Final Class Reflection – Evan

Before this class, I saw play and playing as something that just happened. I have loved games and puzzles. I grew up playing board games with my family during holidays and video games, like Valorant or Overwatch, at night with my friends. Despite the many hours I’ve sunk into games though, I had never really thought about the design behind them (aside from getting mad at random game mechanics lol). I knew what I did or didn’t like and what felt fun for me, but I didn’t have the vocabulary or frameworks to explain why.

In CS247G, that shifted. Each week, I played games and then stepped back to reflect on them with a new lens. I started noticing patterns in mechanics, how tutorials were introduced, and how even small decisions could shape a player’s experience. I learned that everything in a game is designed with purpose. From the type of fun a mechanic supports, to the pacing of onboarding, to the emotions a game tries to evoke. These were not random outcomes. They were carefully constructed.

The concepts that stuck with me the most were the onboarding pyramid and the idea of cursed problems. I now think more critically about how games teach players and how early decisions affect long-term engagement. I also learned that some game design challenges are unsolvable without giving up part of the original vision. That idea helped me understand why some games feel stuck or frustrating. It gave me more empathy for designers and also more focus in my own thinking.

I implemented what I learned into my critical play posts. Instead of just reviewing a game, I tried to notice what it was doing and why. I paid attention to mechanics and how they created certain dynamics. I asked what the game was promising and whether it delivered. Writing in this way helped me slow down and reflect, not just as a player, but as someone trying to design better experiences.

One challenge I had was trying to balance analysis with personal reaction. Sometimes I wanted to just say what I felt, but I pushed myself to connect those reactions back to the frameworks from class. That wasn’t always easy, but I think it helped me grow. I now feel more confident explaining what works and what doesn’t in a game, and why that might be happening under the surface.

I grew a lot in how I think and talk about games. I don’t just look at them as entertainment anymore. I see systems, choices, and tradeoffs. Design is more than just creating and coding a fun idea. It is a give and take relationship between figuring out what does or doesn’t matter, and also what can or can’t be included.

If I keep working on games, I want to bring these ideas with me. I want to design with focus and intention. I want to think about how people learn, what emotions they carry, and how my choices shape their experience. And more than anything, I want to keep playing like a designer.