Awareness Design
Strategic games, by their nature, demand a high degree of player awareness. Key to mindful design here is to present information in a way that supports, rather than overwhelms, this awareness. Design elements that gently guide the player's focus are preferable to those that aggressively demand attention.
Information Hierarchy
A clear information hierarchy allows players to quickly assess the state of their kingdom and the surrounding world. This reduces cognitive load and allows for more thoughtful decision-making.
Conscious Spaces
The user interface can either foster a sense of calm engagement or contribute to frantic, reactive gameplay. Conscious spaces are created by employing visual clarity, intuitive controls, and a predictable layout. Consider color palettes that are easy on the eyes and avoid unnecessary visual clutter.
- Visual Clarity: Minimize screen clutter to promote focused attention.
- Intuitive Controls: Simplify interactions to reduce frustration.
Mindful Features
Mindful features are those that encourage players to slow down, reflect, and make deliberate choices. These might include features that reward long-term planning, promote collaboration, or offer opportunities for customization and personalization.
- Encourages strategic thinking.
- Promotes social interaction.
- Can be time-consuming.
- May require significant investment.
Present Moments
While strategic games often focus on long-term planning, it's important to provide opportunities for players to engage with the present moment. This can be achieved through dynamic events, unexpected challenges, or simply by creating a visually engaging world that invites exploration.
Games like this can be compelling because of the combination of planning and reacting to challenges.
Thoughtful Paths
A well-designed progression system provides players with a sense of accomplishment and motivates them to continue playing. However, it's important to avoid creating a system that feels overly grindy or repetitive. Thoughtful paths offer players meaningful choices and allow them to progress at their own pace.
- Progression system:
- Meaningful choices and player agency are key.
Overall Mindful Value
A strategy game's mindful value lies in its ability to engage players in a thoughtful and deliberate way. By prioritizing clarity, intuition, and player agency, developers can create experiences that are both entertaining and enriching.