What makes games fun

We desire to end this chapter with a section about a very popular theory of what fun is, and what makes games fun, by XeoDesign: a research firm founded by Nicole Lazzaro that helps organizations increase player engagement in their products by eliminating barriers to having fun.

Ms. Lazzaro is a world-renowned researcher in Player Experience (PX) who has been acknowledged as one of the top women working in high tech and one of the top 20 women in video games.

The following description is a breakdown of Xeo/Nicole's examination of what is fun in games. These are purely emotional responses that arise from specific game situations rather than from storyline.

This section is meant as a starting point for your research on the many theories on the subject.

The four keys to fun – the game mechanics that drive play

Lazzaro's theory is based around four types of fun, as different people play games for different reasons. Some people search for a challenge to test...