My name is Wlad Marhulets, and I’m the developer of DARQ - an award-winning game. I wanted to share with you some tips & tricks about game design I’ve learned over the years while working on my first game (which to my surprise became #42 most shared PC Video Game of 2019, according to Metacritic). Some of these lessons were learned by making countless mistakes, others from GDC talks, youtube videos, fellow developers, and articles. I did my best to link to sources if I managed to find them or remember them. Some tips are genre-specific. Others contradict one another. It’s up to you to use them or not. Ultimately, breaking rules is the prerequisite to innovation. My hope is that this little book helps you make better decisions when designing your game! If you're looking for a comprehensive gamedev book, check out my other book called "GAMEDEV: 10 Steps to Making Your First Game Successful"