Aristotle's Poetics

Some thoughts on Poetics as applied to Games.

Completeness: A plot must have a beginning (a place where the story starts that is not dependent on prior knowledge), a middle where the story happens, and an end (the resolution of the story started at the beginning).
A Game must have a start position, a middle part that plays out and an end condition that is derived from the start position.

Magnitude: A story must not be so short that it is insignificant nor must it be so long that it cannot be comprehended.
A game must not be so short or trivial that is has no substance, equally it should not be so long or complex that it cannot be comprehended (remind me why I am doing this!)

Unity: A story should be complete between the beginning and end, but may itself be part of a larger story (an epic).
A game should only represent a single 'episode' and it should be complete from beginning to end. Different episodes should form parts of different games i.e. keep the context of the story simple and try not to over complicate it by adding multiple interleaved plots.

Determinate structure: The story must contain a definite sequence of events that are essential to the story, any one of which, if removed, would render the story inconsistent. This implies that if all the non essential elements of a story are removed and there is nothing left but a beginning and an end there is no story.
A game must have a determinate structure that involves a sequence of events that join the beginning to the end, this should not be an empty sequence (must have a middle bit) or there is no game. If there is no end there is no game - there is only an experience.

Universality: The events in a story should represent what is possible within the context of the story, so the sequence of events should follow a plausible sequence and not depend on an artificial or inexplicable turn of events.
A game must have a plausible sequence of events that lead from beginning to end of game. Chaos and pure randomness should be avoided.

I liked this bit the best "The spectacle has, indeed, an emotional attraction of its own, but, of all the parts, it is the least artistic, and connected least with the art of poetry." Yes indeed! Lots of spectacle is not a substitute for good content even if it is emotionally attractive.