1. Systems &
Inputs &
Outcomes &
Rewards &
Balance.
(How to trick People into accomplishing their
health goals)

2. Why Games as a
solution?
- Great games mask boring and
often repetitive tasks.
- Great games are engaging –
they require users to interact,
and give them just enough
reward to want more.
- Great games are accessible
and ‘addictive’ even though
they are voluntary.

3. A framework to
Examine/Dissect Games…
- The System
- What is the goal of the game? What are the rules?
- The Input
- What actions can the player take to accomplish the goal?
- The Outcome
- When the player performs an action, what happens?

4. …and How to get it all
‘Sticky’
- Extrinsic versus Intrinsic Rewards
- What happens when the player performs the “right”
action?
- Balance versus “Fairness”
- What happens when the player performs the “wrong”
action?
Or…?

5. How to beat
the game
1. Press Start
2. Push Buttons
3. ???
4. Become This :

6. Exposing the System
- What is the System?
- Goals + Rules
- What is the player supposed to accomplish?
- What are the boundaries the players have to work within?

7. It’s a-Me, Mario!
- Goal: Get as far right as possible.
- (and also get as many coins as possible)
- Rules:

8. And More rules

9. Challenge Accepted
- Enable player to form a mental roadmap to the goal.
- After a few moments, player should be able to look at this:
and think to themselves, “Okay, I think I know how I’m going
to tackle this. “

10. Make the System
Obvious
- Believe in yourself,
player!
- Makes the game
accessible.

11. Getting Input
- What are my options here?
- Available Actions
- At each moment in the game, what can the player do to
affect the state of the game?

12. Moving Mario
-Right
-Left
-Jump
-Wait

13. Enable Planning
- Add detail/direction to mental roadmap
- And empowers the player to move forward.
- “Okay, this is what I can do to affect the game state”

14. Why important
- Interaction is the key distinguishing factor of games from
all other forms of authored media.
- Agency
- Feeling control over things that happen
- Leads to engagement

15. The outcome
- What happens when the player jumps right now?
- Level is completed
- Position on flagpole is assessed
- Sounds play
- Fireworks!
- Points awarded

16. But how does it make
you *FEEL*?
- In the moments before:
- Relief
- Pride
- Pressure!
- The moment after:
- Relief (again)
- Satisfaction
- Okay, now what’s next?

17. Why both extrinsic and
intrinsic Matter

18. How Are Players
rewarded?
- Extrinsically, sure
- Nothing inherently wrong with extrinsic rewards
- But, should also intrinsically remind us why we are
playing.
- Why do we play Mario?
- Note: Numbers don’t always mean Extrinsic

19. How *much* are
players rewarded?
- Balance is important
- Rule of Thumb
- Reward extrinsically for small victories
- Reward intrinsically for big victories
- Analog Example
- Paying for Thanksgiving Dinner

20. Sugarcoat things
- Commend effort even if it’s the wrong effort.
- Show them what they did wrong
- Action -> [black box] -> Result
- Black box should never be too ambiguous.
- Example: Rubberbanding in Mario Kart
- Designed to give/release tension.

21. In other words, help
them cheat :)
- Well, not ‘cheat’.
- What happens when a player is not performing well?
- “It got too frustrating.”
- “I couldn’t find my way out.”
- Beauty of digital medium is ability to respond dynamically
- Fail-proof your game

22. But Again,
not too much.
- Reinforce importance of input.
- Don’t lose the sense of agency

23. Let’s look at the
framework again.
- Angry Birds

24. Flinging Birds
- Input
- “Circle of Touchability”

25. Crushing Pigs
- Outcome

26. Why So Angry?
- This guy:

27. Words with Frenemies
- Everyone loves Scrabble right?
- But.
- Problems
- Limited roadmapping
- Limited agency
- Powerless against Scrabble word experts.

28. So we broke it down
[ wordoff screen ]

29. New Dynamics
- Two goals
- Two ways to win.
- Allows defensive play
- More options for words
- “Narrative”

30. Tying it All Together
- Examining game design as a structure
- Helps clarify/predict user experience
- Identifies possible points for improvement/balance
- Always keep agency in mind
- Action/result cycle should be unambiguous
- Reward the right behaviors, in the right way
- Extrinsic (points) for small victories
- Intrinsic (feelings) for big victories

31. General Tips from
Game Production
- Test early, test often
- Polish your tutorial or how-to
- Simplify
- Also, scope down

32. Resources
-Mechanics, Dynamics, Aesthetics (Hunicke)
- http://www.cs.northwestern.edu/~hunicke/MDA.pdf
-Formal Abstract Design Tools (Church)
- www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3357/formal_abstract_design_tools.p
-Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivators (Predictably Irrational,
Ariely)
-BJ Fogg’s Tiny Habits
- http://tinyhabits.com/

33. Questions?
- Email: robinyang@gmail.com
- Thanks for helping me gain +5 Speaker points!

34. Activity:
- Break down an existing game
- What is the goal? What are the rules?
- What are the available actions?
- What are the results? How are “wrong” actions
discouraged, and how are “right” actions rewarded? What
are the intrinsic and extrinsic rewards?
- Then, make it better
- Identify areas where a player might be frustrated (even if
it’s “part of the game.”)
- Suggest improvements in the system, input, outcomes,
rewards or balance that would help alleviate it.