The Rules of Game Design

Rule 6: Conceits are OK

There are plenty of conceits and conventions in game design, many of which we don’t even pick up on because they’ve been built into computer and video games since time out of mind. They range from those that have been deliberately created to enhance a game experience, like typing ‘N’ instead of ‘Go North’ in text adventures, to those that have come out of nowhere, like jumping on a bad guy’s head in a platform game.

Either way, contrary to public opinion, these conceits are OK in gaming. It’s all right to have enemies who drop health packs when they die, or to make use of crates and flaming barrels as an important part of a level structure. Really.

There are games that take the conventions too far for too little benefit, true, but by and large there’s really no reason for gamers to become agitated at a single game just because it has baddies who stand next to explosive barrels or because you can’t hold a torch and a gun at the same time.

These trends are an important part of how players experience a game, making it familiar and accessible while ensuring that there’s no need to spend ages figuring out how to kill a monster if you don’t jump on its head. Too many video games try to avoid these standard conceits without good reason, ruining them in the process.

Rule Obeyer: Almost all half-decent FPS games could take the honourable mention here, but if pushed we’d probably have to give it to Doom simply because it started a lot of them. There were boxes everywhere, explosive barrels at every turn and the health kits and armour all looked the business. Who cares if the main character doesn’t actually wear a glowing green helmet – it works within the context of the game!


Rule Breaker: Thief: The Dark Age turned half of these gaming conceits on its head, removing most offensive weapons from the game and limiting the player’s ability to heal themselves. You no longer just ran over items to pick them up either, you had to actually reach out and take them, creating noise in the process and putting yourself at risk. It was a first person shooter, just with the shooter bit taken off and trimmed back. It was also bloody marvellous.

Rule 7: The interface should not be a problem

Game interfaces can be fabulous things. When they work well, they supply you with all the information you need to forget the real world even exists and you can slide into the game like a greased slug slipping into a vat of Vaseline and oil – i.e. smoothly.

Unfortunately, for every game with a good interface there’s a game with a HUD so clunky and rigid that it feels like a hammer in your eye socket – i.e. painful.

A decent game interface should be clean and simply presented, without all the faff and chaff that some people seem to think sets a good mood for the game. That mood usually involves making the numbers neon green and surrounded with pictures of tiny circuit boards in the vague hope that the game feels more Sci-Fi.

In reality, all those things do is distract gamers. OK, so sometimes a context for a HUD (like the HEV suit in Half-Life) is a nice addition, but it isn't always needed. In reality, it doesn't matter if the HUD involves a numerical countdown of player health or blurry vision that kicks in when health gets low – what is important is that the game is built with this system in mind and that the interface doesn't become a barrier.


Rule Obeyer: The Secret of Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge was the first game in the series to use images for inventory items on all formats, combining that with the SCUMM engine to make a point and click game that was a joy to use. There’s no need for a manual or tutorial at all because the whole system is so clearly labelled and the system is so refined. Click Open, click the Door and, hey presto, you’ll open the door.

If that’s too complex, you can always use the right mouse button to perform the highlighted obvious action to save time, making the interface even easier to use.

Rule Breaker: Nethack is a game that falls into the Roguelike genre and therefore has a retro interface which is deliberately designed to be archaic and unwieldy. With an ASCII presentation and a complex set of game rules already making the game pretty hard to grasp for new players, the interface is just the icing on the cake. Memorising the controls is one of the key skills needed in the game, so the fact that so few people have finished it really speaks for itself.