Da-Sein design: Linking phenomenology with Self-Determination Theory for game design

In this article we propose a phenomenological foundation for the application of Self-Determination Theory (SDT) in game design. While SDT provides much value in describing why a person engages with and is motivated to continue engaging with games (of all types) as meaningful experiences, it currently lacks an overt definition of meaning and how it occurs. We argue that the Heideggerian phenomenology offers an explicit delineation of meaning in the human experience, and, furthermore, is already implicit in the conceptualization of SDT’s core needs, as we demonstrate. Finally, we show how this understanding of meaning (phenomenology) and needs (SDT) can be fruitfully linked to provide a robust set of theoretical concepts for comprehending the experience of gameplay through a short case study of the camera system as designed within digital games.