On the Way to Fun: An Emotion-Based Approach to Successful Game Design

by Roberto Dillon

How can video games be fun and immerse players in fantastic worlds where anything seems possible? How can they be so engaging to have become the main entertainment product for children and adults alike? In On the Way to Fun , the author proposes a possible answer to these questions by going back to the roots of gaming and showing how early games, as well as modern indie productions, captivated generations of players even without the need for fancy graphics and effects but by relying on basic emotions and instincts instead. This book will be most beneficial to aspiring and beginning game designers and to anyone who wants a better understanding of human nature and how it relates to the design process of immersive video game experiences.

Genres: Games

200 pages, Paperback

First published March 8, 2010

About the author

Roberto Dillon was born in Genoa, Italy and holds a Master and a Ph.D. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Genoa.

Over the years he worked in prestigious academic institutions across Europe and Asia, including KTH in Stockholm, NTU and the DigiPen Institute of Technology in Singapore.
While at DigiPen, he served as an Assistant Professor and Game Design Department Chair, teaching a variety of subjects like Game Mechanics and Game History, with his students gaining top honours at competitions like the IGF both in San Francisco and Shanghai.
He is now an Associate Professor at the Singapore campus of James Cook University where he teaches game design and project management subjects to both undergraduate and graduate students.

Since 2005 Roberto has led high profile research projects on innovative game mechanics and has designed games showcased by the international press and at events like Sense of Wonder Night in Tokyo, FILE Games in Rio de Janeiro and the Indie Prize Showcase at Casual Connect Asia.
In 2011 he founded Adsumsoft, an indie studio developing original games while also offering game design consultancy services.

Besides development and academic activities, Roberto also wrote different books for AKPeters, CRCPress and Springer: "On the Way to Fun" (where he introduced the '6-11 Framework', an analysis methodology now being taught at different universities around the world and used by game designers in studios like Ubisoft, EA, Gameloft etc.), "HTML5 Game Development from the Ground Up with Construct 2", to introduce aspiring developers to the world of game making, "The Golden Age of Video Games" and "Ready. A Commodore 64 Retrospective" about the history of computer games and their industry.

He is also a regular speaker at gaming conferences worldwide, including Game Connection, Casual Connect, Develop, Korea Games Conference, Game Convention Asia, Serious Games Summit, Game Education Summit etc

Reviews

[Dannytrha · Rating 5 out of 5]

6 emotions and 11 instincts, only 1 more thing that concerns me is whether any books have a better organized structure or any other more than this.
Aww, very basic and informative

[Bogdan Balostin · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's on the light side and more akin to an extended research paper. Nevertheless, it's a god starting point into the social and emotional aspect of developing a game. And why games are addictive as they are. I say addictive in the sense that humans have played games since the early civilization, and what we see today is just an expansion of that instinct, as in many other areas. So why games can elicit this strong responses from us. For a very basic view related to retro video games and indie games, read this book.

[Jefferson Sanchez · Rating 4 out of 5]

What are basic emotions and instincts? This books explain the emotions involves in a game. The framework in creating games from a emotions perspective, the challenge in creating a game. Love the case studies on retro games, one of my favorites PacMan. I was fascinated to understand the dynamics of PacMan like (escaping, fear, survival, excitement, greed and revenge). Great small book recommend to anyone who wants to begin game design, game development.

[John Pennycook · Rating 1 out of 5]

The arguments this book puts forward in support of its "6-11" framework didn't really click for me, and felt very inconsistent. When the framework is retroactively applied to existing games, most of the text focuses on details of the game's release and reception rather than an analysis of what makes the game work.

[Zack Hiwiller · Rating 1 out of 5]

Confuses descriptive techniques for prescriptive ones.