Game feel

This article focuses only on one specialized aspect of the subject. Please help improve this article by adding general information and discuss at the talk page. (January 2017)

Game feel (sometimes referred to as "look feel" or "game juice") is the intangible, tactile sensation experienced when interacting with video games. The term was popularized by the book Game Feel: A Game Designer's Guide to Virtual Sensation^[1] written by Steve Swink. The term has no formal definition, but there are many defined ways to improve game feel. The different areas of a game that can be manipulated to improve game feel are: input, response, context, aesthetic, metaphor, and rules.

Game feel is usually attributed to spatial games whose mechanics involve controlling the movement of objects or characters. Since the majority of games are spatial, studies involving game feel mainly focus on the movement and physical interactions between objects in games. The goal of good game feel is to immerse the player in an engaging and rewarding experience. A way to test game feel is to see if interacting with a game's most basic mechanics feels satisfying. At minimum, the game should feel engaging to play even after the plot, points, level design, music, and graphics are removed; if it is not, then the game may suffer from poor game feel.^[2]