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Player-Centric Game Design Framework

Learn how to identify and solve key player experience issues and create engaging and immersive gameplay with this set of design principles proven by 150+ million players
"I've learned more about game design from this framework than I ever did from my 3 year university game design undergraduate program."
josef hs
Josef Attenberger
Lead Game Developer @ DU&I Studio
  • Price: $60 USD Free
  • Type: Introductory crash course

Want to make sure this crash course is “worth it” before you enroll?

This comprehensive framework will provide you with practical insights into your game’s player experience.

Each lesson builds upon the previous one, creating a logical sequence that works as a system to improve your player retention and satisfaction. 

After each lesson, I’ll give you an exercise to help you implement immediately what you learn and get results.


Here are the 5 lessons you will receive in your inbox on how to identify and solve key player experience issues. 👇🏼

Lesson 1: How to stop losing players from confusing gameplay
Lesson 2: How to keep players motivated to keep playing your game
Lesson 3: How to use agency to make players feel their decisions matter
Lesson 4: How to improve player enjoyment with these 3 Principles
Lesson 5: How to merge gameplay & story seamlessly


If you stick till the end of the crash course, you’ll get 3 bonus lessons 👇🏼

Bonus Lesson 6: How to prevent self-doubt from sabotaging your design career
Bonus Lesson 7: 5 strategies to outcompete other design job candidates
Bonus Lesson 8: How to get more design job offers: Portfolio & Interview Insights 

 

How to apply this framework?

This framework is a set of principles that you can use to diagnose where your gameplay is losing players and stop the leak.

If you can deeply internalize these principles, you’ll develop a design judgment that will guide you in consistently creating immersive and enjoyable gameplay, which will open up a world of opportunities.

You can apply this framework to your personal projects or any in-studio game you are working on.

This framework is based on these following core beliefs:

  1. It’s the best for all parties to prioritize the player’s experience
  2. Fun is a balancing point of different elements of the human experience and it can be achieved methodically.
  3. Players are the lifeblood of your games

Examples of games that have applied the framework:

  • World of Warcraft
  • League of Legends
  • Ori and The Will of The Wisps


Start the crash course below 👇🏼

EXPERIENCE & BACKGROUND:

[STUDIO] Blizzard Entertainment: Content, mechanics, and systems designer

(Creator of Apex Legends & former Creative Director at Respawn)

[GAME] World of Warcraft: MMORPG with 8.5 million average monthly players, won Gamer’s Choice Award – Fan Favorite MMORPG, VGX Award for Best PC Game, Best RPG, and Most Addictive Video Game.

  • Classic:
    • Designed Cosmos UI
    • Designed part of Raid Team for Naxxramas
  • Burning Crusade:
    • Designed the raid bosses Karazhan, Black Temple, Zul’Aman
    • Designed the Outlands content
    • Designed The Underbog including bosses:
      • Hungarfen, Ghaz’an, Swamplord Musel’ik, and The Black Stalker
    • Designed the Hellfire Ramparts final bosses Nazan & Vazruden
    • Designed the Return to Karazhan bosses: Attumen the Huntsman, Big Bad Wolf, Shades of Aran, Netherspite, Nightbane
  • Wrath of the Lich King:
    • Designed quest content, events and PvP areas of Wintergrasp
    • Designed Vehicle system
    • Designed the Death Knight talent trees
    • Designed the Lord Marrowgar raid
  • Cataclysm:
    • Designed quest content
    • Designed Deathwing Overworld encounters
    • Designed Morchok and Rhyolith raid fights
  • Mists of Pandaria: 
    • Overhauled the entire Warlock class – Best player rated version through all expansion packs
    • Designed pet battle combat engine and scripted client scene

[GAME] StarCraft 2: Playtested and provided design feedback during prototyping and development

[GAME] Diablo 3: Playtested and provided design feedback during prototyping and development

[GAME] Overwatch: Playtested and provided design feedback during prototyping and development

[GAME] Hearthstone: Playtested and provided design feedback during prototyping and development

[STUDIO] Riot Games: Systems designer, in-studio game design instructor

(Former Global Communications Lead for League of Legends)
(Former Technical Game Designer at Riot Games)

[GAME] League of Legends: Team-based strategy MOBA with 152 million average active monthly players, won The Game Award for Best Esports Game and BAFTA Best Persistent Game Award.

  • Redesigned Xerath Champion by interfacing with community
  • Reworked the support income system for season 4
  • Redesigned the Ward system
  • Assisted in development of new trinket system
  • Heavily expanded internal tools and features for design team
  • Improved UI indicators to improve clarity of allied behaviour

[OTHER GAMES] Under NDA: Developed multiple unreleased projects in R&D

Game Design Instructor: Coached and mentored associate designers on gameplay and mechanics

[STUDIO] Moon Studios: Senior game designer

(Former Lead Game Designer at Moon Studios)

[GAME] Ori & The Will of The Wisps: 2m total players (423k people finished it) with average 92.8/100 ratings by 23 top game rating sites (including Steam and Nintendo Switch).

  • Designed the weapon and Shard systems
  • Worked on combat balance
  • Designed most of the User Interface

[GAME] Unreleased RPG project

  • Designed core combat
  • High-level design content planning
  • Game systems design
  • Game design documentation
  • Gameplay systems engineering
  • Tools design
  • Photon Quantum implementation of gameplay

[VC FUNDED STARTUP] SnackPass: Social food ordering platform with 500k active users $400m+ valuation

[PROJECT] Tochi: Creative director (hybrid of game design, production and leading the product team)

  • Lead artists, engineers, and animators on the release the gamification system to incentivize long-term customers with social bonds and a shared experience through the app

[CONSULTING] Atomech: Founder / Game Design Consultant

[STUDIOS] Studio Pixanoh + 13 other indie game studios (under NDA):

  • Helped build, train and establish the design teams
  • Established unique combat niche and overall design philosophy
  • Tracked quality, consistency and feedback methods
  • Established company meeting structure and culture

Game Design Keynotes:

(Former Global Head of HR for Wargaming and Riot Games)
  • Tencent Studio
  • Wargaming
  • USC (University of Southern California)
  • RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology)
  • US AFCEA (Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association)
  • UFIEA (University of Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy)
  • West Gaming Foundation
  • Kyoto Computer Gakuin – Kyoto, Japan