Ben Gonshaw: Digital Media Theorist & Game Design Consultant
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A PRIORI: PRIORITISING GAME MECHANICS

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Think about the process as follows. Two identical seeds are planted. One seed is in a flat open field, the other seed is planted on a rocky slope. Both seeds begin to grow and two oak trees spring up out of the ground. The tree in the field is perpendicular to the ground plane and its branches and roots fan out in a radial pattern. However, the seed on the slope produces a tree at an angle to the ground plane and the roots are twisted, with no pretty fan shape, having been forced to grow around subterranean rocks.

Although the same elements exist in both trees, their form is different because of the environment they are grown in. However, they are still built from the same genetic material. ‘A priori’ game mechanics are the DNA that says that the game will be an oak tree. The shape of the environment, the story, characters and setting will determine the exact shape of that tree. Extra layers of mechanics, control mechanisms and scoring systems will be moulded based on that landscape, the ‘a posteriori’ mechanics.

 

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