Games as the Play of Pleasure - Ch 24

Pleasure is the most intrinsic experience in a game.
Managing player’s pleasure in a game by designing the rules as engaging experience of play.

According to Vygotsky, player accepts the rules not to limit his pleasure but instead to maximize it.

Games are played for their own sake, they have intrinsic motivation. This is explained by the term autotelic, self-goal, pleasures within the magic circle.  Also, games have extrinsic pleasures that affect a player’s life.

Two challenges of designing meaningful play:

1) seducing the player to enter the magic circle

2) seducing the player to stay in the magic circle

Flow state - Optimal experience:  state of mind when the person in a high degree of focus and enjoyment. (Csikszentmihalyi)

Four effects occurs when the player reaches the flow state:
1- the merging of the action and awareness
2- concentration
3- the loss of self-consciousness
4- the transformation of time

prerequisites for the flow state:
- a challenging activity
- clear goals
- clear feedback
- paradox of having control in an uncertain situation

Same-but-different: Every experience of playing the game is different. Player can play several times but every path s/he takes through the game will change every time and will be unique. The game is the same structure but the experience and outcome changes everytime.

Transformative play (when the free movement of the play alters the rigid structure which it is in) assists this process: when the structure of the game is altered, different possible path, experiences occur. Player finds new patterns and new paths resulting with new experiences.

Entraintment: carry along; rhythmic pleasure: process of falling into a patterned activity, in this case patterns of pleasure.

The role of the goal: largest single element that drives the pleasure of the player

Goals within goals: there are moments of pleasure within the game, a result of a tiny movement, micro-level of a player’s pleasure. Short-term goals: Two types of pleasure by short term goals: making plan as moving towards the big picture and achieving the short term goal.

Conditioned pleasure: that is related to outcome of the action - not the action player performed. Behaviorists Pavlov and Watson claims that interaction with the environment shapes the behavior. Pavlov’s dog experiments: classical conditioning, that is about reflexes tied to new stimulus
Skinner suggested operant behavior: people learn the way they do because of the rewards they receive in the past as a result of a behavior.
Positive reinforcements: positive reward
negative reinforcement: removal of something unpleasant
punishments: addition of something unpleasant
-Operant conditioning effects the choices the players makes and their motivation to continue playing. Not only shapes the players’ good or bad behaviors but also shapes player’s pleasure and overall play experience.
Reinforcement schedules: rate a subject is given reinforcement over time

fixed vs variable

-fixed reinforcements(rewards or punishments) occur at a steady, continuous rate.

-variable reinforcement (rewards or punishments) come at irregular intervals.

If rewards or punishments shape person’s behavior -e.g. in real life, punish a child so he doesn’t do the same mistake again- why not monster attacks drive players away?

the answer is: lusory attitude, playing a game is also taking artificial challenges. To play a game is to experience its pleasure. Challenge and frustration are essential to game pleasure.

Degree of challenge in a game:

if too difficult, anxiety arises

if too easy boredom occurs

Addiction: can occur as a result of a meaningful play. Game is intrinsically engaging but not negatively addicted.