Our analyst, Bogdan Baranovskiy, shared with PocketGamer how Gestalt principles are applied in game design. Check it out!

The short version: players don't read a screen element by element. They see patterns first, and seven Gestalt principles describe how.

1. Proximity. Elements placed close together read as one group. Hustle Castle's store uses this to organise items, but crowd it too much and the grouping turns into noise.

2. Similarity. Things that look alike are assumed to do the same job. Shooters group weapons into classes so the tutorial can be shorter. High on Life breaks the rule on purpose, giving each gun its own personality.

3. Continuity. The eye follows smooth, predictable paths. Rise of Cultures shows its ability trees as connected lines. Souls-likes go the other way with erratic enemy movement, to keep players unsettled.

4. Closure. The brain fills in missing parts of a shape. Breath of the Wild hints at hidden chests without showing them fully. If you strip out too much, though, the hint stops being clear, so it needs playtesting.

5. Figure-ground. Players need to tell what matters from what's background. Colour, shape and animation make a button stand out. Visual clutter cancels that out.

6. Symmetry and order. Balanced layouts feel intuitive. Zenless Zone Zero puts enemy info in a grid. Breaking that symmetry is a way to pull attention to one spot.

7. Simplicity. Cut what isn't needed and show rather than tell, as Squad Busters does with short visual hints. Go too far and experienced players lose interest.

Each principle is a tool, and breaking it on purpose can work as well as following it. Testing shows which choice works for a given game.

Read the full piece on PocketGamer.biz: https://www.pocketgamer.biz/seven-psychology-inspired-tips-for-perfect-video-game-design/