1. GAME DESIGN Elements of Engagement

2. Objectives Know the relationship between immersion and engagement Detail the elements needed to create audience – appropriate engagement.

3. Elements of Engagement Engagement and Immersion are related. Immersion is the level to which the player feels he or she is actually experiencing the event Engagement is the level of player interest.

4. Elements of Engagement Genre Story Challenges Success and Escalation Progress and Feedback Mental Tasks Sound Effects Narrations and voices Competition model Intuitive gameplay and physics

5. Genre and Story Genre  What type of games does the intended audience normally play?  How can this be used in the design of your game? Story  Does the game need a story?  How will a storyline further engage your player?  If so, there needs to be players the audience will connect to; The character needs to be placed in a situation that is similar to the background or life experience of the typical player; The conflict must be one the player understands; Create resolutions and rewards the player wants to expereince.

6. Challenges Consider the physical and mental abilities of the audience. Determine what challenges are obtainable and interesting to the audience. Games do include a certain amount of stress. You will need to make sure there is a balance between boredom and anxiety.  At a young age, simple challenges have low boredom and high anxiety. As a player’s age increases, boredom of simple activities increase.

7. Challenges Explicit Challenges – Should be the first challenge that is required of the player to complete. Tutorial levels Implicit Challenges – Tasks the player interpret and discover on their own. These are important to a player’s engagement.

8. Success and Escalation Success is a critical part of engagement If a player cannot successfully complete a challenge, they will not be engaged in the game. The reward for the success should match the difficulty level of the challenge. Escalation should be determined by the player’s successes. As they succeed in challenges, the difficulty level should escalate.

9. Success and Escalation Successful completion of every major challenge should be followed with a pause-and-relax activity. Sawtooth-Challenge Design – Allows for challenges to increase and then drop in difficulty. Challenge Retracement – A player performs similar tasks from the previous challenge(s). Challenge Escalation – A player performs new tasks that are more difficulty than the previous challenge.

10. Progress and Feedback and Mental Tasks Progress and Feedback  A player must feel like they are making progress and getting feedback from the game.  Collecting of Coins  Map Mental Tasks  A player must feel mentally challenged in order to stay engaged.