What's the best way to measure game aesthetics and style success?

1 Define your goals

Before you can measure your game's aesthetics and style, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve with them. What is the genre, theme, mood, and message of your game? Who is your target audience and what are their preferences and expectations? How do you want your game to stand out from the competition and create a memorable impression? By defining your goals, you can establish a direction and a vision for your game's aesthetics and style.

2 Use reference materials

One way to measure your game's aesthetics and style is to compare them with reference materials that match or inspire your goals. These can be other games, artworks, movies, books, or anything else that has a similar or contrasting aesthetic and style to your game. By using reference materials, you can see how your game compares to existing or potential standards, identify strengths and weaknesses, and find areas for improvement or innovation.

3 Get feedback

Another way to measure your game's aesthetics and style is to get feedback from other people, such as testers, peers, experts, or potential players. Feedback can help you understand how your game's aesthetics and style are perceived, interpreted, and appreciated by different audiences and perspectives. You can use various methods to collect feedback, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, or online platforms. You can also use metrics, such as ratings, reviews, downloads, or retention, to measure the impact of your game's aesthetics and style on your game's performance.

4 Use tools

A third way to measure your game's aesthetics and style is to use tools that can help you analyze and improve your game's visual quality and consistency. These can be software, frameworks, models, or guidelines that can help you assess and enhance aspects such as color, lighting, composition, texture, animation, or UI. For example, you can use tools like Adobe Color, Unity Post Processing, or MDA Framework to create and adjust your game's color palette, lighting effects, or aesthetic components.

5 Experiment and iterate

Finally, the best way to measure your game's aesthetics and style is to experiment and iterate on your game's design and development. By trying out different options, variations, and combinations, you can discover new possibilities and solutions for your game's aesthetics and style. By testing and evaluating your game's aesthetics and style regularly, you can refine and polish your game's visual appeal and identity. By experimenting and iterating, you can create a game that meets your goals and satisfies your players.

6 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?