Games MDA

sourced from (https://medium.com/@jenny_carroll/using-the-mda-framework-as-an-approach-to-game-design-9568569cb7d)

The first article goes over what 'MDA' is and how game design happens throughout many different stages involving many people from different creative backgrounds. 'MDA' stands for Mechanics, Dynamics and Aesthetics'. The article talks about how it is important to understand the ideas of people that do not necessarily come from game development or game design background. I think this is very important as some game developers may be too set on a mechanic or idea for a game that to someone that is not in that field might seem a little weird and therefore they are able to provide non-biased feedback and offer their help to the developers. The same could be said about the artists creating the art and general aesthetic of a game, a game developer could pitch in and offer some ideas that from the artists' perspective might seem silly but in the long run might prove to be better. An article that I think goes with this topic is 'Analysis of Gamification Models in Education Using MDA Framework'. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877050918314765).

The second article talks about how the MDA framework has multiple weaknesses but there is no better alternative but this article looks to improve the MDA framework and rename it to DDE framework which stands for  Design, Dynamics, Experience. The article talks about some of the weaknesses of the MDA framework and how it can neglect some important aspects of game design and also how the framework might not necessarily apply to all types of games. I think that if you are going to use a type of framework to design your game it should apply to all types of games and also a game developer should not focus all of their time on the specifics of the mechanics, while mechanics are absolutely important, if too much time is spent on them the rest of the game does not feel as fleshed out as the mechanics of the game which can leave a game feeling shallow.

 An article I think links perfectly to this one is 'MDA Framework - Unconnected connectivity' (https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/mda-framework--unconnected-connectivity) which goes into detail to explain what the MDA framework is and how each step of it can feel unconnected from each other but at the same time feels connected which is not necessarily a good thing as all aspects should all feel connected at all times.

Finally, I have chosen to try and look up another framework that can possibly replace the MDA framework and I think the SSM framework could work better but not fully replace the MDA. SSM stands for systems, story and mental model. The SSM already derives itself a bit from the MDA but I believe it should not constrict itself to the same shortcomings as the MDA where it can feel unconnected. I believe the MDA and SSM framework should come together possibly into a new framework type that takes the strengths of both frameworks. If you want to read more about the SSM framework I will have an article linked here : https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/the-ssm-framework-of-game-design.