Game mechanics
The course of a game is referred to as game mechanics , i.e. the way in which a game experience arises from defined initial situations, the rules of the game and the actions of the player. The term is mainly used in connection with computer games, as complex processes can run automatically here, comparable to clockwork or mechanics. It is also used less often in board games.
The term is not clearly defined. A broader definition, which includes almost all aspects of a game, and a narrower definition, which restricts the term to internal processes and excludes interaction with the player, can be roughly distinguished. A related term is that of gameplay , roughly English for "playing the game". This is sometimes used synonymously with the broader, sometimes contrary to the narrower definition of game mechanics, i.e. exclusively for the player's experience.
Further meaning of game mechanics or gameplay
In a broader sense, game mechanics or gameplay encompass the entire course of a game. Fixed elements such as action and levels or scenarios define what the game is about and which objects the player can interact with. The rules of the game then determine how this happens; the operation (the interface ) determines how it influences the game; Graphics and other presentation methods are based on what he perceives of the game events; the artificial intelligence controls the behavior of the non-player characters or the computer opponents . All of this together results in a game mechanic or gameplay. This includes both the further development of the game world and all information that the player enters or receives from the game, and thus his entire gaming experience.
Closer meaning of game mechanics
In the narrower sense, only the internal processes of the game are referred to as game mechanics. This includes how general parameters of the simulated game world develop over time in accordance with the rules, and how the computer opponents execute their strategies in response to the player's actions. The player actions are seen as pure input data and game mechanics in this sense is the pure simulation software, separate from how the player perceives their results.
Narrower meaning of gameplay
In contrast to this, and in the true sense of the word, gameplay is defined as the interaction between game and player. The game mechanics result in events that are then presented to the player, giving him an impression of the course of the game. Operation is also an important part of the gameplay.
example
An economic simulation is given as an example . This deals with a certain industry against a certain historical background, whereby the starting point of the game is determined. The rules of the game are now a simulated economic system that determines, for example, production costs and supply and demand. How these values change over time and how customers and possible computer-controlled opponents react to the player's strategy is the result of the game mechanics in the narrower sense. In contrast, the gameplay in the narrower sense consists of how the player perceives the game world and events by observing a map and statistics, how he influences them through settings and direct inputs and how he perceives the processes as a whole. Both together, i.e. the entire simulated world with the impression that the player has of it, are determined by game mechanics or gameplay in the broader sense.
Spread of the terms
The terms game mechanics and gameplay are particularly widespread in computer game journalism , which often uses “good gameplay” as an evaluation criterion or describes the game mechanics as successful or unsuccessful. The use of the terms fluctuates between the above definitions and is usually only clarified by further description of individual aspects of the game on which the judgment is based.
Even game developers use the terms like to describe their games, the terms are often defined so as to aspects that are the developer particularly important focus. So comes from Sid Meier , the definition of gameplay as "a series of interesting choices" ( a number of interesting decisions ). Andrew Rollings and Ernest Adams, the latter co-founder of the International Game Developers Association , speak on the basis of “One or more causally linked series of challenges in a simulated environment.” ( One or more causally linked series of challenges in a simulated environment. )
literature
- Gameplay - Excerpt from Andrew Rollings and Ernest Adams on Game Design . New Riders, 2003, ISBN 978-1-59273-001-8
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Gameplay is “the way in which the player interacts with the game technology.” Martin Sallge: Interactive narration in computer games. In: The game. Pattern and metaphor of the media society. Edited by Caja Thimm. Wiesbaden 2010, p. 80.