Nobody has ever intentionally created a viral hit.
Not even the biggest studios with their cutting-edge graphics engines.
It’s always a guess, and history proves it.
Fortnite: Battle Royale - it started as a tower defense game with basic mechanics.
Among Us? Simple 2D characters that took over every social platform once they added online co-op.
Then there's Lethal Company, with its low-poly visuals, becoming 2024's breakout indie hit because of the moments it made between friends.
The reality is, no amount of ray-traced reflections or perfectly animated foliage has ever made a game go viral by themselves.
What does?
Those unplanned, chaotic moments that players can't wait to share.
The best moments in gaming usually aren't the ones developers carefully crafted. They're the chaos that happens when players get creative with game systems.
You know what I'm talking about: That physics glitch that sent you flying across the map. That weird combination of items that broke the game in the most hilarious way. Those moments where everything goes wrong but somehow creates the perfect story to tell your friends later.
Smart developers know this. They build systems that let players go wild and figure stuff out on their own. Give players some tools, some physics to play with, and watch the magic happen.
You're multiplying your results when you toss in a social mechanic where they can play with friends. Sure, maybe that rocket jump wasn't "intended" - but it's way more fun than following the exact path you laid out.
When these moments happen, players can't wait to share them. They clip it, post it, tell their friends "you HAVE to try this." That's marketing you can't buy.
This is why "watchability" has become such a crucial factor in game design.
When a game is fun to watch - whether it's through YouTube videos or live Twitch streams, or even just a friend on Discord - it creates a powerful feedback loop. Viewers get to experience those chaotic, memorable moments alongside their favorite content creators, building anticipation and desire to create their own stories.
They just NEED to tell their friends about it.
Look at games like Lethal Company or Phasmophobia - they exploded in popularity largely because watching others play them was almost as entertaining as playing them yourself. The perfect mix of tension, humor, and unexpected moments makes for compelling content that drives more players to jump in.
Want to know if your game's doing something right? Watch what your community does with it.
Are they making memes about that one buggy NPC? Creating entire speedrun categories around that "unintended" mechanic? Sharing clips of their best/worst moments?
That's how you know you're onto something special.
Some of the most criticized games are also the most loved. The games people complain about most? Usually the ones they've sunk thousands of hours into. Take Skyrim - players are still discovering and sharing new ways to launch giants into orbit or create ridiculous item combinations, over a decade later.
Look at Garry's Mod, where the entire game is built around players doing unexpected things with physics objects. The community has created entire game modes and experiences the original developers never imagined. Even Minecraft's massive modding community shows how player creativity can transform a game. What started as simple texture packs evolved into complete game overhauls, new mechanics, and entirely new ways to play - all driven by the community's imagination.
Those "flaws" people point out often become features. Those quirks become part of the game's character. Those bugs become mechanics.
Perfect and polished is boring, and it's not what players truly want.
- Devon