The examples of independent games presented in this paper provide fun through strong, innovative and playful game mechanics. The often-resulting combination of retro flair with focused gameplay is what makes the "contemporary retro game”. This paper argues that game and especially level design have evolved over time and provides insights on contemporary level design practice. By a qualitative a...

In this paper we present the MDA framework (standing for Mechanics, Dynamics, and Aesthetics), developed and taught as part of the Game Design and Tuning Workshop at the Game Developers Conference, San Jose 2001-2004. MDA is a formal approach to understanding games – one which attempts to bridge the gap between game design and development, game criticism, and technical game research. We believe...

This paper explores mobile game development courses conducted during the 2012/2013 academic year at George Mason University. In the courses, students had to design mobile games for clients. Each design group of five students was responsible for developing a game that would address the clients’ goals. Throughout each course students developed mobile game prototypes and, eventually, an alpha buil...

Over the past 20 years, proposal that immersive media, such as video games, can be leveraged to enhance brain plasticity and learning has been put test. This expanding literature highlights extraordinary power of games a potential medium train functions, but also remaining challenges must addressed in developing truly deliver terms objectives. Such include need to: (1) Maintain high motivation ...

This paper examines the methods and systems of game design from standpoint existing method proposals failing to establish a common basis for systematizing knowledge, which this aims help resolve. Game has often been subsumed by development associated disciplines, methodology analysis. reviews related work in defining as an autonomous research subject then divides into complementary core methods...

An increasing number of applications use game design elements to motivate user behavior in non-game contexts. Yet current models of video game motivation do not connect to the granular level of single design elements. Similarly, they do not address the social situation of game play. To address this lack, the concept of situated motivational affordances is introduced to conceptualize the motivat...