Chemistry of Game Design

I was very interested in reading this article published on the always great gamasutra.com, entitled "The Chemistry of Game Design" by Dan Cook -- here's a preview below. At Flashpoint Academy in Chicago, our game development program will consume every analysis we can find out there on the topic of gameplay, game design, and what makes something compelling and interesting and addicting, and most importantly, worth the time it takes to play.

"Mechanics and aesthetics are certainly important pieces of any model of game design, but in the end, such analysis provides little insight into what makes a game enjoyable. You end up with a set of fragmented pieces that tell you almost nothing about the meaningful interactions between the game as a simulation and the player as an active and evolving participant. Games are not mathematical systems. They are systems that always have a human being, full of desires, excitement and immense cleverness, sitting smack dab in the center. To accurately describe games, we need a working psychological model of the player."

Full link is here:

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/1524/the_chemistry_of_game_design.php