Ludic Prose - A different way to look at gamefeel

“Game feel” is described too often as “good” or “bad”. This corporate reductivism can’t be allowed to stand! I propose a better framework for talking about the ‘micro texture’ of video games. Better language lets us be better critics and designers. Instead of “this feels bad” we should be specific about what artistic merits it is or isn’t achieving. Does it feel “chunky” and “crunchy” or “greasy” and “soupy”. This opens us up to having deeper conversations about how gameplay makes us feel, how it affects our emotions, and how it imparts narrative.

Of particular note is that this framework unifies “story focused” and “gameplay focused” developers instead of further dividing them. Gameplay is always expressing something, creating a mood, a texture. Better language can only help us all.