful connection to other players – real or NPC
- Just tracking fun is not an indicator of retention – using PENS is better
- long term and short term (they had data from their study to back claim)
Competence
- efficiency, growth, mastery
- High intention to outcome ratio
- Mastery in Moment-to-monent gameplay
- getting good feedback in wins and loses
- granular, sustained, cumulative
- w/i session, w/i game, global
- guitar hero is a good example of this
- Rewards
- not just happy things, but also info to get better works well as a reward
- Challenge
- stretch, don’t overwhelm
- watch for boring and anxiety extremes
- sustained challenge is high on fun, but low on PENS
- player gets exhausted if challenge is sustained too long
- being able to express mastery is key
- PWNAGE 
- Shaming is not helpful
Autonomy
- sense of personal agency or volition
- I am the cause of my actions, not the game design
- Opportunities for Action (OFA)
- Interactive opportunities x Possible Actions = OFA
- Not about creating more, but about perceived opportunity
- density of choice
- Make sure schemas are met
- If in other situations things work a certain way, make sure that it consistent
- in one game when you shoot at a box on the wall it explodes, but in another level the box is just a texture on the wall and does nothing when shot
- player is reminded of his place in the game at that point and enjoyment decreases
Relatedness
- connected/mattering to other people, either real or NPC
- Give positive contextual feedback – especially in the case of NPC, don’t make them just filler
- Random dialogue and serious attitude in NPCs is demotivating to players
Application
- Ask questions during game design phase
- How will overall or specific game play satisfy needs?
- Can I satisfy multiple needs simultaneously?
- Heat Maps in Game
- Push Short Surveys in game in different areas to gauge what needs are being met or not in what areas of the world
These concepts were found to be fundamental – across geography, age and game genre
