Designing a Succesful Game; The Importance of Bushnell’s law “Easy to Learn, Hard to Master”

Have you ever played a snake game? where you control and then try to devour any obstacle that comes in your way. The game is easy and stays pretty much the same for its entire gameplay, except for the increase in speed and obstacles as you move forward in-game. But, I would argue even at the highest level snake is pretty much an easy game to play with no strategy, no change in M.E.T.A, or even no need for ultra instinct in hands movements. So, what makes a game still enjoyable even after spending 5.000 hours?

If you look at it carefully, there’s a rule that governs all of the modern games; it needs to be easy so you can enjoy it, but not that easy to master. Easy to Learn, Hard to Master The first governing principle is derived from video game design and can also be described as one of the cornerstones of video game design. The so-called Bushnell’s law or Nolan’s law is the “string theory” in the game industry, the one rule that rules them all.

All the best games are easy to learn and difficult to master. They should reward the first quarter and the hundredth (Bogost 2009)

Companies like Activision Blizzard see this law as a driving force for their game design, and in video games like World of Warcraft, this design principle becomes especially apparent. Starting the game is relatively easy, and the player will experience a steady learning curve, but the top-level is challenging for the players to reach.

The rule in eSports

This game design concept can be observed in any successful eSports title. It is simple to learn the game, to understand the game, and to have some fun, but becoming the very best is extremely difficult and requires talent and passion. Games like League of Legends, Counter-Strike, Overwatch, and many other titles work on the easy to learn part as well as the hard to master, making it a governing principle for any video game developer. But this principle is also important for the various stakeholders in the eSports industry. First of all, easy to learn also means that the game may be easy to watch and easy to understand.

The significant advantage of MOBA titles like League of Legends or Dota 2 is that the audience can follow the game, even though they may have never played the game. Other games like Overwatch or, more obviously, World of Warcraft may be easy for the player to learn, but watching these games is difficult. World of Warcraft faced the challenge of making a game watchable for a broad audience; although millions play the game, watching PvP tournaments is difficult, even for the experts in the game.

The principle easy to learn to observe is also increasingly important, as many people watch various eSports titles and try to follow all of those leagues and tournaments. For tournament operators, this may even be a way to keep the offline audience interested by switching between various games. The reason that StarCraft II has become popular again in recent years is that it is a game that can co-exist with other games.

Cross-border viewing is a necessary part of content creation and allows players, teams, and tournament operators to utilize potential synergetic effects. Additionally, easy to learn, hard to master is essential for highlighting the individual skills of players. At the moment when a player is making an impossible move, the adoration of the audience depends on their understanding that this move was a masterpiece of skill.

The example of this move was back in TI8 when Anathan “Ana” from OG sold his backpack item to ensure he has enough money to do a buyback. This one particular move earned him the title of Dota’s god. Another example of an impossible move was when Danil “Dendi” Ishutin performed a seemingly impossible trick “fountain hook” and won the game.

The better everybody understands the steep learning curve at the top, the more ecstatically they will cheer on the professional players. Easy to learn, hard to master as a principle is an underlying assumption on which everything in the eSports industry is built. Understanding this difference helps to attract an audience, as well as highlighting that only a few talented, passionate players will become the very best in the world.

Conclusion

Any stakeholder depends on this underlying assumption to attract a big audience and have fierce competition. Following this principle enables all stakeholders to create a thriving business around a certain eSports title. However, the task of creating a title following this principle is not entirely the duty of the video game developer: tournament organizers, professional teams, and players are also necessary to improve any potential title, so it is easy to learn and to watch, and hard to master.