Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
The dos and don'ts of game design
We would like to end this section about game design with a list of good practices and
things to avoid while designing games, regardless of the genre or the platform you
are designing for. They will provide a solid background to approach the opportunities
and constraints inherent to designing games for today's smartphones.
Dos
The following are the dos of game design:
• The designer's role is to lose gracefully. If the player wins having been chal-
lenged, the designer wins.
• Provide enough hints to guide the player to a solution of a puzzle.
• Reward the player's efforts appropriately; the higher the challenge, the higher
the payoff, and vice versa.
• Make creative use of the features the game has; avoid the underuse of the
game's unique/cool elements.
• If a situation can have only one outcome, make it a cutscene. Don't give the
player the illusion of control when they don't have it; this breaks the player/
designer trust.
Don'ts
The following are the don'ts of game design:
• Don't allow the player to miss essential content.
• Don't cheat; play by the same rules the player has to follow.
• Avoid mindless repetition; it's not fun in real life so skip it in your game too.
• Don't allow the player to be lost; if they need a map, provide one. Same goes
for clues.
• Don't break the game's illusion by introducing story-inappropriate elements.
• Avoid randomness for the sake of same. Being weird for weird's sake is not
fun; it's lazy design.
• Avoid obscure solutions to obstacles; if it doesn't make sense in the real world,
it won't make sense in the game.
