Introduction to Game Design, Prototyping, and Development: From Concept to Playable Game with Unity and C#, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER 3

THE LAYERED TETRAD

The previous chapter presented you with various analytical frameworks for understanding games and game design. This chapter presents the Layered Tetrad, a combination and extension of many of the best aspects of those frameworks. Each layer of the Layered Tetrad is further expanded in one of the following chapters.

The Layered Tetrad tool helps you understand and create the various aspects of a game. It helps you analyze games you love and look at your game holistically, leading to an understanding of not only the game's mechanics but also their implications in terms of play, socialization, meaning, and culture.

The Layered Tetrad is an expansion and combination of the ideas expressed by the three game analysis frameworks ...