Game mechanics are the building blocks that define how a game operates. They encompass the rules, systems, and structured interactions that players engage with during gameplay, addressing the fundamental question: how does the game work?
Formal Elements
Tracy Fullerton, author of Game Design Workshop, refers to the individual components of game mechanics as the formal elements of a game, primarily rules and procedures, organized to create structured and engaging play.
These elements include:
- Players – The number of participants, their roles, and interaction patterns
- Goals – The victory or completion conditions that provide purpose and direction
- Procedures – The actions players can or must take
- Rules – The constraints that govern what is permitted or prohibited
- Resources – Assets that players use to progress toward their goals
- Conflict – The opposition or challenges that must be overcome
- Boundaries – The physical or conceptual limits of the game space
- Outcomes – The results produced by the system, such as winning, losing, or drawing
- Technology* – The medium of play, whether analog, digital, or immersive, which shapes how all other mechanics function
Technology as a Formal Element
While technology is not explicitly listed as a formal element by Fullerton, Jesse Schell highlights its importance in his Elemental Tetrad framework. Although he positions it outside of game mechanics, I consider it an integral component because the medium of play, whether analog, digital, or immersive, shapes how all other mechanics function.
Together, these formal elements create the framework within which gameplay occurs, defining the structure, goals, and interactions that make a game function.
Core Mechanics
Game mechanics encompass the entire system of rules, structures, and interactions that define how a game functions, answering the question: How does the game work? Within this system, core mechanics represent the fundamental actions that players repeatedly perform to achieve their goals, forming the heart of gameplay and answering the complementary question: What is the player doing in the game?
Core mechanics sit at the center of the larger system, while additional elements, such as game goals, player abilities, and environmental interactions, support and shape these core actions. For example, in a platformer, core mechanics might include jumping and running, while goals, rules, and resources give those actions meaning within the game world.
Game Loops
Closely related to core mechanics are game loops, the cyclical patterns of decision-making, action, and feedback that keep players engaged. Loops can range from simple “collect, upgrade, repeat” cycles to more complex layered interactions involving multiple mechanics working together. By establishing repeated patterns of play, loops help structure the gameplay experience and reinforce the significance of the core mechanics.
Games as Systems
Considering games in this way highlights their systemic nature: each mechanic, rule, and resource interacts with others, creating emergent behaviors, strategies, and experiences that are more than the sum of their parts. By understanding these patterns, designers can craft gameplay that is both coherent and compelling.
Together, these elements form the foundation of a game’s interactive system. To better understand how they operate in practice, we will now take a closer look at each component individually, examining not only what they contribute in isolation but also how they interlock to produce meaningful play.