You've been logged out of GDC Vault since the maximum users allowed for this account has been reached. To access Members Only content on GDC Vault, please log out of GDC Vault from the computer which last accessed this account.

Click here to find out about GDC Vault Membership options for more users.

close

Session Name:

The Freedom Fallacy: Understanding "Player Autonomy" in Game Design

Overview:

Every year, players expect that they will have ever-increasing agency (or autonomy) in their gameplay. Today's mainstream players want their games to have hundreds or even thousands of hours of gameplay, and they want to be the ones who direct that experience. As such, it is extremely valuable for developers to have a nuanced understanding of player autonomy, enabling them to satisfy players while avoiding common traps that lead down bad design roads. Chief among these traps is misunderstanding autonomy to mean "giving players freedom," which often leads to player frustration and disappointment rather than satisfaction. This session will not only review such autonomy pitfalls, but will outline an accurate blueprint of what autonomy truly means, give examples of how leading contemporary designs optimize for autonomy, and discuss best practices and issues for the future.

Did you know free users get access to 30% of content from the last 2 years?


Get your team full access to the most up to date GDC content

  • GDC 2017
  • Scott Rigby
  • Immersyve
  • free content
  • Design
  • Design