Go as casual puzzle game a phenomenon waiting to happen?

[msgreg]

I've thought for some time that go problems are a casual game phenomenon just waiting to happen.

I'm spurred to make this post by the article on gogameguru How To Get Better At Go

I know Go players who really enjoy the game and also like doing crossword puzzles, Sudoku or similar puzzles. Yet for some reason they screw up their face at the idea of solving ‘Go problems’. Why?

I really enjoy go problems and I think I am much stronger at them than I am at the game. I absolutely see them as a fun diversion or "casual game" in and of themselves.

If Sudoku can become popular, it seems like some basic go problems (up through ddk level) and a catchy name might have the potential to be really popular if available at the right price either in book form or mobile as a casual puzzle game.

[skydyr]

This is how I plan to get my wife hooked. Graded Go Problems for Beginners Vol. 1, here we come!

[jts]

I've wondered this, too. Part of the problem, I think, is that the capture rule and the "two eyes alive" heuristic make perfect sense if you're playing the whole game, but are surprisingly hard to teach someone if they're only going to solve a go problem.

[skydyr]

I've wondered this, too. Part of the problem, I think, is that the capture rule and the "two eyes alive" heuristic make perfect sense if you're playing the whole game, but are surprisingly hard to teach someone if they're only going to solve a go problem.

Because it's emergent behaviour, I think it could be shown pretty simply through problems in basic books that two eyes are necessary without ever declaring it as a rule. Perhaps an example section or a section on tips at the beginning of a book would help. I'd be more worried about ko, because those clearly can refer to outside situations that are unpictured in a diagram.

[Alguien]

I think there would be more future in transforming go problems into the mechanics for a minigame.

It's a "new" trend and it's been used in multiple indie games.

Have a hero character of some kind walk around in some kind of adventure land and finding himself in random encounters that inevitably end up with someone or something trying to disembowel him. Then turn the fight into simple but time limited go problems. Smaller enemies present simpler problems; larger enemies, harder problems. Human enemies might present small empty boards with different amounts of handicap and the final boss might be a 19x19 empty board.

When you place a wrong stone in a non-game the problem, you lose one health point. Lose them all and you die. Buy hp potions at the village, etc.

If I was twenty years younger I'd code this thing and become rich and famous.

[illluck]

Maybe problems to capture certain stones on smaller boards could be interesting for non-players?

[jts]

Maybe problems to capture certain stones on smaller boards could be interesting for non-players?

You know, I think someone posted on the forum a set of 4x4 problems that Japanese pros were using to teach the game to kids - Yonro no Go, or something.

[msgreg]

Maybe problems to capture certain stones on smaller boards could be interesting for non-players?

You know, I think someone posted on the forum a set of 4x4 problems that Japanese pros were using to teach the game to kids - Yonro no Go, or something.

Very interesting!!

http://www.lifein19x19.com/forum/viewto ... =39&t=4695

[jts]

$$B
$$----
$$|OX.X|
$$|O..X|
$$|XOXO|
$$|X.OO|
$$----

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$B
$$----
$$|OX.X|
$$|O..X|
$$|XOXO|
$$|X.OO|
$$----[/go]

Interesting.

[Unusedname]

I think there would be more future in transforming go problems into the mechanics for a minigame.

It's a "new" trend and it's been used in multiple indie games.

Have a hero character of some kind walk around in some kind of adventure land and finding himself in random encounters that inevitably end up with someone or something trying to disembowel him. Then turn the fight into simple but time limited go problems. Smaller enemies present simpler problems; larger enemies, harder problems. Human enemies might present small empty boards with different amounts of handicap and the final boss might be a 19x19 empty board.

When you place a wrong stone in a non-game the problem, you lose one health point. Lose them all and you die. Buy hp potions at the village, etc.

If I was twenty years younger I'd code this thing and become rich and famous.

You could have the obligatory unbeatable first boss.

It would be a group with 2 eyes, but you have unlimited moves.

Once you completely surround the group and it still doesnt die someone comes in to save you and explains that it's too late the boss is unkillable.

[gogameguru]

You're revealing one my evil(?) plans to promote Go Greg

Just make sure you don't mention the sharks with frikin' laser beams attached to their heads too...

Anyway, I think this is something that's worth trying. Like everything though, it takes time.

[Kaya.gs]

I think there would be more future in transforming go problems into the mechanics for a minigame.

It's a "new" trend and it's been used in multiple indie games.

Have a hero character of some kind walk around in some kind of adventure land and finding himself in random encounters that inevitably end up with someone or something trying to disembowel him. Then turn the fight into simple but time limited go problems. Smaller enemies present simpler problems; larger enemies, harder problems. Human enemies might present small empty boards with different amounts of handicap and the final boss might be a 19x19 empty board.

When you place a wrong stone in a non-game the problem, you lose one health point. Lose them all and you die. Buy hp potions at the village, etc.

If I was twenty years younger I'd code this thing and become rich and famous.

You could have the obligatory unbeatable first boss.

It would be a group with 2 eyes, but you have unlimited moves.

Once you completely surround the group and it still doesnt die someone comes in to save you and explains that it's too late the boss is unkillable.

There is a major game going to be released from the indie scene by jonathan blow. The game is mainly a puzzle game and as you advance you learn new ways to solve very specifics problems, by attaining new insights. (The puzzles have certain quirks from section to section, but its mostly a learning experience).

When i saw it I could totally imagine 100% of the puzzles being go problems.
Big disclaimer: Jonathan blow sat down building these problems every single day for years. Although it might be easier to devise certain problems, from a design perspective the challenge is that they are effective : that the problem has the exact difficulty and it shows exactly a specific idea or point the user has to learn. It must have no repetition, low frustration, good learning curve.

Is this applicable to Go? Absolutely.
Would this help in creating new Go players? If mainstreaming go is possible, i believe this is a necessary step.

What is required to build a game like this? A good game designer working on it professionally for several months to a year.

Always tried to get my brother to do this, but i am still unsuccessful. Maybe after he publishes his game on steam and has to look for something new to work with.

This requires funding.

[speedchase]

You could have the obligatory unbeatable first boss.

It would be a group with 2 eyes, but you have unlimited moves.

Once you completely surround the group and it still doesnt die someone comes in to save you and explains that it's too late the boss is unkillable.


There is a major game going to be released from the indie scene by jonathan blow. The game is mainly a puzzle game and as you advance you learn new ways to solve very specifics problems, by attaining new insights. (The puzzles have certain quirks from section to section, but its mostly a learning experience).

When i saw it I could totally imagine 100% of the puzzles being go problems.
Big disclaimer: Jonathan blow sat down building these problems every single day for years. Although it might be easier to devise certain problems, from a design perspective the challenge is that they are effective : that the problem has the exact difficulty and it shows exactly a specific idea or point the user has to learn. It must have no repetition, low frustration, good learning curve.

Is this applicable to Go? Absolutely.
Would this help in creating new Go players? If mainstreaming go is possible, i believe this is a necessary step.

What is required to build a game like this? A good game designer working on it professionally for several months to a year.

Always tried to get my brother to do this, but i am still unsuccessful. Maybe after he publishes his game on steam and has to look for something new to work with.

This requires funding.

I think it sound's like a great idea. If someone was doing it I would offer to help with programming. That being said you guys at Kaya.gs are probably better programmers than I am, but you are also much busier than me.

[Unusedname]

There is a major game going to be released from the indie scene by jonathan blow. The game is mainly a puzzle game and as you advance you learn new ways to solve very specifics problems, by attaining new insights. (The puzzles have certain quirks from section to section, but its mostly a learning experience).

When i saw it I could totally imagine 100% of the puzzles being go problems.
Big disclaimer: Jonathan blow sat down building these problems every single day for years. Although it might be easier to devise certain problems, from a design perspective the challenge is that they are effective : that the problem has the exact difficulty and it shows exactly a specific idea or point the user has to learn. It must have no repetition, low frustration, good learning curve.

Is this applicable to Go? Absolutely.
Would this help in creating new Go players? If mainstreaming go is possible, i believe this is a necessary step.

What is required to build a game like this? A good game designer working on it professionally for several months to a year.

Always tried to get my brother to do this, but i am still unsuccessful. Maybe after he publishes his game on steam and has to look for something new to work with.

This requires funding.

That's the idea i was thinking!

I mean i'm not sure how it would work but the first level/world

would be enemies already in atari.

maybe with a few other enemies you don't have to kill but must simply escape atari.

you could easily use http://playgo.to/iwtg/en/
to come up with the next levels

I don't remember the name of it, but there's a puzzle game on the ds where the top screen is a side scroller but the bottom screen is a bejeweled variant.

haha this is fun to think about.

edit: omg i have this whole megaman-esque idea in my head
power ups and everything

i'm not gonna be able to focus on school work at all this semester....