In chapter 4: Working with Dramatic Elements, in the textbook, Game Design Workshop, by Tracy Fullerton, it talks about how dramatic elements can create an engaging experience for players. The chapter first talks about challenge in games. Most people will think challenge in games as of dealing with hard tasks or objectives. While that may be true, challenge in games can also mean how satisfied you feel when you complete certain tasks. A great example of this would be Call of Duty multiplayer challenges. Recently I have been playing Call of Duty Black Ops 4 and Call of Duty Modern Warfare. In these games, you can complete challenges to gain extra XP for your online rank. Every day there are different challenges that you can accomplish. Some challenges include getting 5 headshots in one game, get 10 kills without dying, defend an objective in an objective-based game mode. and many more. These challenges are not hard to complete but you still have to put some effort towards these goals. You do not want to make games too challenging that it would make players frustrated. An example of a frustrating game would be the Dark Souls games. While Dark Souls is a good game, it is extremely difficult for players. It is easy for players to die to the enemy, especially the bosses in these games. I tried to play Dark Souls, and I a frustrating experience.

What also caught my attention in the textbook, was the A Challenging Activity That Requires Skill section. It says that “flow occurs most often within activities that are ‘goal-directed and bounded by rules… that could not be done without the proper skills’… For a person who has skills but is not completely assured of the outcome”, means a task is challenging (Fullerton p. 99). An example of this is the game Fifa 20. In Fifa 20 I play the game mode, Pro Clubs, which is when you play with only one character. As a casual player I know how to do skill moves to get passed the enemy players, I know how to do short and long passes to my teammates, and I know when to shoot the ball. That being said, it took me a long time to get consistently good at the game. I remembered when I played Fifa 16 and I would make inconsistent passes that cost my teammates and me the game. Skill and consistency also play a factor in these kinds of games. Even though I have the skills to play Fifa 20, other players can be more skilled than me. Sometimes luck plays a factor in these kinds of games as well. Whether or not I win or lose I try my best to have fun.

Fullerton, Tracy. Game Design Workshop: A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games, 4th Edition. 2019.