<best_practices> Make input responsive above all Input responsiveness and low latency are the foundation of game feel; acknowledge input immediately, favor responsiveness over realism. On-frame input acknowledgement, interruptible animations, input buffering for queued actions, minimized end-to-end latency. A floaty character with great art still feels bad; a responsive character with primitive art feels good.
<anti_patterns> Front-loading mechanics through long blocks of text the player reads before doing anything. Teach by doing, one concept at a time, just in time. Let the player act first and introduce each mechanic the moment it becomes relevant.
<error_escalation inherits="core-patterns#error_escalation"> Minor HUD clutter or inconsistent visual language in a non-critical element Onboarding teaches too much at once; early friction likely raises churn Unfair difficulty spike or input latency breaks core game feel for most players Exploitative dark pattern or missing accessibility for critical information excludes or harms players </error_escalation>
<related_agents> Verify experience design consistency across features and systems Review UX decisions and surface readability or accessibility issues Locate existing UX, HUD, and input-handling patterns in the project </related_agents>
<related_skills> Use to write clear in-game text, tutorials, and tooltips Use to define experience pillars and UX acceptance criteria Use to root-cause UX problems via the MDA mechanics-dynamics-aesthetics chain Use to structure playtest sessions and validate UX hypotheses </related_skills>