Precision of Emotion: Notes

“That’s what games are, in the end. Teachers. Fun is just another word for learning.” — Raph Koster
Lesson 1: Kids are smarter than you
Paul Ekman identified 7 universal emotions across all cultures
Meaningful games make the jump between game model and world model
- Candy crush is a closed system — escapist game, compelling
- Journey: connects to the world model
- Meaningful games are very sticky
When you design for sophia (the mastery emotion) you. must first identify the fear created by absence of skill, then scaffold players into the happiness of mastery
Mechanics and emotion
- Aim → shoot → watch (e.g. Angry Birds)
- Fantasy violence → acquire things → become more powerful (WoW)
When we make learning games, we know the effect we want to achieve, but the trick is finding the emotion
We also want to alleviate suffering → a bodhisattva approach to games and life
- The pain of absence in argumentation is confusion, socially ineffective, etc. → reverse these painful emotions into clarity, structure, wittiness, charisma
Sophia is a lens to view your game
- Could the problem be — lack of clarity of core emotion? not enough surprise preceding satisfaction? lack of tension because the fear is not illuminated?

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