How to Build a Killer Game
20 lesson from 20 years in game design with Mark Rosewater
Welcome to the new Monday format. From here on out, every Monday will be a post about a random topic that interests me. Might have something to do with what I’m studying, or might not.
To kick it off, I’ve got a summary of the talk Mark Rosewater gave at Game Designer’s Convention (GDC) back in 2016. In it, he details the 20 lessons he has learned in his 20 years designing Magic: The Gathering.
There are some great insights into human behavior that go beyond just designing a game.
WIthout further ado…
20 Lessons From 20 Years of Game Design
Fighting against human nature is a losing battle.
Humans are stubborn! If your game requires them to change their natural behavior, you are going to have a difficult time.
Main takeaway: Don't change your players to match your game. Change your game to match your players.
Aesthetics matter
Lesson 1 deals with human behavior. Lesson 2 is about human perception. Players expect the components of your game to have a certain feel.
It isn't just about the visual, but also balance and symmetry. It has to feel right. Missing the aesthetics causes players to get distracted and pay attention to what the game isn't instead of what it is.
Resonance is important
Humans come preloaded. The audience already has preexisting emotional responses that the game designer can build upon.
Magic didn't invent zombies, but they could incorporate our preexisting knowledge of zombies to create a rich game experience.
Make use of piggybacking
Use preexisting knowledge to front-load game information to make learning easier.
Think of Plants vs Zombies. The creator wanted units that the audience couldn't move... Plants. He wanted horde style enemies that the audience could connect with... Zombies.
By choosing that combo people understood the game much faster.
Don't confuse interesting with fun
Two types of stimulation Intellectual and emotional (fun). We based most of our decision less on facts, and more on emotion.
Speaking to the audience at an emotional level, you are more likely to create player satisfaction.
Understand what emotion your game is trying to evoke
Know what your audience is trying to experience. Are you in the horror genre? They expect fear.
What impact will this game choice have on the player experience? If it doesn't contribute to the emotional output you're trying to create, it has to go.
Allow the player the ability to make the game personal
If you're in a store staring at a shelf and you've never purchased that product before, what are you most likely to purchase? The brand you are most familiar with.
Our brain associates our knowledge of something with quality. Because if you know it, that must mean it's better. The more players think the game is about them, the better their brain with think of it.
Provide a lot of choices. Different resources, paths, the ability to choose and not choose things. Allow them to feel that what they choose is theirs.
The details are where the players fall in love with your game.
As the player explores their choices they are searching for things to bond with. The individual will bond with the game through the details.
A small detail might only matter to a tiny percentage. But to that percentage, it can mean everything.
Allow your players to have a sense of ownership.
Once players make choices and bond over details, next you need to add customization. To build things that are uniquely their own.
Great games become an extension of the self. It has to move beyond being yours, and become theirs. The key to this is customization.
Leave room for the player to explore.
Don't talk at your audience, talk with them. To do this, get your audience to ask questions. People are more invested in things they initiated.
Don't always show the players the things you want them to see. Let your players find them.
If everyone likes your game, but no one loves it, it will fail.
Don't worry that the players will hate something. Worry that no one will love anything. Things that evoke strong responses will most often evoke strong responses in many directions.
Stop worrying about evoking a negative response, and start focusing on evoking a strong response.
Don't design to prove you can do something.
People who create tend to have large egos. Because it takes an ego to will something into existence. But you can't let your ego drive your motivation.
The goal is for an optimal experience for your target audience. Not to please your own ego.
Make the fun part also the correct strategy to win
It is not the player's job to find the fun. It is your job to put the fun where they can't help but find it.
Players will follow the game designers instructions, even if it isn't fun. Then they will (rightfully) blame the game.
Don't be afraid to be blunt
Artists prefer subtlety; show don't tell. Sometimes subtlety doesn't work.
Subtlety is important, but it doesn't mean you can't sometimes use bluntness to get your point across when you need to.
Design the component for the audience it is intended for.
There are 3 types of players and each wants something different. Experience something. Express Something. Prove something.
By trying to make all 3 happy, you make nobody happy. Have different game mechanics to please each type of player. Similar concept to rule #11.
Be more afraid of boring your players than challenging them.
You can't do that! It's too risky! It will hurt the game! When something challenges the status quo, there are a lot of passionate responses. Nobody, on the other hand, gets passionate about boring changes. Don’t fear the pushback.
Players respect the attempt to do something awesome, even if it doesn't work out. There is no such forgiveness when you bore the players. When you bore the players, they resent you.
You don't have to change much to change everything.
Game designers are never sure if there are enough components, so they keep sticking more in. Then, in the end, there is too much and this causes problems.
Ask, how little do I need to add?
Restrictions breed creativity.
When faced with a problem you've solved, your brain is very efficient at navigating the neural pathways back to the correct solution. This makes solving easier, but reduces creativity as you always get the same answer.
If you want to get your brain to new places, start from somewhere you've never started before. Setting a theme, vs being open-ended, for instance.
Your audience is good at recognizing problems and bad at solving them.
What does a doctor always do first? Ask how you're feeling. Because you know better than the doctor how you're feeling. But the doctor doesn't ask you how to solve the problem. That is their role.
The same is true in game design. Your players have a better understanding of how they feel about your game than you do. They're excellent at identifying problems. But they're not as equipped to solve those problems.
All of the lessons connect.
As you start to connect one to another, you will see how they all fit together in a giant interconnected web.
For those interested in the full video, check it out here.