These small things show why Nintendo is where it is today. Very subtle decisions which improve the gameplay experience a lot.
This is similar to the momentum in Super Mario Bros. A simple idea and yet it made the game much more playable compared to other platformers at the time.
I am currently writing an iPhone game where the user must move objects around on the screen by dragging them with their finger. The problem is with my game, and just about all iPhone games, is this isn't as smooth as one would expect. Your finger gets caught up in the friction of the screen often, and often the screen doesn't recognize your finger at all.
I am experimenting with ways to fix this, most notably giving the objects a tad bit of momentum such that they slide just a tad after the user is done moving them, making them more likely to go where the user actually had in mind.
I tend to agree that the design of HN isn't all that great. It's simple and usable, but it's not the easiest on the eyes. I've seen simple sites that were also beautiful. The design isn't what really matter on HN, though. The community is what's beautiful, so I can ignore the fairly uninspired design.
They are as deep down there as possible. Which can be a good thing if you take it as a sign that we're almost at the maximum.
Still seeing the trailers I'm not sure how I'm supposed to sympathise with them. Also the story doesn't seem overly interesting either. I guess we will see.
This is likely a response to the recent announcement that Unity3D is now free to download and use for individuals as well as companies that make less than 100K per year.
