“Playing four 15-minute sessions of board games such as snakes and ladders can improve a child’s mathematical abilities significantly, according to a study of four and five-year-olds. And the improvement in numerical tests is still measurable nine weeks later.”
http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,,2267895,00.html
“Simplicity–the art of maximizing the amount of work not done – is essential”
Chuck Green Ideabook.com on commercial ‘graphic’ designers, with many parallels for game design.
http://www.ideabook.com/tutorials/1_view/5_principles_of_good_design.html
edited with comments;
“Design is more than meets the eye … The purpose of design is to communicate an idea. It is as much, if not more, about function as it is about looks. It is as much intellectual and visceral as it is visual. If you don’t have a clear, well designed message, you don’t have a design. Design is marketing, marketing is design”
The purpose of game design is to provide an enjoyable experience. Focus on a clear defined core experience as a base.
“Design is about communicating benefits… No matter what you’re selling or giving away, if I am your prospect, I want to know what’s in it for me. I have hard-earned money or time to invest and I rarely part with either without the promise of some return. Are you going to entertain me? Educate me? Inspire me? Solve my problems?”
Is the core experience something that players want, will identify and enjoy?
“Design is not about designers … The good designer pleads “Create a design that answers your client’s needs.” The bad designer commands “Don’t be an idiot—design something that’ll look good in your portfolio.”
You are rarely, if ever be the target audience. Understand what the experience your audience will appreciate.
“Design is not an ocean it’s a fishbowl … Design and marketing ideas are not always interchangeable—be careful about the principles you apply and how you apply them.
High concepts and designs are not the same thing.
“Design is creating something you believe in … The saying goes something like this: “great advertising will kill a poor product faster than no advertising at all.” The same is true with design—good design will attract an audience faster than poor design. …Step away rather than compromise your values.”
Form over function leads to shallow experiences, function without engaging form is a dry game. Good function is the bedrock of game design.
Valerian to Boy in The Book of Dead Days, by Marcus Sedgwick (fiction) on the 5 principles of a magician or illusionist;
Ten minutes to grab the player, teach them and reward them or let them get something back from the game before their attention wanders off.
“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”
Antoine de Saint Exupéry
(This is stolen/paraphrased from the blog Only a Game) via Andrew Chen
1. Whenever possible, consider alternatives
2. Reframe the question
3. Correlation doesn’t equal causation
4. Never forget the sample size
5. Anticipate your impulsivity
People find it difficult to predict just how far off course their emotions can pull them. It’s all about planning ahead.
6. Make contingency plans
Humans are better at concrete goals.
7. Make important decisions when relaxed and rested
8. Weigh costs against benefits
Research shows that our minds prefer to consider either costs or benefits; taking both into account takes considerable effort. We often forget is the ‘opportunity cost’
9. Imagine your decision will be spot-checked
10. Distance yourself
Big decisions are always better made after a night’s sleep.
11. Beware the vivid, personal and anecdotal
12. All decisions are not equal
13. Be rational!
While money has more importance to people in their real lives, score shares many of the same influences to gamers when they are playing and in the gaming zone.
Despite this, most people understand very little about their relationship with money. We are remarkably insensitive to how it warps our thoughts, tugs at the emotions and changes our behaviour towards other people. Money seems to have an almost magical effect on us.”
snippets of cloud 