The Game Experience Model (GEM)

For over a decade now game research has aimed at describing the game experience by attempting to see it from one perspective. In this paper, we collect, analyse, and merge together this work. As a result, we claim that a game experience is composed of three pairs of elements, none of which can be removed, or the system in question is no longer a game. These elements are: (1) the game mechanics and action, (2) storyworld and narrative, and (3) aesthetics and sensory stimulus. This model can be illustrated in the form of a gem that encloses the fantasy and immersion of a game. Apart from games, this model is applicable to all kinds of storytelling, particularly interactive kinds. Beyond games, the different facets of the gem can be used by ignoring elements absent in the given narrative media.