My goal as a designer would be to never have the player stuck more than 30 minutes at any obstacle. Otherwise the player is being robbed of the task/reward loop that is essential for a fun game. If either side of this loop is out of balance, the designer will alienate some group. To much task, and it will only appeal to the hardcore gamer that must "complete any game no matter how hard", while completely alienating the average gamer. To much reward, and you make the game a cakewalk and only interesting to people who like interactive movies, where there really is no wrong choice. Task and reward must be in balance through the entire game to make a satisfying experience.

Ut

Just wanted to say there are pro arcade game players (I''m an aspiring one) and they can do some amazing things. For example in many Capcom fighters (Street Fighter), it''s all about frames of animation. What frame is the character invincible? What frame can I safely attack? etc. These Arcade Gods memorize each frame in order to see beyond what normal players see, to see that actual internal workings of the game. This is just a rant that Arcade''s aren''t bad, and the players there have an extreme amount of skill, ok back on topic now, sorry for straying.



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Trevor "Zephyre" Barnett