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	May 20, 2013

		Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC Sr. Network Systems Engineer

		Treyarch / Activision Technical Animator

		Amazon Game Studios Sr. Game Designer

		Amazon Game Studios Quality Assurance Manager

		Amazon Game Studios Lead 3D Environment Artist

		Amazon Game Studios Game Graphics Engineer

Ben Serviss's Blog Expert Blogs

Freelance game designer working in commercial, social, educational and indie games. I write about game design, narrative and the NYC development scene at dashjump.com. Follow me on twitter at @benserviss.

Expert Blogs

Maximizing Your Side Project Success
Posted by Ben Serviss on Thu, 16 May 2013 11:11:00 EDT in Production, Design
Stuck under a mountain of side projects? Manage your time and increase your successes with these key questions.
Read More... \| 1 Comments

The Importance of Making Players Feel Important
Posted by Ben Serviss on Thu, 09 May 2013 09:15:00 EDT in Smartphone/Tablet, Social/Online, Indie, Console/PC, Design
How do you make your players feel important? These three tips could mean the difference between a bad review and a lifelong fan.
Read More... \| 6 Comments

The Problem with Game Reviews (And Why Games Are Like Restaurants)
Posted by Ben Serviss on Thu, 02 May 2013 09:15:00 EDT in Console/PC, Indie, Design, Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet
Do numerical rankings really make sense for games? Looking to restaurant reviews can shed some light.
Read More... \| 12 Comments

Why Are You Making Games?
Posted by Ben Serviss on Thu, 25 Apr 2013 09:15:00 EDT in Indie, Design
Understanding your reason for making games can have a surprising impact on your success - commercially and personally.
Read More... \| 7 Comments

Revive Your Game (And Life) with CPR Design
Posted by Ben Serviss on Thu, 18 Apr 2013 11:07:00 EDT in Indie, Design
Stuck with an unfun game? Use CPR design to troubleshoot your game's challenge, process and results.
Read More... \| 3 Comments

Virtual Goods and the Loss of Authenticity
Posted by Ben Serviss on Thu, 11 Apr 2013 09:05:00 EDT in Business/Marketing, Social/Online
Can virtual goods become family heirlooms? Or will they always just be bits on a screen?
Read More... \| 0 Comments

[More Ben Serviss Blogs]

Ben Serviss's Comments

Comment In: The Importance of Making Players Feel Important [Blog - 05/09/2013 - 09:15]
Right - it 's less ... Right - it 's less about adding a million low-hanging achievements or Good job pop-ups to butter up the player 's ego, and more about demonstrating that their presence and actions in the game world directly impact their experience.

Comment In: Star Wars 1313 dev on talking to the player through design [News - 05/08/2013 - 01:28]
This is a fantastic talk ... This is a fantastic talk that anybody working in or interested in design should watch.

Comment In: The Problem with Game Reviews (And Why Games Are Like Restaurants) [Blog - 05/02/2013 - 09:15]
I was waiting for someone ... I was waiting for someone to make this comment : r n r nYou 're totally right, of course - but while the authored experiences in these linear media don 't change, the reader/user 's own life experience may have. In the case of games, the default experience is mutable ...

Comment In: Why Are You Making Games? [Blog - 04/25/2013 - 09:15]
Nice, thanks for the rec ... Nice, thanks for the rec Ernest

Comment In: "Clumsimulations": Let's name this genre [Blog - 04/24/2013 - 08:41]
Qwoplikes ... Qwoplikes

Comment In: Now the Girl Scouts get their own video game patch too [News - 04/18/2013 - 09:39]
Nice Great job Amy ... Nice Great job Amy

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