Game Elements, Components, Mechanics and Dynamics: What are they?
Whenever we talk about gamification or game-based learning, we’ll hear these terms being repeatedly used: game elements, game components, game mechanics and game dynamics. But what are they? Are they the same?
The Hierarchy of Game Elements
In general, anything that is used in the design of a game is often referred to as “a game element”. However, in most game design frameworks or theories, there are clearer categorizations of these elements. Werbach and Hunter (2012) organise those categories into a hierarchy of game elements as shown below. Game elements consist of components, mechanics, and dynamics.
Game Components
Game components are the specific features that represent the intended mechanics and dynamics. These could cover common components like points, badges and leaderboard. The components are seen as the building blocks for the game mechanics and dynamics to work accordingly. You can view game components as materials or tools (physical or virtual) that you have or chosen in order to make sure they can be used to “run” certain mechanics or dynamics.
Game Mechanics
While there are many definitions of game mechanics in game studies, it can be summarised as the processes that “makes a game an exciting and engaging one”. By depending only on game components, user engagement would not last long. The MDA Framework by Hunicke et al. (2004) described game mechanics as “the various actions, behaviours, and control mechanisms afforded to the player within a game context”. In this sense, the most popular game mechanics are competition, challenge and win-state.
In the context of learning, Arnab et al. (2015) have done extensive work in mapping learning mechanics and game mechanics in what they called as LM-GM Model. It shows the linkages between game mechanics to the “processes and activities” that occurs in teaching and learning.
Game Dynamics
Game dynamics are the overarching elements that ultimately drive the users or players further. It’s the big picture. Different players would have different goals of playing a certain game and a good game would manipulate these goals by using appropriate dynamics. In essence, game dynamics define the patterns of how the game and the players will evolve over some time. The most popular game dynamics would be narrative (good and engaging storyline), progression and relationship.
Another way to examine game dynamics is by considering the Core Drives in the Octalysis model. As shown in the figure below, there are 8 core drives that are known to motivate users and these are often employed in gamification. The elements (components and mechanics) are shown at the side of each core drive. In Empowerment, for instance, boosters and feedback can be used to allow players to feel that they have gained certain power and freedom in the game.
And then there’s game aesthetics
According to Goethe (2019), game aesthetics refers “to the sensory phenomena that the player encounters in the game (visual, aural, haptic, and embodied)”, which basically means “how appealing is the game” and “how it makes players feel”. It often involves digital games. This include the graphics, animations, realism that are incorporated in the game.
Though many educators tend to think aesthetics are secondary in gamification for learning, Dickey (2015) aptly pointed out that games are essentially entertainment media and aesthetics play a great role in elevating user experience. This is why most gamified learning tools include “beautiful” visuals and animations. You can refer to some free tools here to create your own gamified learning materials.
In a nutshell
While there’s no apparent need for you to memorise all these terms, it is still useful to understand what it means by game components, game mechanics, game dynamics and of course game aesthetics. By understanding these terms, it could assist you in doing proper planning for a game or a gamified learning materials.
It is important to note that in some articles, game components are often mixed with game mechanics since they seem to be overlapping. But, it is more appropriate to see components as the subset of mechanics since they are essentially the tools that drive the mechanics, while the mechanics are guided by the dynamics.
References
Arnab, S., Lim, T., Carvalho, M. B., Bellotti, F., De Freitas, S., Louchart, S., … & De Gloria, A. (2015). Mapping learning and game mechanics for serious games analysis. British Journal of Educational Technology, 46(2), 391–411.
Dickey, M. D. (2015). Aesthetics and design for game-based learning. Routledge.
Goethe, O. (2019). Visual Aesthetics in Games and Gamification. In Gamification Mindset (pp. 85–92). Springer, Cham.
Hunicke, R., LeBlanc, M., & Zubek, R. (2004). MDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research. Retrieved from http://www.cs.northwestern.edu/~hunicke/MDA.pdf
Werbach, K., & Hunter, D. (2012). For the win: how game thinking can revolutionize your business. Wharton Digital Press.
