In this paper we present the MDA framework (standing for Mechanics, Dynamics, and Aesthetics), developed and taught as part of the Game Design and Tuning Workshop at the Game Developers Conference, San Jose 2001-2004. MDA is a formal approach to understanding games – one which attempts to bridge the gap between game design and development, game criticism, and technical game research. We believe this methodology will clarify and strengthen the iterative processes of developers, scholars and researchers alike, making it easier for all parties to decompose, study and design a broad class of game designs and game artifacts.

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... To implement the elements of game design the Mechanics, Dynamics and Aesthetics (MDA) framework defined by Hunicke et al. can be leveraged, helping the game designer meet the demands of the player [22]. In the MDA, mechanics characterize the underlying elements and schemes of the game which define the framework of the player's actions as well as for the progress. ...

... Possible desirable emotions that can be evoked include challenge, creativity, sensation or discovery [20,22,23]. ...

Due to the many advantages that digital teaching and testing methods have over traditional ones, they are increasingly finding their way into everyday educational practice. The current events of the COVID-19 pandemic have given these approaches an additional boost. In this paper, a first version of digital game-based examination for sensor placement is presented, which can supplement parts of a classical exam for an Industry 4.0 lecture designed for postgraduate engineering students. For the development of the environment the Unity 3D Engine as well as freely available models and plugins for Unity are leveraged. By doing so, an immersive virtual scenario is created in which complex problems can be depicted and solved by the student. To ensure the suitability of this exam type and the coverage of the desired learning objectives, an evaluation of the game-based examination environment will subsequently be conducted and the results are discussed.

... The Mechanics, Dynamics, Aesthetics (MDA) model, developed by Hunicke, Le Blanc & Zubek (2004), builds game aesthetics, on top of previously described principles of game mechanics and dynamics. As such, aesthetics involves specific emotional experience resulting from gameplay, such as fantasy, narrative, challenge, discovery, etc. (Hunicke et al., 2004). Adding one informal rule by a group of users allows transforming gamification into a complete game . ...

  • Nevena Jaftha Nevena Jaftha
  • Marouska Zahra-Micallef
  • Tatjana Chircop

This systematic review critically explores the intervention design and findings of the experimental studies that were published between January 2012-December 2020 in a number of digital libraries and databases and had the effect of a gamified instruction on students' learning outcomes in their focus, with the aim of identifying what constitutes success or the lack thereof in the given context. The found effect(s) of gamified instruction on students' learning engagement and achievement are discussed in relation to the a) intervention design, its flaws and their potential impact on reported outcomes and b) prevalent practice in gamification research. The discussion is structured around data collection sources, sample size, and intervention duration, but also the characteristics of learning technology, learning approach, course content, type of games and game elements. This study proposes a list of categories to be included in the description of a study context so that it is possible to a) systematically organise research findings, b) filter the variety of findings via means of replication studies. c) recognise the variant effect on different sub-populations, and d) suggest the way forward when designing and implementing gamified instruction within specific conditions. Furthermore, the study highlights the necessity of approaching the topic through a mixed-method approach involving a more intensive tracking schedule with new assessment instruments and a larger number of participants that are longitudinal or at least of a longer duration in order to obtain more comprehensive findings.

  • Moulay Driss El Maarouf
  • Taieb Belghazi
  • Ute Fendler

This paper examines games during the COVID-19 pandemic as ontological barriers or barzakhs (singular: barzakh). The traditional meaning of barrier as separation is coupled with the Greek meaning of play as Poiesis (which may also be understood as describing acts of creation). We expand the semantics of 'barrier' so as to describe pandemic phenomena that exist at the points at which opposites meet: synthetic game and the world of real game; the infected and the healthy; the player and the character being played; life and death. Our perception of both home and the exterior world has changed significantly in the time of the plague. At-home gaming, far from signalling our modern confinement, enables moments in which we may challenge our imprisonment. To bring this idea home, we deploy barzakh as a moral imperative, a site of both necessary isolation and opportunities of engagement, proof of our need for both interaction and distance, a place for the enactment of our knowing and strategic waiting in relation to the pandemic. Through the term, we theorize the link between barrier and other similar categorical divides (distances, masks, gloves, borders and quarantines) which we activate during lockdown to work through our puzzlement, win the social game of civil goodness and to downplay, and ultimately survive, the pandemic of our times.

  • Emma Reay

This article examines video game avatars that are designed to resemble toys. It names this trope the 'Blithe Child' to capture the carefree, careless and childlike interactions this avatar invites. This article argues that the connection between the Blithe Child and traditional toys functions to express and explain non-violent game mechanics, to shape sentimental player–avatar relationships, to create cosy, snug playspaces and to encourage pro-social, creative and self-expressive playstyles. However, the Blithe Child inherits some of the more sinister dynamics latent in human–toy relationships, namely the desire to humiliate and mutilate the cute object and anxieties about what it means to be 'real' – to be an independent, agential subject rather than a passive, manipulated, othered object. Drawing on theories derived from cuteness studies and toy studies, this article uses a close reading approach to critique the age-based hierarchies that underpin this trope.

  • Priscilla Lo
  • David Thue
  • Elin Carstensdottir

The term "game mechanic" is often used when discussing games, but are we all talking about the same thing? While game studies and related fields have produced several notable definitions, there is currently no accepted standard for the term within the broader community. Through a systematic literature review spanning six academic venues and several prominent books, we identify and analyze 49 explicit definitions for the concept of "game mechanics". Though some of the definitions are similar, they are all fundamentally distinct. Our work demonstrates the importance of providing or citing a definition when discussing game mechanics, and we provide a wide range of options to choose from.

Digitalization has opened new opportunities but also brought new challenges such as lower engagement of students in online training. Especially learning videos need to be changed in their design and structure to make them more engaging for users. So far, overarching design principles are missing that support the development of gamified learning videos. In our research-in-progress paper, we present an overarching approach on how to develop meaningful gamified learning videos. With our design science research approach, we plan to derive design principles and design features from our state-of-the-art design requirements. Additionally, we will conduct a field experiment to put our theoretical contributions to test and gather practical insights. Our research contributes to theory by clarifying how and why gamified videos can support better learning. In the long run, practical contributions can be given to developers about how to construct gamified learning videos.

  • Hassan A. El-Sabagh Hassan A. El-Sabagh
  • Waleed Tageldin Elsigini

hree-dimensional virtual learning environments are considered the most important technological innovations that have attracted the attention of educational institutions due to their ability to simulate reality and allow the learner to interact with them, and as a result, the learner emerges effectively into the learning process and in light of the search for the continuous development and improvement of these environments by employing the latest e-learning strategies, including the gamification strategy, which is a a didactic approach that can motivate students to learn by using the elements of games in virtual learning environments to achieve maximum fun and participation in the learning process. This paper aims to present a proposed model for designing 3D virtual learning environments in the light of employing a gamification strategy as a model that is guided by its stages and steps to develop student engagement at Mansoura University in Egypt. The methodology used in the identification of successful strategies and practices are based on reviewing the literature about the concept of the The 3D virtual learning environment, its importance, and when to use it in the educational process. In addition, it reviews the strategy of gamification, its components, and its designing steps frameworks. Examples and suggestions are included. As well as it reviews the concept of student engagement, its importance, and its relation with a 3D virtual learning environment. The findings help stakeholders at higher education institutions to propose a framework. This framework integrates three-Dimensional Virtual Learning Environments based on gamification strategy to engage students in delivering engaging content.

  • R Hunicke

Hunicke, R. 2004. "AI Babysitter Elective". Lecture at Game Developers Conference Game Tuning Workshop, 2004. In LeBlanc et al., 2004a. Available online at: http://algorithmancy.8kindsoffun.com/GDC2004/AITutori al5.ppt

More of the 400: Discovering Design Rules Available online at: http://www.gdconf.com/archives Formal Abstract Design Tools

  • H Barwood
  • N Falstein

Barwood, H. & Falstein, N. 2002. " More of the 400: Discovering Design Rules ". Lecture at Game Developers Conference, 2002. Available online at: http://www.gdconf.com/archives/2002/hal_barwood.ppt Church, D. 1999. " Formal Abstract Design Tools. " Game Developer, August 1999. San Francisco, CA: CMP Media. Available online at: http://www.gamasutra.com/features/19990716/design_tool s_01.htm

Aesthetics: A Formal Approach to Game Design Lecture at Northwestern University Available online at

  • M Leblanc

LeBlanc, M. 2004b. " Mechanics, Dynamics, Aesthetics: A Formal Approach to Game Design. " Lecture at Northwestern University, April 2004. Available online at: http://algorithmancy.8kindsoffun.com/MDAnwu.ppt

Available online at: http://algorithmancy.8kindsoffun.com Available online at

  • In Leblanc

In LeBlanc et al., 2004a. Available online at: http://algorithmancy.8kindsoffun.com/GDC2004/AITutori al5.ppt LeBlanc, M., ed. 2004a. " Game Design and Tuning Workshop Materials ", Game Developers Conference 2004. Available online at: http://algorithmancy.8kindsoffun.com/GDC2004/

More of the 400: Discovering Design Rules

  • H Barwood
  • N Falstein

Barwood, H. & Falstein, N. 2002. "More of the 400: Discovering Design Rules". Lecture at Game Developers Conference, 2002. Available online at: http://www.gdconf.com/archives/2002/hal_barwood.ppt

Game Design and Tuning Workshop Materials

  • M Leblanc

LeBlanc, M., ed. 2004a. "Game Design and Tuning Workshop Materials", Game Developers Conference 2004. Available online at: http://algorithmancy.8kindsoffun.com/GDC2004/

Mechanics, Dynamics, Aesthetics: A Formal Approach to Game Design

  • M Leblanc

LeBlanc, M. 2004b. "Mechanics, Dynamics, Aesthetics: A Formal Approach to Game Design." Lecture at Northwestern University, April 2004. Available online at: http://algorithmancy.8kindsoffun.com/MDAnwu.ppt