Reading between the lines: A look at Instructional Booklets

he written word: society lives by it, people relax with it and students learn to grow from it. As the saying goes, the pen truly is mightier than the sword.

Many of us will never forget some of the first words that taught us the beauty (and flaws) of all that language has to offer. For me, it all started with three fondly remembered words that spark joy for many classic JRPG fans:

"You Spoony Bard!" 

This blatant mistranslation made for a hilarious conversation starter that's still worthy of many Final Fantasy IV references to this day.

Books, novels, and magazines serve as a gateway to learning how to read and write over the years. And hell, we had some great reads in the classroom over the years compared to several other generations. I have fond memories of getting into titles such as Bunnicula, the Goosebumps series, and, eventually, George Orwell's 1984 (even if it's a bit real at times now). Not to mention that it would be criminal to forget anything by Beverly Cleary, who recently passed on at the age of 104.

Still, there's another outlet that I don't credit often enough for leading to my own expanded interests in the academic world: video games.

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GDC 16: Examining the importance of Game Balance

he invisible metrics that operate behind the scenes of a game are arguably the most important aspects behind its design, because let’s face it; developers can have the coolest idea for a title on paper, but the magic won’t happen until it’s properly coded with all the information it needs to successfully work.

This is a topic of design that Game Design Professor Ian Schreiber cites to be criminally overlooked, and has taken it upon himself to make GDC 16 the ideal platform to share his views, and their significance in the ever-changing landscape of video games.

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