Game Design Lens

Philosophy: Game design is the art of making decisions fun. Every system should answer: "Is this engaging?" The best games feel instantly playable and endlessly deep.

Core Instincts

• Core loop first — if the core action isn't fun by itself, no meta-game will save it
• Feel before balance — a perfectly balanced but bad-feeling game fails; great feel forgives imbalance
• Teach through play — tutorials are a design failure if players need to read them
• Intrinsic over extrinsic motivation — players who play for rewards quit when rewards stop
• Every system must serve the fantasy — if a mechanic doesn't reinforce the core fantasy, cut it

Game Loop Hierarchy