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Friction

Any element that slows down, confuses, or frustrates a player's progress through the game. Not all friction is bad, intentional friction can create tension or meaning.

In games, this means

Mandatory unskippable cutscenes before a difficult boss, overly deep inventory menus, or ambiguous quest objectives are all UX friction. Intentional friction: a Dark Souls bonfire that makes you choose risk vs. safety.

Tags
Core Loop
Psychology
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