What makes a good game
June 1st, 2004, By Duncan Gough
Here’s what I do when I find a new game:
1. Start playing
2. If I don’t get what the game is about, mess with all the keys to find out what I can and can’t do
Within about a minute I’ll have found the most basic formula for scoring points/staying alive/keeping the game going.
I’ll play in this fashion until the end of the game. If the game ends quickly and is intersting. I’ll play again. Sometime later I’ll read the how to play text. Good games have information in there that makes me play ‘one more time’ again. If the game takes too long to end, it’s not interesting, I’m unlikely to play again. If the game ends stupidly, same situation. If the game ends by boxing me into a corner and making me run down the clock, that’s the worst situation.
But the very best games don’t need a ‘How To’ – they are the ones with such focus that the welcome screen explains it all. Or the map layout tells the story. Or there are enough UI hints in the game to make trainer levels look unseemly.
Polished games have subtle tricks that teach you how to play.
That’s why, when I saw the ball highlighting in Lightning Break, it was clear that this was going to be a very special game.