1) Write a 1-2 paragraph summary of the assigned reading. (6 pts)

“Towards Minimalist Game Design,” by Andy Nealen, Adam Saltsman, and Eddy Boxerman provides an overview of the facets of minimalist game design with an overarching goal of encouraging more games to be designed following a minimalist design process. The authors argue that minimalist game design provides players with interesting choices, simple controls to integrate mechanics, aesthetically pleasing and understandable visuals, enhanced audios and sound effects, and the space for players to explore. In minimalist game design, every element of the game matters to the player experience; there is no unnecessary filler. Minimalist game design values quality above quantity, using constraints to provide interesting choices and depth of play. Important to minimalist game design is: a small set of rules, few mechanics with one core mechanic, tightly coupled elements, easy controls, visual abstractness, low perceived complexity, and, arguably most importantly: deep systemic complexity with lots of room for play and imagination! This paper details a breakdown of minimalist game design from the anatomy, system, control, visual, and aural nature of a minimalist game. It inspires readers to think more deeply about the importance of minimalist games, return to early ideas of video games, and explore “aesthetic forms…discovered in the small.”

2) What, if anything, did you find exciting or inspiring about the reading? What do you feel the

authors did well? Were there any points that you agreed with? (2 pts)

I truly loved this whole paper! It was my first time exploring minimalist game design and I was very interested in all of it. I underlined the point in the System section that read: “This calls for split second decision making, and thus the small set of only three choices is made more compelling.” I find the prospect of a small set of choices becoming complex in the context of minimalist game design very interesting. The authors did a great job of inspiring me to think more deeply about (minimalist) game design and to play some early video games! I agreed with the final points about returning to early video game design to truly understand and appreciate those aesthetics, and too fear that as we become more technologically advanced, we move away from the beauty of the simple and small.

3) Was there anything that was confusing or unclear? Were there any points that you disagreed with? (2 pts)

I got a little tripped up when it came to understanding the distinction between the different kinds of mechanics, such as the micro and macro. I would appreciate more explanation on this. At first read, there was nothing I disagreed with, but perhaps as my education of game design grows throughout this semester I will feel differently should I read this paper again later.