between ourselves and the game, we were able to see its glaring control problems.
Ideally, a proper playtesting phase will include many players playing the game for the
first time, and witnessing their initial reaction to the controls is crucial to understand-
ing how intuitive your controls really are. Do not think, “Oh, she’ll get used to it,” or
“What an idiot! These controls are obvious; why can’t she see that!” or “Well,Ilike
them the way they are.” Instead think, “Why are my controls bad and what can I do to
fix them?”
Designing controls that players will find intuitive can be quite challenging, espe-
cially with such a variety of control setups for different games, particularly in the PC
market. For example, back when the FPS genre was first establishing itself, it was hard
to determine what the “standard” controls for an FPS should be since the last three
successful FPS games had all employed unique control schemes. Thankfully, over time,
the controls became standardized, and now fans of shooting mayhem are easily able to
jump into almost any FPS they come across. Almost every PC action game released in
the last decade allows players to configure the controls however they desire, and this is
an absolute must for any PC game that demands players manipulate a large number of
buttons. That said, many players never find or use the control configuration screens,
either because of a desire to start playing the game immediately or a general lack of
savvy with the computer. Many, many players will be left playing with whatever the
default keys are, and this is why it is the designer’s job to make sure these default set-
tings are as playable as possible. Here, following the standard set by most other games
is very important. You should never use a strange or confusing set of default controls
for your game merely because the programmer in charge likes it that way or the team
has grown accustomed to them. Always make sure the default controls are as intuitive
as possible, and if this involves shameless imitation, so be it.
Making a game in an established genre is one thing, but when it comes to develop-
ing a game that tries to do something substantially new with what actions players can
perform, there is no way to avoid spending a lot of time on the controls. After you get
them so you like them, you must put them in front of players to see how well they work
in practice instead of theory. Trying out brave new control styles is a noble endeavor,
Chapter 7: The Elements of Gameplay 135
When the attempt to
have unique controls
did not work out as
planned,The Suffering
was changed to
emulate control systems
from other games.