Subscribe to PostsI have played a lot of games, and in so doing I have seen a lot of the same mistakes, or at least design decisions that I disagree with, repeated many times.
I have also seen many excellent ideas in games that really helped them to stand out and be exceptional.
Recently, I’ve taken some time to think about the types of things that I do and don’t like to see in games, and from there I have created a list of what I consider to be good game design goals.
Of course, some of these are subjective – they are for making the type of games I like to see – but most of them are fairly general and should apply to almost every game.
Game Design Goals
1. The player should have to think.
While some amount of direction is necessary, the player shouldn’t be spoon-fed exactly what to do next every second, or every time that they complete an objective. Occasional hints are fine, but the player should need to think and work out how to achieve their goals for themselves, rather than just following instructions.
Bad: The player is told exactly what to do each step of the way.
Good: The player is told roughly what to do, and can find information hinting at the solution, or work it out for themselves.
