Fundamentals of Game Design, Third Edition

Chapter 4. Understanding Your Player

The player-centric approach that this book teaches demands, above all else, that you understand your player, not merely as part of an audience of consumers, but as an individual who has an emotional connection to your game and, indirectly, to you. We often think that we know what players want from games, but much of this knowledge is intuitive and based on what we want from games as players. In this chapter, you’ll learn about the characteristics of certain kinds of players. We’ll begin with a way of looking at what kinds of feelings different players like to experience as they play. Next we’ll examine several familiar demographics: men and women, boys and girls, dedicated (“hardcore”) players, and casual ...