What is a Game Mechanic?

What is a Game Mechanic?

What is a Game Mechanic?

By Priscilla Lo, David Thue, and Elin Carstensdottir

Abstract

“The term “game mechanic” is often used when discussinggames, but are we all talking about the same thing? While game studiesand 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 andseveral prominent books, we identify and analyze 49 explicit definitionsfor the concept of “game mechanics”. Though some of the definitionsare similar, they are all fundamentally distinct. Our work demonstratesthe importance of providing or citing a definition when discussing gamemechanics, and we provide a wide range of options to choose from.”

Reference

Lo, P., Thue, D., & Carstensdottir, E. (2021). What is a game mechanic? Entertainment Computing – ICEC 2021, 336-347. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-89394-1_25 https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-89394-1_25

Keyword

Games, game mechanics, game studies, education, systematic literature, definitions, research