Every rule, every component, every aspect of your game must solve a problem or provide an experience that is essential to your game. Everything else compromises quality.
— Jay Treat
Don’t give up if the feedback is negative; correct and move on. Be prepared to question everything you have done and to change even when changing is the most painful thing to do. It will eventually pay off.
— Nestor Tyr
Don’t take pride in your game. Take pride in yourself as a designer. It doesn’t matter how many times you rebuild it; it matters that you’re learning and building skills: both general skills and the skill of designing that specific game.
— Jay Treat
As game designers we focus a lot on components, mechanics, & systems. But learning to teach your game well helps attract more play testers & also reveal unnecessary complexities. Be intentional about how you teach, and iterate on it just as you would with your design.
— Joseph Z. Chen
I cannot stress enough that if you are a first time designer you should try to start small & simple rather than big & complicated. Larger designs have many interacting systems that are much harder to design, troubleshoot, & playtest. Then try something bigger after.
— C.M. Perry