Moving Beyond "Fun": Celia Hodent's Engageability Framework for Game Design
By
Laia Tremosa, Caitlin Snethlage
Summary
Celia Hodent introduces her "engageability" framework as a solution to the common problem of teams arguing over whether a game mechanic is "fun" without a shared definition. The article argues that "fun" is subjective and ambiguous, leading to unproductive design reviews. Instead, Hodent's framework focuses on three measurable pillars — motivation, emotion, and flow — to help game development teams objectively evaluate and improve player engagement. The piece offers a practical, psychology-grounded approach to replacing vague "fun" debates with actionable design criteria.
Source
Interaction Design FoundationMoving Beyond "Fun": Celia Hodent's Engageability Framework for Game Designixdf.orgKey quotes
· 3 pulledThe problem isn't the mechanic. The problem is the word.
"Fun" means something different to every person in that room, and no amount of discussion will bridge that gap because you're all arguing from different definitions.
The teams that solve engagement problems fastest are the ones that stop guessing and start measuring.
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