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GAMES STUDIES - EXERCISE 1

22/09/2025 - 6/10/2025 (Week 1 - Week 3)

Madeline Ordelia Tjahjadi (0376920)

Bachelor of Design In Creative Media

Exercise 1 

Table Of Content


1. Lectures 

Week 1 (22/09/2025)
Principle of Game Designs 

Game design 
--> art and science of creating interactive experiences for the purpose of fun and playfulness. It combines creativity, technical skills and user psychology 

Core principle: 
  • Player experience --> how the game feels for player
  • Gameplay mechanics -->  rules and system
  • Storytelling --> narrative
  • Balance and challenge --> rewarding experience without overwhelming 
1. Player experience 
  • Focus on emotion --> emotional journey 
  • User centered design --> consider target audience
  • Flow state --> optimal balance of challenge and skill (make it feel like they are in the "zone" that means there are in the flow state)
2. Gameplay mechanics
Primary mechanics (interaction of the player and the game) 
the core action
- movement/turn action
- dice rolling
- card drawing/playing 

Secondary mechanics (the purpose of the interaction in game) 
additional feature
- resource management 
- trading
- exploration 

Feedback loops
positive and negative reinforcement systems (rewards and penalties) --> its the game setup
- positive feedback (reward)
- negative feedback  (penalties)
- dynamic feedback loops

3. Storytelling in games
Player can be able to imagine the narrative even if the game doesn't have a story, or we can provide the story or narrative for the game
 
Environmental storytelling --> design and visual
Narrative arcs --> structuring a story

4. Balance and challenge 
  • Difficulty curve --> start from easy until hard 
  • Skill vs luck --> incorporate both luck and strategy
  • Player progression --> rewarding progress
additional principle to enhance game 
5. Feedback and iteration
Ensure the game is playable and enjoyable by receiving feedback through playtesting, identify where difficulty may be too high or low 

6. Immersion and world building
Elevates the emotional engagement of the game by adds depth and context to the action players take 

Challenges in game design
  • Over complication --> simplicity more enjoyable
  • Failing to adapt --> ignore player feedback
  • Monetization vs player experience --> balancing profit motives and enjoyment
Week 2 (29/09/2025)
Balancing Fun and Educational Elements in Game Design

Fun --> inherently fun and feels emotionally satisfying. Fun comes from player choice, competition, discovery and achievement.

Education --> simple knowledge acquisition to complex problem solving, critical thinking or real-world application. Involves teaching concept, improving skills or enhancing understanding. 

What Strategies to balance Fun and Education?
Try not to overwhelm the player to ensure the fun and make it feel natural and rewarding. 
  • Learning through play
  • Layered learning 
  • Game mechanics as educational tools
  • Storytelling with purpose
Avoiding over-instruction gameplay mechanics
Edutainment fatigue
  • avoid making the educational content too overt
  • focus on fun mechanics that naturally intergrate learning
  • use gradual learning
Player Motivation and rewards
intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation

Intrinsic --> driven by curiosity, exploration, achievement
Extrinsic --> rewards like points, levels, or badge 

Week 4 (13/10/2025)
Design Thinking Process
  • Empathize 
  • Define
  • Ideate 
  • Prototype 
  • Test
Design --> game mechanics
Playtest --> player behaviour or experience
Analyse -->  game motives

2. Instruction


3. Exercise
Exercise 1 Template A

Exercise 1 Template B

4. Feedback

Week 1 
no feedback still briefing
Week 2
I show Ms. Anis my progress for exercise 1, she said it's already good and just need to elaborate more for the storytelling such as "why there is Ender dragon as a final boss"

Week 3 
no feedback because no class, we go to board game cafe and start making prototype

5. Reflection

Experience
Working on this exercise, reminded me of how much I used to love playing this game for hours, building all kind of things. It was a good experience to actually analyze more about Minecraft instead of just playing it. 

Observation
While revisiting Minecraft, I observed that it gives players a great sense of freedom and creativity. The game is really simple and that's what engaged me the most. 

Finding
This exercise helped me understand more deeply into game mechanism, and how it appeal to players. Even without a fixed story, Minecraft can be engaging for people because of its simplicity and the freedom it gives us to explore our creativity. 
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