SofiaUnplugged

Candy crush is a mobile application game created in 2012 by CEO of King game development, Riccardo Zacconi. At its peak in 2015 Candy Crush had over 100 million active daily players, however the mobile app still has 273 million active monthly users worldwide. The popular pastime is a three-match puzzle game where players swap and match up coloured candies to clear them from the board. Each level has a target or goal for the player/s to complete, for example, collecting a given number of specific-coloured candies or clearing all the jellies on the board. The levels increasingly become more challenging, and points earned by players can lead to boosters and rewards. Candy crush is an easily accessible mobile game therefore attracting a very diverse range of players; however, 50% of players are aged 20-40 including a mixed gender demographic (Hunt 2023). The MDA (Mechanics, Dynamics, Aesthetics) analytical framework will help me to dive deeper into analysing why/how Candy Crush has remained popular 10 years after its peak.   

The MDA framework covers three main areas of analysis including but not limited to a games Mechanics, Dynamics, and Aesthetics. The Mechanics refers to the games foundational rules, algorithms and systems or in simpler terms the ‘doing’ actions a player engages with. To break this down further, mechanics have the role of invoking dynamics leading to a connection with the gaming world, for example matching the coloured candies in Candy Crush. Theorists have broken this bracket down into three categories; implied mechanics, core mechanics, and extra mechanics. Implied mechanics refer to typical genre mechanics which may not need explaining if a player is familiar with the specific genre or has played similar mechanically engineered games, Candy Crush includes elements such as level gating. The second category is the core mechanics, referring to the main actions of the game. In this instance, Candy Crush can be categorized as three-match puzzle game, which have been a common form of gameplay for over three decades allowing players to easily understand and connect with Candy Crush. Thirdly, scholars analyse the extra mechanics which can be defined as the additional features a game offers, in reference to Candy Crush, boosters such as the striped candies and colour bombs which players collect when they match more than three candies in a row (Junior et al 2021).  

Furthermore, the dynamics are a result of emergent player interaction with the mechanically engineered game plays, e.g. moves. Game dynamics also have a direct effect on the overall aesthetic the game, evoking player reactions and the player response (Hunicke et al 2004). A direct example of this seen in Candy Crush is game dynamics such as time pressures and obstacles creating a challenging aesthetic as well as cooperative and shared goals amongst players creating a social fellowship environment. The unpredictable nature of the game plays a vital role in the continued engagement of players, as they experience a dopamine hit from the suspense and excitement of dynamic features. These sustained dynamics have additionally seen players experiencing long-term dependency on the aesthetics of the game, possibly having a direct connection with Candy Crush’s prolonged popularity amongst players.  

Game aesthetics are completely up to the players interactions and emotional connection to the game based on their own perspective. Considering Hunicke’s ‘Eight Aesthetics’, Candy Crush can be categorised into Sensation, Challenge, Fellowship, Expression, and Submission. More specifically, the sensory fulfilment from the bright visuals and satisfying sounds from the gameplay, as well as the quick casual form of play that can be ideal for breaks throughout the day. From researching these aesthetics and researching additional scholars, it can be recognised that there is a clear connection between the game’s aesthetics, and the long-term, loyal community Candy Crush has constructed. Additional scholars point out that individual players will experience games differently based in their upbringing, culture, and other environmental factors (Salen et al 2004). Based on this theory, I aim to extend my investigation into why more 20–40-year-olds strongly connect with the game’s aesthetics.  

I decided to change my digital artefact from an infographic to an interactive blog post as a blog format allows room for a deeper analysis of ideas and more presentation flexibility. I discovered the challenges of an infographic to be limited for this topic, lacking in space to examine key analysis points. An interactive blog post enables me to combine text, visuals, and interactive elements, making the content more engaging and accessible. It also encourages audience interaction through comments and sharing, creating an ongoing dialogue rather than a one-way communication. I aim to provide a similar experience through my blog as you would with playing the game Candy Crush, with boosters revealing information and opinions about the prolonged success of the game. For example, using the same motifs as the game will encourage audiences to engage by the recognition of specific elements. Matching candies together will reveal short statements and facts, and boosters such as colour bombs will lead to a deeper analysis. Moreover, through this form of a digital artefact, I aim to mimic the aesthetic experiences players have such as increased dopamine from the boosters and successful challenge levels. 

Literature Review 

Junior et al 2021 

This specific paper drew upon some key points examining the gaps in the MDA framework and its flaws used to design and analyse games. Scholars discuss the reframing of the framework to be better suited to modern game design and technology. This shed a light on my analysis as it helped me to discover the refined framework with a better ability to control aesthetic outcomes.  

Hunicke et al 2004  

A scholarly analysis of the MDA framework is made evident in this article, introducing me to the visual flow of the framework. As this article is significantly older than the above article, the foundational framework sections had not been exposed to the challenges of modern game players and audiences. Therefore, this traditional viewpoint gave me a thorough understanding of the fundamental framework.  

Kusuma et al 2018  

By using educational values, this article gave me a different perspective of the analytical framework and highlighted the occurrence of dynamic behaviours. Showing the effective use of gamification in education acknowledges the positive aesthetics that players receive from gameplay, especially younger and vulnerable audiences. Additionally, this article gave me a thorough understanding of how to use the framework to analyse a particular circumstance.  

Ryan et al 2006 

Steering away from the framework a bit, this article highlighted the psychological needs of humans and the motivation to stimulate this. I will delve deeper into this in my next task however, understanding the concepts helped me to construct a thorough investigation, especially for the new form of my DA.  

Stacey et al 2009 

Again, this article steered away from the MDA framework for analysis and delve deeper into the development stages and key concepts for game design. The routinized vs improvised standards and procedures assisted me to grasp a better understanding of flexibility and opportunities game developers are faced with.  

What’s next? 

To continue and complete this analysis, I am going to go into further detail about the aesthetic foundations of the 20-40 year old audience that Candy Crush has and do further analytical research into the game development to help me create a realistic and engaging interactive blog post for the next task. 

For this assignment, I used ChatGPT to allow me to get a thorough understanding of key analytical framework concepts. By asking ChatGPT to point out the key points raised by scholars, I was able to get a wider range of perspectives to give me a comprehensive viewpoint of the MDA framework. Additionally, I used ChatGPT to create a scaffold based on the criteria of the assignment from the subject outline. By copying and pasting the assignment requirements into the chat, it gave me an extensive scaffold to ensure I completed each part of the assignment.  

Hunicke, R, Leblanc, M & Zubek, R 2004, MDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research, Northwestern University, pp. 1–5. 

Hunt, G 2023, Candy Crush Usage and Statistics, Helplama.com. 

Junior, R & Silva, F 2021, ‘Redefining the MDA Framework—The Pursuit of a Game Design Ontology’, Information, vol. 12, no. 10, p. 395. 

Kusuma, GP, Wigati, EK, Utomo, Y & Putera Suryapranata, LK 2018, ‘Analysis of Gamification Models in Education Using MDA Framework’, Procedia Computer Science, vol. 135, pp. 385–392. 

Ryan, RM, Rigby, CS & Przybylski, A 2006, ‘The Motivational Pull of Video Games: A Self-Determination Theory Approach’, Motivation and Emotion, vol. 30, no. 4, pp. 344–360. 

Salen, K & Zimmerman, E 2004, Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals, Mit Press. 

Stacey, P & Nandhakumar, J 2009, ‘A temporal perspective of the computer game development process’, Information Systems Journal, vol. 19, no. 5, pp. 479–497.