Hulver's site || Comments || Notes from the Game Focus Germany Conference, 2008

meh, programming is easy by lm (2.00 / 0) #3 Sat Jan 26, 2008 at 02:20:56 PM EST

design is hard. this is why entry level folks are given the programming tasks in IT shops and the folks who've been around the block a few times are given the design work.

what's that you say? that's not what you meant by design?

perhaps. one can certainly make an argument for that case. but a far stronger argument exists going the other direction. even if design is restricted to visual design, there is only a low barrier of entry if you don't know what you're doing. proper design takes just as much, if not more, education and technical prowess as programming.

There is no more degenerate kind of state than that in which the richest are supposed to be the best.
Cicero, The Republic

design in the context of this talk is game design by codemonkey uk (2.00 / 0) #4 Sat Jan 26, 2008 at 02:56:00 PM EST

The barrier of entry being low for game design is because any idiot can say: "it's like Doom, but you have more guns/aliens/whatever". That doesn't mean it's a good design, but you still have a design that is basically functional much more easily than you can program a game that is basically functional. The barrier to entry for programming is the basic understanding of syntax, control flow, etc, that is required before you can make any progress at all.

--- Thad ---
developer of ... ?
[ Parent ]

flow control is equivalent to basic algebra by lm (2.00 / 0) #5 Sat Jan 26, 2008 at 03:03:52 PM EST

An elementary school student could program a game. In fact, you could easily write a text adventure with only if statements. I don't think this is really any larger barrier to entry than `it's like Doom except with blow guns'

There is no more degenerate kind of state than that in which the richest are supposed to be the best.
Cicero, The Republic
[ Parent ]

you over estimate Joe Public by codemonkey uk (2.00 / 0) #7 Sat Jan 26, 2008 at 03:07:43 PM EST

Yes, even children can write computer programs - I was programming at 7 - but most people can't.

--- Thad ---
developer of ... ?
[ Parent ]

: that isn't because of any real barrier to entry by lm (4.00 / 1) #8 Sat Jan 26, 2008 at 03:35:28 PM EST

Most people can't program not because they are unable to learn but because they are unwilling to learn. You don't have to be capable of learning rocket science, just capable of learning something of the same complexity as algebra.
Take a class full of 14 year olds. Give each kid a deck of cards. Ask each to come up with a new card game. Most won't do it. Of those that don't do it, a large number will not do it because they can't. Of those that do do it, a large number of the games will be new games in the same way that Scrabulous is a new game.
There is no more degenerate kind of state than that in which the richest are supposed to be the best.
Cicero, The Republic
[ Parent ]