💀 10 Bad Tips That Kill Your Game (and What to Do Instead)
TL;DR: 10 Bad Tips That Kill Your Game is a highly actionable framework outlining the most destructive design and production mistakes in modern game development, compiled by designers Anton Slashcev and Mykola Veremiev. Avoiding these pitfalls directly boosts early-stage player Retention and secures long-term lifecycle metrics.
In the heat of production, game development teams are frequently tempted by outdated practices or try to stack complex systems before establishing a fun foundation. This framework isolates 10 major design errors across 10 critical operational areas of game production, providing direct, data-backed solutions.
🧠 Detailed Breakdown of the 10 Design Pitfalls
1. Core Gameplay
- Bad Tip: Add meters, timers, and menus before players can do anything.
- What to Do Instead: Put the main action front and center immediately. Let players tap, press keys, and feel powerful or highly active in the very first second of their experience.
- Learn more: Core Gameplay
2. Onboarding (FTUE)
- Bad Tip: Start with a 30-step tutorial and ten text popups explaining the entire lore and mechanics of the world.
- What to Do Instead: “Teach through play” using microscopic, guided steps. Give the player a genuine win and positive reinforcement within the first 60 seconds.
- Learn more: FTUE
3. Progression
- Bad Tip: Make all upgrades tiny and invisible (e.g., +0.5% critical damage) so nothing ever feels different.
- What to Do Instead: Give clear, massive power spikes and new systemic “toys” that noticeably change how they play or approach challenges.
- Learn more: Progression
4. LiveOps
- Bad Tip: Paywall the core loop and spam microtransaction offers immediately after every level is cleared.
- What to Do Instead: Run highly predictable, focused events tied to clear, transparent goals, with rewarding achievements that hook players long-term.
- Learn more: Live Service
5. Monetization
- Bad Tip: Monetize the basic mechanics directly through paywalls, forcing players to pay just to continue playing the core loop.
- What to Do Instead: Keep the core gameplay fully fair. Sell shortcuts, cosmetics, or convenience bundles instead, showing maximum respect for player time and wallet.
- Learn more: Game Monetization Models
6. Narrative
- Bad Tip: Dump a massive wall of text lore before the player is allowed to press the first gameplay button. (Note: The original infographic had swapped labels for Social and Narrative — this is the corrected ordering).
- What to Do Instead: Reveal the story organically through active gameplay moments, character interactions, and the choices that players actually make.
- Learn more: Narrative Design
7. Social
- Bad Tip: Force players to join guilds or send 5 friend invites to unlock the next level before they even reach level 3.
- What to Do Instead: Let players opt in with lightweight social features first (e.g., daily energy gifting), then unlock deeper co-op and competitive gameplay later.
8. Technical
- Bad Tip: Ship with long loading screens, frequent crashes, and forced 500 MB patches every single week.
- What to Do Instead: Optimize boot times, memory footprints, and patch sizes so the game starts lightning-fast and runs stable on the target hardware.
9. Difficulty
- Bad Tip: Make levels either faceroll easy or brutally unfair, with no intermediate gradient.
- What to Do Instead: Aim for a smooth, rising difficulty curve with generous early forgiveness, highly readable fails, and room to master.
- Learn more: Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment
10. Game Feel
- Bad Tip: Leave actions silent and floaty, with no camera shake, no audio feedback, and no physical impact.
- What to Do Instead: Layer hits with tight timing, rich animation frames, clear audio cues, and subtle screen shakes so every single interaction feels incredibly “juicy.”
⚖️ Trade-offs & Implementation Analysis
| Perspective | Details |
|---|---|
| ✅ Advantages | Dramatically lowers Day-1 Churn and increases early session completion rates by eliminating initial player friction. |
| ❌ Disadvantages | Requires programmers and artists to spend more time debugging technical assets and fine-tuning physical feel rather than pumping out raw raw assets. |
| ⚠️ Common Trap | Designers might become overly conservative, avoiding unique systemic challenges in fear of violating basic layout conventions. |
📚 References
- Anton Slashcev & Mykola Veremiev — 10 Bad Tips That Kill Your Game, Game Industry Analysis Network, 2025. [S1]
- Nir Eyal — Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products, Portfolio Penguin, 2014. [S2]
- Jesse Schell — The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses, Third Edition, CRC Press. [S3]
🔭 See Also
- Core Gameplay: Deep dive on how to structure a great core gameplay loop
- FTUE: Effective onboarding principles for new players
- Iterate Pivot Kill: Strategic decision-making framework for game lifecycles
- Game Mechanics: The building blocks of game systems