Psychological Game Design Essays
Shared below are some of my game design related essays. Originally written for a Psychology of Games course, these are short essays connecting scientific or psychological concepts to game design.
While terms or concepts from the fields relating to game design science are used, designers from any background can learn from the main ideas I’ve written about.
Relative Acuity & UI
Changing UI elements by increasing their size and placing them close to center screen helps players keep track of game variables. This is supported by the concept of relative acuity in the human eye.
Essay Summaries
Constructivism & Tutorials
Game tutorials which use constructivist theory help players learn more effectively. I cover what constructivism is, and how it applies to game tutorials.
Response Priming & Reaction times
Response priming can help players with reaction based challenges. I explain what priming is and why it helps lower reaction times and user error.