Understanding the Design of Emotionally Impactful Game Feel
summary
Paper presents a Constructivist Grounded Theory analysis of 42 game mechanics and a shared corpus that maps specific feel elements to emotions, claiming game feel can be designed to evoke a wider palette of emotions (including negative struggle) rather than only empowerment. Examples tie slowed movement, sound, and particles in Celeste’s wind to felt struggle and contrast bouncy Mario jumps and Journey’s gliding. Results produce eight design concepts and two explanatory ideas, Deviation and Motif, plus techniques like Mechanical Subversion and Agency Reduction.
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