Games MDA

Games MDA

This week’s reading taught me about the MDA framework- standing for Mechanics, Dynamics and Aesthetics. This framework was initially unfamiliar to me; I had not heard of this framework before doing this reading so it was very informative and helped me grasp the concept of the MDA framework.

I did the readings on the MD 2019 CDM site, which you can read by clicking the link. 

Mechanics refers to the constraints of how a game works- it determines the actions a player can take in the game and how these actions affect the game. From my understanding- mechanics refer to elements of the game that determine and affect the gameplay. Examples of mechanics in games I have played include respawning, day and night cycles, reloading ammo, drowning, hunger and temperate mechanics.

Dynamics refer to how the game plays when the mechanics are implemented. For example, in the case of a temperature mechanic- how do players overcome this? What strategies do they come up with to overcome this? In my personal experience, a game that demonstrates this well is Breath of the Wild. In order to climb icy mountains, the player must stay warm or they will take damage. There are multiple ways to do this- get warm armour, carry around a torch, or a fire weapon. Strategizing emerges from dynamics.

Aesthetics refer not to the look of the game but to the player experience of the game. This emerges from the dynamics of the game- if the dynamics are difficult for players then the players will feel frustrated, if there are very basic and repetitive dynamics the player will feel bored. Essentially, it’s how “fun” a game is, but fun is a very broad term so it is slit into several sections.

This site goes into more detail about the MDA model!

I personally have never looked so far into what elements make a game “fun”, so seeing it broken down into the eight categories gave me a new insight on the term “fun”. I feel that this will be helpful in not only giving feedback to others on their project but also help me understand any feedback I receive properly.

I feel that this reading has given me a lot of understanding about the MDA model and it will help me in my game development in future.

Screenshot of views of games 

Source: MD 2019 CDM site