Remember those girls in your 4th grade class that colored in the lines? I don’t mean they merely stayed within the lines, I mean they covered every molecule of white within that virtual ink barrier with mechanical accuracy! That’s bad. It’s a waste of effort and energy. Especially where “really good” often commands the same attention as “perfect.”
It’s impossible to make the perfect game, so don’t bother. Identify your goal (a game), your constraints (your budget), and focus 90% of your attention on the 90% of the game the user will spend her time with. Otherwise, you might never achieve your goal within your limitations.
If you’re a perfectionist, you may run out of money (or time) before you reach your goal. And if you’re sloppy, you may release a sub-par game. By identifying the most important facets, which are usually the most mundane–jumping, moving, swapping–you’ll foster an immediately more enjoyable game for the player.
“…you must pick your battles, deciding in which areas ‘most’ matters and living with ‘least’ the rest of the time.” –Seth Godin
That’s not to say the rest of the game isn’t important, but we live in a discrete world with finite resources. The more carefully you manage yours, the better game experience you can provide for your expenditure and audience!
[inspired by Seth’s Blog]
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on Friday, June 29th, 2007 at 4:25 pm and is filed under Game Design.
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