http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/expert/ Gamasutra Blogs Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:17:17 EST en-us scarless@think-services.com (Simon Carless) http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/JoshBycer/20120208/9387/The_Devil_Is_in_the_Details_of_Action_RPGs__Part_One_The_Logistics_of_Loot.php Game Design In this first of several parts aimed at Action RPG design, I examine the use of loot as a motivator. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/JoshBycer/20120208/9387/The_Devil_Is_in_the_Details_of_Action_RPGs__Part_One_The_Logistics_of_Loot.php Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:27:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/BenjaminQuintero/20120208/9390/Xbox_LIVE_Indie_Games_at_it_Again.php Console/PC There has been a lot of buzz (again) around Microsoft's attempts to bury anything under their Dashboard that isn't a Zune or Doritos advertisement. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/BenjaminQuintero/20120208/9390/Xbox_LIVE_Indie_Games_at_it_Again.php Wed, 08 Feb 2012 03:02:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/TimothyRyan/20120207/8779/Merging_Waterfall_and_SCRUM.php Production,Console/PC How to marry both methods of scheduling and the benefits of doing both http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/TimothyRyan/20120207/8779/Merging_Waterfall_and_SCRUM.php Tue, 07 Feb 2012 06:15:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/MikeArcuri/20120207/9377/Business_Post_Mortem_Wolf_Toss_Prelaunch_Planning__Blended_CAC.php Business,Smartphone/Tablet This post first covers our goals for the game and the promotion budget we set to achieve them. Then it discusses our strategy for standing out in a crowded field and our results. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/MikeArcuri/20120207/9377/Business_Post_Mortem_Wolf_Toss_Prelaunch_Planning__Blended_CAC.php Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:56:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/WesleyPaugh/20120206/9375/Minmaxing__Is_turnbased_fun_anymore.php Game Design Are turn-based games less fun when a programmer does his best to win? http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/WesleyPaugh/20120206/9375/Minmaxing__Is_turnbased_fun_anymore.php Mon, 06 Feb 2012 04:14:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/BrentKnowles/20120206/9368/PRICED_TO_DIE.php Business,Indie,Smartphone/Tablet This is a repost from a recent article on my blog that generated some interesting discussion. It discusses app development as well as the new surge in self published fiction. Original post is here: http://blog.brentknowles.com/2012/01/20/priced-to-die http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/BrentKnowles/20120206/9368/PRICED_TO_DIE.php Mon, 06 Feb 2012 03:11:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/ScottAnderson/20120205/2739/What_happened_with_Shadow_Physics_An_Introduction.php Business,Game Design,Production,Console/PC,Indie First in a series of posts about the development of the cancelled indie game Shadow Physics http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/ScottAnderson/20120205/2739/What_happened_with_Shadow_Physics_An_Introduction.php Sun, 05 Feb 2012 09:33:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/DustinClingman/20120204/9359/Developers_Deserve_Residual_Royalties.php Recent discussions bring the question of royalties existing beyond the current Publisher Studio model. If you are part of a team that creates a massive success, should you continue to benefit once you've moved on from that studio? http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/DustinClingman/20120204/9359/Developers_Deserve_Residual_Royalties.php Sat, 04 Feb 2012 08:26:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/JoshBycer/20120203/9357/Examining_The_Concept_of_the_quotAntiCoopquot_Experience.php Game Design Is there more to cooperative games then being cooperative? Today's post takes a look at another form of "working together." http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/JoshBycer/20120203/9357/Examining_The_Concept_of_the_quotAntiCoopquot_Experience.php Fri, 03 Feb 2012 02:56:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/TylerYork/20120202/9353/Sixteen_and_a_half_cents.php Business,Social/Online A recent article about Zynga's customer lifetime value game us some insight into their metrics. Using some back of the napkin math, we calculated that casual social games currently make only sixteen and a half cents per player per month. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/TylerYork/20120202/9353/Sixteen_and_a_half_cents.php Thu, 02 Feb 2012 01:33:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/IanStocker/20120202/9347/Last_of_the_Seal_Pelts_Revenue_Doubles_After_Price_Drop.php Business,Indie After dropping the price of Soulcaster I & II from 240 MSP to 80 MSP on Xbox Live Indie Games, the volume of sales increased dramatically. This follow-up to my original pricing hypothesis further explores customer psychology on the Xbox Marketplace. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/IanStocker/20120202/9347/Last_of_the_Seal_Pelts_Revenue_Doubles_After_Price_Drop.php Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:59:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/PeterKojesta/20120202/9351/Game_Biz_Loansharking_aka_Financing.php Business I had a friend accuse me of loan sharking; that's just awesome. His joke about loan sharking speaks to something in our industry that needs some attention. The vast majority of us still have not realized we're in the deep end of the pool. Let's review.. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/PeterKojesta/20120202/9351/Game_Biz_Loansharking_aka_Financing.php Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:42:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/BenjaminGifford/20120201/9260/Talent_Development_for_a_Social_Entertainment_Company.php Business,Social/Online How a social entertainment company can use best practice and concepts utilizing a planned talent development process to create a culture of high performance that can meet and exceed present and future needs of the business. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/BenjaminGifford/20120201/9260/Talent_Development_for_a_Social_Entertainment_Company.php Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:45:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/RobertLevitan/20120131/9340/SOPA_and_PIPA__Its_Not_Over_Yet.php Business,Serious SOPA and PIPA may have suffered a historic blow to their credibility, but the struggle isn't over yet. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/RobertLevitan/20120131/9340/SOPA_and_PIPA__Its_Not_Over_Yet.php Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:41:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/GregMcClanahan/20120130/9333/An_Ode_to_War_Metal_Tyrants_Game_Design.php Game Design,Social/Online An in-depth look at several key design decisions made in War Metal: Tyrant, a free to play online CCG. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/GregMcClanahan/20120130/9333/An_Ode_to_War_Metal_Tyrants_Game_Design.php Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:46:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/JoshBycer/20120130/9334/Maddening_For_the_Wrong_Reasons_An_Analysis_of_Alice_Madness_Returns.php Game Design Alice: Madness Returns was a strange example of being too much of an average thing. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/JoshBycer/20120130/9334/Maddening_For_the_Wrong_Reasons_An_Analysis_of_Alice_Madness_Returns.php Mon, 30 Jan 2012 03:22:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/MarkRobinson/20120130/9328/The_Fairytale_Rules_of_Exceptional_Analytics.php In this article, Mark sets out some 'fairytale' rules that if followed will allow readers to create a powerful and actionable analytics environment to understand player behaviours. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/MarkRobinson/20120130/9328/The_Fairytale_Rules_of_Exceptional_Analytics.php Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:30:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/TomBuscaglia/20120130/9323/Dont_Tread_on_Spry_Fox.php Business,Social/Online,Smartphone/Tablet The Game Attorney, Tom Buscaglia, discusses the Spry Fox law suit against 6waves/LOLapps for its infringement of Triple Town and recent claims of cloning of Nimblebit’s Tiny Tower by Zynga. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/TomBuscaglia/20120130/9323/Dont_Tread_on_Spry_Fox.php Mon, 30 Jan 2012 07:42:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/MikeArcuri/20120130/9326/Business_Post_Mortem_Wolf_Toss_App_Store_Stats.php Business,Smartphone/Tablet Before I go into detail on specific aspects of the planning, launch, and performance of Wolf Toss, I do a current round-up of its key statistics on Android, iOS, and Chrome. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/MikeArcuri/20120130/9326/Business_Post_Mortem_Wolf_Toss_App_Store_Stats.php Mon, 30 Jan 2012 01:39:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/LewisPulsipher/20120129/9325/What_do_we_mean_by_quotelegancequot_in_games.php Game Design When someone says a game or part of a game design is "elegant", what do they mean? I'm not sure, so I've done a bit of investigating. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/LewisPulsipher/20120129/9325/What_do_we_mean_by_quotelegancequot_in_games.php Sun, 29 Jan 2012 08:04:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/RyanCreighton/20120126/9310/Its_Not_an_Educational_Game.php Game Design If your educational game doesn't teach anything, guess what? It's a quiz. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/RyanCreighton/20120126/9310/Its_Not_an_Educational_Game.php Thu, 26 Jan 2012 08:51:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/MikeArcuri/20120126/9309/Business_Post_Mortem_Series_Intro_Wolf_Toss_on_iOS_Android_and_Chrome.php Business,Smartphone/Tablet Wolf Toss, the first Zipline Games title, just crossed the 1 million players mark 6 weeks after launch. This blog series will share detailed data and lessons learned from the experience of sim-shipping on 3 modern app stores without a large budget. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/MikeArcuri/20120126/9309/Business_Post_Mortem_Series_Intro_Wolf_Toss_on_iOS_Android_and_Chrome.php Thu, 26 Jan 2012 07:30:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/TylerYork/20120126/9304/What_happened_to_innovative_games.php Game Design,Indie Indie developer Nimblebit dropped a PR bomb on Zynga yesterday, arguing that Zynga copied it's game. Unfortunately, the line between inspiration and duplication is blurry at best. What constitutes copying? Should game companies be punished for doing it? http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/TylerYork/20120126/9304/What_happened_to_innovative_games.php Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:05:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/AdamSaltsman/20120125/9301/The_Pinch_Artist_or_Contributors_and_Symbiosis.php 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. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/AdamSaltsman/20120125/9301/The_Pinch_Artist_or_Contributors_and_Symbiosis.php Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:33:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/SylvainDubrofsky/20120125/9295/Clicking_and_Rewards_in_Empires_and_Allies.php Game Design The core interaction in Empires and Allies is clicking on interactive objects and rewards with the mouse. With some simple techniques Zynga was able to make a pretty boring, repetitive task feel good even after the thousandth time. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/SylvainDubrofsky/20120125/9295/Clicking_and_Rewards_in_Empires_and_Allies.php Wed, 25 Jan 2012 08:49:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/ColinAnderson/20120125/9091/Quarrel_vs_The_Games_Industry_Whos_Right.php Business Do Indie Developers really know what gamers enjoy playing, or do Game Publishers actually know best? It's often debated, but rarely settled. However, with the launch of Quarrel on Xbox we might be about to get a definitive answer. Will we like it though? http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/ColinAnderson/20120125/9091/Quarrel_vs_The_Games_Industry_Whos_Right.php Wed, 25 Jan 2012 05:30:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/HowardTsao/20120125/9292/Spreading_the_Word_via_Kickstarter__Lessons_from_Two_Successful_Campaigns.php Business,Serious,Indie Sharing lessons learned from two successfully funded campaigns on Kickstarter, and recommending Kickstarter as an effect means to get the word out and engage with fans. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/HowardTsao/20120125/9292/Spreading_the_Word_via_Kickstarter__Lessons_from_Two_Successful_Campaigns.php Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:55:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/JoshBycer/20120124/9294/The_Two_Faces_of_Brands_in_the_Game_Industry.php Brand recognition is important in any consumer based industry, and the video game industry is no exception. However, there is always the danger of misusing brands which this post examines two of those ways. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/JoshBycer/20120124/9294/The_Two_Faces_of_Brands_in_the_Game_Industry.php Tue, 24 Jan 2012 06:40:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/LarsDoucet/20120123/9281/Defenders_Quest_Deployment_Strategy.php Business,Game Design,Production,Console/PC,Indie Most free demos aren't as easy to play as they should be. Here's some things we did to fix that. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/LarsDoucet/20120123/9281/Defenders_Quest_Deployment_Strategy.php Mon, 23 Jan 2012 02:28:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/LewisPulsipher/20120122/9276/Depth_versus_Variety_a_Fundamental_Change_in_Game_Playing_in_the_Past_3040_Years.php 30-40 years ago many hobby game players looked for gameplay depth (and occasionally narrative depth) in their games. Now most game players don’t look for gameplay depth but look instead for variety, which is quite a different thing. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/LewisPulsipher/20120122/9276/Depth_versus_Variety_a_Fundamental_Change_in_Game_Playing_in_the_Past_3040_Years.php Sun, 22 Jan 2012 09:28:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/BenjaminQuintero/20120122/9272/Resolution_Independence_with_Virtual_Resolutions.php Programming,Console/PC A few simple but effective tips to re-using an existing UI for multiple resolutions and configurations. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/BenjaminQuintero/20120122/9272/Resolution_Independence_with_Virtual_Resolutions.php Sun, 22 Jan 2012 02:19:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/RyanCreighton/20120120/9269/Its_Not_Piracy__Its_FreetoPlay.php What Old Media can stand to learn from New Media, piracy, and SOPA/PIPA. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/RyanCreighton/20120120/9269/Its_Not_Piracy__Its_FreetoPlay.php Fri, 20 Jan 2012 08:51:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/GuyHasson/20120120/9270/Story_Design_Tips_Depth_through_Surprise.php Game Design,Console/PC,Serious,Indie,Social/Online Use surprise to help you create depth of character. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/GuyHasson/20120120/9270/Story_Design_Tips_Depth_through_Surprise.php Fri, 20 Jan 2012 08:37:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/JoshBycer/20120119/9266/My_2011_Best_Of_The_Year_Picks.php Game Design 2011 was an amazing year for the industry and in this reprint from my blog, I take a look at my favorite games of the year. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/JoshBycer/20120119/9266/My_2011_Best_Of_The_Year_Picks.php Thu, 19 Jan 2012 04:01:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/TylerYork/20120117/9258/DoubleDown_acquisition_lends_credence_to_Facebook_gambling_rumors.php Business,Social/Online There have been rumors for some time that Facebook will soon allow real-money gambling in the UK. If you look at the data, the two recent acquisitions of Facebook virtual currency casino companies wouldn't make sense unless these rumors were true. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/TylerYork/20120117/9258/DoubleDown_acquisition_lends_credence_to_Facebook_gambling_rumors.php Tue, 17 Jan 2012 05:00:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/AdamSaltsman/20120117/9255/Lessons_Learned_from_Localizing_Canabalt.php 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. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/AdamSaltsman/20120117/9255/Lessons_Learned_from_Localizing_Canabalt.php Tue, 17 Jan 2012 01:28:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/JoshWilliams/20120117/9254/Applying_Lessons_Learned_on_Facebook_to_Mobile_App_Development.php Game Design,Social/Online This piece examines some of the advantages mobile app developers can gain by looking at the way social app developers build and optimize their games around customer data on social platforms. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/JoshWilliams/20120117/9254/Applying_Lessons_Learned_on_Facebook_to_Mobile_App_Development.php Tue, 17 Jan 2012 09:55:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/EvanJones/20120116/9245/Ruminations_on_Leveling.php Game Design,Console/PC,Indie,Social/Online,Smartphone/Tablet The classic system of leveling up through experience points is one of the most common systems in games today. But what's it really good for? http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/EvanJones/20120116/9245/Ruminations_on_Leveling.php Mon, 16 Jan 2012 12:22:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/EricKozlowsky/20120115/9243/The_Last_Guardian_Hero.php Visual Art,Console/PC Thoughts on the game Guardian Heroes to go alongside my latest personal art project/tribute to the game. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/EricKozlowsky/20120115/9243/The_Last_Guardian_Hero.php Sun, 15 Jan 2012 06:29:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/LewisPulsipher/20120114/9238/Six_words_about_stories_in_games.php According to a recent tweetdeck, a trending:worldwide topics on twitter was 6 word stories. I've asked people to say 6 words about game design, programming, wargames, and casual games. This time let's hear six words about stories in games. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/LewisPulsipher/20120114/9238/Six_words_about_stories_in_games.php Sat, 14 Jan 2012 05:29:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/KeithFuller/20120113/9232/How_to_Better_Motivate_Game_Developers.php Production,Console/PC,Serious,Indie,Social/Online,Smartphone/Tablet In this Leadership piece reprinted from my company website I talk about different methods for motivating game developers. The material draws largely from Daniel Pink's excellent book, Drive. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/KeithFuller/20120113/9232/How_to_Better_Motivate_Game_Developers.php Fri, 13 Jan 2012 10:20:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/JamesSteele/20120113/6228/Letting_go.php Programming,Console/PC Learning to move from development to development support...not as easy as you may think. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/JamesSteele/20120113/6228/Letting_go.php Fri, 13 Jan 2012 04:58:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/BenjaminQuintero/20120112/9226/An_Origin_Story_How_I_Got_My_Groove_Back.php A LONG look back at 2011, and how a $1 game became a universe that is imperfect and filled with strife. And how that journey was the release I needed to let go (for now) and enjoy being indie. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/BenjaminQuintero/20120112/9226/An_Origin_Story_How_I_Got_My_Groove_Back.php Thu, 12 Jan 2012 11:49:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/JoshBycer/20120112/9224/The_Impartial_Analyst_Of_Game_Design.php Game Design Today's post is a look into my buying habits, and why even bad games are worth it to examine. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/JoshBycer/20120112/9224/The_Impartial_Analyst_Of_Game_Design.php Thu, 12 Jan 2012 03:11:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/RobertBoyd/20120112/9223/Cthulhu_Saves_the_World_XBLIG_sales_data_since_the_price_drop.php Business,Indie In the week since dropping the price from 240 MS points to 80 MS points, XBLIG revenue has tripled. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/RobertBoyd/20120112/9223/Cthulhu_Saves_the_World_XBLIG_sales_data_since_the_price_drop.php Thu, 12 Jan 2012 02:15:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/KentNORMAN/20120112/9222/Magfest_X_A_Report.php Game Design Magfest X at the Gaylord National Harbor Convention Center, January 6-8 was terrific. I talk about my three reasons for going this year, in order, work, work, and fun! Read and find out what they are. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/KentNORMAN/20120112/9222/Magfest_X_A_Report.php Thu, 12 Jan 2012 10:46:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/RobertBoyd/20120111/9218/10_Ways_that_Final_Fantasy_XIII2_is_better_than_Final_Fantasy_XIII__The_Importance_of_Little_Things.php Game Design,Console/PC Seemingly minor decisions can often have a huge effect on a game's overall quality. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/RobertBoyd/20120111/9218/10_Ways_that_Final_Fantasy_XIII2_is_better_than_Final_Fantasy_XIII__The_Importance_of_Little_Things.php Wed, 11 Jan 2012 06:54:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/TylerYork/20120111/9217/Social_Gamers_are_Gamblers.php Game Design,Social/Online How did social gaming become a $2 billion industry with hundreds of millions of players worldwide in less than a decade? They captured a previously untapped demographic in gaming that enjoyed social gaming's gambling-inspired game mechanics: women. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/TylerYork/20120111/9217/Social_Gamers_are_Gamblers.php Wed, 11 Jan 2012 01:00:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/GuyHasson/20120111/9213/Story_Design_Tips_Character_Orchestration.php Game Design,Console/PC,Serious,Indie,Social/Online Your story is music. Your characters are the musical instruments. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/GuyHasson/20120111/9213/Story_Design_Tips_Character_Orchestration.php Wed, 11 Jan 2012 08:50:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/SergioRosa/20120110/9210/Crowdfunding_for_Enola.php Business,Indie Last month I developed Enola as part of the ludum dare 22 competition. A lot of people found the short game very likeable, so I'm going the crowdfunding route to develop the full game. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/SergioRosa/20120110/9210/Crowdfunding_for_Enola.php Tue, 10 Jan 2012 05:43:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/BryanMa/20120109/9208/Hiding_Discovering_Beacons_of_Hope.php Game Design,Indie Impressions of Doug Wilson's new experimental installation game, Beacons of Hope. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/BryanMa/20120109/9208/Hiding_Discovering_Beacons_of_Hope.php Mon, 09 Jan 2012 10:57:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/RobertLevitan/20120109/9206/Freemium_Dive_Right_In.php Business,Console/PC Robert Levitan discusses why now is the time to move into Freemium game development. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/RobertLevitan/20120109/9206/Freemium_Dive_Right_In.php Mon, 09 Jan 2012 12:35:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/LewisPulsipher/20120109/9204/Game_descriptions_rules_and_mechanics_what_are_the_differences_and_similarities.php A video game design student was told to describe mechanics for a game, and his instructor told him he’d written rules instead. The rules for a tabletop game detail the mechanics of the game, so what is the difference between rules and mechanics? http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/LewisPulsipher/20120109/9204/Game_descriptions_rules_and_mechanics_what_are_the_differences_and_similarities.php Mon, 09 Jan 2012 08:35:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/AlistairDoulin/20120108/9201/Game_Developer_Graduate_Exhibition_Tips.php Indie Tips for Game Development Graduates showing at Graduate Industry Nights http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/AlistairDoulin/20120108/9201/Game_Developer_Graduate_Exhibition_Tips.php Sun, 08 Jan 2012 04:47:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/JoshBycer/20120108/9199/Sinning_A_Saints_Row_The_Third_Analysis.php Game Design Is there such a thing as an open world game that is too open world? If so, then may I present to you exhibit A. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/JoshBycer/20120108/9199/Sinning_A_Saints_Row_The_Third_Analysis.php Sun, 08 Jan 2012 01:01:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/JamieHall/20120106/8951/What_will_Play_Out_in_2012_Four_Bold_Predictions_for_Mobile_Gaming.php 2011 was a huge year for the mobile gaming industry, and 2012 promises to bring even even more growth and bigger revenues. These four predictions describe changes in mobile games, the people who play them, HTML5, Android, and brands this year. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/JamieHall/20120106/8951/What_will_Play_Out_in_2012_Four_Bold_Predictions_for_Mobile_Gaming.php Fri, 06 Jan 2012 10:38:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/RobertBoyd/20120105/9184/The_Top_20_Best_JRPG_Warrior_Heroines.php Game Design The JRPG genre may actually be one of the most progressive genres when it comes to female roles. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/RobertBoyd/20120105/9184/The_Top_20_Best_JRPG_Warrior_Heroines.php Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:23:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/TylerYork/20120105/9193/Virtual_currency_poker_leaves_money_on_the_table.php Game Design BusinessInsider published an article estimating that Zynga could add $1B in revenue by adding real-money poker. With such a clear opportunity at their doorstep, why hasn't Zynga already done so? For that matter, why haven't other social game companies? http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/TylerYork/20120105/9193/Virtual_currency_poker_leaves_money_on_the_table.php Thu, 05 Jan 2012 02:04:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/RichardHillWhittall/20120105/9183/Nintendo__digital_sales_data_secrecy.php Business,Console/PC Yesterday Nintendo got in touch to ask us to remove the figures for the WiiWare titles from the blog. Apparently they don't allow developers to publish the sales numbers of their self-published titles... http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/RichardHillWhittall/20120105/9183/Nintendo__digital_sales_data_secrecy.php Thu, 05 Jan 2012 01:31:00 EST http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/AustinIvansmith/20120104/9180/The_value_of_a_games_length_or_its_short_so_it_sucks.php I wrote this blog recently in regards to downloadable games and our expecations of content and time. The original post can be found here: http://ivandashsmith.blogspot.com/2012/01/value-of-length.html http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/AustinIvansmith/20120104/9180/The_value_of_a_games_length_or_its_short_so_it_sucks.php Wed, 04 Jan 2012 04:50:00 EST