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With such an open world, I'm curious: how much direction is needed for this app to not lose players due to too much freedom/confusion?
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Great question! Hope we get to explore it someday.
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After much thought, I've come to realize that there's two distinct types of "learning" games. Sandbox style and on-rails style... [1/3]
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Free-form sandbox games help players discover ideas, but players may completely miss ideas and even form incorrect understandings due to the free nature of things... [2/3]
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More on-rails games guide players to aha moments, with the downside that the games may feel constrained and not allow for unique application/exploration of ideas. As always, balance is key. [3/3]
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I believe adding social interaction to that balance is a force multiplier. Learners can explore together while sharing perhaps different aha moments.
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Yes! Also doesn't have to be either/or: e.g. lots of games have periods or areas which are fairly on-rails but also a "world map" which is exploratory or sandbox-y, with varying freedom of movement between…
Totally! It can be a long period that's more constrained followed by an open sandbox, like Rocky's Boots en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky%27s or a more frequent alternation
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