10 Game Design Rules You Must Know

10 Game Design Rules You Must Know::

1. 🔍 Reward curiosity
↳ If players wander off the main path, make it worth their time.
• Hidden treasures, story snippets, or rare items keep exploration exciting and rewarding.

2. 🏆 Make victory and defeat crystal clear
↳ Avoid confusing win/lose conditions.
• Players need to understand how they can succeed, and why they failed.
• Visual cues like progress bars or danger symbols (e.g., red or sharp objects) help a lot.

3. 🔄 Be consistent
↳ Patterns build trust.
• If the “exit” button is always top-right, keep it there.
• Never break the rules you’ve taught players.

4. 🌟 Guide, don’t lecture
↳ Nobody likes a dull tutorial.
• Help players learn through subtle hints, not drawn-out lessons.
• Let them discover solutions on their own.

5. ⚖️ Keep it fair
↳ Unfair moments break the experience.
• Enemies shouldn’t cheat, like teleporting or breaking game physics.
• Everyone (even the game itself) should follow the rules.

6. 🎁 Never take away earned rewards
↳ Players hate losing something they worked hard for.
• It feels unfair if it’s taken without their input.
• Let them give it up only by choice (e.g., selling or swapping).

Exception: During the FTUE, you can give something cool & powerful to hook them and then take it away. Players are fine with this because they didn’t earn it.

7. 🎯 Always provide a clear objective
↳ Players should always know what to do next.
• The path can be hard, but the goal must be obvious.

8. 🎮 Fun is the foundation
↳ No amount of rewards, content, or story will matter if the core gameplay isn’t fun.
• Make fun the starting point for every design decision.

9. 🗣️ The player is always right
↳ If players are bored, frustrated, or confused, that’s on the design.
• Listen to feedback. Players usually point out real issues.

10. 🤝 Respect player choices
↳ When you offer choices, honor them.
• Outcomes should match expectations.
• Forcing players into a “right” choice ruins immersion.

Good design is about respecting the player.

What rule would you add to the list?