Towards minimalist game design

In this paper, we describe a design methodology that we have termed Minimalist Game Design. Minimalist games have small rulesets, narrow decision spaces, and abstract audiovisual representations, yet they do not compromise on depth of play or possibility space. We begin with a motivation for and definition of minimalist games, including terms such as "rules," "mechanics," "control," and "interface," and illustrate the importance of artificial design constraints. Using a number of examples, we show the strengths of minimalist game elements in systems, controls, visuals, and audio. Adhering to these constraints, these games feature a small set of mechanics and one core mechanic, while still being sufficiently deep and allowing for player exploration and performance. This depth comes from procedural methods, combinatorial complexity, probability, obfuscation, challenge, or any combination thereof. Our methodology embraces principles of holistic design, where there is no "filler," and where every element of the game contributes to the play experience in some meaningful, deliberate way.

[1]  Katie Salen,et al.  Rules of play: game design fundamentals , 2003 .

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

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

[4]  Karl F. MacDorman,et al.  Too real for comfort? Uncanny responses to computer generated faces , 2009, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[5]  Andrew M. Kuhn,et al.  Code Complete , 2005, Technometrics.

[6]  Katie Salen The ecology of games : connecting youth, games, and learning , 2008 .

[7]  Colin Potts,et al.  Design of Everyday Things , 1988 .

[8]  Jesper Juul,et al.  Depth in one minute: a conversation about Bejeweled Blitz , 2010 .

[9]  Adam Finkelstein,et al.  Line drawings from 3D models , 2005, SIGGRAPH '08.

[10]  F. Heider,et al.  An experimental study of apparent behavior , 1944 .

[11]  Jesper Juul,et al.  Easy to use and incredibly difficult: on the mythical border between interface and gameplay , 2009, FDG.

[12]  Robert Zubek,et al.  MDA : A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research , 2004 .

[13]  Ian Bogost,et al.  Persuasive Games: The Expressive Power of Videogames , 2007 .

[14]  William H. Dutton,et al.  The Ecology of Games:The Ecology of Games and Its Enemies , 1995 .

[15]  Nick Montfort,et al.  Racing the Beam: The Atari Video Computer System , 2009 .

[16]  David Myers,et al.  In search of a minimalist game , 2009, DiGRA Conference.

[17]  P. Fayers,et al.  The Visual Display of Quantitative Information , 1990 .

[18]  John J. Bertin,et al.  The semiology of graphics , 1983 .

[19]  James Paul Gee,et al.  What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy , 2007, CIE.

[20]  Michael Edwards,et al.  DATAPLAY: Mapping Game Mechanics to Traditional Data Visualization , 2009, DiGRA Conference.

[21]  Edward Rolf Tufte,et al.  The visual display of quantitative information , 1985 .