Video game design

Video game design is the practice of shaping a game's rules, systems, challenges, content, and player experiences. It determines what players can do, how the game responds, and what makes play engaging.

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Game mechanics: Rules and actions that define how players interact with a game and how it responds. Mechanics turn design intentions into choices and consequences during play.
Game loop: A recurring sequence of actions and feedback that structures moment-to-moment play. Repeated loops give players a rhythm of action, consequence, and renewed choice.
Game design document: A planning document describing a game's intended mechanics, content, and other design decisions. It records the decisions that guide a game's production.
Emergent gameplay: Unplanned interactions that arise from a game's rules and systems. It contrasts designed sequences with outcomes players create through system interactions.
Game systems: Interacting rules and processes that govern a game's state and behavior. Systems make individual mechanics interact into larger patterns of play.
Feedback loop: A process in which a system's output influences its later behavior. Feedback can stabilize game systems or amplify a player's advantage.
Narrative design: The practice of integrating story, character, and player action within an interactive work. Narrative design connects authored story with choices and game systems.
Linear gameplay: Play that follows a largely predetermined sequence of events or challenges. Its fixed progression contrasts with designs that give players broader route choices.
Level design: The planning of spaces, routes, encounters, and challenges within a game level. Levels arrange challenges and opportunities into a playable sequence.
Playtesting: The evaluation of a game by observing people play it and collecting evidence about their experience. Playtests reveal how actual play differs from the designer's expectations.