Making it easy
There's a concept in industrial design where every iteration of a technology becomes more complicated. I can't remember the specific name of the concept, and that's a really stripped back interpretation of the theory.
Take for example a car. The simplest engines have external combustion, but a safer and more efficient engine uses internal combustion, while being more complicated to build, repair, or service. Similarly, the earliest cars were empowered by a single piston engine, but in order to get smoother output from engine to wheels, multi-piston engines were created with the added complications of camshafts, drive belts, timing chains, etc. The same process can be seen in steering systems, braking, fuel injection, and virtually every other part of the car. The crude interpretation of an idea gets th job done, but the improvements come with iterations of complication.
Consumer electronics and software programming works the same way. A basic program capable of doing simple tasks in simple ways, but programmers often find the need to tweak things for improved performance, more sturdy interaction with users, or better interface appearance. The better it looks, the more needs to go into the back end. In consumer electronics, sometimes an item might seem simpler than a previous iteration, but it often has more complex technology underlying it... and if a piece of technology seems less complex, there is often a more complicated manufacturing process to get it to that point before the user even interacts with it. Snap locks are easy to assemble for the user, but take far more complicated design and manufacturing process than those used to build other modular assembled pieces.
I've often found the same logic applies to game design. The first crude idea may be workable, but it often needs supporting systems before it is capable of withstanding contact from outside players. This means more refinement, more playtesting, more tweaking, and eventually a more complex game than the initial thought envisioned.
I want the familiar game to be accessible and logical for players, but that means ensuring the back end development is properly thought out, developed, and playtested.
I've just finished assigning attributes and abilities to the minor arcana, so that players can quickly make characters using the Five Card Spread method discussed in a previous post. Easier for players, more complicated for designers... if I get ten groups of five players, each of whom save an hour per character, then I can basically justify to myself spending up to fifty hours to get this right.
I can probably work a bit longer on it. and I might even show my progress tomorrow.
Take for example a car. The simplest engines have external combustion, but a safer and more efficient engine uses internal combustion, while being more complicated to build, repair, or service. Similarly, the earliest cars were empowered by a single piston engine, but in order to get smoother output from engine to wheels, multi-piston engines were created with the added complications of camshafts, drive belts, timing chains, etc. The same process can be seen in steering systems, braking, fuel injection, and virtually every other part of the car. The crude interpretation of an idea gets th job done, but the improvements come with iterations of complication.
Consumer electronics and software programming works the same way. A basic program capable of doing simple tasks in simple ways, but programmers often find the need to tweak things for improved performance, more sturdy interaction with users, or better interface appearance. The better it looks, the more needs to go into the back end. In consumer electronics, sometimes an item might seem simpler than a previous iteration, but it often has more complex technology underlying it... and if a piece of technology seems less complex, there is often a more complicated manufacturing process to get it to that point before the user even interacts with it. Snap locks are easy to assemble for the user, but take far more complicated design and manufacturing process than those used to build other modular assembled pieces.
I've often found the same logic applies to game design. The first crude idea may be workable, but it often needs supporting systems before it is capable of withstanding contact from outside players. This means more refinement, more playtesting, more tweaking, and eventually a more complex game than the initial thought envisioned.
I want the familiar game to be accessible and logical for players, but that means ensuring the back end development is properly thought out, developed, and playtested.
I've just finished assigning attributes and abilities to the minor arcana, so that players can quickly make characters using the Five Card Spread method discussed in a previous post. Easier for players, more complicated for designers... if I get ten groups of five players, each of whom save an hour per character, then I can basically justify to myself spending up to fifty hours to get this right.
I can probably work a bit longer on it. and I might even show my progress tomorrow.
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