Affordances: What You Can Do in the Game World

Affordance vs. Mechanic in Game Design

The difference between affordance and mechanic in game design can be boiled down to this: affordances are what the player can do, while mechanics are how those actions are implemented and structured within the game.

Affordance: What You Can Do

Affordances are the potential actions available to the player in the game world. Think of them as the verbs of the game, like jump, shoot, climb, or talk. They describe what interactions are possible in a given context, regardless of how those interactions are implemented.

For example, in Super Mario, the affordances are that you can run, jump, and stomp enemies. These are the actions Mario is allowed to perform in his world. You don’t need to know the underlying rules to understand that you can jump on an enemy—this is just what you, as the player, are able to do.

Mechanic: How You Do It

Mechanics are the rules and systems that define how the game works. They dictate the interactions and how affordances are carried out within the game’s framework.

Mechanics are the structures that determine how the player performs those affordances, and how the game reacts.

For instance, jumping in Super Mario is governed by mechanics. The game has rules about how high Mario can jump, what happens when he jumps on an enemy, and how gravity affects his descent. The jump mechanic includes all of these rules—things like the jump height, the physics that pull Mario down, and the way enemies get squashed if you land on them.

Key Differences:

Affordance is the possibility of action (what you can do).
Mechanic is the system that governs how that action is performed (how you do it and how it works).

To put it simply: affordances are about player capability, and mechanics are about game rules.

Example to Clarify:

In a game like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild:

Affordances: The player can climb mountains, shoot arrows, and cook food.
Mechanics: The game has stamina rules for climbing (how long you can climb), arrow trajectory and damage calculations for shooting (how accurate and powerful your shots are), and specific recipes for cooking that determine the effects of food (how different ingredients interact to produce results).

While affordances let you know what’s possible in a game world, mechanics tell you how those possibilities work under the hood.

Affordances. It sounds like a term pulled from a dusty psychology textbook, doesn’t it? But in the context of game design, affordances are anything but boring. They are, in fact, the very essence of what makes a game playable. Affordances represent the actions that a player can take within a game. You can think of them as the verbs of the game world—what you, the player, can do. Whether it’s jumping over obstacles in Super Mario or summoning a fireball to incinerate your enemies in an RPG, affordances are the building blocks of interactivity in games.

Without affordances, a game would be as exciting as watching paint dry—no buttons to press, no things to poke or prod, no interactions at all. It’d be like turning on a game and being forced to sit there, staring at a static screen while contemplating your life choices. Thankfully, modern game design thrives on affordances, and they are what make games engaging, dynamic, and, above all, fun. Let’s break this concept down and explore how affordances shape our gaming experiences.

The Core of Affordances: A Player’s Toolbox of Actions

So, what exactly are affordances in a game? To put it simply: affordances are the actions or interactions a player is allowed to perform within the game world. They are often driven by the game’s mechanics and can vary greatly depending on the genre, story, and world design.

Take Super Mario, for example. The fundamental affordances in that game are pretty straightforward:

Jumping: Mario’s most iconic action. See a Goomba? Jump on it. See a gap in the platform? Jump over it. You see the pattern here.
Running: This gives you speed to navigate the level, escape from danger, or make those long jumps that require a little extra momentum.
Stomping enemies: This is how Mario interacts with foes—by landing on their heads. It’s a delightful way to assert dominance over unsuspecting Koopa Troopas.

These affordances define the boundaries of Mario’s world. You can’t make Mario fly (unless you have the right power-up), you can’t talk to Goombas to resolve your issues diplomatically, and you certainly can’t decide to sit down and have a cup of tea in the middle of World 1-1. The game’s affordances are tightly designed to keep you focused on the core gameplay loop: run, jump, and stomp your way through obstacles and enemies.

In this sense, affordances are not just what you can do—they are also what you can’t do. They create the framework that guides players through the experience, funneling their interactions toward the most engaging and enjoyable aspects of the game.

Expanding the Toolbox: Affordances in Open-World Games

While Super Mario gives players a relatively small set of affordances, open-world games like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt blow the doors wide open, offering players a much broader range of actions. The beauty of open-world games is that they typically provide a massive sandbox full of affordances, allowing players to approach challenges in a variety of ways.

In The Witcher 3, Geralt of Rivia, the protagonist, isn’t limited to just running and jumping (though he does plenty of that too). He’s a grizzled monster hunter with a vast range of skills and actions, and his affordances reflect that complexity:

Swordplay: Engage in melee combat using different types of swords for human or monster foes.
Signs (magic): Cast spells like Igni to burn enemies, or Aard to push them back with a telekinetic blast.
Potion crafting: Create potions and bombs that can give you an edge in combat, heal wounds, or poison enemies.
Horse riding: Traverse the game’s enormous landscapes by riding your trusty steed, Roach.
Gwent: A whole separate mini-game that you can spend hours playing, in case monster hunting isn’t satisfying enough.

This diversity in affordances is what makes games like The Witcher 3 so immersive. You, as the player, are given a range of verbs—fight, craft, ride, explore, talk, gamble—and the game world reacts dynamically to each of these actions. Want to ignore the main quest and spend the next 10 hours playing Gwent with random villagers? Go ahead. Fancy riding off into the wilderness to hunt a mythical beast? Sure, why not. In The Witcher 3, the wide range of affordances creates an incredibly rich, interactive world where the player can experiment, play, and engage with the game world in diverse and meaningful ways.

This is where affordances truly shine: they provide the player with choice. And choice is the hallmark of great game design.

Direct vs. Indirect Affordances: The Subtle Layers of Interaction

Not all affordances are as obvious as jumping or sword-fighting. There’s another layer to affordances: direct vs. indirect affordances.

Direct affordances are the obvious, explicit actions you can take. If there’s a ladder, it’s pretty clear you can climb it. If there’s a glowing button, you probably should press it. These are easy to understand and don’t require a lot of player thought. The game is telling you, “Hey, you can do this!”
Indirect affordances, on the other hand, are more subtle. They’re not immediately obvious but become clear through experimentation or context. For example, in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, you learn that the world’s weather system can affect your actions. When it rains, cliffs become slippery, making it harder to climb. This is an indirect affordance—players discover it organically as they interact with the game world. Another example could be crafting systems where players combine items in ways the game doesn’t explicitly tell them, but that they discover through trial and error.

Indirect affordances often lead to “Aha!” moments, where the player feels clever for discovering something on their own. They’re not hand-held through the process but are instead given the freedom to experiment and discover the full range of interactions available to them.

The Evolution of Affordances: From Pong to VR

Affordances have evolved alongside gaming technology. In the early days, with games like Pong, affordances were extremely limited. You could move the paddle up or down—that was it. As technology improved, so did the range of affordances that games could offer.

Fast forward to today, and we have games that offer entire worlds of affordances, especially with the advent of VR (Virtual Reality) and AR (Augmented Reality) gaming. In VR games like Half-Life: Alyx, your physical body becomes an affordance. Want to duck behind cover to avoid enemy fire? You physically duck. Want to pick up an object and throw it? Use your actual hand (well, sort of) to grab and toss it. The range of affordances expands dramatically when you add motion controls and real-world movement into the mix.

In this way, affordances have gone from basic directional inputs to immersive, physical interactions that blur the line between the game world and reality.

Affordances Shape Player Experience

At the end of the day, affordances are what shape the player experience. They define what is possible in the game world, what players can interact with, and ultimately, how players feel when they engage with the game. A good game offers meaningful affordances—actions that are intuitive, satisfying, and offer a variety of ways to engage with the game world.

Imagine playing a game where all you can do is walk in a straight line. Boring, right? Now imagine playing a game where every object you encounter can be interacted with in multiple ways: picked up, thrown, burned, transformed, or even spoken to. Suddenly, the game becomes a sandbox of possibilities, and your sense of agency as a player skyrockets.

This is the magic of affordances. They turn a static environment into a living, breathing world that you can shape and mold through your actions.

Conclusion: Affordances Are the Heart of Interactivity

Affordances are more than just buttons to press—they are the tools of interaction that allow players to engage with the game world. From simple jumps and punches to complex crafting systems and world-altering spells, affordances define what you can do and how you do it. They give players agency, choice, and the freedom to explore and experiment within the boundaries of the game’s design.

Whether you’re stomping Goombas in Super Mario, slaying monsters in The Witcher 3, or flailing your arms in a VR game, it’s the affordances that make the experience engaging, dynamic, and—most importantly—fun. Without them, games would just be glorified screensavers.

So next time you boot up a game, take a moment to appreciate the affordances at your disposal. After all, they’re what make games more than just pixels on a screen—they make them experiences you can control, manipulate, and enjoy to the fullest.