3 ms·

Ask HN: Do you want to learn about game design?

22 points by kd5bjo 16y ago

kd5bjo 16y ago
I know that lots of people here are interested in using game mechanics to increase their sites' stickiness for users. I thought that some of you might be interested in working together through a game design course to help understand why games work.
- zackattack 16y ago
  I would prefer a comprehensive blog post outlining the bullet points of what we should know, rather than a mini-course. Also, you may enjoy this blog post I wrote: http://www.zacharyburt.com/2010/06/why-games-are-fun-the-psychology-explanation/ http://www.zacharyburt.com/2010/06/why-games-are-fun-the-psy...
  - kd5bjo 16y ago
    That would be about as useful as a comprehensive blog post outlining the bullet points of how to play the piano. Game design is a skill that requires practice to master; a course like this is a good way to provide directed practice and social pressure to put in the effort required to get better.
mrcharles 16y ago
My experience as a veteran game programmer/designer is that few classes teach much of use. The reality is that game design is an art, not a science, and in general, like all arts, natural ability separates the good from the best. That being said, I wouldn't mind following along if I have time, to try and throw wrenches in and be a devil's advocate.
- kd5bjo 16y ago
  Having read ahead a bit, it looks like the course is based mostly around assignments that actually involve designing games (or pieces of them). That's definitely the case for the "textbook", which is basically a short introduction to a topic followed by 5 micro-projects to do.
- jules 16y ago
  Natural ability and probably practice, practice, practice :)
- johnfn 16y ago
  There was a great comment on here a while back saying how we justify our flaws by a perceived lack of "natural talent," when we haven't invested enough time to see our skills improve. Be careful to avoid this trap.
  - mrcharles 16y ago
    I know my flaws. It's why I excel.
hugh3 16y ago
Ask HN: Is this really an Ask HN, or an attempt to disguise a garden-variety blog post as an Ask HN just because Ask HNs tend to get upvoted a lot? One could easily rename any submission "X" as "Ask HN: Do You Want to Learn About X?" but it'd be a pretty cheap trick.
- kd5bjo 16y ago
  I really intended this as an "Ask HN". The only reason that I didn't reference HN in the post is that there are other communities that I extended the same invitation to.
  - Pahalial 16y ago
    hugh3 was referring to the fact that "Ask HN:" titles are typically used for local discussion, by simple convention. http://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Aycombinator.com+Ask+HN%3A http://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Aycombinator.com+Ask+HN...
    - there 16y ago
      or click the "ask" link at the top of this page. http://news.ycombinator.com/ask http://news.ycombinator.com/ask
JeanPierre 16y ago
Yes! It's been a long time since I've learned something not involving mathematics. Game balance, game optimization, game physics etc. all involves mathematics. Whereas game design probably has some mathematics laying around, I would suspect it would be much easier to grab than other mathematics in the area.
imp 16y ago
Looks cool. I read a Theory of Fun and it was really insightful. I probably won't follow along with this class due to lack of time right now, though. I see you're organizing the class mostly through your blog. If you find that to be cumbersome, I've created a collaborative learning website that is designed for this kind of group learning. It can add some structure around the class, help people track their progress, and send out emails to students when new stuff happens. It's called Curious Reef http://curiousreef.com/ http://curiousreef.com/ and it's free to create and take classes.
foxtrot 16y ago
I would have loved to have done this when I planned to make my own game (purchased the graphics engine and tools), I just didnt have the right mind to get my head around the code base so quickly gave up. Its great something like this is being done.

22 points by kd5bjo 16y ago

I know that lots of people here are interested in using game mechanics to increase their sites' stickiness for users. I thought that some of you might be interested in working together through a game design course to help understand why games work.

zackattack 16y ago
I would prefer a comprehensive blog post outlining the bullet points of what we should know, rather than a mini-course. Also, you may enjoy this blog post I wrote: http://www.zacharyburt.com/2010/06/why-games-are-fun-the-psychology-explanation/ http://www.zacharyburt.com/2010/06/why-games-are-fun-the-psy...
- kd5bjo 16y ago
  That would be about as useful as a comprehensive blog post outlining the bullet points of how to play the piano. Game design is a skill that requires practice to master; a course like this is a good way to provide directed practice and social pressure to put in the effort required to get better.

mrcharles 16y ago

My experience as a veteran game programmer/designer is that few classes teach much of use. The reality is that game design is an art, not a science, and in general, like all arts, natural ability separates the good from the best. That being said, I wouldn't mind following along if I have time, to try and throw wrenches in and be a devil's advocate.

kd5bjo 16y ago
Having read ahead a bit, it looks like the course is based mostly around assignments that actually involve designing games (or pieces of them). That's definitely the case for the "textbook", which is basically a short introduction to a topic followed by 5 micro-projects to do.
jules 16y ago
Natural ability and probably practice, practice, practice :)
johnfn 16y ago
There was a great comment on here a while back saying how we justify our flaws by a perceived lack of "natural talent," when we haven't invested enough time to see our skills improve. Be careful to avoid this trap.
- mrcharles 16y ago
  I know my flaws. It's why I excel.

hugh3 16y ago

Ask HN: Is this really an Ask HN, or an attempt to disguise a garden-variety blog post as an Ask HN just because Ask HNs tend to get upvoted a lot? One could easily rename any submission "X" as "Ask HN: Do You Want to Learn About X?" but it'd be a pretty cheap trick.

kd5bjo 16y ago
I really intended this as an "Ask HN". The only reason that I didn't reference HN in the post is that there are other communities that I extended the same invitation to.
- Pahalial 16y ago
  hugh3 was referring to the fact that "Ask HN:" titles are typically used for local discussion, by simple convention. http://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Aycombinator.com+Ask+HN%3A http://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Aycombinator.com+Ask+HN...
  - there 16y ago
    or click the "ask" link at the top of this page. http://news.ycombinator.com/ask http://news.ycombinator.com/ask

JeanPierre 16y ago

Yes! It's been a long time since I've learned something not involving mathematics. Game balance, game optimization, game physics etc. all involves mathematics. Whereas game design probably has some mathematics laying around, I would suspect it would be much easier to grab than other mathematics in the area.

imp 16y ago

Looks cool. I read a Theory of Fun and it was really insightful. I probably won't follow along with this class due to lack of time right now, though. I see you're organizing the class mostly through your blog. If you find that to be cumbersome, I've created a collaborative learning website that is designed for this kind of group learning. It can add some structure around the class, help people track their progress, and send out emails to students when new stuff happens. It's called Curious Reef http://curiousreef.com/ http://curiousreef.com/ and it's free to create and take classes.

foxtrot 16y ago

I would have loved to have done this when I planned to make my own game (purchased the graphics engine and tools), I just didnt have the right mind to get my head around the code base so quickly gave up. Its great something like this is being done.