There are no things that DO work, there are things that work towards some end and for some end users. Those things may or may have not been intended to work like that by the designers and frankly once you're experiencing the thing for yourself those considerations of intention are besides the point.
If you're learning perspective, proportions, etc so your work to appeal to a wider audience you will at some point realize (hopefully) there are deeper reasons of self-actualization that that. In fact if you want to just have a wide appeal with your art fake knowledge in those areas. Copy from other people's art, copy photographs, appropriate other people's art directly. this is what the industry does[/i], most people can't tell the difference or they don't have historic knowledge needed to spot the lifts, there are a lot of liars around that have a very wide audience. All these externalities you talk about are not only why artists make art, they also do it because they have to: some games are like they are because they couldn't be any other way, that was the only thing that would satisfy the inner ambitions of the ones that made them. Don't think about design by committee, don't think about what HAS to work, think about what you're experiencing and what you can get from it.