Know Your Players, and Seek to Delight Them

At the heart of every great game lies a simple truth: games are made for people. Players are not abstract metrics on a dashboard; they are human beings—rich, complex, imperfect, and deeply motivated. They come to games for different reasons: to compete, to connect, to explore, to escape, to create, or simply to be entertained.

It is tempting to imagine a game that appeals to everyone, but the reality is clear—no game can satisfy every possible motivation. To create something meaningful, we must deliberately narrow our focus. By understanding the specific motivations of the audience we are building for, we can dedicate our time, talent, and resources to crafting experiences that resonate deeply.

This focus shapes everything we do. It informs which features deserve the most attention, how we prioritize work & polish, even the kinds of people we bring onto our teams. Knowing our players and why they play our game provides the clarity we need to make the thousands of decisions that go into development.

But there is a critical caveat: simply meeting expectations is not enough. Players form expectations long before they pick up the controller—through marketing, trailers, community conversations, and their own imaginations. If those expectations are inflated, whether by over-promising or over-hyping, even a strong game can feel like a disappointment. To truly delight players, expectations must not only be met—they must be exceeded.

This is the core challenge and opportunity of game development: to understand who your players are, to focus on what motivates them, to manage expectations honestly, and ultimately, to deliver an experience that goes beyond what they imagined. When we do this, we create not just games, but moments of delight that players will carry with them long after they’ve put the controller down.

Let’s go make a great game!