Talks Scott Kim takes apart the art of puzzles

TL;DR

A puzzle designer discusses his journey in creating puzzles and introduces his new venture of smart games for social media that are both enjoyable and beneficial.

Transcript

For the last 20 years I've been designing puzzles. And I'm here today to give you a little tour, starting from the very first puzzle I designed, through what I'm doing now. I've designed puzzles for books, printed things. I'm the puzzle columnist for Discover Magazine. I've been doing that for about 10 years. I have a monthly puzzle calendar. I do ... Read More

Key Insights

• 🔍 Designing puzzles for various mediums: The speaker has designed puzzles for books, printed materials, computer games, and toys, showcasing versatility in their work.
• 🧩 Puzzle creation as an art form: The speaker considers puzzles an ancient art form, comparing them to jokes, poems, magic tricks, and songs. They aim to create puzzles that leave a memorable impact on the solver.
• 💡 Puzzles altering perception: The speaker discusses how they create puzzles that can alter the solver's perception, exemplifying this with figure-ground illusions and ambigrams.
• 🤝 Puzzles as interactive experiences: The speaker explores the concept of interaction in puzzles, demonstrating how computer games and physical puzzles can engage and challenge the solver.
• 🔢 Puzzle designs based on mathematical principles: The speaker showcases puzzle designs, such as the railroad rush hour and gene sequencing puzzles, that involve mathematical principles.
• 🪐 Puzzles that focus on other subject areas: Puzzle designs extend beyond mathematics, as shown by the physics-based puzzle and color mixing puzzle presented by the speaker.
• 🌐 Social media's impact on puzzle design: The speaker highlights the potential for puzzle games on social media platforms, catering to trends towards casual games, games for mental fitness, and user-generated content.
• 📱 Launching a smart game platform: The speaker and their partner have developed ShuffleBrain.com, combining puzzle expertise and social media knowledge to create smart games that encourage mental exercise and fit into a healthy lifestyle.

Questions & Answers

Q: How does the speaker define puzzles and distinguish them from everyday problems?

The speaker defines puzzles as fun problems that have a specific right answer, unlike everyday problems where solutions may vary and the rules are often unclear. He compares everyday problems to poorly written stories and emphasizes that puzzles are designed to be enjoyable to solve.

Q: What is the speaker's perspective on puzzles as an art form?

The speaker considers puzzles to be an art form, similar to jokes, poems, magic tricks, or songs. He believes that puzzles can go beyond being just amusing and can create a lasting impression on the solver. He aims to create puzzles that have a memorable impact and reach for something more than mere entertainment.

Q: How does the speaker incorporate interactive elements into puzzles?

The speaker explores the use of computer technology to create puzzles that alter perception and provide interactive experiences. He demonstrates this through examples such as figure-ground illusions and a puzzle game where players manipulate pieces to match a target shape, allowing them to get inside someone's perception and enhance the learning process.

Q: What direction is the speaker taking with his new venture in smart games for social media?

The speaker, along with his wife, is creating smart games for social media that fit into a healthy lifestyle and are enjoyable and beneficial. They aim to combine his expertise in puzzle design with her knowledge of social media to create games that are both good for your mind and fun to play. The first game they have developed is called "Photo Grab," which involves identifying specific details in images within a time limit.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The speaker shares his journey as a puzzle designer, starting from creating a simple letter puzzle in sixth grade to designing puzzles for various mediums such as books, magazines, and computer games.

• He explains the concept of puzzles as fun problems with a right answer, unlike everyday problems, and considers puzzles an art form that can leave a memorable impact.

• The speaker showcases some of his puzzle designs, such as figure-ground illusions, ambigrams, gene sequencing puzzles, and physics-based puzzles.