“ The thing about games is that they are micro-worlds . They ’ re simplified versions of real systems we encounter in life ... that ’ s why we find them so compelling .”
– AMY JO KIM ’ 79 political science to chemistry . “ A lot of schools are very siloed , but UCSD just wasn ’ t like that at the time ,” she says . One project she co-founded as a student was Faces of Healing , a crossdepartmental lecture series dedicated to exploring different modalities of healing — a hot topic at the time . “ There was an explosion of that happening in the San Diego area ,” she says . “ We had lectures where chiropractors were duking it out with yoga practitioners . We had access to surgeons and pain medication specialists through the medical school . As students we had the power to make our own group , and UCSD really laid the foundation for me to cross boundaries .”
After graduating , Kim moved on to earn a PhD from the University of Washington before landing her big break as a programmer at Sun Microsystems in 1986 . She would move through companies like Viacom and Electronic Arts over the course of her career , but Kim ’ s breakthrough moment , however , happened during the dot-com crash in the early 2000s .
“ A good friend of mine was a financial advisor at that time , and her world was falling apart ,” Kim recalls . She realized her friend was turning to a game she helped create : The Sims . For her friend , it was the perfect escape from a hard reality . “ She could go into that world and completely control it ,” she says .
The synthesis of creativity and order is crucial to game design — and also partly why we love games so much , Kim explains . “ The thing about games is that they are micro-worlds . They ’ re simplified versions of real systems we encounter in life ,” she says . “ Most of our life is structured activities with rules and goals . In gaming it ’ s the same structure , but one meant for pleasure . That ’ s why we find them so compelling as an escape from the real world .”
Kim still helps in gaming , but she now spends the majority of her time consulting start-up entrepreneurs and innovators on the power of using game design to build out other products . Her book on the subject , Game Thinking , is a road map of what she ’ s learned over her career , a manual that has been used by large corporations like Disney and Electronic Arts . She also teaches game design to students at the University of Southern California and Stanford University . “ People used to call me the ‘ Queen of Gamification ,’” Kim recalls . “ But it ’ s not about sprinkling game mechanics on things — game thinking is about building engagement from the inside out , for everyone who wants to innovate smarter and create deeply engaging experiences .”
Learn more about Amy Jo Kim ’ s book at tritonmag . com / gamethinking
“ The art and science of engaging customers on a compelling path to mastery .” This is Amy Jo Kim ’ s definition of game thinking , a notion she ’ s taken beyond the gaming industry . Here are key takeaways from the titles she ’ s worked on :
Find the Fun
→ “ We started development on The Sims by running tiny high-learning experiments based on finding that core bit of fun , a dynamic strong enough to build a game . We wondered , is the game about building things ? Is it about designing people ? We found players liked setting families in motion and watching them play out — a dollhouse come to life . But before building anything out , we first found that core dynamic that people could engage with for months and years .”
Get in Tune
→ “ With Rock Band , I was eager to work on the infrastructure — the levels , the avatars , the progression system — but we spent six months tuning the feel of playing just one song . Because if it didn ’ t feel great to play one song , building anything further would be a house of cards . That fine-tuning process made me crazy , but now I help other people do exactly this when it makes them crazy — because it ’ s so important to get the foundation right .”
Use Your Trolls
→ “ Ultima Online was a virtual world made up of very complex systems — some of which were being exploited by players . We didn ’ t expect people to vie to be the best bad guy , for example , and one even found a bug to make gold , threatening our entire monetary system . But he obviously knew our system well , so we hired him to lead our security ! Trolls ( or “ griefers ,” we called them ) can be a very talented , creative force . We learned to redirect that mindset toward something positive .”
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