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Qualities of Experience
previous chapter, provides one typology for the variety of experiences found in games. In Toys as Culture,[2] Brian Sutton-Smith presents another model, one that lists the psychological processes by which games are experienced. Although Sutton-Smith is looking specifically at video games, his model is relevant to other kinds of games as well. His five elements of game experience are:
Visual scanning: visual perception, especially scanning the entire screen at once.
Auditory discriminations: listening for game events and signals.
Motor responses: physical actions a player takes with the game controls.
Concentration: intense focus on play.
Perceptual patterns of learning: coming to know the structure of the game itself.
Sutton-Smith offers a relatively succinct list of the elements that constitute the experience of play within a digital game. Visual scanning and auditory discrimination represent the sensorial activities of the player, motor responses represent the player's physical actions, and the other two elements (concentration and perceptual patterns of learning) represent cognitive mechanisms internal to the player that link these inputs and outputs. How do these categories apply to the experience of a particular game? If we look back at Sudnow's observations of Breakout one more time, we can find examples from all of Sutton-Smith's five categories of experience: Concentration and auditory discriminations: "I'm rising with the shot then, the volume turned up high now, filling the room with bleeps, and I'm putting the shoulders and head into the action, singing a song with this ten-second sequence." Sudnow is deeply engaged in play, to the point where he feels like he is part of the game system. He moves his body in synch with the action on screen, humming along to its blips and bleeps, focusing all movement and energy on control of the ball. Visual scanning and motor responses: "Throw yourself into the unfolding melody, carry the hand smoothly from one point to the next, ride with the ball through the whole five places." Sudnow perceives the screen as a single field of space within which he guides the ball. As his eyes scan the screen he takes action through the game controller, moving the paddle into strategic position. Sudnow psychologically integrates the horizontal movement of the virtual paddle onscreen with the physical motion of twisting the game control knob. Perceptual patterns of learning: "At first it felt like my eyes told my fingers where to go. But in time I knew the smooth rotating hand motions were assisting the look in turn, eyes and fingers, in a two-way partnership." The coordination Sudnow achieves between perception and action is a quality of deeply engaging play. His eyes work in concert with his hands to control the action onscreen. The resulting experience of play offers a seamless transition between input and output, between the action and outcome of player choice. Although Sutton-Smith's five categories do a good job of describing the experience of early, single player console games, they are certainly not inclusive of all games. A game might be invented, for example, that involves smell-based sensory input. There are also plenty of games that involve social communication between players, which Sutton-Smith's model does not take into account.
However, we can abstract elements from Sutton-Smith's thinking that are more widely applicable. His model in essence posits relationships between inputs, outputs, and internal player mechanisms. This three-part model is a useful general structure for understanding how players experience a game. The way that a player perceives a game and takes action in it is always going to be specific to a particular design. But these details are contained within a larger system of experience that always includes some kind of sensory input, player output, and internal player cognition.
All three components of this model can be considered in isolation, but they only generate meaningful play as part of a larger designed system. What kind of play experience do you want to create? A rhythm-based dance game such as Bust-a-Groove locates player experience within a finely tuned set of visual, auditory, and physical cues designed to involve players within the full-body rhythms of structured beats. A word game such as Scrabble forces players to think strategically and linguistically, scanning the board for openings, rearranging letters in their head and in their hand, making language tactile by manipulating smooth wooden tiles. An arcade shooter such as House of the Dead emphasizes the ability to quickly scan and isolate elements on screen, responding to game events with rapid and repetitive motor responses. Identifying the qualities of play you want your players to experience is a useful way of framing any game design problem. [2]Brian Sutton-Smith, Toys as Culture (New York: Gardner Press, 1986), p. 69–72.
