Game Design SMART Goal Audit

Audit game design goals against the SMART criteria, adapted for the realities of game design work — where goals often mix player experience intentions, behavioral outcomes, and business metrics.

Why SMART in Game Design

Game design goals often fail in predictable ways:

• Too vague to evaluate: "Players should feel engaged" — what does engaged look like? How do you know when you've achieved it?
• Unmeasurable by intent: "The loop should feel good" — feeling is real, but untestable without a proxy metric or a defined observation method.
• Scoped to infinity: "Improve retention" — which segment? Which part of the funnel? By how much?
• Disconnected from the design itself: A goal that could apply to any feature is not a design goal, it's a business wish.

SMART forces clarity. Applied to game design, it helps distinguish design intent (what experience you're crafting) from design success criteria (how you'll know you achieved it).

The SMART Framework — Game Design Interpretation