The player is an entity that is driven, consciously or unconsciously, to learn new skills high in perceived value (Cook, 2007)
Skill
A behaviour that the player uses to manipulate the world, which can be conceptual, for example navigation, or physical, such as hammering a nail (Cook, 2007).
Driven to learn
People will begin playing by default if not pursuing activities related to food or shelter, described by Biederman and Vessel (2006) as Infovore behaviour in an article investigating the changes in the brain in response to visual input:
“Neuropsychologists have found that visual input activates receptors in the parts of the brain associated with pleasure and reward, and that the brain associates new images with old while also responding strongly to new ones. Using functional MRI imaging and other findings, they are exploring how human beings are “infovores” whose brains love to learn.”
Fun is derived from the act of mastering knowledge, skills and tools. You experience joy when you understand something so fully that you can use that knowledge to manipulate your environment for the better (Cook, 2007).
Perceived Value
Players pursue skills with high perceived value over skills with low perceived value. Play is a deeply pragmatic activity – we play because we expect to eventually harvest value from our activities and we stop playing when we fail to find that utility. The perception of value is more important than objective value (Cook, 2007).
References
- Biederman, I. and Vessel, E. (2006) Perceptual Pleasure and the Brain, Sigma Xi, 94 249-255.
- Cook, D (2007) The Chemistry of Game Design [blog]. 19 July. Available from: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/129948/the_chemistry_of_game_design.php [accessed 4 March 2017]