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Psychochild

A developer's musings on game development and writing.

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1 hour 42 min ago

July 21, 2008

06:49
Weekend Design Challenge: Forming a community
In this weekend's exercise, explain how you would build a community for an online game on a limited budget. My thoughts in the full article.
Categories: Bloggers

July 18, 2008

07:47
Advice from a failed startup
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 the full article for my take on a few of the issues.
Categories: Bloggers

July 11, 2008

16:00
Weekend Design Challenge: Time off
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 [...]
Categories: Bloggers

July 8, 2008

08:10
Out of Town
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 [...]
Categories: Bloggers

July 7, 2008

10:06
Weekend Design Challenge: A new word
Over at Brenda Brathwaite's insightful blog, she talks about how she dislikes the term "gamer" on a very personal level. (http://bbrathwaite.wordpress.com/2008/07/03/peeves-gamers-a-term-that-must-die/) So, this week, weigh in on your thoughts and propose new terms!
Categories: Bloggers

July 5, 2008

01:04
What’s wrong with the game industry (this hour)
Sanya has a post about "best practices" talks at conferences. (http://eatingbees.brokentoys.org/2008/06/30/best-practices/) She mentions that she has a sense of deja vu: saying the same thing to the same people taking the same notes as before. She then laments that conferences never really seem to be educational, just excuses to get together and network. It's the same thing I was feeling several years ago and why, although I love making games, I really fucking hate the game industry.
Categories: Bloggers

July 2, 2008

03:44
Which comes first? The design or the business?
While we're considering business issues and how they affect game development, let's take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Let's consider, which comes first: the game design or the business? This is an interesting topic, because some designers I've been talking to recently have advocated that some of the higher level business decisions need to be determined first. How can you design a game, they contend, unless you know the audience and their demographics? As usual, the real issue isn't quite what it seems. More detail in the full article.
Categories: Bloggers

June 29, 2008

04:42
Weekend Design Challenge: Business influencing design
This week, we're going to take a look at the intersection between business and design. How does business influence design? Let's see how few posts we can get this week! :) Professional designers rarely get to go off into uncharted territories, even if they get to propose a new project. Corvus over at Man Bytes [...]
Categories: Bloggers

June 23, 2008

12:19
Weekend Design Challenge: A moment of reflection
No deep challenge this weekend given the news that George Carlin passed away. I always considered Carlin a true artist. He not only found time to entertain us, but also to make us think. A goal I aspire to in my professional life. We lost someone irreplaceable. :(
Categories: Bloggers