Strange to say, but the first time a really felt that I came in contact with the "aesthetics" of a game was when introduced to the MDA framework.
In short, MDA stands for Mechanics, Dynamics and Aesthetics.
Mechanics could be the press of a button; Dynamics, what happens when the button is pressed. And the Aesthetics is the feedback of the dynamic (from using the mechanic).
(If you're into game design, you've probably heard this a million time before)
But the thing about aesthetics is that the explanation mentioned above is merely a scratch on the surface. It's more like the feedback of the dynamic, and the overall feel of the game. And everything in-between.
Some great examples for the aesthetics are the sound Mario makes when you jump. This is just plain feedback for the jump.
But an even greater example would be the sound the car exhaust makes when you throttle. Like the jump, it's feedback, but it probably gives you a feeling of how fast the car would be.
If the exhaust of a Ferrari has a monstrous roar you would most likely say "YES (!), this car is fast!". But if it hums like an electric car you would probably feel that you couldn't race a snail with it.
But then again the aesthetics is also the overall feel of the game.
A great example of this is the game "Sissyfight 2000" which is about bullying.
Now, lets start with a bad example, that I just made up.
Imagine a game where you play cards like "Bullying", "Wet willie" or "Wedgie", against one or more opponents. Each card breaks the opponents "psyche" until it reaches zero and he or her loses.
Playing the card "bullying" probably wont make you feel like you are bullying the opponent, and the opponent probably won't feel bullied. And the same would go for the other cards. Yet, this is rather common in some games.
The way you play Sissyfight 2000 is designed so that the opponent will feel bullied. This is achieved by forcing all the players openly "discuss" who will be the next person to lose. The players can then team up and "attack" that player to break it. Defending oneself is possible, but will only slow down the process.
And that's Aesthetics.
