How do you manage risk in game design prototyping?

1 Define your goals

Before you start prototyping, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve, what questions you want to answer, and what criteria you will use to evaluate your prototype. Your goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). For example, instead of saying "I want to make a fun platformer", you could say "I want to test if the jumping mechanic is responsive and intuitive for the target audience within two weeks". Having SMART goals will help you focus your prototyping efforts, avoid scope creep, and measure your progress and outcomes.

2 Choose your tools

The tools you use to create your prototype should match your goals, skills, and resources. You don't need to use the same tools or engine that you will use for the final product, as long as you can simulate the core features and mechanics of your game. You can use paper, cards, dice, Lego, or other physical materials to prototype board games, card games, or even digital games. You can also use software tools like Twine, Construct, Unity, Unreal, or GameMaker to prototype different genres and platforms of digital games. The key is to choose tools that are easy to learn, fast to iterate, and flexible to adapt.

3 Test early and often

The main purpose of prototyping is to test your assumptions, hypotheses, and ideas with real users and data. You should test your prototype as early and as often as possible, with a variety of methods and feedback sources. You can use playtesting, surveys, interviews, analytics, or other techniques to collect qualitative and quantitative data about your prototype. You should test your prototype with different types of users, such as potential customers, experts, peers, or friends. You should also test your prototype in different contexts, such as online, offline, solo, or multiplayer. Testing early and often will help you validate or invalidate your assumptions, identify and fix problems, and discover new opportunities.

4 Iterate and improve

Based on the data and feedback you collect from testing, you should iterate and improve your prototype until you reach your goals or decide to pivot or stop. Iteration is the process of making changes to your prototype based on what you learned from testing. Improvement is the result of making changes that increase the quality, usability, or value of your prototype. You should iterate and improve your prototype in small and frequent cycles, rather than in large and rare batches. You should also prioritize the most important and impactful changes, rather than the most trivial or cosmetic ones. Iterating and improving your prototype will help you refine your game design, increase your user satisfaction, and optimize your resource allocation.

5 Communicate and document

Throughout the prototyping process, you should communicate and document your goals, decisions, results, and learnings. Communication is the act of sharing your prototype and its related information with others, such as stakeholders, collaborators, testers, or audiences. Documentation is the act of recording your prototype and its related information in a format that is easy to access, understand, and update. You can use tools like sketches, wireframes, mockups, videos, screenshots, slides, blogs, or wikis to communicate and document your prototype. Communicating and documenting your prototype will help you gain feedback, support, and exposure, as well as preserve your knowledge and history.

6 Learn and apply

The final and most important tip to manage risk in game design prototyping is to learn and apply what you learned from the prototyping process to your future projects. Learning is the act of extracting insights, lessons, and best practices from your prototyping experience. Applying is the act of using those insights, lessons, and best practices to improve your game design skills, processes, and products. You can use tools like reflection, analysis, evaluation, or synthesis to learn and apply what you learned from prototyping. Learning and applying what you learned from prototyping will help you grow as a game designer, avoid repeating mistakes, and create better games.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?