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Show HN: I built a word game. My mom thinks it's great. What do you think?

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Re: Show HN: I built a word game. My mom thinks it's great. What do you think?

#201

Post by Anon4Now »

Y444 wrote: post #71

Product manager ex. game designer with a number of puzzle/word game in operation here. - Having a timer (urgency) is usually not a very good idea for thinky games. If you insist on having a timer consider making it count upwards. - Additionally as other commenters mentioned is the game is a time trial it needs an explicit “Start” button. Also stop the timer when user is not playing e.g. reading the rules. - There’s n…

> - Consider having some sort of overarching thing in your puzzle, so it’s not just five words on a specific topic to guess, but something more, like a hidden word across all five etc. This makes a delightful discovery moment and sometimes might work as a clue.

You've essentially described the Jumble puzzle, which appeared in daily newspapers. It's been around since 1954, but I'm not surprised to see it reinvented since few people get a daily newspaper anymore.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumble

Re: Show HN: I built a word game. My mom thinks it's great. What do you think?

#205

Post by cookie_monsta »

MrJohz wrote: post #188
genezeta wrote: post #187

While the game is ok, there's unfortunately a problem on Firefox on Android. I know, who cares, only three people in the planet use Firefox on Android. But if you want to know anyway... The problem is the sizes are not adjusted correctly and so the fixed header/upper part overlaps the scrambled word list, almost completely hiding the first word. You can, through some tricky scrolling, manage to see it and then solve…

Fwiw, I am one of the other two people with Firefox on Android and am not having this issue, so it might be a question of screen size rather than browser?

The other guy checking in here. No problems with FF on Android for me either

Re: Show HN: I built a word game. My mom thinks it's great. What do you think?

#206

Post by hn8726 »

What I don't get is whether the mechanics of selecting letters are supposed to be significant. It's pretty odd to click `a b c`, then missclick `a` again and end up with `b c` which means I have to click `b` and `c` only to go for `a b c d` all over again

Re: Show HN: I built a word game. My mom thinks it's great. What do you think?

#207

Post by redbell »

Y444 wrote: post #183
4887d30omd8 wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is good feedback. Is there a single resource you would recommend for someone somewhat interested in game design?

If you want a general overview try finding a book called “Fundamentals of Fame Design” by Ernest Adams. It is a sensible intro, after that - just dive into thematic communities and do your own things. I know nothing about formal game design education sorry.

Thanks for sharing! I found it on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Fundamentals-Game-Design-Ernest-Adams...

Also, because the keys "F" and "G" are adjacent in the keyboard layout, I believe you made a typo in the book title where you wrote Fame instead of Game.

Re: Show HN: I built a word game. My mom thinks it's great. What do you think?

#208

Post by Y444 »

redbell wrote: post #207
Y444 wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you want a general overview try finding a book called “Fundamentals of Fame Design” by Ernest Adams. It is a sensible intro, after that - just dive into thematic communities and do your own things. I know nothing about formal game design education sorry.

Thanks for sharing! I found it on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Fundamentals-Game-Design-Ernest-Adams... Also, because the keys "F" and "G" are adjacent in the keyboard layout, I believe you made a typo in the book title where you wrote Fame instead of Game.

Yes, sorry about that.

I’d love to learn “fame design” though haha

Re: Show HN: I built a word game. My mom thinks it's great. What do you think?

#209

Post by jtafurth »

redbell wrote: post #207
Y444 wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you want a general overview try finding a book called “Fundamentals of Fame Design” by Ernest Adams. It is a sensible intro, after that - just dive into thematic communities and do your own things. I know nothing about formal game design education sorry.

Thanks for sharing! I found it on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Fundamentals-Game-Design-Ernest-Adams... Also, because the keys "F" and "G" are adjacent in the keyboard layout, I believe you made a typo in the book title where you wrote Fame instead of Game.

I thought for a moment it was a really interesting wordplay which I did not understand.

Re: Show HN: I built a word game. My mom thinks it's great. What do you think?

#210

Post by scottmf »

ugh123 wrote: post #186
Y444 wrote: post #71

Product manager ex. game designer with a number of puzzle/word game in operation here. - Having a timer (urgency) is usually not a very good idea for thinky games. If you insist on having a timer consider making it count upwards. - Additionally as other commenters mentioned is the game is a time trial it needs an explicit “Start” button. Also stop the timer when user is not playing e.g. reading the rules. - There’s n…

>There’s no point of having a “Play again” option for a Wordle style daily game, the thinking part is already done, so any replay is just an exercise in dexterity. What if i'm handing it to a friend/spouse to play to beat my time? >Consider having some sort of overarching thing in your puzzle, so it’s not just five words on a specific topic to guess, but something more, like a hidden word across all five etc. This ma…

> What if i'm handing it to a friend/spouse to play to beat my time?

then that works better with his suggestion for a timer rather than a countdown

you could retain a challenge aspect by showing average time to solve (or your result compared to others; “You did better than 94% of people!” etc)

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