User:TheCiscoKid

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Revision as of 11:26, 22 July 2025 by TheCiscoKid (talk | contribs)

Design Principles

"The code is more what you'd call guidelines, than actual rules." - Captain Barbossa

  • Bushnell's Law
  • Intrinsic Motivation
  • Tactile/Kinaesthetic Satisfaction
  • Flow state/the zone
  • Elegance
    • Minimize Context Sensitivity
    • Maximize Gameplay Parity
  • Modularity/Sandbox Design
  • Gameplay Density
  • Mechanical (skill-based) Progression
    • Unlocks should help guide the player without overwhelming them (clarity/comprehension-gating), the dopamine hit of progression is just the cherry on top. Inverting this relationship to focus on the dopamine hit is gambling design.
  • Punish Inattention, not Ineptitude
  • Threat-Reward Inversion
    • That which you chase, becomes that which chases you, and vice-versa, on-and-on, like a snake eating its own tail