A Theory of Fun for Game Design - by Raph Koster (Summary - PVI)

Chapter 6: Different Fun for Different Folks

There are seven categorized forms of inteligence:

1. Linguistic;
2. Logical-Mathematical;
3. Bodily-Knesthetic;
4. Spatial;
5. Musical;
6. Interpersonal;
7. Intrapersonal.

• People are not likely to tackle patterns and puzzles that appear as noise to them. They'll likely select problems that they think they have a chance at solving.
• On average, females tend to have great trouble with certain types of spatial perception. Males tend to have great problems with language skills.
• Since different brains have different strengths and weaknesses, different people will have differente ideal games;
• Men not only navigate space differently, but they tend to learn by trying, whereas women prefer to learn through learning another's behavior.
• It's clear that players prefer other types of games in ways that seems to correspond their fun personality. What does it all means to game designers? Ut means that not only will a given game be unlikely to appeal to everyon, but that it's probably impossible for it to do so.
• The difficult ramp is almost certain to be wrong for many people.
• This may indicate a fundamental problem with games. Since they are formal abstract systems, they are by their very nature biased toward certain types of brains, just as books are biased.
• Perhaps the answer is simpler. Maybe games are more likely to appeal to young males because these players are good at mastering formal abstract systems.
• Both genres should seek out games that address their weakness.