Yep, that old favorite – Hangman.  I think I’ve already laid out my criteria for making this decision in previous posts.  But here is how I see Hangman fits:

• Simple game.  Rules are well known and defined but can be modified easily if needed.
• This is a word game and if I build it in a slightly intelligent way I’ll be able to modify and create new games in the future.
• I like word games.
• Hangman caters well to the iPhone interface.   In fact there are at least two other version of this game already available on the iPhone App Store.  But I don’t care since I’m not trying to make any $ on this.
• The graphics required for Hangman are pretty simple.  Being new to the platform it’s good to have a simple place to start.
• People will play the game.  Maybe not a lot.  But I’ll be able to get some feedback.
• I don’t like the name – Hangman – but, whatever…it doesn’t matter at this point.  (Any other suggestions?)

Next steps are to find out if there are any patents or copyrights on Hangman that I need to consider and to get my iPhone Development environment set up.

Next question: What platform should I target for the games I build?

I think the answer to this needs to be driven by two things -

1. The price point I’m targeting
2. What I’m familiar with as a user.

In my previous post I address the price point question.  http://gottschalktechnologies.com/blog/2009/01/14/pricing-and-disposable-games/ I need a platform that supports this low pricepoint.

The last video game box I owned was the Nintendo Entertainment System (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_Entertainment_System).  So I’m not familiar enough with the Wii or Xbox to target modern dedicated platforms, at least not right now.

But, I do have an iPhone, and I use it a lot.  And I play a lot of games on it.  And it supports the pricepoint.

So, that is my answer for now.  iPhone here I come!

One of the questions I need to answer is how I’m going to price any game I create.  Seems there are two ways to approach this.  Try to make a ton of $ on each sale – $60-80.  Or sell for really cheap – $0.99.  The expensive games are an investment for the buyer and they expect a lot.  The $0.99 games are what I’m calling disposable games.  These are things that people might be willing to purchase on a whim and if they don’t like them then no harm done.  If the $0.99 game gives them even 30 minutes of fun then it was worth it.

I’m going for the $0.99 disposable games.

Normally, the term “disposable” is something I try to avoid.  But in this case it’s just some bits of data and disposing of them when done with a game has a negligible impact on the environment.  So, no harm there.

If my games can provide someone 30 minutes of fun while they’re stuck on a bus or at the airport then my mission has been accomplished!

Here is the dilemma I’m struggling with today as I plan for building the first GTi game:

Should I build a classic game (tic-tac-toe, hangman, etc) or invent my own game.  Here are the pros and cons:

Build Classic:

• Pros

1. Don’t have to spend time thinking about rules
2. Don’t have to teach people how to play
3. Get experience with the development technology and Platform (iPhone)
4. I can modify the game rules if I want in whatever way I please

• Cons

1. Kind of boring – I might get halfway through and decide to bail on this since it’s not creative
2. I don’t have to explore what makes a game compelling for people in quite the same way.

Invent My Own New Game:

• Pros

1. More creative process which I think will be fun
2. Get experience with the development technology and Platform (iPhone)
3. Can modify game rules as I want if I want
4. I have to explore what makes a game compelling for people and hope to get a lot of valuable feedback

• Cons

1. Have to spend time thinking about rules – might get bogged down in this
2. Have to teach people how to play

I’m sure this is an incomplete list but after writing out even this much the decision is pretty clear to me.  Go with a classic game but feel free to modify the rules and add twists to the game as I like.  Doing this allows me to minimize the Cons in inventing my own while gaining the benefits of inventing my own.

Fascinating little article in Wired Nov 2008 about what makes games addictive:

http://www.wired.com/gaming/gamingreviews/magazine/16-11/pl_games

Here are my takeaways and twists on the article’s conclusions.

• Randomness that doesn’t seem random is compelling.  We think we’re controlling the outcome and just when we start to think we’re “good at this” randomness kicks in a knocks us down a bit.  We like this.
• People like to create order.  Someone that is very close to me gets so much satisfaction from creating order that at the grocery store checkout line the checkout clerk has remarked on how well packed her basket is! She still smiles at the memory
• People like to have to hunt for something that provides a reward.  Hunting without a reward is just a pain in the ass.
• People like to get better at a simple skill they can pick up quickly but can never quite master.  Do something simple, do it again a bit faster/ prettier / larger-scale.  Keep increasing the level of speed/ beauty/ scale until you crack.
• People like to see patterns in seemingly random jumble.  I think Pointilism is one form of this.  This also ties into points 2, 3 and 4 above.

What do you think makes games addictive?  What game(s) are you addicted to?

As I mentioned in the previous post I updated the GTi games page today.

Since GTi is still in the process of developing it’s first game I decided to focus on philosophy and humor.  The two quotes that I posted there are things I clipped a couple of years ago and still drive how I feel about games.  They are going to guide the process of game development at GTi.

I’ll be posting more about this process as I go.