In r/gamedev, a combat playtest story highlights how fresh players often hesitate and eat obvious hits, reinforcing the need to design around real player behavior rather than designer expectations.
We thought players would dodge… they just stood there and got hit
enemy raises arm player dodges creates space re-engage
They weren’t dodging.
It should never be a situation where you build a system around the player "expecting" what a game wants them to do.
That's why play testing is so important, and why it's popular knowledge to not give player's guidance when they're play testing.
We were testing a combat section recently where enemies telegraph attacks pretty clearly.
see the enemy wind-up
and just take the hit
This finding is one of many signals tracked across Games. The live feed updates every few hours with new authority voices, debates, and emerging ideas.
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