Chris Crawford on Game Design

Challenge and Identity

The challenges we pursue most eagerly are those that best exercise what is especially human about us. Consider how many sports involve some sort of throwing or projectile-controlling activity. No other species can control projectiles as accurately as we can, and many of our sports challenge us in this especially human skill. We define ourselves by the limits we can push through. Each person has their own unique sense of those limits and the challenges that best define them; for this reason, good game design should cover a broad range of challenges. Individual games cannot cover everything, but games as a medium should be able to provide a cornucopia of challenges. Right now, the cupboard is heavily stocked with a few standard ...