[casual_games] Res: Use of keyboard on casual games

[spocilujko at comcast.net]

Ellen makes a really good point. And I don't think this happens in development just with UI but with the difficulty level in our games as well as other aspects. When you've played the same level over and over again while checking out your game, testing for bugs, seeing how something works, etc. you get really used to how to play it. This becomes so routine to you that suddenly you find the game easy. When this happens I've usually seen one of two things happen.

1) You feel the game is easy enough for the average/new player and you don't balance the game down to an easier level because you a) don't remember at that point how hard it was for you at the beginning or b) feel that because it is this easy for you it will be 'just easy enough' for newer playesrs. 
2) You balance the game to a more difficult level because you a) don't remember how hard it was for you at the beginning and b) feel its way too easy for you now so it'll be way too easy for hard core players forgetting how new players will react to it.

Sheri

Design, Direct, Deliver
spocilujko at comcast.net
http://www.linkedin.com/in/spocilujko 

-------------- Original message -------------- 
From: Ellen Beeman <guonbeeman at yahoo.com> 

> My $.02 basically echoes Hal and Dave R... but I also 

> highly recommend that as you design and tweak your 

> interface, periodically ask new people to try it for 

> you, to check whether it's still intuitive. It's easy 

> to get used to your game interface and convince 

> yourself that it's intuitive, whereas with new 

> players, you'll immediately =see= whether it is. 

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