Error Code UX

The design of how technical errors are communicated to players, the choice between cryptic codes, human-readable explanations, and actionable guidance.

In games, this means

'Error CE-34878-0' tells a player nothing and generates frustration. 'Lost connection to the server. Check your internet and try again, if the problem persists, servers may be down (status.game.com)' tells them what happened, what to do, and where to get help. Error codes are useful for support teams; they should never be the primary player-facing message.