“Every time I sit down with a finely crafted title such as Tetris or Super Mario Brothers, I catch hints of a concise and clearly defined structure behind the gameplay. It is my belief that a highly mechanical and predictable heart, built on the foundation of basic human psychology, beats at the core of every single successful game.”

Daniel Cook, The Chemistry Of Game Design

P.S. this is a highly recommended article for anyone interested in the science of play.

“Players seeking to advance in a game will always try to optimize what they are doing.

If they are clever and see an optimal path—an Alexandrine solution to a Gordian problem—they’ll do that instead of the ‘intended gameplay.’

They will try to make the gameplay as as predictable as possible.

Which then means it becomes boring, and not fun.

In the real world, we call this ‘security’ and ‘steady jobs’ and ‘sensible shoes’ and ‘routine.’

Call it a treadmill, if you want.”

Raph Koster (via Kars)