"Reaction time is not a mass market skill." - Raph Koster
Let me start by posing some questions. Why are some games harder than others?
One argument is that some games are more difficult than others. If that is the case than what is it about the each game that makes it easy or hard. And why is it harder for one person and not for another.
Practice, is that why? Is it the more you practice a game the better you get and the easier it becomes? Why is that practice for one game does not equate to competence in another?
A short, unhelpful, answer would be, some games require different skills to play. The skills required for Test Cricket are different to those required for Chess. So what are those skills? And why are the skills required for Twenty20 Cricket not enough for Test Cricket?
This book takes a look at all kinds of games: sports that we play in the park, games that we play on computer and the ones that we play around the table with cards, boards or our own bodies. The focus of the book is to identify what makes a game harder for one person
The goal of this book is to make it easier to design games for specific audiences. You might want to design a racing game for people who don’t have the reflexes and coordination to operate a steering wheel and gearstick but have a keen mind when it comes to strategy and resource management.
I also hope that this book will also allow us to look beyond how we see games now and reimagine them in new contexts.
I'm uninterested in comparing players across games. I don't think that the player of one game is better or worse than the player of another game. I'm more interested in what traits does each game require? And, were the players attracted to those games because of the traits required to play? If so, when I design a game can I attract certain players because of the traits the game requires?
Next: Terminology.