Environment #gamedynamics

 It’s not the same to play with your friends than against them. The Environment dynamic will dictate how the players will feel through their playing.

I always address this with a simple question: Is it a competition or a team effort?

Do you want a classroom to feel more cooperative and work together towards a goal or do you want them to prove who is better between the players?

It’s known that cooperation is preferred by women and competition is usually favored by men, however, you must be careful in your choosing towards each mechanic tied to this core.

If you promote a cooperation environment in a place that needs competition (like the sales department) you might end up demotivating your players. On the other hand, if you have players that want to work together as a team and won’t let them, it will result in catastrophe.

You can alternate between modes, just like a game where you can invite friends to play and help you when a level is too hard but, you will always keep your personal score.

Competition is really fun as long as it won’t stumble upon other players. Unless of course your players are all disruptors looking to take all the others out of action and you just want the last survivor.

Cooperation can also make people the game is unfair if not all players are “sort-of” forced to contribute to the same effort.

Just make sure you have defined your audience and are sure how they should feel why playing. It’s all about these emotions what will drive them towards our next post: The Win State Dynamic.

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