Engagement

Add keyboard controls

Players should be able to navigate in the game using both mouse and keyboard controls. WASD or Arrow keys should navigate in the menu. Space bar or Return should activate the primary button.

Congratulate the player

Players tend to continue playing and return when they feel accomplished playing a game. You can play to this tendency by: • Tweaking the difficulty curve. Start the game out really easy, and increase the difficulty gradually with each passing level. • Reward the player for completing a level or task. You can do this by showing the player that they’ve unlocked something new with a nice message. This can be a new item, weapon, power-up, area, and so on. This gives the player the promise of something new every time they play, thus incentive to return.

Give players visual satisfaction

Players of all ages respond well to clear design elements, and more importantly, good animations. We suggest applying curves to your animations, such as easing or bouncing effects. This may seem like a small detail, but it elevates games visually and gets the players to keep coming back for more.