The Game Experience Model (GEM)

For over a decade now game research has aimed at describing the game experience by attempting to see it from one perspective. In this paper, we collect, analyse, and merge together this work. As a result, we claim that a game experience is composed of three pairs of elements, none of which can be removed, or the system in question is no longer a game. These elements are: (1) the game mechanics and action, (2) storyworld and narrative, and (3) aesthetics and sensory stimulus. This model can be illustrated in the form of a gem that encloses the fantasy and immersion of a game. Apart from games, this model is applicable to all kinds of storytelling, particularly interactive kinds. Beyond games, the different facets of the gem can be used by ignoring elements absent in the given narrative media.

[1]  J. Huizinga.  Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture , 1938 .

[2]  Miguel Sicart,et al.  Defining Game Mechanics , 2008, Game Stud..

[3]  Timo Kaukoranta,et al.  Towards a Definition of a Computer Game , 2003 .

[4]  Jesse Schell,et al.  The Art of Game Design: A book of lenses , 2019 .

[5]  Johan Blomberg.  The semiotics of the game controller , 2018 .

[6]  Frans Mäyrä,et al.  The Contextual Game Experience: On the Socio-Cultural Contexts for Meaning in Digital Play , 2007, DiGRA Conference.

[7]  Frans Mäyrä,et al.  Fundamental Components of the Gameplay Experience: Analysing Immersion , 2005, DiGRA Conference.

[8]  Staffan Björk,et al.  Patterns In Game Design , 2004 .

[9]  Leyland Pitt,et al.  Is it all a game? Understanding the principles of gamification , 2015 .

[10]  Steve Benford,et al.  Can you see me now? , 2006, TCHI.

[11]  Ralph Johnson,et al.  design patterns elements of reusable object oriented software , 2019 .

[12]  Lance Porter,et al.  In-Game Advertising Effects , 2010 .

[13]  Tim Bogenn.  XCOM: Enemy Unknown , 2012 .

[14]  Simon Niedenthal,et al.  What We Talk About When We Talk About Game Aesthetics , 2009, DiGRA Conference.

[15]  Aki Järvinen,et al.  Communication and Community in Digital Entertainment Services. Prestudy Research Report , 2002 .

[16]  Jesper Juul.  Half-Real: Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds , 2005 .

[17]  Janet Horowitz Murray,et al.  Inventing the Medium: Principles of Interaction Design as a Cultural Practice , 2011 .

[18]  João Tiago Pinheiro Neto Jacob,et al.  Issues in the Development of Location-Based Games , 2011, Int. J. Comput. Games Technol..

[19]  Rajiv Sabherwal,et al.  Beyond Enjoyment: A Cognitive-Emotional Perspective of Gamification , 2018, HICSS.