6. Never make use of every controller button just because you can.
Both the Xbox 360 and PS3 controllers have 17 depressible buttons including direction pads and analog sticks. That's more than 65% of the 26-letter English alphabet. As an avid gamer for more than 23 years now, even I still get confused from time to time as to which button I need to mash (there, I said it). Nintendo arguably started the "my controller has more buttons than your controller" trend with the SNES's 12 buttons, but what's done is done. The solution is easy; only use every button when it makes sense to do so and when said use clearly adds to the overall enjoyment level of the game. To get the creative juices flowing, designers need only go back and play a few classic 2D games that make excellent use of controls. You'd be amazed at what early developers pulled off using only two-to-four buttons.

7. Always give players full control of accessiblity options.
It’s great that games are more accessible to international and non-English speaking natives by offering subtitles – really great. But it would be nice if those fluent in the second most widely spoken language could turn off closed-captioning in the options menu. This isn’t a problem in and of itself, rather a good example where accessibility features could benefit from increased user control.

8. Never use insipid, indefensible enemy attacks.
"It's impossible to get out of the way every third attack!" I shout at the on-screen boss in despair. Ah, the indefensible enemy blitzkrieg. This technique was more prevalent in the age of quarter-munchers where arcade makers needed to extend profits at the expense of cheap gameplay, but any remnants of this move should be completely abolished from interactive entertainment. I can't for the life of me see how this rare attack can be justified. To showcase a baddie's authority, why not make dodging attacks extremely difficult instead of impossible? The latter strategy only leaves players feeling hopeless and frustrated. Ensure gamers know that counter attacks and combos exists, even if requiring a high level of mastery, and they'll thank you for it.

9. Always present in-game tutorials, FAQs, and help menus for newbie gamers.
“It would be nice if developers consistently offered tutorials for the more difficult games“ my part-time gamer wife tells me. “Nothing makes me want to turn off a videogame faster than not being able to understand a difficult objective in front of me,” she adds. Assuming we want to invite more players into the fold, we need to understand that said growth can only come from inexperienced gamers. To help ease them into the joyous experience, perhaps a “click here if you’re not sure what to do” prompt would do wonders for any type of game. As silly as they may sound, even an expected game overview screen for every game could impel new gamers to continue to play, and better yet, buy more games.

10. Always let gamers get in and out of gameplay as they desire (otherwise they'll just turn the console off).
I'd like to end on a general point and commitment that every game designer needs to abide by: "I will make it easy for my players to jump in and out of gameplay as they see fit rather than forcing them to appreciate my art on my terms, even if that means disrupting my work." If a player dies, don't exit out of the game engine before letting them decide if they want to continue play. Don't turn on-screen navigation into a maze. Respect a gamer's allotted time by letting them get to what they want as fast as they want. Otherwise, we'll just turn off the console.

This is in no way a comprehensive list, rather just a start for achieving better usability in videogames. I must admit that I had a difficult time coming up with salient usability issues in game design. That speaks volumes about the overall state and very positive experience associated with most games. So pat yourselves on the back, developers, and let's make games even better.