Factory Balls
I played factory balls (free version). The basic premise of the game is that you want to make a certain type of ball, but you only
have certain tools at your disposal for turning a blank ball into the requested ball. For example,
Here, the requested ball to be made is green with a blue stripe and the tools available are the stamp, the green bucket of paint, and the blue bucket of paint.
In this post, I will argue that the varying tools aspect of this puzzle game make this game fun and an interesting experience. 
This game is fun because the tools remain mysterious throughout the game. Indeed, at the very beginning, I had no idea what each of these tools did, and had to experiment around with them to gain understanding. Once I had played a few levels though, the tools became more mundane to use because I already knew how they worked and I was very easily making balls at very quick speeds. However, the game introduced more nuance by adding different tools as I advanced from level to level. For example, at level 6 the game gave me two more tools: the chain the the plunger [see image to the right]. Despite knowing what they are in real life, I wasn’t immediately clear about how I would use these tools to paint the desired ball. Thus, the puzzle of how I will make this ball has become much more difficult than if I did not have these new tools. This is a good example of skill building through interaction loops. Let’s walk through the steps of the interaction loop in one level:
- Learn: I learn new information about the new type of painting tool I have
- Feedback: I paint the ball and then use the new tool to see how it works. By using the new tool, I have received feedback that updates my belief.
- Rules: I realize that I can only use certain tools together. My belief in the rules of the game is updated.
- Action: I try out a tool.
- Decide: I use my updated beliefs to determine how I will make the ball look like the requested ball.
Interestingly, I think the feedback and action components of the interaction loop are very connected to each other. Additionally, this game implements fast, frequent loops such that I am building by skillset very quickly and learning a lot throughout the game as I advance from level to level.
The game could be improved with regards to the interaction arcs in the game. I didn’t see an overall goal or premise that occurred 2-3 times in the game. Instead, I felt like each level was its own challenge not leading up to a larger goal. I think this game could incorporate in stronger arcs by having players gain badges or unlock really cool tools that help them reach their goal of becoming the best factory worker possible. Additionally, a theme change could assist in the interaction arc section because it’s not particularly inspiring to try to make more balls, so if they were balls that defeated evil enemies or something, that would also improve the game.
