Reading: Tools for Creating Dramatic Game Dynamics.

What are those mechanics and how do they work?

  Well, Mechanics are the necessary pieces we need to play the game, whatever that game may be, the rules, the venue, the equipment, etc.  If we think of that game as a system, the mechanics are the complete description of that system.

  So to create a dramatic game, and it's dynamics, we need something called a dramatic arc, this is the aesthetic model for drama.  This is the rising and falling of a well-told story, the central conflict of the narrative creates tension that accumulates as the story builds to a climax, and dissipates as the conflict is resolved.

  As tools for formalizing our own design objectives, aesthetic models can help us know when we have achieved them, and if we're headed in the right direction.  We give each experience/or aesthetic pleasure it's own aesthetic model. So, dramatic tension is our level of emotional investment in the story's conflict, be that the concern, apprehension or the urgency to see the story's outcome.  When using Drama as an aesthetic, the dramatic arc is the aesthetic model for stories, and how those stories convey emotional content.

  Moving on to Dramatic tension, it consists of two elements, they are Uncertainty and Inevitability.  We use Uncertainty to create the sense that the outcome of an action, or the story, is unknown.  We use Inevitability to create the sense that the resolution to the conflict is coming.  Dramatic tension relies on both of these things to work together, neither are sufficient on their own.  The game's Uncertainty and it's Inevitability are evoked by different systems and mechanics, and are use to create and ongoing sense that the game/story/contest is coming to a close.

  Another way of manipulating the player or the reader is to use Force and Illusion, we can use Force to create dynamic tension by manipulating the state of the game/story itself.  Illusion however, is used to manipulate the player's perception so the game seems closer to an end that it is.  All of these things are used to create Feedback systems, which if used in a positive or negative way can affect how a player achieves a goal or is hindered during a game.

  These systems are complex and use four functions to achieve the desired effect.  We have the Game State, Scoring Function, Controller and the Game Mechanical Bias.

- Game State  The complete of the game at any particular moment.
- Scoring Function  Sensor of the feedback system (The rules of the game, who is winning, by how much, etc).
- Mechanical Bias  The activator of the feedback system (The rule that gives contestants advantages over eachother).
- Controller  The comparator of the feedback system (The rule that chooses which player receives the Mechanic Bias, based on the Scoring Function).

  So, what types of feedback are there and how do they affect the game and/or the player?  We have Negative feedback as a source of uncertainty and Positive feedback as an aid to Denouement.

- Negative feedback (as a source of uncertainty) depends of the player's perception that the outcome is unknown, be it tied scores, etc.

- Positive feedback (as an aid to denouement) is a way to dispel any uncertainty and create finality and closure of the story.  Positive feedback systems, provide a mechanism for breaking the equilibrium (balance) and moving the game forward.

I'm going to go ahead and list a few more types of feedback, or rather, other sources of uncertainty. They are...

- Pseudo-Feedback (Creating dynamics with a negative illusion, or the perception of another feedback system).
- Escalation (A mechanic in which score changes faster and faster over the course of a game).
- Hidden Energy (Creates dynamic uncertainty by manipulating the player's incomplete understanding of the game's 'true' score).
- Fog of War (Simulates limitations of the game character's ability to perceive the world around them).
- Decelerator (An obstacle or mechanic that slows down player's late in the game to change it's pace).
- Cashing Out (The score is set to zero).

  Lastly, I'll move onto the main source of dramatic inevitability, the proverbial 'Ticking Clock', which is the drawing to an end of the story or game, whether it be by a score, laps, time left, etc.