{"id":41411,"date":"2021-07-06T11:51:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-06T15:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=41411"},"modified":"2021-07-11T13:34:16","modified_gmt":"2021-07-11T17:34:16","slug":"what-is-the-meaning-of-fun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-the-meaning-of-fun\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is the Meaning of Fun? Game Design Advice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What is the meaning of fun in terms of game design? How can understanding the psychology of fun help you design a better game?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Psychologically, fun is the release of dopamine you get when you learn something or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-complete-a-task-successfully\/\">complete a task<\/a>. This is why Raph Koster asserts that games must include an element of learning, comprehension, and mastery to be enjoyable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re designing a game, here are some things to consider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What Is Fun?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Most people play games to have fun. But what is the meaning of fun?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On a neurobiological level, fun is a boost of <strong>dopamine when we learn something or master a task. We are evolutionarily programmed to enjoy learning<\/strong>, just like we <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/enjoying-sex\/\">enjoy sex<\/a>, because learning improved our chances of survival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So why are games fun? <strong>Fun from games comes from learning, comprehension, and mastery.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Learning in games is different from learning in reality. Games present an environment where you can learn and have <strong>no pressure from consequence<\/strong>. As a result, games can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-be-unpredictable\/\">be unpredictable<\/a> without causing the player anxiety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>In normal life, where there are real consequences, we like predictability. We like the legal system, pasteurized milk, and lightning rods.<\/li><li>We like unpredictability only when it\u2019s confined within an enclosure of predictability, like games on a tabletop or TV shows on a television.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Humans are natural learners. Babies instinctively play games like hide-the-object. They are learning patterns, such as how the physics of the world work (hence why they knock over cups gleefully).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But somewhere in adulthood, society starts to stigmatize games as frivolous. This is a shame, since there\u2019s a lot that can be taught through games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yet even still, we continue learning from abstract models of reality. For instance, we practice speeches in front of mirrors, or we run fire drills to prepare for a real fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Boring Games<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Boredom is the opposite of learning. The brain is constantly looking for new data to reinforce existing patterns, or new patterns to learn. When there\u2019s nothing new to learn, boredom results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>In games, boredom can arise in these situations:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The player understands how the game works before the game ends. This causes the game to be dismissed as trivial.<\/li><li>There is depth to the game, but this is below their level of interest.<\/li><li>There seem to be no patterns whatsoever. A game that is too chaotic is unenjoyable.<\/li><li>The game reveals its patterns too quickly or too slowly.<\/li><li>The player masters the game entirely. There is nothing new to learn.<\/li><li>The player cheats and finds a more direct path to the goal. This bypasses the patterns that the game asked the player to master.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s ok for games to become boring. <strong>Every game is destined to become boring.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Humans are efficient problem solvers, and they want to reach the goal as expediently as possible, by making things predictable. Sometimes this involves cheating.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Once a game gets boring and doesn\u2019t teach anything new, it needs to encourage you to move on. Games should not exist to fulfill power fantasies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Power fantasies provide <strong>comfort<\/strong>\u2014you can exercise mastery with little risk, and get a break from a challenging life in reality.<\/li><li>The risk here is that people get false positive feedback in a static world without improving or learning anything new. Given how rapidly the world is changing, this complacency is maladaptive.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Therefore, <strong>as a game designer, you must know what your game is about, and make sure it teaches that one thing<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why Is School Boring?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>If boredom arises when there is nothing to learn. <strong>So why are people bored in school or after work, when there is so much to learn?&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are a few possibilities here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Just because something exists to be learned doesn\u2019t mean you <em>want <\/em>to learn it. You have to weigh learning it as important. To 8th graders, the pattern of how French kings succeeded each other may be near the bottom of what they consider important.<\/li><li>School might be boring because the method of transmission is wrong. As proof of this, we praise teachers who make it fun to learn.<\/li><li>Unlike games, school might not be fun because it\u2019s real\u2014grades and social standing all have material consequences. The same is true of learning for work.<\/li><li>People are lazy and sometimes don\u2019t want to learn, despite getting neurotransmitter rewards for doing it. They want to feel comfortable with patterns they recognize and just get into the zone.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>However valid these reasons are, not learning for these reasons is bad. The world is constantly changing, and it\u2019s important for people to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/keep-on-learning\/\">keep learning<\/a> to adjust to the new world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Four Types of Enjoyment<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>What is the meaning of fun, and how does that differ from enjoyment? The semantics are important. As the author sees it, fun is just one type of enjoyment. The four types of enjoyment are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Fun <\/strong>is the act of mastering a problem mentally.<\/li><li><strong>Aesthetic appreciation<\/strong>\u2014this is not always fun, but it is enjoyable.<\/li><li><strong>Visceral reactions<\/strong>, like excitement, are physical in nature.&nbsp;<\/li><li><strong>Social status signals <\/strong>relate to our status in a community.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The three other types of enjoyment <\/strong><strong><em>reinforce <\/em><\/strong><strong>fun to give us positive feedback for fun, but are <\/strong><strong><em>distinct <\/em><\/strong><strong>from fun. <\/strong>Fun is mastering a problem; aesthetic appreciation, visceral reactions, and social status signals can reinforce the mastery of a problem and make it more enjoyable, but they don\u2019t relate to mastery themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Consider two ways a basketball team might reflect on their game: 1) \u201cWe went out there to have fun,\u201d and 2) \u201cWe went out there to win.\u201d The former is practicing and learning. The latter is exercising mastery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s dive into each of the four types of enjoyment and how they relate to fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Aesthetic Appreciation<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Aesthetics is still about recognizing patterns. Delight happens when we\u2019re surprised by patterns we recognize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>In the movie <em>Planet of the Apes<\/em>, we\u2019re delighted when we see the Statue of Liberty at the end\u2014it\u2019s a pattern we recognize in a surprising context.<\/li><li>A beautiful landscape is easier to appreciate when it has an additional surprising wrinkle.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>However, delight decays quickly. Once we\u2019ve learned a pattern, it\u2019s no longer surprising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can regain delight by distancing from and then returning to the object of delight. But it\u2019s no longer fun\u2014you\u2019re just retrieving the pattern from memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Physical Challenges<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Physical challenges by themselves aren\u2019t fun. Running and putting one foot in front of the other isn\u2019t fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Breaking a personal record is fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Social Status<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Social status often has to do with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-push-yourself\/\">pushing yourself<\/a> and others up and down the ladder, and signaling your own value. <strong>\u201cSignaling theory\u201d argues that many choices we make in our lives are unconsciously aimed at presenting our qualifications as mates and tribespeople to others.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are a variety of positive emotions around social status:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Schadenfreude\u2014you get joy by seeing other people go down<\/li><li>Fiero\u2014you get joy pushing yourself up<\/li><li>Naches\u2014you get joy when someone you mentor succeeds<\/li><li>Kvell\u2014the emotion when you brag about someone you mentor<\/li><li>Social behaviors\u2014like intimacy, or feeding other people\u2014represents your social status relative to the person<\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is the meaning of fun in terms of game design? How can understanding the psychology of fun help you design a better game? Psychologically, fun is the release of dopamine you get when you learn something or complete a task. This is why Raph Koster asserts that games must include an element of learning, comprehension, and mastery to be enjoyable. If you&#8217;re designing a game, here are some things to consider.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":41419,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,9],"tags":[413],"class_list":["post-41411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-psychology","tag-a-theory-of-fun-for-game-design","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What Is the Meaning of Fun? Game Design Advice - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What is the meaning of fun? In A Theory of Fun for Game Design, Raph Koster defines fun. If you&#039;re a game designer this is a must-read.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-the-meaning-of-fun\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Is the Meaning of Fun? Game Design Advice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What is the meaning of fun? In A Theory of Fun for Game Design, Raph Koster defines fun. 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