Introducing our new Design Blog

This kicks off a series of blog posts by our senior designer, Mari, that will be about the guiding design principles that she uses as she’s creating our game.

Design Principle #1 – Fun

Games are supposed to be fun, right? So, one of the most important things is making sure that the player is having FUN. To make sure that there is more “fun” than “not-fun” in the game (I haven’t used fun enough in the last few sentences – fun fun fun), these are a few of the tools that I use:

• Researching the demographic – what does the target audience look for in the type of entertainment that they choose and enjoy?  How can I apply this knowledge to the types of activities that go into the game?
• Past experience – there are some things that have a kind of universal appeal as far as gameplay goes and these are things I can most certainly lean on.  In general, most people seem to enjoy word puzzles, for example, while things like slider puzzles can be very divisive.
• Instinct – this is an instance when I think something is fun or I have a feeling it will be fun and I just go for it.
• Testing – this is the MOST important tool that I use to ensure the fun ratio in the game is high.  I rely very heavily on making paper prototypes and having everyone in the office test puzzles and activities before any art or programming is done (this also helps catch any instances in which my instincts are very wrong, see above bullet point)

Of course there are exceptions to every rule. These are just some of the things that help me tip the scales of fun in our favor.

2 Responses to “Introducing our new Design Blog”

1. Mary Meerkat says:

   February 25, 2010 at 10:33 am

   Hi!
   I just came across this and thought this is a cool idea! I just did my advertisement, so I hope I get into the beta!

   Reply
2. Mari says:

   March 5, 2010 at 7:08 pm

   Thanks, Mary! I hope you got in, too!

   Reply