A slide from Robert Yang's talk, Well-Made: Back to Black Mesa.

“How do you let people betray each other?” “How do you handle gay marriage?” “How do you get people to want to play?” No, the above aren’t results from a Google auto-complete gone wrong. These were just a few of …

PRACTICE Makes Better: Self-Improvement Through Game Design Read more »

Over 30 indie games were available to play at the NYC Game Forum's inaugural playtest night, garnering major press coverage.

You are an indie game developer in a major American city. You pull out your calendar app. So the rapid prototyping workshop is on Monday… and Disasterpeace’s talk on procedural music is on Tuesday… I can work out of Microsoft’s …

The NYC Games Forum: Unlocking New York City’s Game Industry Read more »

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As far as game stars go, Eddie Rhodes comes across unusually blunt. Maybe the confidence came when his game attracted a following, became a cult hit, and starting making real money. Maybe it’s all a façade, carefully designed to fully …

Monetizing Meaning in Games: The Mind Behind the Nexbit Craze Read more »

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The cinematics for the summon spells in Final Fantasy VIII caught flack for being unusually long as well as unskippable.

It’s a glorious Sunday morning. You stir and stretch in your bed, a mess of wonderfully soft sheets and covers. The whole day is open. Will you laze around for a bit more? Get up and go for a walk, …

Honor Thy Player’s Time Read more »

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The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Dragonborn. (Photo: PlayerAttack)

Music, when soft voices die, Vibrates in the memory; Odours, when sweet violets sicken, Live within the sense they quicken. Rose leaves, when the rose is dead, Are heap’d for the belovèd’s bed; And so thy thoughts, when thou art …

Can Games Rhyme? Read more »

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Photo: Kotaku

Haven’t you heard? The Ludic Century is upon us. As laid out in academic and game designer Eric Zimmerman’s “Manifesto for a Ludic Century,” the coming hundred years will be defined by interactivity, systems-based thinking and a focus on conscious …

What Games Will Endure in the Ludic Century? Read more »

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