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Player Engagement

Player Engagement refer to the interaction, immersion, and emotions the player experiences in the game. Player engagement is what drives the player to want to play the game. It is important to note that want is the emotion of desiring something.

Player Engagement is not Aesthetics​

It is important to note that player engagement is not aesthetics, there is a relationship between the two but they should not be used synonymously with each other.

The MDA framework's biggest shortcoming is that it defines aesthetics as the desirable emotional responses evoked in the player when they interact with the game system. Essentially they define aesthetics as player engagement. However, aesthetics is generally defined as pleasing in appearance or beautiful. Because the general definition of aesthetics is widely used across multiple disciplines, the definition that the MDA provides is often lost.

The confusion surrounding the term aesthetics can be seen in other frameworks. The Elemental Tetrad framework proposed by Jess Schell defined aesthetics as how the game is perceived by the senses but also noted that story was separate from the element of aesthetics. One might argue that story, which can also evoke emotion, should be an element of aesthetics as defined by the MDA framework.

This disconnect with the desired meaning of aesthetics by the MDA framework and how the term is generally used has perhaps led the media to use aesthetics to primarily describe the visuals of a game such as graphics, models, animations, and special effects. While visuals do add to player engagement it is not the sole factor in player engagement.

Player Engagement with Dramatic Elements​

To better illustrate what elements are required to create player engagement in a game, Tracy Fullerton developed what she refers to as the dramatic elements; elements that engage the player emotionally and keep the player invested in playing the game. These elements include:

  • Challenge: creates tension for the player
  • Play: the ability for players to play (mess about) within the game system, bending the rules sort of speak.
  • Premise: the concept behind the game story. Some games only have a premise
  • Story: takes the premise further and enriches the game experience
  • Characters: provide players a way to empathize with the story

While the dramatic elements defined by Fullerton do play a part in player engagement, there seems to be a lot of emphasis on narrative design (ie. premise, story, characters) and a distinct absence of the term aesthetics or any visuals for that matter.

Elements of Player Engagement​

Authors of the 2011 paper entitled Modeling but NOT Measuring Engagement in Computer Games; Chen, Kolko, Cuddihy, and Medina define "engagement as a sustained level of involvement caused by capturing a person's interest, holding the majority of a person's attentional resources, and placing the person in an immerse state."

Taking all these considerations above into account Taghavi-Burris proposes that player engagement consists of the following elements:

  • Play: to engage in an activity for the sake of amusement or entertainment
  • Narrative Design: elements of an effective story that establish the core emotional elements.
  • Visual Design: the use of imagery, color, shapes, typography, and form to enhance user experience.
  • Sound Design: the process of recording, editing, and mixing various sound elements and musical pieces to enhance the mood.
  • Game Atmosphere: is the cohesion of artwork, audio, narrative, and level design which provides context for the overall mood and tone of the game.
  • Challenge: creates tension for the player