Game Principles: Change, Choice & Creation: Making Better Games

Abstract

Heuristics or player experience principles have evolved to assist designers and evaluators in creating better games. Heuristics are intended to provide a structure for improving game design. The technique of using heuristics to review designs has gained wide acceptance in productivity products. The PLAY heuristics [2] is the further iteration of HEP [1], general principles of optimal player experience. GAP is another set of principles, focused on first time player, tutorial use and initial game play. We conducted a study to assess the benefits of using heuristics for games. Results showed that heuristics are more effective than “unassisted intuition” not only in identifying problems, but also in inspiring recommendations for enhancements to the games’ player experience. Future analysis of the data will take this analysis further, examining the quality of recommendations.