The first step is always to play the game as a team

It’s hard to play the game you’re building. 

The build is buggy and lacks most of the final art. Yet by constantly playing it the team ends up not only clearing away all of those bugs and nagging user experiences but also actually creating something that players will love. 

Playing the game to exhaustion is actually the secret of tuning and user experience at many successful studios. Simulators help finalize the set in-game values. Play tests push user experience. The first step is always to play the game as a team.