Designing for Player Motivation

We all play games, but what makes us pick up a game after an initial sit down or keeps us from putting the controller down? These are the questions that game designers regularly ask. David Ghozland, over at Gamasutra has an interesting piece aimed at designers that identiffies the way games motivate players. While earlier this week we shared a story about how we play for reward, this story focuses on how designers can use certain tools and methods to encourage extended or repeat play.

“The player’s action responds to a paramount need which we should never forget or undermine â$” that is, HAVING FUN (everything else just serves to increase the intensity of the game experience). The essence of our work is to answer this necessity while keeping or even increasing his initial motivation throughout the game. If the player loses his motivation, it is because he does not have fun anymore. He will first “switch off’, and then stop playing.”

The closet game designers in the audience should pay attention to the points made and try and adapt them, Ghozland hits a number of good suggestions in integrating motivation into gameplay. Actually this is a key point a lot of designers would do well to remember after the end of the day.. is your game fun to play or a chore? I’ve chugged my way through quite a few excellently designed games that just didn;t ring my personal fun bell.