“The game doesn't judge you”: game designers’ perspectives on implementing failure in video games

Abstract

Failure constitutes a key mechanic in video games, playing into player experience jointly with questions of challenge and difficulty. While research has started to investigate the effect of failure on the player's experience, it has so far overlooked the design intents and decisions behind its implementation. We interviewed 13 game designers who shared their experiences of reflecting upon and designing failure in a range of commercial titles. Their insights point towards two-sided considerations: the constraints around which designers must design experiences of failure, imposed by a game's production context and industry expectations, and the creative decisions made to work into, or around, those constraints. We find that our participants suggest a re-evaluation of the role of failure in video games, in the player's experience, and in the gaming culture. Our findings raise questions about the underlying values games may communicate through the mechanic and experience of failure, the role of narrative design in resolving possible dissonances, and the communication pipeline between game designers and players; and point towards future avenues for games research to further support game designers.