…. or call me slow lol! But I am redesigning the UI of the game again. It needs to be crisper. After several design iterations and evolution over time it needs a clean up.

I have realised that there are two types of code I write with this game:

Type 1- the problem is defined, I have to work out how to program it, knowing what I want to achieve. It’s possible to estimate roughly how long it will take.

Type 2-code subject to games design. I know roughly what to write. I do that, then change it, tune it, modify to get the best fun, and the best control. Maybe I’ll simplify the original idea. – This can go on for ages, but it is worth it!!

It’s maybe the most important part of writing the game. The game mechanics are the tools given to the player and how they operate within the game. I spend a lot of time on this. Usually I have a vision of what will be good. Then I implement it. That is followed by a combination of excitement at which parts really worked and disappointment at the parts that don’t. Next comes trying to understand why some things aren’t working, and trying to work out if there are changes that will make it good.

All of this is steered by one aim, to be entertaining.

I was doing a bit of games design and it got me thinking a bit about what it is. All very abstract. I was looking at the mechanisms I have and decided they are good, but they don’t clearly show the player the right information. So I started to think how to solve it. To do that, I am visualising in 3d in my head and at the same time thinking about what information is enough, how to display it, how to control it etc.

Rampant featuritis, that’s what we used to call it. If afflicts games just as much as the word processor (Word) that was being referred to when I first heard that term. You have a new version coming out so it has to add value. How about some new features? Trouble is after a while all you have created is complexity instead of added value.
Well I am working on this iPhone game alone, so I don’t have an abundance of time or resources. But, I still have to think, I have to think about what is really, really needed to make the game work.

I am play testing, and as I do, I find out more about the game I have constructed.  I am finding out what I need to change, re-direct and enhance. The picture of what I am creating gets clearer, and the path I need to take from here is more obvious.