Research and Development
Abigail Rindo · 2024
Making games is never easy. Every new game is filled with new and exciting problems to solve. The best narrative and UX design systems are seamlessly integrated into the game’s core loop (the actions a player will do over and over again) and meta layers (the additional content that supports and reinforces the core) in order to handle this complexity and variation. By embedding the narrative and user experience into the core loop and meta layers, we are constantly answering the player’s questions—ideally by doing, rather than telling. The complexity of this ecosystem means that in game design, it is common to create additional problems every time you solve your initial problem. Well-designed iterative development processes and research methods can help you anticipate, analyze, and solve those problems early.