Pursuing minimalist game narratives for maximum effect 10
by Gamasutra Community [05.20.13]
The Zelda series evolved from minimalist quest to maximalist narrative by 2012. Have games gone astray? This post looks at those games and everything from Amnesia to Bogost's A Slow Year.
Console/PC, Indie, Design

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Check out this supercut from Ludum Dare 26  
by Kris Ligman [05.17.13]
Make yourself comfortable. This supercut compiles 269 of Ludum Dare 26's most notable submissions into an intense 20 minute video.
Indie, Design, Video

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New Team Fortress 2 update is completely user-made 1
by Kris Ligman [05.17.13]
The newest free content update for Valve's Team Fortress 2, Robotic Boogaloo, is entirely the creation of the game's fans, with more than 50 modders contributing to the project.
Console/PC, Indie, Design, Business/Marketing

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How developers mess up immersion (you might be doing it wrong) 62
by Gamasutra Community [05.17.13]
Adrian Chmielarz (Bulletstorm) takes a tour through Metro: Last Light to expose a common way developers try to foster a sense of immersion -- and why they miss the mark.
Console/PC, Design

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Video: Curating the do-it-yourself revolution 2
by GDC Vault Staff [05.17.13]
Developers Terry Cavanagh (Super Hexagon) and Porpentine (Howling Dogs) highlight innovative games from 2012 and call for other developers to join in the curation.
Console/PC, Social/Online, Indie, Art, Design, Video

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Building a games-as-a-service studio from the ground up 12
by Gamasutra Community [05.17.13]
Jeremy Blum tells the story of the founding of New World Interactive, developers of Insurgency, explaining how his background boosted his effort to build a community-focused studio.
Social/Online, Indie, Programming, Design, Business/Marketing

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'Coercive' free-to-play, or treating your players like a disease 41
by Gamasutra Community [05.17.13]
Monetization consultant Ramin Shokrizade explains how many free-to-play games are "coercive" towards players -- and how, inevitably, these business models will stop working.
Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet, Design, Business/Marketing

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Steam Trading Cards: The next-gen of achievements? 13
by Leigh Alexander [05.17.13]
With Valve's Steam Trading Cards, we glimpse a theory of next generation in-game achievement systems that are meant to motivate play, not just to reward it.
Console/PC, Social/Online, Indie, Design, Business/Marketing, Exclusive

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5 tips for first-person face-punching 3
by Mike Rose [05.17.13]
If there's one studio that knows how to punch people in the face with style and finesse, it's Santiago, Chile-based ACE Team. Here, the team provides tips for designing first-person hand-to-hand combat.
Console/PC, Design, Exclusive

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Valve's wearable computing ace discusses the challenges facing VR 1
by Kris Ligman [05.16.13]
"VR and AR aren't just a matter of putting a display an inch in front of each eye." Valve's Michael Abrash comments on the perceptual challenges facing wearable hardware like the Oculus Rift.
Console/PC, Programming, Art, Design

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Simplicity and experimentation: Designing a minimalist sim game 3
by Gamasutra Community [05.16.13]
This design dive into Nurture -- an experimental god game -- explores the question of just how minimalistic gameplay can get and still be interesting.
Console/PC, Indie, Design

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Video: What the consoles vs. PC debate looked like in 2001  
by GDC Vault Staff [05.16.13]
Industry leaders such as Bing Gordon, Phil Harrison, Ed Fries, and Jason Rubin take a stand at a GDC 2001 keynote panel on the state of console and PC gaming, in this free GDC Vault video.
Console/PC, Social/Online, Design, Production, Business/Marketing, Video

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GDC Next sister event ADC launches App Dev Stories  
by Staff [05.16.13]
Gamasutra's sister property App Developers Conference has announced the launch of a standalone blog, called App Dev Stories, which tells the human stories behind the most interesting apps.
Console/PC, Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet, Indie, Serious, GD Mag, Programming, Art, Audio, Design, Production, Business/Marketing

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Sid Meier's still making stuff, and he'll probably never stop 9
by Kris Graft [05.16.13]
Even as so many veterans eventually find themselves as hands-off managers, Civilization creator Sid Meier makes sure he's on the front lines, making video games.
Smartphone/Tablet, Programming, Design, Exclusive

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Get a job: Telltale Games seeks game writers  
by Kris Ligman [05.15.13]
Telltale Games is looking for a Game Writer to join its San Rafael-based team. "Work with game designers in a writers' room to create an effective narrative melded with good game design."
Console/PC, Design, Production, Recruitment

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HORIZON emerges as a counter-E3 press conference, showcase  
by Kris Ligman [05.15.13]
A collaboration between Los Angeles's Museum of Contemporary Art and Venus Patrol, alternative press conference/showcase HORIZON is set to take place on June 13th, the last day of this year's E3.
Console/PC, Indie, Design

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A quick guide to understanding analytics  
by Gamasutra Community [05.15.13]
So you're getting a lot of data on your game back -- great. Turns out that you need to understand what data's relevant and what it means before you can do anything with it. This post will help.
Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet, Indie, Design

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Video: Quick-fire talks from GDC's localization summit  
by GDC Vault Staff [05.15.13]
The second year of the Localization Microtalks at GDC offers six more short and sweet talks, including how one developer brought a game from Korea to the West.
Console/PC, Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet, Design, Production, Business/Marketing, Video

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A horror story: Amnesia's Thomas Grip analyzes Slender: The Arrival 6
by Gamasutra Community [05.15.13]
The developer of Amnesia: The Dark Descent takes a close look at 2013's horror success story -- analyzing every aspect of the game's design, and how its origins in a meme help it.
Indie, Design

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Opinion: Let's retire the word 'gamer' 102
by Brandon Sheffield [05.15.13]
"The word 'gamer' is regressive. It accepts the portrait of us painted by the mainstream news media, and every time I hear it or read it it actually makes me feel a little sick."
Console/PC, Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet, Indie, Programming, Art, Audio, Design, Exclusive

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