"Perspective is worth 80 IQ points." -- Alan Kay
Games felt more visceral. They seemed edgier, playing with deeper and more experimental UX techniques. This wasn't about "gamification" -- achievements and badges to make apps sticky. This was about understanding how games are built, from the bottom up.
The 6 Lenses
The first three lenses break down your product into concrete chunks:
- Story vs Narrative -- Think in terms of story arcs
- Fractal Design -- Break up the journey from big to small to tiny
- Learning Loop -- Figure out your core mechanic
The next three lenses build things back up:
- Affordances -- Prompt for known loops
- Hintiness -- Move to new loops
- Pacing -- Be sure to start here
Lens 1: Story vs Narrative
Story is author generated. Narrative is user generated.
Users will always create narrative. It's human nature. If your story has gaps, users will fill them -- often with mythologies that would frighten you.
Apps: Throw features into a pot and hope users figure it out.
Games: Understand everything is a journey. Work hard to make a closely connected arc of events.
Lens 2: Games Are Fractal
Games rigorously unpack each action. Everything you do is multi-layered and must be unpacked, improved, and taught to the user.
Apps: Follow your guidelines, be consistent, don't rock the boat.
Games: Rigorously unpack everything, don't worry if you sink the boat.
Lens 3: Learning Loop
Intent -> Action -> Feedback -> Updated Model
"Fun is just another word for learning." -- Raph Koster
Apps: Each feature is in isolation.
Games: Build through a single mechanic that grows in expressive power.
Lens 4: Affordances
Games have a subtle spin: they prompt the things you already know. Five types: Multi-variant, Reality, Multiples, Mixed Styles, Grace-notes.
Apps: Prompt as little as possible.
Games: Prompt all the damn time (they're just really subtle about it).
Lens 5: Hintiness
Hintiness moves you to new loops. Prevent "Bottom Feeding" -- taking the easy route and never progressing.
Apps: Assume users are at a constant skill level.
Games: Use hints constantly and patiently to move users to the next level.
Lens 6: Pacing
A journey of 1000 miles begins with the first step. Users must know how to get going before they understand everything.
Apps: Offer users a large toolbox and let them figure out how to get started.
Games: Have a clear understanding of the journey and say "Start here first."
Two Directions
Breaking Down (Lenses 1-3): Story vs Narrative -> Fractal Design -> Learning Loop
Building Up (Lenses 4-6): Affordances -> Hintiness -> Pacing
We're not building games, but we're being inspired by them.