What Are Games Made Of?
Vinod Srinivasan
VIST/CSCE 489, Spring 2010
Adapted from “Art of Game Design” by Jesse Schell
Four Basic Elements
More visible
Aesthetics
Mechanics
Less visible
Story
Technology
The Elemental Tetrad
Elemental Tetrad

Mechanics




Procedures and rules of your game
Describe the goal of your game, how players can
try to achieve it, and what happens when they try
Main differentiator between games and linear
entertainment experiences (books, movies, etc.)
Choose technology that can support your
mechanics, aesthetics that emphasize them
clearly and a story that allows your mechanics to
make sense.
Elemental Tetrad

Story




Sequence of events in your game
May be linear and pre-scripted or branching and
emergent
Choose mechanics that strengthen your story and
allows your story to emerge
Choose aesthetics to help reinforce ideas of your
story and technology that is best suited to the
story
Elemental Tetrad

Aesthetics





How your game looks, sounds, smells, tastes and
feels.
Most direct relationship to the player’s experience
Choose technology that will amplify and reinforce
your aesthetics
Choose mechanics that make players feel
immersed in the world that the aesthetics have
defined
Choose a story that allows your aesthetics to
emerge at the right pace and have the most
impact
Elemental Tetrad

Technology

Doesn’t just refer to “high technology” but any
materials and interactions that make your game
possible



Paper and pencil, plastic coins, etc.
The choice of technology enables your game to
do certain things and prohibits other things
Technology is the medium in which the aesthetics
take place, the mechanics will occur and through
which the story will be told.
Elemental Tetrad



None of the 4 elements are more important
than the others
Technological elements tend to be the least
visible to players; aesthetics are the most
visible.
Other ways of organizing the tetrad



Technology and mechanics are “left brain”
elements
Aesthetics and story are “right brain” elements
All four elements are essential to a game
The Lens of the Elemental Tetrad
To use this lens, take stock of what your game is truly
made of. Consider each element separately, and then
all of them together as a whole.
Ask these questions:
 Is my game design using elements of all four types?
 Could my design be improved by enhancing
elements in one or more of the categories?
 Are the four elements in harmony, reinforcing each
other, and working together toward a common
theme?
Skin and Skeleton





Player’s experience – skin of the game
Elements that make up the game – skeleton
You must focus on both simultaneously.
If you focus only on the skin, you will not
understand why the game feels a certain way
and how to improve it.
If you focus only on the skeleton, you can
make a game structure that is beautiful in
theory but horrible in practice.
The Lens of Holographic Design
To use this lens, you must see everything in your
game at once: the four elements and the player
experience, as well as how they interrelate. It is
acceptable to shift your focus from skin to skeleton
and back again, but it is far better to view your game
and experience holographically.
Ask these questions:
 What elements of the game make the experience enjoyable?
 What elements of the game detract from the experience?
 How can I change the game elements to improve the
experience?