Part

Input action

You might say: press, move or select

A player input is mapped to an intentional action such as moving, aiming, building or choosing.

What it does

Provides the controllable cause in the action-to-feedback chain.

Ask

Does the input express the intended decision without friction?

What to look for

1. A press, move or select
2. Movement, aiming, building or choosing
3. Input followed by an effect

Parts

• Decision window: The time and information available before an action becomes committed.

Sources

1. Robin Hunicke, Marc LeBlanc and Robert Zubek, MDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research, pp. 2–4Dynamics describes the run-time behavior of the mechanics acting on player inputs and each othersí outputs over time.
2. Jesper Juul, Design (MIT CMS.608 lecture, 2008), MIT OCW lecture slide 8: discernible relation between action and outcomeMeaningful play: When relation between action and outcome is discernable and integrated
3. Daniel Cook, What are game mechanics?, Feedback loops: player action and simulated effectPlayer performs an action
4. Steve Swink, Game Feel: The Secret Ingredient, The Garden’s Ecosystem; Input: natural mapping and input sensitivityA natural mapping is a clear, intuitive relationship between possible actions and their effect on the system.
5. Robert Nystrom, Game Programming Patterns, Game Loop: Event loops; Patternprocesses user input, but doesn’t wait for it

Use it on your project

teardown-apply: hold "Input action" (input-action) 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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