Playfulness

Frame · Joy & vitality atmospheric · visual / auditory / haptic

Light-heartedness, silliness, playing with rules – the world is a playground and everything may be tried out.

Design question – In your game one may fool around, experiment, make mistakes. Where is the line between productive chaos and arbitrariness?

Reference example – Goat Simulator: trying out everything a goat can wreak. LittleBigPlanet: fabric figures, sticky-tape worlds, and everything can be rebuilt. Street football: no fixed rules, improvised goals, pure play.

Atmosphere

Playfulness

Sensory field

Sight: colourful patterns, surprises, the askew, the crooked, the wobbly. Sound: giggling, squeaking, boing sounds, unexpected tones. Touch: a tingle, the joy of experimenting, “what happens if I…?”.

Coherence

Playfulness implies a low entry barrier, permitted failure, emergent chaos. Mechanisms: Dexterity, Real-Time, Push Your Luck, Take That (affectionate teasing). Activities: Experimenting, Performing, Disrupting. Ductus: fast, unpredictable, many small peaks.