Finding the fun in game design
Published on : September 15, 2016
Designing a game often feels like finding your game.
First you have an idea, then you create a prototype (a "hypothesis") and then you play it. Then you evaluate it to see what attributes you liked and what you didn't, and try to surmise why.
You also notice subtle emotional and unexpected results, like a smile on someone's face when they played a card, or how they pantomimed with a prop, or why they screamed during a YouTube playback. These subtle points can indicate important, exciting traits you didn't know your game had. You just stumbled upon them. And then if you're listening carefully, your next prototype has focuses more on these good things and less on the bad.
read more