No, Don't Ask Me Why!
BioShock: Graphic Violence In Video Games on 10.22.2008 - Since when have playing games become all about how much blood sprays your screen when you bash someone over the head with a tire iron? Just this weekend I was over at my Cousin's house and we were swapping video game favorites. His gift to me was Fable II (which I'm very interested in playing if it weren't on XBOX) and BioShock. In fact, he put BioShock in and let me have at it. Now I won't disregard some of the really interesting concepts presented in this game. Everything from the underwate...Movie Video Games: Cop-Outs? on 5.23.2008 - Just yesterday I was watching the TV and a commercial for the new Narnia Movie came up. Or so I thought. Instead it turns out it was for the Narnia video game. Then today I open my Gamasutra Newsletter and what do I see? More movies being turned into video games. Maybe its just me, but somehow I feel like these games are a cop-out. Instead of coming up with their own fresh, original ideas they snatch someone else's creative vision. Yes, yes I know that most brilliant ideas are a bunch of good...
Video Games For Girls & Women: Why Not? on 3.25.2008 - Calling all female gamers. Why is it we take a back seat to the boys? Like they have more money or something? I bet you a girl is more likely to convince daddy to spend a few bucks for the "must have" item then most boys. Despite that we still seem to be taking a back seat in this industry. Why?! I've decided I'd like to spend a while figuring out what kind of games are popular and being played by girls in the industy, versus what is actually being marketed to them. According to the media ...
Social Community on 3.6.2008 - One of the most interesting things I've found creating games is the sense of community that evolves out of them over the years. For instance, on my largest game White Oak Stables I've setup a newspaper that's run and controlled by the members. Every few months I elect a new newspaper manager and they are in charge of hiring staff and then posting articles in the three-column newspaper. Each of these articles has a comments section, so the members are e...
Text-Based Role Playing Games on 2.20.2008 - Role playing games are one of the biggest hits on the internet. Every day a new free message board site pops up giving people of all ages the chance to setup their very own role playing site. Hundreds spend their free time creating their own characters, developing their personality, and joining the community of a large group that enjoy playing out their own stories. But there is a major downside to role playing. Things get out of hand, people try to talk or play as your character, updating we...
Game Economy on 1.20.2008 - One of the biggest issues I've run into as a game developer is keeping control of the economy. One of the problem with new players is they don't have the experience to use the money they have wisely. For instance, lets say you give every member $10,000 to begin with. Having not played the game before they don't have an accurate idea about the cost of buying a pet, or feeding that pet, taking it to the vet, etc. So, in a matter of minutes they spend all but $1,000 of what they had to start off wi...
Making Games Fun on 1.17.2008 - Sooo, we know we want to make a game. But if the game isn't any fun to play, or its too hard/easy to play, or to hard to learn then we find ourselves back at square one. How do we balance out what we want to accomplish in a way that's entertaining and holds our interest? The secret is that any game can be fun. How many times have you played a game that had a lot of potential but it lacked story line, or character development, or it had too much fighting, too much blood and guts (or not enough...
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