The Exciting Experience

Randomness and Choice in Game Design

A bead of sweat forms on your brow. Your breath quickens. You've been playing solid poker for hours, carefully building your stack. Your hand is strong, and you've been raising while others merely call. Then, the chip leader to your right shoves—all-in. You’re confident you have them beat—but are you willing to put everything on the line to find out?

I don’t know about you, but just imagining this scenario gets my heart racing. I can feel the tension, the stakes, the razor’s edge between triumph and disaster. These emotions are key to making games engaging and memorable. Any serious poker player will gladly share tales of “bad beats” and game-changing wins—because those moments matter.

This feeling—excitement—is an integral part of player experience, and has I’ve said numerous times the core principle of game design is:

Player experience is the most important metric.

How to Create Excitement in Your Games

Randomness and Big Moments are two of the most powerful tools for increasing exciteme…