Final Class Reflection

Before Cs247G, I thought that designing a game was super simple. All you had to do was make it fun, which isn’t hard. I assumed that if you had an interesting idea and added a few cool pieces, then people would naturally enjoy playing. I didn’t think too much about structure, pacing, emotional engagement, or how players actually interact with a game beyond just “winning” or “losing.”

From my first lesson in class, I realized how deep game design truly goes. Every piece needs to be intentional, from the rules to the theme to the emotions it tries to evoke. Our first few lectures forced me to slow down and really think about why a mechanic mattered, or what kind of interaction I was inviting. Through playtests, feedback sessions, and lecture discussions, I started to see game design as less about entertainment and more about being intentional in what types of fun I was aiming for.

Some concepts really stuck with me. One was the idea that mechanics are meaning. I’d always thought about mechanics as tools for gameplay, but never as tools for storytelling or communication. Now, I see how every rule and system decision shapes the story players build. For example, now when I think about games, I think about what mechanics the creator was aiming for and which choices they made to achieve that.

A challenge I struggled with was not making the game too hard. I love puzzles, and I think players will enjoy something more if it’s complex or takes effort to figure out. But during playtests, I saw how easily that frustrates players. It was hard to realize that players weren’t engaging because they were stuck, and when people get stuck, they get annoyed. On the other hand, one can’t make a game too easy because then the player gets bored. It’s about having that balance where the game is not completely straightforward but also solvable within a reasonable amount of time.