How To Think Like A Game Designer
To be a great game designer, you must anticipate how players will emotionally respond to the rules you create. This requires empathy and a deep understanding of why people play games—what excites them, challenges them, and keeps them engaged.
A great designer not only predicts the choices players will make but also understands how those choices will feel. This is because the most fundamental principle of game design—the rule that should guide every decision you make—is:
The most important metric in game design is player experience.
Our job as game designers can be described as working in a feeling factory. Only by understanding our own feelings and emotional reactions to games can we empathize well enough with others to do our jobs well.
That said, as you progress in your game design journey, there are three essential habits you must develop:
Play lots of games.
Watch people play lots of games.
Bring awareness to the emotions that arise during play.
These hab…
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