Double Journal Entry #2

I believe that Gardens of Time presented these six principles of good games:

Interaction

There is more interaction in this game than I thought there would be when I started playing. Neighbors unlocked expansions to your garden, gave you bonuses if you visited their garden and neighbors could trade items and gifts to help complete tasks.

Customization

Customization is an important part of the game. Options were limitless on what items to place in your garden. After completing quest tasks the player also got to choose which maps to replay for additional resources.

Challenge and Consolidation

The Challenge and Consolidation parts of this game are built well. A new map was challenging but free hints and replays of new maps allowed for players to gain mastery over the challenges.

Well-Order Problems

Since most of the game is numbers-based is was easy to understand how to progress. A score of X accomplished Y task, reputation X and experience Y made it easy to understand where the player was in completing goals.

Pleasantly Frustrating

A new map is pleasantly frustrating because of the hunt for the spawn spots of common items. I was particularly frustrated with the 2 screen compare challenges because they were a change of pace from the easier item hunts.

Explore, Think Laterally, Rethink Goals

I probably spent the most time on exploring options available for me and changing my goals on the fly. I learned that the energy resource is filled at a level up, so I always pushing to get through a level with no energy left for the free resources.