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	May 22, 2013

		Blizzard Entertainment Senior Software Engineer, Server

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James Youngman's Blog

James Youngman is a game designer and writer with experience in a variety of genres. He is presently the lead designer on March 32nd, an upcoming episodic adventure game, as well as being a contributing writer to both the game and company blog.

Member Blogs

Body Politic
Posted by James Youngman on Thu, 02 Feb 2012 01:53:00 EST in Design
Nature has provided an abundance of forms to inspire our invented species. Limiting ourselves to remaking humanity is a wastes of potential.
Read More... \| 8 Comments

The Great and Powerful Oz
Posted by James Youngman on Mon, 10 Oct 2011 02:32:00 EDT in Design
While acquiring expertise invariably changes ones perspective, this change enriches ones appreciation of games rather than diminishing it.
Read More... \| 1 Comments

Putting on a Show
Posted by James Youngman on Tue, 14 Jun 2011 01:28:00 EDT in Design
There are a number of different styles of demos a team can chose to produce. It is important to chose one which best fits your needs and player expectations.
Read More... \| 0 Comments

Complexity Complex
Posted by James Youngman on Thu, 12 May 2011 06:22:00 EDT in Design
Increasing the complexity of a game and its interface is not in of itself a boon, and should only be done when the increase in complexity allows for an improved player experience.
Read More... \| 5 Comments

Reliable story telling
Posted by James Youngman on Thu, 14 Apr 2011 07:23:00 EDT in Design
A defense of the use of unreliable narrators in interactive fiction.
Read More... \| 1 Comments

Keeping Your Focus
Posted by James Youngman on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 06:05:00 EDT in Design
Focus testing is a valuable development tool in a game designer's toolbox. It can also be a tool for fostering dialog amongst designers.
Read More... \| 2 Comments

[More James Youngman Blogs]

James Youngman's Comments

Comment In: Why InXile, Wasteland 2 are better off without a publisher [News - 04/09/2012 - 08:48]
@Ron: I worked at Harebrained ... @Ron: I worked at Harebrained Schemes on Crimson Steam Pirates. The team there is very talented and very dedicated. I 'm not concerned in the least about their ability to make the game.

Comment In: Body Politic [Blog - 02/02/2012 - 01:53]
@Tora - Thanks for the ... @Tora - Thanks for the article Fascinating read. @Eric and Jesse - You seem to be responding very narrowly. Even if I grant that the goal is to make playable characters more appealing, that still would only be expected to effect playable races. It is my intention with this article ...

Comment In: Six words about stories in games [Blog - 01/14/2012 - 05:29]
The designer dances with the ... The designer dances with the player.

Comment In: Opinion: Awful Lot Of Heterosexuals Around Here [News - 12/30/2011 - 05:34]
I can name 3: Zangief ... I can name 3: Zangief and Eagle from the Street Fighter series and Venom from the Guilty Gear series. The larger point still stands though there's no real reason for there to not be more non-heterosexual characters in games. I'm not convinced that such games won't sell. They probably won't ...

Comment In: Game Design Fetishes - What Are Yours? [Blog - 12/15/2011 - 04:53]
Simulations of larger, living systems ... Simulations of larger, living systems such that the player isn't the only thing important happening in the world A good example of this came in Monster Hunter Tri. I was hunting a large carnivore, and trying to track its location when I saw a herd of obviously agitated herbivores rush ...

Comment In: Teaching Game Design: The Problems [Blog - 12/01/2011 - 11:37]
Are you teaching game design ... Are you teaching game design as part of a larger curriculum on the topic I've thought a lot about how I would design a curriculum to teach game design, in some part working backwards from my experience as a game designer, and it's a tricky problem. I agree that actually ...

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