There are many reasons why people may play games. Perhaps for the social interaction. Perhaps for the challenge. Perhaps as a better alternative to channel surfing TV. But perhaps most of all, to have fun and to enjoy oneself! You don’t have to win in order to have fun. But a game that makes you feel frustrated is not hitting that “fun” goal.
Sid Meier nails this on pages 112-113 in his book Sid Meier’s Memoir! Sid is famous for many games, but the most significant is Civilization! And his book is very good. I highly recommend it. But, as to a game being fun, let’s look at a few snippets from these two pages:
One of Sid’s Axioms of Game Design: Make sure the player is the one having the fun.
“When my bridge is knocked down for no reason, I’m not having fun.”
People play games to feel good about themselves, and random destruction only leads to paranoia and helplessness.
The game isn’t supposed to be about the game designer. The player must be the star, and the designer as close to invisible as possible.”
Here are the two pages that I am referencing:
and
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