Understanding the "Feel" in Video Games: Breaking Down the Intangible Experience

When we talk about the "look and feel" of video games, it’s important to understand that these two aspects, while closely related, focus on different parts of the player’s experience. The "look" refers mainly to the visual presentation — the art style, graphics, UI, and overall visual design. The "feel", on the other hand, is about how the game plays and responds to the player’s actions — the tactile, sensory, and emotional feedback that makes gameplay satisfying and immersive.

In this article, we’ll focus on breaking down the "feel" of video games. We’ll explore the major categories that contribute to game feel, explain their subcategories, and use plenty of examples to make these concepts clear and practical.

What Is Game Feel?

Game feel is the intangible sensation players experience when interacting with a game. It makes controls feel tight, actions feel impactful, and gameplay smooth or challenging. Great game feel keeps players engaged and makes the game memorable.

Major Categories of Game Feel

• Responsiveness

• Intuitiveness

• Viscerality

• Sensory Feedback (Polish Elements)

1. Responsiveness

Responsiveness is about how quickly and accurately a game reacts to your inputs. It’s the foundation of good game feel because delays or sluggishness can frustrate even a well-designed game.

• Input Delay: The time between pressing a button and seeing the result on screen. For example, in Super Mario Bros., Mario jumps almost instantly after you press the jump button, making the controls feel tight and reliable.

• Feedback Mechanisms: Visual or audio cues that confirm your actions. In God of War (2018), when Kratos lands a heavy hit, the screen shakes and the sound effect thuds, reinforcing the feeling of power and impact.

• Responsiveness in Camera Control: How smoothly and predictably the camera follows player movement or input. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild features a camera that smoothly follows Link, allowing precise aiming and exploration.

2. Intuitiveness

Intuitiveness means the game’s controls and mechanics feel natural and easy to grasp, allowing players to focus on playing rather than figuring out how to play.

• Control Schemes: How naturally the controls map to the player’s expectations. For example, Assassin’s Creed uses fluid parkour controls that feel intuitive once learned, letting players climb and run through environments effortlessly.

• Consistency: The game maintains consistent rules and behaviors so players can predict outcomes. In Super Smash Bros., the consistent physics and character moves allow players to learn and master complex combos over time.

• Learning Curve and Onboarding: Good onboarding helps players learn intuitively without feeling overwhelmed. Hollow Knight introduces new abilities and enemies gradually, allowing players to adapt.

3. Viscerality

The visceral experience is the physical sensation or emotional punch a game delivers through its mechanics and feedback. It’s what makes actions feel weighty, exciting, or tense.

• Physical Simulation: Games that simulate real-world physics can make interactions feel tangible. For example, Peggle uses realistic ball physics that make the gameplay feel satisfying and rewarding.

• Impact Effects: Visual and audio effects that enhance the sensation of force or collision. In Vlambeer’s games like Nuclear Throne, screen shakes and brief pauses on hits make combat feel visceral and intense.

• Weight and Momentum: How characters and objects feel heavy or light, and how momentum affects movement. Dark Souls characters move deliberately, emphasizing weight and stamina.

4. Sensory Feedback (Polish Elements)

Sensory feedback bridges the gap between look and feel, enhancing player immersion through subtle but powerful cues.

• Animation Timing and Smoothness: Well-timed animations make controls feel responsive. For example, the fluid character animations in Street Fighter II make every punch and kick impactful and precise.

• Sound Design: Sound effects and music reinforce actions and mood. God of War's heavy footsteps and weapon sounds add to the sensation of power and weight.

• Camera and Visual Effects: Effects like screen shake, motion blur, or particle effects add to the tactile sensation of gameplay. For instance, Doom (2016) uses screen shake and bright muzzle flashes to make shooting feel explosive and satisfying.

Bringing It All Together: How These Elements Create Great Game Feel

Great game feel is the result of carefully balancing and integrating these categories:

• Responsiveness ensures players feel in control.

• Intuitiveness makes the game easy to learn and master.

• Viscerality delivers satisfying physical and emotional impact.

• Sensory Feedback polishes the experience, making every action feel meaningful.

When these elements work harmoniously, players experience a game that feels smooth, immersive, and rewarding—whether they’re jumping over obstacles, battling enemies, or exploring vast worlds.

Final Thoughts and Tips for Game Designers

• Test input latency thoroughly; even minor delays can ruin the feel.

• Keep controls consistent and logical to avoid player confusion.

• Use physics and impact effects to make actions feel weighty and satisfying.

• Invest in animation polish and sound design—these details elevate the entire experience.

• Iterate based on player feedback; feel is often subjective and benefits from real-world testing.

Elevating Game Feel to Art: Insights from St. Thomas Aquinas

To craft a game feel worthy of being called art, designers must seek principles that align with the timeless concepts of beauty and design. St. Thomas Aquinas teaches that true beauty requires proportion (harmony), wholeness (integrity), and radiance (clarity or splendor).

Applying Aquinas’s Principles to Game Feel

1. Proportion (Harmony):

In game feel, all elements of interaction—controls, physics, feedback, timing—must be balanced and work together in harmony. Just as Aquinas says beauty delights because of order and consonance, a game’s feel must present a balanced relationship between input and response, challenge and reward, movement and feedback. For example, the tight jump controls of Super Mario Bros. or the fluid combat of God of War show a harmony where every part fits perfectly, creating a satisfying whole.

2. Wholeness (Integrity):

A game’s feel must be complete and coherent, not missing essential elements nor cluttered with unnecessary complexity. Aquinas’s idea that a thing must have everything necessary to its nature applies here: the feel must include all critical sensory feedback—visual, auditory, tactile—that makes actions clear and meaningful. If a game’s controls lack feedback or the physics feel inconsistent, the integrity of the feel breaks down. The completeness of Celeste’s precise controls and consistent physics exemplifies this integrity.

3. Radiance (Clarity or Splendor):

Radiance is the quality that makes something shine and captivate us beyond mere order and completeness. It is the “light” that draws us in and makes us want to keep experiencing the work. In game feel, this is the subtle but powerful polish—fluid animations, satisfying sound effects, impactful screen shakes—that transform mechanical responses into moments of delight and emotional engagement. The radiant feel of Ori and the Blind Forest or Doom (2016), where every action gleams with energy and life, shows how radiance elevates feel into art.

Beyond the Eyes: The Artistic Nature of Game Feel

Aquinas’s insight that beauty is “that which pleases when seen” involves contemplation and a deeper perception of order, completeness, and light. Similarly, the feel of a game is far more than what meets the eye: it is an artistic expression that engages the player’s senses, emotions, and intellect. The tactile satisfaction of a well-timed jump, the harmonious rhythm of combat, and the radiant feedback that makes every hit or movement feel alive—all these create an inner reality, a form that reveals the game’s essence and invites the player into a shared experience of beauty.

Just as sacred art reveals the inner reality and spiritual clarity of its subject, great game feel reveals the inner logic and soul of the game world. It is an art form that requires thoughtful design, balance, and polish to shine. Without this radiant feel, a game may look beautiful but fail to move or engage deeply.

In Conclusion

To craft a game feel worthy of being called art, designers must seek:

• Harmony: Balanced, well-ordered interactions where every element fits and supports the whole.

• Integrity: A complete, coherent experience with all necessary feedback and consistency.

• Radiance: The shining polish and emotional spark that captivates and delights beyond mechanics.

When these ingredients come together, a video game's “feel” transcends mere functionality and becomes a luminous artistic experience—one that resonates with players not just visually but viscerally and emotionally, embodying the profound beauty Aquinas described.