Easy Puzzles for Word Vine
I put this video together, which is just a quick run-through of the first 16 puzzles in Word Vine. Hopefully this will help out people who are having trouble early on.
Category: online games
Jenova Chen’s Flow in Games
Jenova Chen is one of the first to pioneer Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow constraints into a game. He released flOw as a flash game, which went on to become the very successful PS3 title of the same name.
I think he’s really run with the formula with this next title Active Quiz for Math.
Something that really stuck with me when I read Jenova’s thesis was the notion of controlling difficulty through the core mechanics of a game.
“[...]the game needs to offer a pool with a wide spectrum of activities and difficulties for different types of players to swim inside. Based on players’ tastes, each individual will choose different choices and work at a different pace to navigate through the game.”*
You can see this in Active Quiz for Math. As the quiz progresses, you can quickly scan your choices for the math problems you think you could most quickly solve. I think this model could work extremely well with tasks which require snap judgments, especially where a time constraint is involved. The faster you can quickly determine the path of least resistance, without consciously thinking it through, the more quickly you can move from one task to the next. Ultimately, in flow, this is what you want to achieve: a merging of action and awareness, where you no longer think to choose, but simply act.
Triachnid by Florian Himsl and Edmund McMillen
The presentation in this game is remarkable. The interface applies the mouse in a completely unique way and the graphics are unparalleled in today’s flash games. Add to that an amazing soundtrack by Tin Hat Trio. Keep an eye out for more work from these designers.
Florian Himsl
Edmund McMillen (who, by the way, created Gish) .
Yoshio Ishii’s Cursor* 10
This is one of those games you play, wishing you came up with the idea yourself. Yoshio Ishii has a truly innovative game here. Cursor* 10 cleverly uses a mechanism which records your interactions, then echoes it back to you. Your task is to collaborate with those echoes to solve puzzles. I think there is a lot that could be done with this premise.
