Measure
Meaningful decision density
You might say: choices per stretch of play
Decision density records how often play presents a fresh comparison between worthwhile alternatives, not how many inputs the player performs. Mark decision timestamps and repeated solved situations in a play trace.
- What it does
- Reveals empty stretches and overload while separating tactical choice from mechanical execution.
- Ask
- Where does a new dilemma occur, and where is the player merely repeating an already settled answer?
- Typical
- Measure intervals between marked decisions; annotate option set, relevant state change and player familiarity. No universal target rate.
- Trouble
- Rapid clicking disguises a long decision void, or important dilemmas arrive before the previous result can be understood.
Connections
- See also: Playtest session
- See also: Playtest observation
Sources
- Tynan Sylvester, Decision-Based Gameplay Design, Recognition; Evaluation; Examples: decision frequency
Any game of Counter-Strike, analyzed deeply, becomes a series of extremely complex decisions made at intervals generally between half a second and five seconds.
Use it on your project
teardown-apply: hold "Meaningful decision density" (choice-decision-density) from the teardown at https://teardownatlas.com/game-design/ against my project
Paste it into a coding agent that has the teardown skills.
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