Game design is overrated

I was a game design snob. By that I mean I used to scoff at many game designs for lacking innovation, for being too shallow, for being yet another samey game. I faulted the game designer. I felt if I were the designer I wouldn’t design something like this. Good game design should not be like this. It should bring something new to the table. Wait. I realise maybe I still am a game design snob. 

One thing I am gradually realising is that game design may be overrated in many situations. If we define success of a game as how well it sells, the game design may not be the most important contribution. A well designed game does not sell by itself. You need good art. You need to choose the right setting that attracts your target audience. Your publisher needs to have a strong distribution channel. Good marketing and social media presence help. The brand recognition of your publisher helps. Being able to reach your target market is crucial. Many things affect the success of a game, and the game design is only one of them. 

If you want to be a successful game designer, where success is defined as your game selling well, there are many things you need in place, not just your game design. If you find a good publisher, it helps a lot. 

Good game design still matters. It separates the flashes in the pan from the long term successes. Some modern boardgames become modern classics because they are great designs. 

Now that I have entered the business side of the boardgame industry and am no longer purely a consumer, I have learned to better appreciate many game designs. These games are designed not as works of art for hobby gamers to admire how clever they are. They are designed to be attractive to their  particular target buyers and to deliver a fun experience for them. Not all games are designed for the hobby gamer. The hobby gamer is only a small and niche target market. We often overestimate how important we are. 

Design means deliberately creating something in a certain way to achieve a particular purpose. So whether a design is good should be measured by whether it achieves its objective, not whether you like it. 

Do I design games to make myself happy? I must admit that is certainly part of it. It makes me happy to create an innovative and clever game. I hope my games make other people happy too. I hope there is an overlap between what makes me happy and what makes other people happy. I hope I do a good job of promoting and marketing my games, so that they reach more people, and help them make happy memories.