In this blog post, I will be talking about chapter 11 from the textbook Game Design Workshop, by Tracy Fullerton. The chapter topic is about fun and accessibility in video games. As a gamer having fun playing a game is the most important thing about playing games. Personally, I would not play a game that I would not like playing or considered boring. As a game designer perspective making a game has many challenges. They need to look at how challenging a game is, how to reach and exceed goals as well how the player can use different skills. Without any of these attributes, these games would be too easy or less appealing for players. In my opinion, making a game that is challenging enough for a player to the point that it is not too hard but also not too easy is something I look for in games. An example of a game that I play that has the right set of challenges is Apex Legends. The first person battle royal game provides challenges such as hitting your shots when in combat, using your abilities in an effective way against your opponents, and good communicating with your teammates.
The desire to achieve a goal is a fundamental part of being human. That being said, video games should have goals for players so they can be invested in the game. Goals do not have to be huge and can start off small. For instance, small accomplishments such as completing a mission or winning a first-person game are goals that players can do without them even acknowledging that they completed a goal. Smaller goals will interest players to play more and to achieve longer goals. An example of this would be the game Skyrim. Skyrim is a role-playing game, which has hundreds of side quests and main quests that you can do. When I played Skyrim, I started out doing side quests because the tasks were a lot easier. Once I finished a huge chunk of the side quests, I then started the main storyline. The main storyline was more in-depth and it took way longer, and because of that, I had more fun completing it.
Fullerton, Tracy. Game Design Workshop: a Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games. CRC Press, 2019.
