ABSTRACT
This chapter dives more deeply into working with dynamic elements of games as systems. This includes a discussion of game objects, properties, behaviors and relationships and the way in which system dynamics are affected by each of these attributes of a game’s system. Example game systems are analyzed in terms of their possibility spaces, from simple to complex, including tic-tac-toe, chess, Set, Mastermind, and Clue. Game economies, as a special type of game system, are also looked at, including simple and complex bartering systems, simple and complex markets, and meta economies. Emergent systems, information structures, and control systems are discussed in terms of how they affect player understanding of and agency within systems. Feedback in systems, core interaction loops, and tuning of system dynamics conclude the chapter.
