ABSTRACT
The chapter aims to provide a foundation for defining love and affection games for designers. It illuminates the distinction between “affection games” and “affection in games.” It also describes the foundational research in affection games, providing seminal work in the space. It uses a theory of human motivation to explain the opportunities and existing trajectory of games toward love and affection. The emphasis is on the myriad of origins from which specific types of affection have sprung. This chapter lays a foundation for any designer looking to ground an affection game in existing formal models of courtship and affection as a way of formalizing game content and design.
