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Blogs

Adam Saltsman's Blog   Expert Blogs

Expert Blogs

The Pinch Artist (or, Contributors and Symbiosis?)  Featured Blogs
Posted by Adam Saltsman on Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:33:00 EST in Production, Indie
For game makers who are looking for a way to blow off some creative steam, donating a little bit of your time to helping someone else's game exist is a great way make the world better and still expand your own gameography and experience at the same time.
Read More... | 3 Comments

Lessons Learned from Localizing Canabalt  Featured Blogs
Posted by Adam Saltsman on Tue, 17 Jan 2012 01:28:00 EST in Production, Indie
At the end of 2011 we finally released an update to our popular game Canabalt that had support for something like 15 languages. If only for the sake of our own unreliable memories I wanted to record some of the things we learned during that process.
Read More... | 6 Comments

Contrivance and Extortion II: Clarifications, Feedback & Suggestions  Featured Blogs
Posted by Adam Saltsman on Thu, 20 Oct 2011 12:10:00 EDT in Game Design
Predatory game design seems to be a real problem, and most of the "defenses" for it are poor (so far). I also attempt to lay out some guidelines for ethical game design that integrate the good things that freemium models have to offer.
Read More... | 100 Comments

Contrivance and Extortion: In-App Purchases & Microtransactions  Featured Blogs
Posted by Adam Saltsman on Tue, 18 Oct 2011 01:10:00 EDT in Game Design
Games that abuse checklists and include In-App Purchases are deliberately contriving their designs in the worst way in order to extort money from players, which is unethical and unacceptable design practice.
Read More... | 68 Comments

Why Brainstorming is NOT Game Design  Featured Blogs
Posted by Adam Saltsman on Mon, 19 Sep 2011 07:24:00 EDT in Game Design
As promised, I am dedicating a little more time, thought and explanation to exploring the role of ideas in game design. Looking forward to your feedback!
Read More... | 45 Comments

Regaining The Outsider's Perspective
Posted by Adam Saltsman on Sat, 17 Sep 2011 02:48:00 EDT in Game Design
Playing through a dozen commercial game demos in one night helped me remember what I like as a player rather than a creator.
Read More... | 5 Comments

[More Adam Saltsman Blogs]   

Adam Saltsman's Comments

Comment In: Talking Copycats with Zynga's Design Chief [Feature - 01/31/2012 - 11:45]

I think this would be ...

I think this would be a very good point except the images in question are actual screenshots from the specific products in question that prompted this PR blitz from Zynga. So on the one hand I think you could view this as editorializing , but on the other hand you ...

Comment In: Why PlayStation's Peter Dille Went Mobile [News - 10/24/2011 - 03:31]

actually i think that may ...

actually i think that may be specifically what it means haha. it seems pretty straightforward usually these names are so vague too

Comment In: Contrivance and Extortion II: Clarifications, Feedback & Suggestions [Blog - 10/20/2011 - 12:10]

i guess i feel like ...

i guess i feel like this just isn't like... some kind of impossible mystery. to me it seems pretty easy to tell when i'm playing a game if it is using manipulative systems. is it systemically shallow but constantly reminding me of checklist progress does the game allow me to ...

Comment In: Contrivance and Extortion: In-App Purchases & Microtransactions [Blog - 10/18/2011 - 01:10]

i would propose the idea ...

i would propose the idea that we are 100 good enough designers to know when something we're doing is a bad idea and a source of tedium. I would also propose the idea that a LOT of us not only know what it is but have invented a way to ...

Comment In: Why Brainstorming is NOT Game Design [Blog - 09/19/2011 - 07:24]

all very good points : ...

all very good points : I brainstorm before and during all of my game projects, as I wrote in the article, and I find it a good process, as long as it's not too formal. My point is just that the RESULTS of a brainstorm should be tested BEFORE they ...

Comment In: Why I Make Games [Blog - 06/11/2010 - 12:36]

hey guys all valid points. ...

hey guys all valid points. however, i think it's important to distinguish participation/recognition from mastery - in established forms of mixed media, you actually need to demonstrate mastery in some way or other to get attention or make an impact. PART of the attraction of video games, to me, is ...

[More Adam Saltsman Comments]   

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