007 : Not Your Average Joe – Difficulty, Engagement, and Cookie Clicker

Game Design Zen : Episode 007

Joe challenged me, “balanced difficulty is missing the mark.” And then, he pointed to games like Farmville, city simulators, and Cookie Clicker. He had some good points. He is not your average Joe.

• Joe’s Challenge – “Balanced Difficulty is missing the mark” (01:30)
  • Joe’s Ted Talk
• Flow Revisited (03:15)
• Not Just Flow (09:00)
  • Happiness – Accomplishment (09:40)
  • Martin Seligman - Flourish
  • Winning Can Be Boring (11:20)
• Raph Koster – A Theory of Fun (12:00)
• Habits (15:30)
  • Charles Duhigg – Power of Habits
• Ziegarnik Effect (18:25)
• Zen Moment (26:35)

Accomplishment!

Game Design Zen is the intersection of game design, life, and the pursuit of excellence. It is the #1 resource for developers, artists, and designers including the art, science, and business of better games. Level up to zen.

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