A game I love is Valorant, a 5v5 character-based fps game. The kinds of fun (aesthetics) that I enjoy the most in Valorant are the competition and challenge. The mechanics in the game that create the dynamics that contribute to this aesthetic include ranking up, recoil on weapons, movement inaccuracy while shooting and the vast range of character abilities. All of these mechanics create strategic, difficult, tension inducing, and “try-hard” dynamics in the game. The ranking up mechanic contributes to these dynamics because players are rewarded for doing well by achieving a higher rank and status (that they can show off or just feel proud of), and the rest of the mechanics I listed contribute to the difficulty of the gameplay, which contributes to the strategic, difficult, and tension inducing dynamics and almost forces players to try their best if they want to do good.
These dynamics are what lead to the competition and challenge aesthetics of the game, which are what keep me playing. I love engaging with other players, and seeing if I can outplay, out-strategize, and out-gun them. I also love competing against friends in custom matches, and seeing who is better.
