Good Last Minute Question

Q:

Our team is a little confused about game mechanics. Is the mechanic defined as the step that someone performs in a game or how one takes that step? For example, in Scrabble, is the mechanic to spell words or to put letter tiles onto the board? In Connect 4, is the mechanic to make lines or to drop coloured chips into the slots?

Thanks.


A:

At the risk of confusing you more, it's a bit of both: you're separating the physical action (placing tiles) with the emotional satisfaction of making words.

But the two together are the mechanic and, in truth, both are "forms" of fun: the satisfying physical sensation of placing the tile (which is made of smooth, clickable plastic not card stock) with the sense of achievement (spelling a word). Heck, there's even a sense of power from spelling words that your friends don't know exist.

So if I wanted to discuss a "jump" mechanic, I would talk about the physical action of jumping (standing, running, on a trampoline, etc.) and ALSO how that makes people feel (exhilirated, powerful, etc).

Hope this helps.