Introduction

In this blog, I will discuss the decisions in video game design that are made to keep the game fun, challenging, and continually interesting. I will accomplish this from an analytical perspective of an avid gamer that knows about the fundamental factors make an experience register as fun in the human brain. 

We will first lay the foundation for future discourse with a presentation of some research that attempts to apply brain science to explain the fun of a good challenge; and the results of studies conducted for the express purpose of finding exactly what can be done in games to maximize enjoyment and minimize unnecessary annoyance. This will segue into this blog's main beat, which will bring forth examples of mechanics such as punishment/reward systems, difficulty curves, and other such balancing measures, and explore how they engage players to provide a challenging and significant experience.

I will generally use games with which I have a large amount of experience to draw examples from, so that I am completely comfortable in my expertise on the what the mechanisms of the game's design do for game-play. So you can expect to see me write more often about the Assassin's Creed series, Fallout 3 and New Vegas, the Battlefield series, the Elder Scrolls series, Bioshock, Demon's Souls, and especially Dark Souls (Which I consider to be the gold standard on both combat systems in action games, and character progression in RPGs.). However, I may occasionally use games that I am less intimately familiar with, that I might draw more upon the general consensus than my own findings, thus reducing (unavoidable, mind you) personal bias.

Thank you for reading the preface to this project! If you think of any works of video game design that you find to be notably good, bad, or unusual, leave your suggestion (as well as your take on the issue, if you wish) as a comment, and I will  at least reply, if not consider covering it in a post.

Sincerely,

-Kenny

PSN: Fatalis_Veritas