Three mistakes we all make

As a beginner game designer who knows many others starting out, I've noticed several common tendencies that new designers often have. Over time and with experience, they come to realize that these aren't always accurate, and my hope is that by reading about these tendencies here, you can avoid some of these mistakes in your own journey. I'm not saying these approaches are always wrong, but they are patterns worth being aware of, so you can adjust as needed and recognize when they may not work. Every game designer is first of all a player and many of these tendencies come from the way we perceive games as consumers. Today, let’s look at the other side to see some good practices.

Randomness = bad

One tendency I notice, especially in board games, is the idea that removing randomness improves a game. Probably for a lot of people randomness is associated with frustration and injustice. But if that is the case, why are the most popular board games so full of random elements? For the many advantages brought by randomness in games, I suggest you this beautiful talk by Richard Garfield: https://youtu.be/av5Hf7uOu-o?si=2IA03MIVME9ZJ9zC

In short, he argues that:

• Luck and skill are independent, so a game can have a lot of luck and a lot of skill (like Poker)

• Randomness increases variability in your game, enhancing its replayability

• Randomness allows players with different skill sets to play together 

• Players blame luck when they lose and take credit when they win, making the game more enjoyable

These are some of the great advantages luck and randomness bring to your game. So, if you notice you have a tendency of reducing luck, be aware of all the possible benefits you may lose. 

Art is the most important thing

As passionate gamers, many of us develop a great enthusiasm for all the many beautiful art styles out there. But, as game designers, our job is to create and refine the game mechanics. The art style, the characters design, the VFXs, are all things that immediately make an impact when playing a game. Game mechanics, depending on the game, can sometimes stay in the background of a player’s mind, who can enjoy them without consciously thinking about them. The art is great at capturing new players, but, even if they don’t express it, the mechanics are what keeps them engaged. Art is important, but it’s usually someone else’s job: concentrate on making your design as best as possible. The one thing to avoid (in the great majority of the cases) is to make the game for the art. Establish what are the most important things in the gameplay and make the art follow your needs. Do you need magic to explain a gameplay mechanic that would be unrealistic? It’s important to know this beforehand, because the art can easily go in many directions, while the desired gameplay can’t usually change. As often you don’t know which gameplay you want, avoid (especially in board games) commissioning the art or realizing assets where the gameplay isn’t clear and stable. 

Getting attached to ideas

As we play already finished games, it often doesn’t come to our mind that a game needs to go through many iterations before it’s finished. Luckily, game designers and teachers talk about iteration all the time, but this doesn’t prepare you well for what iterating really means. Iteration means throwing out weeks of your work because it doesn’t play well, because it doesn’t fit with the rest of the game, because players don’t play it as you intended. Try to really keep in mind that the first idea is simply a sketch on a piece of paper, it’s not a finished painting. Don’t think it’s perfect, don’t get attached to it. Losing it doesn’t mean wasting your time. Your time had to be spent on that sketch to allow the beautiful painting to come out.

Ciao!

That's all for today, I hope you found something useful in this article. See you next week for another one!