Blog 19 - Third Answer

The rules of any game-- digital or physical-- serve as the formal structure of the game. They're a set of guidelines that describe how a game functions.

What is your EQ?

My Essential Question is, "How can a video game be designed to enhance the player's experience?"

Answer #3 (Write in a complete sentence like a thesis statement)

Rules that are well-defined, functioning, and balanced attribute to creating a more positive player experience.

List 3 details to support the answer.

• Rules constitute the inner, formal structure of a game. While they do not create the player experience as a whole, they work to constitute the experience. Rules of any given game (physical or digital) share a few set characteristics:
• Rules limit player action
• Rules are explicit and unambiguous
• Rules are shared by all players
• Rules are binding
• Rules are repeatable

• The rules of a game exist on three levels: constituative, operational, and implicit. The relationship of the three levels creates a formal identity for the game, or an identity that allows players to distinguish a game as formally unique and distinct from other games.

• Rules are directly concerned with players' actions and the outcomes from those actions. The rules of a game manifest in many different ways: through game logic, visuals, audio, player input, game output, and more. Games are multi-layered and complex, but better understanding the abstract formal system of rules can attribute to creating a meaningful player experience. 

List the research source(s) to support your details and answer.

• Salen, Katie and Eric Zimmerman. Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2004. Print.
• Fullerton, Tracy. Game Design Workshop. Burlington: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, 2008. 151-156.

Concluding Sentence

Rules of a game are a vital piece of a game's design: they provide the structure out of which play emerges. Meaningful play, or positive play experience, can emerge from a game with a defined set of balanced, functioning, and cohesive rules.