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Posts Tagged “

Theory

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question

Which Game Would You Unmake?

You're all so quick to tell us which games you'd love to see made, but how about unmade? Huh? Yeeeaa-aaahhh. Not so easy. If you had the chance to go back in time and unmake one game, which would it be? Warhammer Online dev Paul Barnett's asking the question over on his blog, and boy, it's a doozey. Do you pick one for the shitty genre it spawned? For spoiling a franchise you once held dear? For plain old major suckage? Me, I'm going for Prince of Persia: Warrior Within (Shenmue, you came second by *this* much, with Wing Commander Arena coming in third).
What game would you unmake? [Paul's blog, via MMOG Nation]

11:30 PM on Fri Mar 7 2008
By Luke Plunkett
13,227 views, 530 comments

Latest by maniacmayhem: Actraiser 2, talk about killing something that didn't even reach its full potential. more »

theory

Writers' Strike To Help Gaming?

TV has died, with most shows out of new episodes because of the Writers' Strike. So people like Joseph Olin, President of the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, think that video games are ready to fill the entertainment void.

If you're a fan of network programming, maybe seeing another repeat of 'Pushing Daisies' or 'Cold Case' will inspire you to finish that level of 'Ratchet and Clank Future' instead.
And then Olin doesn't miss the chance to take a shot at the film industry.
There's a much better relationship between game developers and publishers than there appears to be in terms of all the polemics between the writers, producers and studios.
And while that's probably true, is it really saying all that much?

Video game industry capitalizing on writers' strike [via gamingtoday]

1:20 PM on Fri Dec 28 2007
By Mark Wilson
1,047 views, 41 comments

Latest by --Core--: @topaz420: That would probably be the worse thing that could possibly happen. Why you ask? Well, every time those union workers decided that they were not getting paid enough. Do you know who is going to pick up the tab down more »

game design

Game Design, From Bottom-Up to Top-Down

I've been catching up on my backlog of unrelated-but-kinda-academic gaming articles from the past two weeks, and this one from Gamasutra caught my eye - the topic is game design, but a very nuts and bolts description of the two basic approaches to designing games (that usually get blended to some degree or another). From concept to core to verbs and back again, via mechanics and context (wheeee!), it's a nice explanation of the various stages of design and how the relate to each other. Despite liberal use of the prefix 'meta-,' it's really an interesting article on putting it all together that's not particularly inaccessible - I always like to see the theories behind (actual) game design and structure, since it usually bears an uncanny resemblance to things I'm much more familiar with: More »

2:00 PM on Sun Nov 25 2007
By mgreene
5,969 views, 20 comments

Latest by Bhraal: Awesome! I just flunked a course on this in college! more »

virtual worlds

Are Virtual Worlds Liberating?

Terra Nova has a thought provoking little piece up on the liberation (?) of virtual worlds - rather, are they liberating? Or are they just another method for dominant ideologies to be reinforced? Just a new arena for old social superstructures to be played out on a new stage? The notion of 'liberation' in some sort of all-encompassing way makes me skittish in most contexts, but there are some interesting points contained within: More »

10:00 AM on Sun Nov 25 2007
By mgreene
1,803 views, 26 comments

game design

The Chemistry of Game Design

Gamasutra has another essay from Danc of Lost Garden up, this one entitled 'The Chemistry of Game Design.' Chock full of visual aids and some interesting observations on game mechanics and how players learn to play a game (and master it), it's a lengthy but worthy read. In true academic fashion, he sums up his discussion of skill chains, mastery, and burnout in the last few paragraphs and tells you why all this matters (or should matter): More »

11:30 AM on Sat Jul 28 2007
By mgreene
3,098 views, 19 comments

Latest by Mii: I agree that science plays a big role in game developement, and I can't say for sure yet, but I hope much of it comes from the game design. My quarrel is that its purpose is bringing the art more »

duel

When Game Theorists Duel

Fight, fight! I love when academics dust it up over publications, its so mentally invigorating... and subtlety catty. More »

4:00 PM on Fri Aug 11 2006
By Brian Crecente
94 views, 8 comments