“Who is our player?; Why do they care about this experience?; Why would a kid say to their parent, ‘Hey, come and play this with me’?; Why would a girl turn to her boyfriend and say, ‘Oh my gosh, we have to play this game together!’?” she asks. These are the questions that Hunicke is asking as she and her team try to figure out how video games impact peoples’ lives. They’re difficult questions that almost always lead to other, more difficult questions. Possible answers are vetted and proven out through the rigorous playtesting and player analysis that she practices. The whole process is sort of a retro-engineering of emotional output in order to arrive at the game mechanics that can spark these emotions and inclinations.