The Power of MDA

In 2004 an academic paper, broke down game design into 3 sections:

1. Mechanics: the workings of the game, the rules, the systems, progression, music, artwork etc..
2. Dynamics: how the player acts in response of those mechanics
3. Aesthetics: how the player feels by doing the actions

ex: Doom mechanic of ammo drops on killing enemies made the player push forward, which made them feel like Rambo. 

Product people steal mechanics all the time. But the good ones:

• understand the dynamics & aesthetics the mechanics create
• have a well defined artistic direction: "I want my players to feel scared"
• adapt "stollen" mechanics to the desired aesthetic

ex: Alien Isolation, a survival horror game, implemented saving with automatic check-points. But they noticed that players were rushing to a checkpoint, and reloading if caught.

They wanted players to feel fear so they changed it to an unpredictable & slow event (using phones). This raised the stakes and made players act with causion.