Game Design Secrets

Web Game Design Lessons from Developers with KIXEYE, Nitrome, and Kingdom of Loathing

Players will exploit game resources in unintended, unanticipated ways, so be prepared for them to work against your own design. Power users will also play against your intentions, defeating your assumptions by putting more time and effort into your game than you probably imagined.

A good way to increase user retention is to give established players new ways to play (game modes, leveling mechanics, and so on). Revive a niche game genre you love, because there’s probably a market of people who love that niche, too. Don’t fall in the “it’s not good enough yet” trap, and launch your game early. That way, you can improve the game after you get real user feedback.

Early on, prepare for success and ways for your game to make money. People like owning the stuff they really love, so make sure they have a means to do that with your game.

From the start, find ways to generate gameplay data, so you can figure out how players are really engaging with your game and iterate around it.

See Chapter 9, “Web Game Developer Profiles: King of Loathing, Nitrome, and Desktop Tower Defense,” for more information.