"Howard's Law of Occult Game Design" (section) in 100 Principles of Game Design (book)

Howard, Jeff ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9077-1025 (2012) "Howard's Law of Occult Game Design" (section) in 100 Principles of Game Design (book). In: 100 Principles of Game Design. New Riders, New York. ISBN 0321902491

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Abstract / Summary

Howard’s Law of Occult Game Design (or just The Law of Occult Game Design or Howard’s Law) can be expressed as a formula: “Secret Significance ∝ Seeming Innocence × Completeness.” Translated into everyday speech, this equation means that the power of secret significance appears simple, cheerful, even carefree. Completeness means that players can experience the game naively as a conventional platformer, shooter, or other standard game genre without being aware of any thematic depth. Sudden knowledge of the game’s depths transforms players’ experiences. The Law of Occult Game Design is often connected to a sense of the esoteric, of occult significance in both the connotation of dark magic and the original definition of occult: hidden.

Item Type:	Book Section
ISBN:	0321902491
Subjects:	Technology > Digital Works > Digital Games
Courses by Department:	The Games Academy > Digital Games
Depositing User:	Jeff Howard
Date Deposited:	16 Jul 2020 09:44
Last Modified:	11 Nov 2022 16:22
URI:	https://repository.falmouth.ac.uk/id/eprint/3990

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