#GameDev

Games aren’t just about mechanics. They’re about emotions.Here’s how to design games that evoke emotions:🎮 𝗚𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗬 • Systems: Mechanics, core loop, difficulty• Emotions: Fun, curiosity, and mastery📈 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡• Systems: Unlocks, skill trees, rewards• Emotions: Anticipation, joy, and the drive to push forward🎨 𝗔𝗥𝗧 & 𝗗𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗚𝗡• Systems: Cohesive style, animations, characters• Emotions: Immersion, exploration, and game feel🖥 𝗨𝗜 & 𝗨𝗫• Systems: Screens, user flow, icons• Emotions: Intuitive understanding and smooth navigation📚 𝗧𝗨𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗔𝗟𝗦• Systems: Soft & hard tutorials, visual hints• Emotions: Competence and those satisfying “aha” moments💰 𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗧𝗜𝗭𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡• Systems: Offers, ads, in-game currency• Emotions: Balancing "pain" with fairness and value 𝗟𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗢𝗣𝗦• Systems: Events, leaderboards, challenges• Emotions: FOMO, excitement, and social engagementDon’t just build game systems. Build experiences players will feel.

After playing recently hours, and hours more, extraction shooters and several mobile games for entertainment — as well as for research purposes, as the case may be — I’ve grown being interested, and even hooked a bit, to the tension elements of these games. In addition to engaging with games with tension playing a big part in them, I’ve also become interested of how tension can be used effectively in game design, economy design, monetization design as well as on live ops and product marketing. This is what we’ll be covering in this article. Tension in Game Design Tension is a critical component of game design, shaping player engagement, emotional investment, and overall immersion. It plays a role across various genres, from fast-paced mobile battles to slow-growing, high-stakes encounters in PC and console games. In this post, I’ll break down […]

Who’s actually playing your game? Understanding your players is key to designing experiences they’ll love. One of the best ways to do that: Use 𝘽𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙡𝙚'𝙨 𝙋𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙧 𝙏𝙮𝙥𝙚𝙨 to identify what motivates them. Here’s a quick breakdown: 💀 𝗞𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘀 • What drives them: Dominance • How they play: Raid others, trash talk, dominate in PvP • How to design for them: Competitive modes, ranked ladders, PvP arenas (while keeping toxicity in check) 🏆 𝗔𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀 • What drives them: Rewards and mastery • How they play: Grind levels, complete quests, collect rare items • How to design for them: Clear progression systems, leaderboards, milestone rewards 💬 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗿𝘀 • What drives them: Connection and collaboration • How they play: Chat, form guilds, join co-op missions • How to design for them: Robust social features, friend lists, community events 🧭 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗿𝘀 • What drives […]

Daily Bonus Guide 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀: • Players log in daily to claim rewards. • The more consecutive days they log in, the better the rewards. • Progress is tracked in a clear, calendar-style window. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀: • Daily habits = long-term retention. • Rewards trigger FOMO and motivation. • Easy to combine with push notifications. • Monetizable through Rewarded Ads. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲: 🔹 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 • Keep it simple: "Daily Reward," "Daily Bonus," or "Daily Login." • Optional: add a short note about why it's worth logging in. 🎁 𝗗𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 • Rewards get better with each consecutive login. • Miss a day? Progress resets to day 1. • Streaks keep players motivated. ⏰ 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗿 • Shows exactly when the next reward is available. • Adds transparency and urgency. 📊 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗕𝗮𝗿 • Visualizes long-term milestones. […]