When players enter a world, the first thing they absorb isn’t narrative, plot, or objective structure. It’s feel... The Play Principle argues that before an interaction can become meaningful, it must become playful. Before a mechanic becomes a tool, it must behave like a toy. That instinctive urge to poke, rotate, flick, twist, pick up, or drop something isn’t childish. It’s cognitive. It’s the bridge between physical intuition and systemic understanding. This is the low-level foundation of immersive design: interactions that feel good before they matter...
