CHAPTER TWELVE
Some Elements Are Game Mechanics
FIGURE12.1
We have talked a lot about designers, players, and the experience of gameplaying. It is time to talk nuts and bolts about what games are really made of. Game designers must learn to use their x-ray vision to be able to see past the skin of a game and quickly discern the skeleton, which is defined by the game mechanics.
But what are these mysterious mechanics?
Game mechanics are the core of what a game truly is. They are the interactions and relationships that remain when all of the aesthetics, technology, and story are stripped away.
As with many things in game design, we do not have ...
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