Game Development Tips, Tricks, and Advice From a Player
- Cutie Pie T.T.V.
- Jun 11
- 3 min read
Game Development Tips, Tricks, and Advice From a Player
1. Never Let Players Get Lost
One of the fastest ways to frustrate players is making them wander around with no idea how to progress.
What to Do
Add objective markers.
Add a hint system.
Make important paths visually stand out.
Give players clear goals.
Provide a "What should I do next?" option.
What Not to Do
Expect players to magically know where to go.
Hide progression behind random guesswork.
Make players wander for hours searching for one clue.
Player Perspective:
I love story-driven games. If I can't find the next story event, I'm not having fun—I'm just lost.
2. Every Puzzle Should Have Hints
Players enjoy solving puzzles.
Players do not enjoy being completely stuck.
Good Solutions
Hint button.
Progressive hints.
Point and click combination journals. which show the player what they combined that didn't work before and areas they checked that came up with nothing.
Lists of clues already discovered.
For Text Adventures
Include:
A command list. that changes depending on the room if only some commands function in some rooms
A help command.
Room-specific command suggestions.
A hint system.
Without these, players often have no idea what commands are even valid.
3. Respect the Player's Time
If a player fails the same section repeatedly, consider helping them.
Helpful Features
Skip difficult segments after multiple failures.
Optional puzzle skips.
Story mode difficulty.
Accessibility options.
Player Perspective:
Sometimes I want a challenge.
Sometimes I just want to see what happens next in the story.
4. Don't Assume Visual Cues Are Enough
Many developers use things like:
Yellow paint
Bright lights
Colored pathways
These can help.
But they're not foolproof.
Better Approach
Make guidance:
Eye-catching stuff that would realistically interest the player into finding it (not just colors) like a symbol or something that implies something bad happened that'd make players want to explore it
Contextually meaningful
A player shouldn't think:
"That's a weird yellow wall."
They should think:
"That looks important. I should check it out."
5. Remember Why People Play
Different players enjoy different things.
Some want:
Challenge
Strategy
Difficulty
Others want:
Story
Exploration
Fun mechanics
Example
If using a flamethrower is fun:
Let players enjoy using it.
Not every mechanic needs to be heavily restricted.
6. Easy Doesn't Mean Bad
Many developers fear making games "too easy."
Don't.
Good Puzzle Design
Teach first.
Challenge later.
Make solutions understandable.
A player should think:
"I should have figured that out."
Not:
"How was I supposed to know that?"
7. Learn From Games That Frustrate You
Pay attention to moments when you think:
"This is annoying."
"I'm lost."
"This puzzle makes no sense."
"Why can't I save?"
These frustrations are valuable lessons.
Ask Yourself
Why did this annoy me?
How would I improve it?
How can I avoid doing this in my own game?
8. Don't Pad Your Game
Adding unnecessary puzzles just to increase playtime usually hurts the experience.
Instead
Add meaningful content.
Add interesting story moments.
Add optional side content.
Split very large games into chapters.
If you want it to be over 2 hours long, and it's chaptered like poppy playtime, merge the chapters together if one is super short.
Longer isn't always better.
9. Let Players Save When They Want
This is one of the biggest quality-of-life features.
Recommended
Autosave
Manual save
Multiple or unlimited (preferred) save slots or save items even if it's just a carriable object
Avoid
Forcing players to travel back to save points.
Making players replay long sections after quitting.
Player Perspective:
I have a life outside the game. Let me stop and continue whenever I want.
10. Support Multiple Control Schemes
Not everyone uses controls the same way.
Recommended
Support:
WASD
Arrow Keys
Controller remapping
Custom keybinds
Some players grew up using arrow keys and still prefer them.
Giving options costs very little and helps many players.
11. Make Tutorials Easy to Revisit
Players forget things.
Especially in longer games.
Include
Tutorial menu.
Controls menu.
Help section.
Gameplay tips.
Never assume a player remembers something they learned three hours ago.
12. Study Player Complaints Carefully
Player complaints can reveal real issues.
But don't let them make you hate a game.
Look For
Recurring frustrations.
Accessibility problems.
Confusing mechanics.
Poor progression design.
Use criticism as information, not as proof a game is bad.
13. Teach New Mechanics Clearly
If your game introduces an unusual mechanic:
Do This
Explain it.
Demonstrate it.
Let players practice safely.
Players shouldn't have to search online to learn basic gameplay.
Final Rule
If the player doesn't know what to do, where to go, or how to progress, that's usually a design problem—not a player problem.
The best games challenge players while still respecting their time, providing guidance when needed, and making it easy to keep moving forward. Players remember great stories, fun mechanics, and satisfying experiences—not hours spent wandering around completely lost.
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