1. What makes games fun?
Creating Enhanced Play
Jani Cortesini
Extra Life: A Gaming Event for Brands
26th Oct, 2011

3. Game doesn’t automatically =
Fun

4. Play = Fun

5. A well designed game feels
like enhanced play

6. So, what does play feel like?

7. And how do we design a game
that enhances play?

9. Anticipation
Poise Surprise
play
Strength Pleasure
Understanding

10. Anticipation
Poise Surprise
Strength Pleasure
Understanding

11. The perfect balance between these
two emotions is called ‘flow’
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi – Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience

13. Flow is enhanced play

14. A well designed game is all
about keeping a player in ‘flow’

15. Challenge
Skill

16. Challenge
Skill

17. Challenge
Skill

18. How do we keep players in ‘flow’?

19. How do we keep players in ‘flow’?
Interesting goals to master
Clear feedback
A meaning for it all

20. How do we keep players in ‘flow’?
Interesting goals to master
Clear feedback
A meaning for it all

21. A set of goals to achieve within
a given set of rules

22. A set of interesting goals to
achieve within a given set of
interesting rules

26. But not just goals,
it’s goals that get progressively
harder to master

27. It’s easy to tell what games my husband
enjoys the most. If he screams, ‘I hate it, I
hate it, I hate it,’ then I know two things:
(a) he’s going to finish it, and then (b) he’s
gonna buy version 2
Nicole Lazzaro – The Future of UX is Play

28. The mix of success and failure on
the path to game mastery is the
ultimate emotional high

29. Fun is another word for learning
Raph Koster – A Theory of Fun for Game Design

30. Challenge
Skill

31. Interesting goals to master
Clear feedback
A meaning for it all

36. Interesting goals to master
Clear feedback
A meaning for it all

39. Meaning helps create ‘sensual’
immersion

40. Meaning is a gateway into ‘flow’

41. Imagine Chess as Macbeth
Clint Hocking – Immersive Fidelity in Games

42. In conclusion...

43. Challenge
Skill

44. Interesting goals to master
+
Clear feedback
+
A meaning for it all

45. Interesting goals to master
+
Clear feedback
+
A meaning for it all
=

46. Thanks!
jani.c@inferno-group.com
ingiro.tumblr.com

47. Useful links and sources
Flow in Games - http://www.jenovachen.com/flowingames/introduction.htm
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-
/0060920432?_encoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance
The Future of UX is Play - http://www.slideshare.net/NicoleLazzaro/ux-week-the-future-of-ux-is-play
I-Fi Immersive Fidelity in Games - http://clicknothing.typepad.com/ and here
Designing for Engagement and Sustained Satisfaction – www.immersyve.com
Meaningful Play. Getting Gamification Right - http://www.slideshare.net/dings/meaningful-play-getting-gamification-
right
Loving your player with Juicy Feedback - http://www.cs.northwestern.edu/~hunicke/
A Theory of Fun for Game Design - http://www.raphkoster.com/
Peering into the Black Box of Player Behaviour: The Player Experience Panel at Microsoft Game Studios -
http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1012646/Peering-into-the-Black-Box
Ludology meets Narratology - http://www.ludology.org/articles/ludology.htm
Play - http://www.stuartbrownmd.com/
All round essential reads – www.gamasutra.com / www.insidesocialgames.com / www.gamepro.com