� Backchannel Notes - Bleecker | Main | Backchannel Notes - Fullerton �
2 April, 2008
Eight Kinds of Fun
During our preparation for Tracy Fullerton's seminar in Michael Naimark's class this afternoon, we were discussing the quality of "fun."
Fun is a tough word - sure it's a goal of most game designers, but it's pretty imprecise.
For example,
Charades is “fun.”
Quake is “fun.”
Final Fantasy is “fun.”
But you could use more specific language:
Charades provides Fellowship, Expression, Challenge
Quake provides Challenge, Sensation, Competition, Fantasy
Final Fantasy provides Fantasy, Narrative, Expression, Discovery, Challenge
This Charades/Quake/Final Fantasy example is quoted from game designer named Marc LeBlanc. He teaches game design tutorials at the Game Developer's Conference. He's developing "formal abstract design tools" to analyze game design.
Here's his list of eight kinds of fun, which informs those examples above:
Eight Kinds of "Fun"
1. Sensation
Game as sense-pleasure
2. Fantasy
Game as make-believe
3. Narrative
Game as drama
4. Challenge
Game as obstacle course
5. Fellowship
Game as social framework
6. Discovery
Game as uncharted territory
7. Expression
Game as self-discovery
8. Submission
Game as pastime
His web site, "eight kinds of fun" has more details on this line of reasoning: www.8kindsoffun.com
I hope we can develop some shared vocabulary like this as we work to understand interactive media!
Posted by justin at October 27, 2004 4:18 PM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://interactive.usc.edu/mt/mt-tb.cgi/703
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Eight Kinds of Fun:
� Dynamic Gameplay Adjustment from game girl advance
I have a friend named Doox. Like a few of my other friends, he's got a copy of Half-Life 2.... [Read More]
Tracked on November 23, 2004 3:37 PM
Comments
(I really need help. I'm surfing multiple blogs per person now).
Interesting commentary about 'fun'. I wonder whether the 8 kinds would map into the top few of Maslow's hierarchy of needs ( http://web.utk.edu/~gwynne/maslow.HTM ), and whether we could then say "deep down, I have needs. When these needs are fulfilled, my brain rewards me with pleasant sensations - some of which I might label 'fun'. "
In that respect, our brain has some positive-feedback-loop mechanism to say "That donut sated me hunger. Good boy!", "That orgasm sated my need to reproduce. Good boy!", or "Kicking your friends ass at Puzzle Bobble helped boost my esteem. Good boy!", and then in each case the 'doggie treat' is Fun.
K
Posted by: kim at October 27, 2004 8:42 PM
Justin, I was actually wondering what's the 8 kinds of fun when you first mentioned it at the class. I'm glad you shared this with us. This is really interesting subject to talk about. Thanks as always~!
Posted by: Doox at October 31, 2004 9:52 PM
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)