System and Experience Construction

In games, the system is a continuous structure responsible for receiving player input, changing the game state according to the rules, and presenting these changes through feedback.

The system organizes the player’s actions into cycles, encouraging players to repeatedly try, adjust strategies, and create an experience that evolves as a process, enhancing engagement. Different system structures lead to different emotional experiences and ways of participation. For example, although Turkish Checkers and Kongming (Chinese) Chess have similar rules, their system designs result in different player focus and emotional experiences.

The system is not just a computational structure but also plays an expressive role. Through rule arrangement and feedback presentation, the system conveys value judgments and experiential perspectives. The design of the system determines the player’s focus, feedback understanding, and sense of involvement. When the system structure is clear and feedback is consistent, players can maintain their engagement. Conversely, unclear goals or ambiguous feedback will lead to a decline in engagement.

Brief Rule Notes:

1.Turkish Checkers / Turkish Draughts: Turkish Checkers is a two-player draughts variant played on an 8×8 board. Unlike many checkers games, pieces move orthogonally—forward or sideways—rather than diagonally. Captures are made by jumping over an opponent’s piece, and if a capture is available, it must be taken. The player wins by capturing or blocking all of the opponent’s pieces. Wikipedia introduction: Turkish draughts.

2.Kongming Chess / Peg Solitaire: Kongming Chess is commonly understood as a form of peg solitaire, usually played by one player. A piece moves by jumping orthogonally over an adjacent piece into an empty space, and the jumped piece is removed. The goal is to remove as many pieces as possible, ideally leaving only one piece, often in the center. Wikipedia introduction: Peg solitaire.