126: Building Your Own Platform with Zach Gage (Puzzmo)
Nov 12, 2023
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Game designer Zach Gage, creator of Puzzmo, discusses building a platform for newspaper games, unique scoring systems and leaderboards, the dictionary and challenge feature, onboarding users through puzzles, and the fun aspects of the game character Puzmo.
Puzmo aims to provide a unique and modern experience for players, catering to different interests and play styles.
Puzmo focuses on creating an environment that encourages curiosity and rewards exploration.
Puzmo offers high-quality and engaging crosswords, reflecting contemporary culture and promoting the voice of crossword constructors.
Deep dives
Puzmo: A Digital Reimagining of Newspaper Games
Puzmo is a digital platform that aims to recreate the experience of playing newspaper games online. The idea behind Puzmo is to design a website that provides a magical and fun place for people to enjoy and play different games. The platform offers a collection of games, including a crossword, type shift, spell tower, and more. Puzmo aims to create a community where players can compete, collaborate, and solve puzzles together. It also emphasizes the importance of accommodating different play styles, allowing players to choose their preferred approach, whether it's competing for high scores or solving puzzles at a more relaxed pace. The platform partners with American Values Crossword Club (AVCX) to bring high-quality crossword puzzles to Puzmo. This collaboration ensures that players can enjoy well-crafted and engaging crossword puzzles. Puzmo aims to provide a unique and modern experience for players, encouraging curiosity, and offering a variety of games that cater to different interests and play styles.
The Power of Curiosity in Puzmo's Game Design
Puzmo focuses on designing a platform that encourages and rewards curiosity in players. The goal is to create an environment where players feel comfortable trying new things and are rewarded for their exploration. The platform offers a variety of games with different levels of difficulty, allowing players of all skill levels to participate. Puzmo's design ethos is to make games easily accessible and approachable, ensuring that even newcomers to gaming can find enjoyment in the platform. By providing multiple scoring axes and offering different ways to play each game, Puzmo accommodates various play styles and preferences. The platform aims to foster a sense of community and encourages players to interact with each other, share strategies, and form groups. Through these features, Puzmo aims to create a unique and engaging gaming experience for players of all backgrounds.
The Evolution of Crosswords on Puzmo
Puzmo features an innovative approach to crossword puzzles, partnering with the American Values Crossword Club (AVCX) to provide high-quality and engaging crosswords. The platform offers a modern and accessible take on crosswords, designed to be more approachable for players of all levels. It focuses on creating puzzles that reflect contemporary culture and personal experiences, bringing fresh and unique perspectives into the crossword space. Puzmo also aims to promote the voice of crossword constructors, allowing them to express themselves and infuse their puzzles with their own personalities. In addition to crosswords, Puzmo offers a diverse range of games, including revamped versions of classic games like type shift and spell tower, as well as new and experimental games. The platform strives to offer a wide variety of gaming experiences to cater to different interests and preferences.
The Role of Community and Player Engagement on Puzmo
Puzmo places a strong emphasis on community and player engagement. The platform encourages players to share their experiences, strategies, and scores through social interaction on the website, and the ability to connect with other players on platforms such as Discord. Puzmo also provides opportunities for players to compete and collaborate, with leaderboards and group-based challenges. Additionally, the platform fosters a sense of exploration and discovery by offering hidden features and surprises within the games. Puzmo values player feedback and incorporates it into the game design, actively seeking to create an inclusive and enjoyable experience for its gaming community. With its focus on community and player engagement, Puzmo aims to create a vibrant and interactive environment where players can connect, explore, and share their passion for games.
Puzmo's Challenge Feature and Dictionary
Puzmo does not currently have the challenge feature found in Spell Tower Plus. The dictionary used in Puzmo is the WordNik word list supplemented by content from Spell Tower Plus. However, there are plans to potentially add a challenge dictionary that connects to their web dictionary through an API.
Puzmo's Unique Onboarding Process
Puzmo has a unique onboarding process that involves receiving physical mail in the form of postcards with puzzles. Every day, a limited number of keys are added to the website, and the first 500 people to solve the puzzles after the keys are dropped can input their address and receive a postcard. The puzzles on the postcards are designed to be solvable and provide a fun experience, often involving scratch-off components. This approach to onboarding helps manage the influx of users and creates a sense of excitement and anticipation.
