Gameplay Design Tips #1: “Start with the Player, Not the Feature”
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By William Anderson
AwakenGames.com – Gameplay Design Tips Series
When I first started designing games in the early 1990s, the temptation to dream up wild mechanics was strong, especially when working on titles like Cool Spot or Aladdin. But over time, I learned one of the most important lessons in gameplay design:
Don’t start with the feature. Start with the player.
What does that mean?
It means your goal isn’t to show off clever mechanics — it’s to create meaningful moments for the player. A good mechanic is only as good as the experience it gives the person holding the controller.
You can have the coolest wall-jump, time-rewind, or gravity-reversing mechanic ever conceived, but if players don’t intuitively know how to use it, or worse, don’t enjoy using it, then it doesn’t serve the game.
The best gameplay flows from how players:
- Learn through interaction
- Feel through timing and feedback
- Succeed through mastery and challenge
Ask these questions early:
- What do I want the player to feel in this moment?
- What skills should they be building through this interaction?
- How will the game communicate success or failure?
When we were working on Jungle Book, for example, we didn’t just say, “Let’s make Mowgli swing on vines.” We asked, “What would make the player feel agile, wild, and free, like they’re moving through the jungle?” That led us to tweak the timing, arc, and bounce of those vines until they felt right, not just mechanically, but emotionally.
Pro Tip: Watch players, not your code
Once your prototype is playable, get others to try it without explaining anything. Just observe. Are they smiling? Confused? Bored? Your players will always tell you, even without saying a word.
Final Thought
Great gameplay design doesn’t start with “What cool thing can my character do?” It starts with “What experience do I want to give my player?” That’s how games go from functional to unforgettable.