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The Cores of Game Design
ARG Design CRITICAL

MENA Framework — Four Cores of Game Design

The Cores of Game Design Yvens R. Serpa
mena framework mechanics economy narrative aesthetics meta-approach

Key Principle

Game design is best understood through four interconnected cores — Mechanics, Economy, Narrative, and Aesthetics (MENA) — each of which can serve as the starting point for the design process. The framework is a meta-approach: it provides shared vocabulary and structure without mandating a fixed workflow. (Chapter 1)

Why This Matters

Most game design literature assumes mechanics-first entry and Anglo-American industry conditions. When those assumptions don't hold, designers either force-fit inapplicable advice or reject formal frameworks entirely. MENA gives designers from any background a way to discover their own process by foregrounding whichever core is strongest for their concept. Without separating the four cores, Economy gets absorbed into Mechanics, Narrative shrinks to "story," and Aesthetics becomes decoration — each conflation eliminates a design lever.

Good Examples

  • Family Tree (board game): Narrative leads — the game exists to generate discussions about happiness. Mechanics (negotiation) and Economy (happiness point ratios) reinforce that purpose. Aesthetics uses rounded shapes for a community mood. (Chapter 2)
  • Another Starry Sky (digital): Mechanics leads (stargazing + flight). Economy drives difficulty scaling through obstacle density. Narrative provides cultural education via constellation lore. Near the end, all cores converge: difficulty increases through Economy, justified by Narrative (space pollution), softened by Aesthetics (warmer environment). (Chapter 2)
  • Memories by the Sea (concept): Aesthetics leads — begins from beach mood (sea, sand, seashells), moves to Narrative (Seashell Specialist NPC), derives Mechanic (collecting seashells), assigns Economy target (collect 10). (Chapter 2)

Counterpoints

  • MDA Framework: Useful for analysis but provides no actionable design process — "not in use in the games industry for helping game design work." (Chapter 1, citing Junior and Silva)
  • Schell's Tetrad: Conflates Economy into Mechanics, limiting where designers can productively begin. Treats Technology as a core element rather than a means to an end. (Chapter 1)
  • Mechanics-first bias: "An oversimplification [that] ignores how different people act upon their own creativity." Visual novelists naturally start from Narrative; art-game designers start from Aesthetics. (Chapter 1)

Key Quotes

"They are meant to help you, not to hold you back. Changing and creating cores is perfectly fine, as you are the only one capable of figuring out which form best suits your methods." — Yvens R. Serpa, Chapter 1

"Imagine it as if making a game is like baking a pie... if you want to make a cake or a lasagna, the same approach might fail." — Yvens R. Serpa, Chapter 1

"All elements in the game design process are somehow covered by the four cores." — Yvens R. Serpa, Chapter 1

Rules of Thumb

  • Classify any element by asking which player-verb it serves: interact (Mechanics), evaluate/decide (Economy), create/perceive meaning (Narrative), perceive/experience (Aesthetics)
  • Cross-core elements (e.g., immersion = Aesthetics + Narrative) are normal — cores are not silos
  • A problem in one core can be solved by a different core — a boring mechanic may need a narrative or aesthetic fix, not a mechanical one
  • All four cores are always present; the designer chooses which to foreground, not which to include
  • The framework is scaffolding to be adapted, not doctrine to be followed

Diagram

Diagram

Related References