Aiming, Pointing, Steering: A Core Task Analysis Framework for Gameplay

Underneath their compelling audiovisual surface, games require players to carry out interaction work, such as pointing, typing, or steering, but many of these underlying building blocks are not defined rigorously, hampering synthesis and analysis. We elaborate the origin of tasks within human-computer interaction (HCI) and define tasks’ relationship to game terminology (game mechanics, goals, and actions). We propose a framework based on systemic-structural theory of activity to aid systematic analysis and exploration of game design by mapping gameplay to abstract core tasks. The framework contains four task tools, exemplified within four areas: 1) uncovering design properties, 2) designing experimental manipulation, 3) creating behavioral measurements, and 4) describing gameplay in literature reviews of game genres and design techniques. We evaluated our framework in three case studies within scientific education as a lens to design purposeful games. Researchers and practitioners are invited to employ our framework as a design microscope, to describe and design games rigorously in scholarship and game design.