

How to be Successful at PyWeek (One-Week Long Python Game Development Challenge) - AndyKelley
http://www.superjoesoftware.com/temp/pyweek-success.html

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pufuwozu
_Remember that judges have hundreds of games to play. If at any time during
your game they get stuck, they are likely to shrug and move on to a different
game.

...

Nobody likes a game that treats the player like an idiot. However, a player is
far more willing to tolerate a Level 1 that they can pass without thinking,
than they are to try to disassemble a masterpiece puzzle at the very
beginning. Judges are much more likely to give up and move on._

I've entered two past PyWeeks; this part of the article really hit me.

My last two games were very, very short. I wanted to lengthen the game so I
made the levels harder. The feedback that I got was that the game was too
hard; judges got stuck within the first minute or two.

I'll again be limited by time but this time I'll prefer to make the game easy
than hard. I think players will find it more enjoyable to finish the game than
get stuck.

If anyone is planning on participating in the PyWeek a few weeks away, I
recommend reading some articles from this list:

<http://www.pixelprospector.com/indie-resources/>

I particularly liked these quick tips:

[http://devmag.org.za/2011/01/18/11-tips-for-making-a-fun-
pla...](http://devmag.org.za/2011/01/18/11-tips-for-making-a-fun-platformer/)

~~~
arctangent
You might also find some useful tips on designing an engaging (fun) experience
on the gamification wiki [1]. Making a game "easy" but providing constant
"achievements" and "levelling up" opportunities could be a good strategy. I
always remember how easy it was to get really high scores on pinball
machines...

[1] <http://gamification.org/wiki/Encyclopedia>

