The secret to great game design isn’t avoiding frustration—it’s mastering it. Find out why good games should feel pleasantly frustrating.
Game Design
58 Articles
58
Waiting for a great game idea to strike? Don’t just wait, take action! Explore the tools, techniques, and strategies that turn inspiration into playable adventures.
Playtesting isn’t just about watching players play; it’s about uncovering the hidden truths of your game. From asking the right questions to avoiding ‘evil data,’ playtesting turns raw feedback into the insights that shape great design.
From jumping in a platformer to planning in a strategy game, core mechanics drive action, but they’re only part of the bigger game system.
Even the smallest game project can run into chaos without a clear plan. A well-crafted style guide keeps your team aligned, reduces confusion, and sets the stage for smoother, more efficient development.
Physical prototypes are the fastest way to bring a game idea to life, letting designers test mechanics, gameplay, and player engagement before committing to full production. Even simple paper prototypes can reveal critical insights, guiding your game toward fun, balance, and playability.
Even the most creative game ideas can stall without proper planning. Discover how project management keeps teams on track, turns concepts into playable games, and builds skills highly valued in the industry.
Game design isn’t just about wild ideas, it’s about figuring out which concepts actually hold up. The creative process helps to guide designers as they observe, critique, and refine their ideas along the way.
We usually think of the scientific method as something for labs and experiments—but it also shapes how players learn games and how designers refine them. By testing ideas like hypotheses, both sides turn uncertainty into discovery and play
The Layered Approach offers a fascinating way to peel back the complexity of games, revealing how mechanics, aesthetics, technology, and narrative interact.