Chapter 10. Core Mechanics

The core mechanics of a game determine how that game actually operates: what its rules are and how the player interacts with them. This chapter begins by defining the core mechanics and explaining their role in creating the entertainment experience. You’ll learn how the core mechanics differ between real-time and turn-based games and how the core mechanics are related to level design. Next we’ll look at some key elements of core mechanics: resources, entities, and mechanics. You’ll learn the definitions of these terms and how you may use these concepts to specify rules precisely.

From the general features of core mechanics, we’ll then turn to their specific implementation in the internal economy of games, a set of mechanics that governs the flow of quantities. We’ll also look at how designers use mechanics to create gameplay by implementing both challenges and actions. Having introduced all these aspects of core mechanics, you’ll learn an approach for designing them, which involves reexamining early design work and rendering it specific and concrete. The chapter concludes by briefly discussing random numbers and how to use them in games.