I frequently have game-related things I want to post about here (and writing-related things, and science fiction-related things, and...), but rarely feel like I have the time to post thoughtfully, so this is an experiment in writing something off the top of my head just as it occurs to me ( Read more... )

One of the occupational hazards of being a game designer is an obligation to play up-and-coming games, both to stay ahead of where the market is moving and to dig for signs of the One True Game Design, aka universal mechanics that move people. Lately there's been a lot of buzz around Bejeweled Blitz, so I dug in for a sample today.

Blitz takes the ( Read more... )

Loving this statement from lead producer Dustin Browder on how they're polishing Starcraft II for accessibility.

“For us, there really isn’t a sharp division between casual and hardcore (players),” Browder said. “A casual could become a hardcore, if only we let them. I know so many grandmothers that play World of Warcraft - what the heck is that ( Read more... )

Hi all. Quick update, since I realized I haven't mentioned this and it's kind of cool ( Read more... )

So, because the big project at the new place is large and Flash-based, right now we're doing a systematic analysis of Ferry Halim's Orisinal games. They're some of the most beautiful and innovative Flash games on the market, so worth studying when it comes to thinking about what kind of interactive mechanics you can put into a flash game ( Read more... )

This is going to be my one and only contribution to the conflagration that shall not be named, mostly because it's too ironic to resist. If you want more details, Mary Anne Mohanraj has a wonderfully thoughtful post on it, which also links to this great video. Most of the remaining bases have already been covered. I wish we could just be people. ( ( Read more... )

A very short prologue: I've been very lousy about actually posting game-related topics since I first set up philomathgames.com. The site also needs a better skin. Largely, I don't say much about games because I've always felt that the volume that I'm learning still dwarfs what I already "know". But I've realized 1) this will probably always be the ( Read more... )

Checking in briefly from my sister's rather fantastic cabin south of Denver. Photos from the trip will be up on a Flickr at some point.

Very much ahead of schedule, Booksurge put Settlers of the New Virtual Worlds out on Amazon -- we finalized the book a week ago, but had thought it would take at least two to three weeks to appear on Amazon. ( Read more... )

I can't really begin to tell you how ill-advised an idea this is.

<< Date: May 31, 2008 5:55 PM ( Read more... )

In more of the rollercoaster that this week has turned into, I give you:

Cyberpunked: The Fall of Black9Note that the Escapist server seems to be having some indigestion; I can only intermittently get to all of the pages. They should have it worked out soon, though, they tend to be pretty quick on stuff like that ( Read more... )