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Bittersweet game
design
Designing around negative emotions
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Who is this
woman?
Thais Weiller
● MSc in Game Design
● JoyMasher Co-founder
● Game Designer and Producer
● Interested in ~weird~ gameplay
● Likes questions
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What is a game?
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We know how games look like
… they look like fun.
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What is fun?
● Challenges - Theory of Fun - Koster
● Motivation - Flow - Csikszentmihalyi
● Different aspects of enjoyment - 10
elements of motivation - Nick Yee
● Meaningful choices - everyone ever
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What is fun?
Reward/
Punishment
Action
Result
Generic game
Core Loop
Conditioning.
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Classical Conditioning
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Most classic and contemporary
game design is based on
conditioning fun.
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But is fun all there is?
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No.
It is what we are more used to design.
Short answer:
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So, what else is there?
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Temporary Frustration.
When the whole game focuses on fun, except...
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Temporary
Frustration
● Same classic game design based on
conditioning for most of the game
● In a specific part, gameplay changes
● Highlights the struggle in this particular
part of the game
● Conveys negative emotions
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Deception.
When you play the whole game being the saviour, but actually...
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Deception
● Same classic game design based on
conditioning all game long
● Twist only at the end
● Player may feel betrayed
● Low replayability - sour taste after
playing
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Examples
Braid
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Bittersweet.
When your own game core loop is wrapped around negative feelings
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Bittersweet
● Moral dilemmas
● Atypical mental states
● Geopolitical conflicts
● Psychological violence
● Identity issues
● All sorts of real life situation we are not
too confortable with
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To consider
M
ental Space
How someone in this situations
feels? How to recreate this feel for
the player?
Social Space
Our environment influences a
great deal on what we can do. How
to convey this in games?
M
isinform
ation
We don't always have all the
information IRL. Player also may not
have it.
Essentials only
Get rid of everything that doesn't add
to the intended experience.
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Cons
● Breaking the conditioning cycle is
risky
● Not a beaten track, with rules
and abundant examples
Pros
● Gives the player a richer
experience
● Why the hell not?
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Examples
This War of Mine
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Examples
Papers, Please
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Examples
Bury me, my love
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Examples
Dys4ia
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How it works?
Reward AND
Punishment
Action
(generally concerning
moral choices)
Result
Generic
Bittersweet
Core Loop
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kiss
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Bittersweet Creative Process
Investigate
1
● List all related circumstances
in this situation
● Understand how it feels feel
● If possible, talk with people in
them or try to experience
them yourself
Mechanic
Ideation
2
● A little psychology goes a long
way
● Sometimes, the symptom
itself can be implemented
● Metaphors are gold
Game Design
Iterations
3
● Some information can be
hidden for best results
● Not all situations translates
well to game design. It's ok,
don't let that stop you.
Test
it.
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Most
importantly Don't overstep the bitterness. Taste can
be play tested.
There is a sweet in Bittersweet
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Rainy Day
A bittersweet game design experiment
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I’m tired and I don’t want to talk about it.
Any physical movement seems like a waste of energy.
I resign to watching the color white on the wall instead.
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A P A T H Y
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understanding the feels
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Who passed through the life in a white cloud,
And slept a peaceful sleep;
Who did not feel the cold disgrace;
Who passed through the life and did not suffer;
Was the specter of a man, but not a man —
He only passed through the life, but did not live it at all.
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Who passed through the life in a white cloud,
And slept a peaceful sleep;
Who did not feel the cold disgrace;
Who passed through the life and did not suffer;
Was the specter of a man, but not a man —
He only passed through the life, but did not live it at all.
Francisco Otaviano (1825-1889)
Investigate
1
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No content
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chaotic line of thought
no clear objectives
no clear rewards/punishments
Listing mental
states
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How to make the player feel that
instead of witnessing it?
Mechanic
Ideation
2
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setting up the
environment
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go out? stay?
sleep?
eat?
watch TV?
play videogames?
just lay in here?
watch the walls?
scream?
run away?
die?
a n x i e t y
Game Design
Iterations
3
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do you know what
you want?
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Anxiety
Time
systems
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Anxiety
Time
Player controls or sees none
systems
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this is all the
feedback player
has
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It is raining
today.
It really is.
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the weight of each
choice
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No content
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getting out there and testing it!
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Take away:
Bittersweet game design is
incorporating negative feelings in the
main mechanics of your game.
Make games about things that matter
to you, no matter how hard they are.
Investigate
1
Mechanic
Ideation
2
Game
Design
Iterations
3
Test
it.
Bittersweet design process
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Thank you for sweeting up the
bitterness!
@thaisweiller