Every game designer has dozens (if not hundreds) of ideas, and I bet every designer has several perfectly functional designs. The ability to look at all of those functional designs, pick only the best one, and make it 10x better is something that takes dedication, patience, and humility.
— Jamey Stegmaier
I still have to constantly remind myself that when playtesting, it’s more important to identify and describe issues than brainstorm possible solutions.
— Jeff Tidball
If players don’t provide feedback at the end of a test, you messed up. It’s your job as the moderator to ask the right questions and create an environment where people will give you feedback.
— John Brieger
As a designer play your game a ton. Then have your friends do the same. Then strangers. Take in all the data, iterate and repeat. There is no shortcut, and skimping in this process really shows long term.
— Ben Pinchback