{"author_name":"Pickens Inc.","cat":"LD #27","comments":[{"author_name":"","time":"September 2, 2013 11:07 am","epoch":1378138020,"text":"I wouldn&#8217;t describe those as the defining traits of a &#8220;good&#8221; game, they&#8217;re simply what something needs to truly be a game. Graphics and audio are totally unnecessary &#8211; video games are just an extension of all games, which may necessarily lack those two aspects.","spam":"N"},{"author_name":"Gaspard_","time":"September 2, 2013 11:31 am","epoch":1378139460,"text":"I think games are a way to learn (or to replace somethong missing, but that implies a bit to much for some to take), and I believe that not letting the player do anything to easely is a way to make us think&#8230;<br \/>\n a:&#8221;The rules: They limit how the player can.. &#8230;and monsters)&#8221;<br \/>\n Doesn&#8217;t this imply that we cannot keep ourselves from taking the easy way?","spam":"N"},{"author_name":"","time":"September 2, 2013 12:05 pm","epoch":1378141500,"text":"Thanks both of you for your opinons, they are both thought-provoking, and its interesting to see the differences between them \ud83d\ude00","spam":"N"}],"epoch":1378137240,"likes":2,"metadata":{"p_key":"37984","p_author":"Pickens Inc.","p_authorkey":"25346","p_urlkey":"73600","p_title":"A good game \u2013 What science says","p_cat":"LD #27","p_event":"LD27","p_time":"1378137240","p_likes":"2","p_comments":"3","p_status":"UPD5","us_key":"25346","us_name":"Pickens Inc.","us_username":"pickensincorporated","event_start":"1377216000","event_key":"18","event_name":"LD27"},"text":"<p>Hello there,<\/p>\n <p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n <p>I&#8217;d begun reading the book &#8220;Reality is Broken&#8221; by Jane McGonigal, a visionary Game Designer, who believes that games make us better and that they have the power to change the world. It&#8217;s a pretty intriguing read, but that&#8217;s not all; I was reading the first chapter, and the little developer part of my mind caught something: a small paragraph in which McGonigal, backed by research, explains\u00a0the four defining traits that make up a good game:<\/p>\n <ul>\n <li>The goal: The outcome the players want to achieve. It provides them with a sense of purpose.<\/li>\n <li>The rules: They limit how the player can go about achieving their goal, meaning they must use their imagination to find a way round the obstacles. (eg, you have health, so you cant go rampaging through a corridor filled with spikes and monsters)<\/li>\n <li>The feedback system: the way the player can track their progress, be it through the GUI with points, or it may be linked to the story&#8217;s progress, or even just the knowledge on how not to die.<\/li>\n <li>Voluntary participation: The acceptance of the goal and rules. Also, the ability to do better than win. (eg. in a typical game, their are coins that increase score. I don&#8217;t have to collect these coins to win, but I have an urge to collect them, to increase my score, to see my name higher than the rest on the highscore table (link back to the feedback system!))<\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <p>Anyway, I just thought this was interesting, and wanted to know what other people think. This list does leave out a surprisingly large amount of other aspects: graphics, storyline, audio etc. and I wonder if other people disagree with it?<\/p>\n <p>Any thoughts or comments would be greatly appreciated.<\/p>\n <p>Also, <a title=\"Spoons are good IMO\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ludumdare.com\/compo\/ludum-dare-27\/?action=preview&amp;uid=25346\">here is my gam<\/a>e (totally relevant, I know), it&#8217;s actually lacking a few things from this list, I knew it sucked, lol.<\/p>\n <p>Many thanks,<\/p>\n <p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n <p>Taha<\/p>\n <p>&nbsp;<\/p>","time":"September 2nd, 2013 10:54 am","title":"A good game \u2013 What science says"}