Comments for Learnd

Comment on Taking playlists to the next level by Taking playlists to the next level « Stuart Gleave writes things

Taking playlists to the next level « Stuart Gleave writes things — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:27:42 +0000

[...] (Originally posted on learnd.co.uk.) [...]

Comment on Netbooks – They’re going to be big (in a small way). by Netbooks - They’re going to be big (in a small way). « Stuart Gleave writes things

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:25:34 +0000

[...] (Originally posted on n learnd.co.uk.) [...]

Comment on Inspiration or Copying? by Stuart

Stuart — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:08:09 +0000

Excuse my french:

http://copycunts.blogspot.com/

Comment on When did games become hard? by Chris2

Chris2 — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 23:06:11 +0000

I think the key is the balance between risk and reward. If the level is long, the rewards need to be frequent; and if the level is tough, the rewards need to be satisfying. I doubt this is the sole factor in entertaining game design but it’s something designers are not immune from forgetting.

Comment on When did games become hard? by Chris

Chris — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 15:51:01 +0000

I don’t think general difficulty is the main problem, it’s poor game design. Challenging games can be enjoyable for all types of player – it’s down to the game design to slowly ramp up difficulty and give you a sense of accomplishment, but not make things impossible, and certainly not introduce these unexpected “learning cliffs” to pad things out.

The problem is that single player or cooperative games require some level of challenge to be set by the game designer: No challenge at all, throughout the course of the game, then things are very boring (even arty games like fl0w and flower have an element of challenge). Too difficult and you put people off. Setting that level to please everyone is very difficult.

Multiplayer (competitive) and social games are different; the difficulty is dynamic and is determined by who you’re playing against and how seriously you take the game. Also a lot of the fun and appeal is from the social aspect, not the challenge presented by the game itself; people will happily carry out even the most mundane repetitive tasks if there’s a social element (consider a good section of the Wii catalogue!)

Comment on Taking playlists to the next level by matt

matt — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 14:34:36 +0000

Music somehow over hundred of years has become a companion to our lives. Even someone who says “I dont like music” will still experience its effects on them.

For more reading on physcology and music may I suggest Daniel Levitin especially his book “This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human “Obsession” (2006)

Comment on When did games become hard? by matt

matt — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 14:30:14 +0000

I totally agree Marc.

There is a very hard middle ground that developers need to find where the game is challenging and fun but not impossible. You would of hoped a developer like Sega with its experience would be able to hit this middle ground easier!

Comment on Why I love skins by Howie Douglas

Howie Douglas — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 18:40:06 +0000

Completely agree with you. It’s quite funny, because I don’t really watch that much TV, I’m not much of a TV person, but Skins has got me completely captivated, I’m actually addicted haha, and I think the whole thing as you mention with the internet and especially Twitter is great.

Have you seen skins messenger also? You can now add a contact to your MSN and it will update you throughout the show, similarly like Twitter, it is a great idea.

Anyway, I’m beginning to babble lol, nice article, put exactly how it is

Comment on Why I love skins by xBenji65

xBenji65 — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 09:01:01 +0000

hehe yeah, i agree with this! :

Comment on Why I love skins by alice

alice — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 02:21:39 +0000

Hi,I can identify with what you have just written. I am a graphic designer but recently got hooked into Skins Series 3 because of the story line between Naomily but gradually, as I frequently (daily) visit the e4 skins web page I find that im hooked onto that as well. The overall design (especially the photos) fits so appropriately. They manage to update their website so frequently i’m HOOKED! I also just recently joined Twitter and also an amazing way to keep updated with whats happening on skins. Overall… I just think they have done a great job at promoting/marketing themselves in a “cool/edgy” way.
ha !