Game Design Fundamentals: 18 flashcards
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1. What is a game?
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Structured play with a goal, rules, players, and an outcome.
2. How does ordinary play differ from a game?
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Ordinary play is open-ended; a game adds constraints and a stopping condition.
3. Name the four core components of a game.
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Goal, rules, players, and outcome.
4. What happens if you remove one core component of a game?
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The activity stops being a game.
5. Describe the game loop.
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Observe the state, act within the rules, the state changes, and the next player responds.
6. Why are games interactive rather than passive?
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Because every action changes the state and affects what is possible next.
7. What role do rules play in a game?
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Rules create the challenge by producing constraints; they are not merely restrictions.
8. What happens when you change a game's rules?
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You change the game entirely — variants can feel completely different.
9. How do games balance skill and chance?
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Different games mix them in different proportions, shaping who enjoys the game and how it feels.
10. What goes wrong with too much luck in a game?
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Skill stops mattering, so decisions lose meaning.
11. What goes wrong with too little luck in a game?
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Beginners get discouraged because outcomes feel predetermined.
12. Is the equipment the game?
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No — the game is the system of rules and goals played by people; equipment is only a tool.
13. Why do games support learning?
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They give immediate feedback, so learners try, fail, adjust, and try again.
14. Where are games used beyond entertainment?
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In education, coaching, business, and training simulations.
15. How do football and chess share the same structure?
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Both have a goal, rules, players, and an outcome — different equipment, same skeleton.
16. Why does understanding the game skeleton help you learn new games quickly?
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You can ask what the goal is, what the rules allow, who plays, and how winning is decided.
17. What is a training simulation?
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A game with realistic rules used to practice decisions safely, such as for pilots or surgeons.
18. Why is the game loop important for strategy?
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Good players think about how their move changes the state for everyone, not just themselves.
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