🧭 Clarity baseline: the “3 Questions Test”

Most “confusing” games aren’t complex.

They just fail to answer 3 questions the player asks every few seconds.

✅ The 3 Questions Test (answer in 3–5 seconds while playing):

1) What do I do right now?

Immediate goal. Not the quest. The next action.

2) Why should I do it?

Stake. Reward, danger, progress, curiosity — anything that creates pull.

3) What changed because I did it?

Feedback. A clear state change: sound, VFX, animation, UI, world reaction.

⚠️ If any answer is fuzzy → clarity is broken.

Players start guessing. Guessing kills trust. Trust kills retention.

🧰 Mini-checklist (quick fixes):

- Goal: show it with one strong signal (not 5 weak ones).

- Stake: make the “why” visible (timer, threat, reward, progress).

- Feedback: confirm success/failure instantly (and show what changed).

- Noise: remove 1 thing from the screen before adding 1 hint.

- Consistency: same input → same result (or clearly explained exception).

🧪 Do this now (5 minutes):

Open your game (or any game). Pause every 30 seconds and answer the 3 questions.

If you can’t — your player can’t.