As with any art form, one of the reasons to understand
and master the traditional structures is so that
you can experiment with alternatives. (See sidebar
on page 228 on the development of the experimental
game Cloud.) The innovation we seek for the game
industry very well might require going beyond these
basic elements and exploring new forms of interactivity
that lie at the edge of what we call ???games.???
Because they play an essential structural function in
traditional game systems, however, we call these the
???formal elements??? of games. We will look at each of
these formal elements in more detail in Chapter 3 and
discuss how you can use them in various combinations
to achieve your player experience goals.
2.9 Outcome
Engaging the Player
them to connect emotionally with the experience.
Games are, a er all, a form of entertainment, and
good entertainment moves us both intellectually and
emotionally.
This sense of engagement comes from di?¬? erent
things for di?¬? erent players, and not all games require
elaborate means to create it. Next we list some
Engaging the Player 33
If the formal elements mentioned provide structure
to the experience of games, then what gives these
elements meaning for the players? What makes one
game capture the imagination of players and another
fall ?¬‚ at? Certainly, some players are a racted to pure
abstract challenges, but for most players, there needs
to be something else that draws them in and allows
34 Chapter 2: The Structure of Games
elements that allow a player to make an emotional
connection with a game.
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