Scientific American had an interesting article on The Secrets of Storytelling. The article 's focus is on why storytelling works so well for humans. Most of the reasons relate to social activities.
Some food for thought since we deal with social activities in online games.
(more...)
This week, let's turn our attention to ourselves for a change. Culture is an important part of games, so let's take a look at what local cultural aspects are important to game design. This is hard, because it is often difficult to identify what makes your culture unique in the eyes of others.
(more...)
I haven't posted up any short stories in a while. I found an old one I had worked on previously and figured I'd post it up for the enjoyment of all.
Caravan of Lost Sousl
(more...)
I've started work with a team on an upcoming indie game, Secondhand Lands. It's a quirky little game involving sheep and wolves supporting different factions in a land heavily influenced by fairy tales. There's quite a few PvP elements in the game, living up to the wolves vs. sheep characters in the game.
This week, let's consider some possible PvP events in the game. More details about the game and the requirements after the jump.
(more...)
This week's challenge is going to be lengthy, but if you do it then it will be a great learning experience: write a review of a game.
More thoughts after the jump.
(more...)
In this weekend's exercise, explain how you would build a community for an online game on a limited budget.
My thoughts after the jump.
(more...)
I found an interesting blog entry covering a post-mortem of a failed tech start startup: http://diffle-history.blogspot.com/ If you're thinking of starting your own small tech business, including a game development firm, I think that blog is required reading. It's not 100% gospel, but it can give you the much needed perspective on your business.
Read on for my take on a few of the issues.
(more...)
I wrote this entry ahead of time and set it to be published today. Figured I'd give people something to think about while I'm gone.
As I wrote before, I'm off visiting family without the benefit of an internet connection. That also means I'm not playing any online games. So, let's think about what this means for most normal people.
How can we treat time away from our computers in online games?
(more...)
I'm going to be out of town visiting family back in the Midwest. My better half's sister doesn't have internet, so I may not be able to check the moderation queue on a regular basis.
Email may be sporadic, too. But, I'll reply as I can when I get back in town on the 13th.
