In highlights from Gamasutra's Expert Blogs, industry notables write about diverse topics, including New Super Mario Bros. 2's big mistake, Diablo III's plot holes, and more.

In our weekly Best of Expert Blogs column, we showcase notable pieces of writing from members of the game development community who maintain Expert Blogs on Gamasutra.

Member Blogs -- also highlighted weekly -- can be maintained by any registered Gamasutra user, while the invitation-only Expert Blogs are written by development professionals with a wealth of experience to share.

We hope that both sections can provide useful and interesting viewpoints on our industry. For more information about the blogs, check out the latest official posting guidelines.

Here are the top blogs for the week:

This Week's Standout Expert Blogs

How to get your first 1,000 players
(Tyler York)

Tyler York complements his mobile launch guide by walking you through a different kind of launch: slow and steady, browser based, and for a niche audience. Here he shows you how to get your first 1,000 dedicated players.

The plot holes of Diablo 3
(Josh Bycer)

In today's spoiler filled discussion, Josh Bycer examines some of the tropes and bad storytelling featured in Diablo 3.

New Super Mario Bros. 2's blur effect - A mistake?
(Austin Ivansmith)

As a 3DS developer, Austin Ivansmith is shocked to see Nintendo's new "blur" feature in action in New Super Mario Bros. 2. He hopes to decipher why Nintendo would put in a feature which renders their 3D useless, and implore future devs to not do the same.

An interview With Chris Crawford
(Steve Fulton)

Steve Futon shares his transcript from a 2007 interview with veteran game designer and Computer Game Developers Conference organizer Chris Crawford, originally conducted for Gamasutra's feature on The History of Atari.