Pillars and Player Experience
Focus your vision.
With your game idea in hand, it’s important to establish the key concepts your game will revolve around. These concepts are also known as “Pillars”.
To find those pillars ask yourselves:
- “What do I want the player(s) to feel/experience?”
- “What is the most important stuff in my game?”
You should be able to find 2 to 3 pillars (more often than not, the theme of the game jam should be one of your pillars).
If you find that you have more than 3, remember you only have a short, limited time to create your game, and pillars should represent its essence. Less is often more.
“Why do I need Pillars?”
These key concepts represent your game idea. They will tell you which features you need to develop, help you cut features that go against one or more of your pillars, and help focus the team to achieve that vision for the game.
Example:
In God of War (2018) the pillars were:
- Combat
- Father / Son
- Exploration