5 mistakes of a novice game designer

Founder of the independent studio Scared Square Games and game design teacher Stuart Lilford named 5 common mistakes of novice game designers. And he told me how to fix them.

According to Lilford, he regularly sees these problems in educational game projects, even among the most talented students.

The first game does not need a menu and pause

Lilford advises not to copy your previous gaming experience, but to experiment with design and gameplay. The menu and the pause function are optional elements, you can think about them later.

The game needs sound and music

Lilford recommends adding basic sound effects and music to the game, this will help improve the gameplay experience.

The game should have an acceptable level of difficulty

Testing the gameplay only on yourself, it’s easy to make an overly complex game. Playtests with other people will help to avoid this. They will tell you what caused them the most difficulties.

The player must figure out the game without your help

We need to make sure that the findings of game design do not put other gamers at a dead end. Playtests will help to identify problems again.

Develop the game gradually

A small completed project will be enough for a game debut. In the future, it can be developed by adding new features. But do not try to do everything at once.

Currently, Lilford teaches game design at the College of the British city of Sheffield.

In 2012, in an interview with Cubed Gamers, Lilford said that after graduating from university in the field of game design, he could not get a job in his specialty.

For several years, Stewart worked as a tester at Rare and Codemasters, after which he became an independent game developer.

Also on the topic:

• The second life of Flash games: Developer tips
• How to create a high-quality design document: tips from Rocket Jump

Source: Gamasutra