We Have Finite Time to Spend in Life

When we play games, we should play games that are fun, but also creative and challenging. Easy games are a complete waste of time, like watching TV. Hard games challenge us and make us grow.

At IndieCade in October 2011, Adam Saltsman, Canabalt's creator, discussed the notion of "time until death." All of us have a finite amount of time on earth, and any time we spend on a particular activity is time that we can't spend doing something else. This means that the time we spend gaming represents most of a game's cost of ownership, far more than any money that we spend. If that time is enjoyable (or rather, if its benefits outweigh its costs), then the game was worth our time.

Value is created in different ways for different people, but the most immediate is through generating engagement until players achieve mastery. In a panel held at Seattle's Casual Connect in 2011, game designer and consultant Nicole Lazzarodescribed two types of fun: easy fun and hard fun. Games that don't challenge players beyond a certain point -- "easy fun" -- will never allow them to achieve mastery, which could deprive them of a highly rewarding part of playing.