Ludology Podcast Checklist

[Tim]

The Ludology Podcast Game Design Checklist

This is a series of questions/topics to help guide the development of your game. You should have answers that you are happy with for all of these.

The Experience

– What is the core experience?

– Why would someone want to play this game?
– Where is the fun for the players?
– Who is your target audience?
– What makes this game different from other games on the market?
– Do all game mechanics support the experience?
– Is the duration appropriate for the experience?
– Are there things for players to learn and get better at? Is this appropriate for the length and experience of the game?
– What are the decision points in the game?
– Is there a game play arc (narrative arc) appropriate to the duration and experience?
– How do the players interact with each other? Is it appropriate for the experience?

Mechanics

– Are the mechanics fresh and innovative? Are they too innovative?
– Are there moves/actions that players always take? Can these be eliminated or changed?
– Do you give players incentives to do interesting things?
– Will a new player have an idea of what a good play is early in the game?
– Can any mechanics be eliminated or simplified?
– Which mechanics are not intuitive? Are you taking appropriate steps to explain / ease players in?
– Are there any degenerate/extreme strategies? Is there a dominant strategy?
– Are the start positions sufficiently balanced?
– Is the winner in doubt until the end of the game? Is your win curve (lead vs chance of winning) appropriate for the game? Is there a snowball effect?
– Will a new player occasionally beat an experienced player? How often? Is this appropriate for the experience?
– Is anyone actually eliminated from the game? Is this appropriate to how long they may have to wait for the game to then end?
– Is there player downtime? If so, is it appropriate for the target audience and experience?
– What drives the game towards a conclusion?

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