Ep 62 - Hashtag Potatoneck

[bscotchCarol]

Things get dark this week as the team spirals into pre-PAX pandemonium.

https://soundcloud.com/butterscotch-she ... potatoneck

(Everything's gonna be ok though.)

[kevin888]

I think good puzzle games without a story can be really good and worth your time. People often play them for a few minutes when they have some free time. It's not really any different then spending time on a RPG or something. It's all time that you spend doing something you like.
Also well designed puzzles are fun to solve. The ones with a story or that try too hard to be something other than a puzzle game, can become convoluted. You Must Build a Boat is a pretty good game, it has a well designed (though pretty generic) "game" part, and the "story" elements just give some incentive to keep playing. It's a good balance. However, games that are just puzzles, like Threes are fun too.
Can these games become addictive? Definitely. That's why I really like games, puzzle or other, with a clear end, either a certain amount of levels, or a reachable goal. Endless games often become pointless when you get bored of them.
Of course some games are designed to be addictive and keep you playing them and possibly pay money. I don't think this is good game design, but really, people who can play these games can probably afford to waste some time and maybe some money.
Games are basically pure entertainment, no matter the genre. It's great when a game has a good story, but it's ok if they are pure mechanics. It's fine if Bscotch doesn't want to publish a puzzle game for the reasons described, but these are just my thoughts.

Also, good luck at PAX!