 |
|
|
Lewis Pulsipher's Expert Blogs
|
Zynga and Fundamental Problems with their Social Network Games |
| Posted by Lewis Pulsipher on Sun, 16 Sep 2012 09:06:00 EDT in
Design
|
| Zynga's problem may be the fundamental characteristic of the video game industry: video games are designed to be played for a while and then discarded. You "beat the game", solve the puzzle, or you learn the story, or you get tired of "the grind". |
| Read More... | 0 Comments |
Interface (and other) game design lessons from a rental car  |
| Posted by Lewis Pulsipher on Sun, 09 Sep 2012 07:11:00 EDT in
Design
|
| Recent experiences with a rental car brought home to me the importance of familiarity in the game interface. The word “intuitive” is often used in connection with interfaces. As far as I can make out, intuitive in this context just means “familiar”. |
| Read More... | 1 Comments |
|
Being a good listener |
| Posted by Lewis Pulsipher on Mon, 03 Sep 2012 08:36:00 EDT in
Design
|
| I was part of the questioning panel in a job interview for a computer support position, and a question was: what are the three most important characteristics for this job and how do you rate in those characteristics? He replied, I'm a good listener. |
| Read More... | 4 Comments |
|
“Don’t Make Me Think” (about the interface) |
| Posted by Lewis Pulsipher on Mon, 23 Jul 2012 06:58:00 EDT in
Design
|
| Sometimes we can find good advice in disciplines that are not part of the game industry. One of these is the Website design industry. The World Wide Web is particularly susceptible to some of the kinds of problems that can bedevil video game interfaces. |
| Read More... | 12 Comments |
|
Six words about chance/randomness in games |
| Posted by Lewis Pulsipher on Mon, 09 Jul 2012 06:26:00 EDT in
Design
|
| Six words about chance/randomness in games. This time this is the challenge: say six (interesting or amusing) words about chance/randomness in games. |
| Read More... | 10 Comments |
|
Dreamers |
| Posted by Lewis Pulsipher on Mon, 02 Jul 2012 06:50:00 EDT in
Design
|
| This is written for people who want to be game designers but who have not yet got there. It won’t just come to you, you have to do it, you have to pursue it, you have to take every opportunity to learn about it. |
| Read More... | 18 Comments |
|
Phases in Games |
| Posted by Lewis Pulsipher on Sun, 24 Jun 2012 08:59:00 EDT in
Design
|
| Phases in a game design are important. These are distinctly different periods of play through the course of a game. They provide at least a perception, if not an actuality, of change, growth, and learning. |
| Read More... | 5 Comments |
|
Six words about zombie games |
| Posted by Lewis Pulsipher on Wed, 09 May 2012 10:32:00 EDT in
|
| In the past few months I've asked people to say 6 words about various game topics. This time the challenge is this: say six (interesting or amusing) words about zombie games. |
| Read More... | 39 Comments |
|
2012 East Coast Game Conference, Raleigh North Carolina 25 to 26 April |
| Posted by Lewis Pulsipher on Mon, 30 Apr 2012 07:38:00 EDT in
|
| This is both a report about the fourth annual East Coast Game Conference in Raleigh, NC, and comments about the nature of video game markets and the new mass market. |
| Read More... | 1 Comments |
|
Game Designers: Aptitude, Productive Orientation, and Self-Indulgence |
| Posted by Lewis Pulsipher on Wed, 18 Apr 2012 08:16:00 EDT in
Design
|
| College students need to learn very different ways of behavior when changing from game players to game designers. Even if they have the aptitude (not everyone does) they need a productive orientation and must avoid self-indulgence. |
| Read More... | 7 Comments |
[Previous] | [Next]
|
|
