Abstract

Due to the increase in production costs of game content and the intensification of market competition, designing games based on well-known intellectual property (IP) has become a widely used strategy. The MDA (Mechanics-Dynamics-Aesthetics) framework is well-known in game design. This study describes the process of gamifying a webtoon IP using the MDA framework and discusses the usefulness and limitations of IP-based game design through this framework. To design a game based on the MDA framework, the process begins with setting aesthetic goals, which are the experiential aspects of the player. Next, specific game mechanics are designed to elicit the desired dynamics to create the targeted experience. The design process involves iteratively developing mechanics and reviewing the resulting player experiences to ensure alignment with the aesthetic goals. This iterative process was divided into four main stages. Through this design process, the study identified the utility of mechanics design using the MDA framework and the limitations of IP-based game design. The research also highlights the limitations of the MDA framework and suggests the need for further studies on frameworks for IP-based game design, such as the DPE (Design-Play-Experience) framework, DDE (Design-Dynamics-Experience) framework, and RMDA (Redefining MDA) framework. Consequently, the study proposes the IP-MDA framework for creating games based on intellectual property.