Black Annex: A QBasic game for the 21st century 6
by Mike Rose [04.15.13]
Black Annex is a nifty-looking strategy game from Australian indie studio Man Fight Dragon. What really makes the game stand out is that it has been written entirely in the decades-old QBasic programming language.
Console/PC, Indie, Programming, Design, Exclusive, Video

---

Ubisoft poised to make big play on persistent games 11
by Kris Ligman [04.15.13]
Yannis Mallat looks back on Ubisoft's technical innovations in the last console cycle, pointing to evolving consumer media habits in driving game design.
Console/PC, Social/Online, Design, Business/Marketing

---

How BioShock Infinite changed the game 40
by Gamasutra Community [04.15.13]
Adrian Chmielarz (Bulletstorm, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter) argues that -- good or bad -- BioShock Infinite's creative intent and popular reception have both moved the needle.
Console/PC, Design, Business/Marketing

---

This week in video game criticism: From SimCity to formalism  
by Kris Ligman [04.15.13]
This week, our partnership with game criticism site Critical Distance brings us picks from Kris Ligman on topics including personal isolation, intimacy in narrative, the use of home in games, and more.
Console/PC, Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet, Indie, Design

---

The creation of a game about the struggles of being creative 7
by Gamasutra Community [04.15.13]
Kids naturally love to play, create and imagine. But when kids grow up, that natural tendency often shrivels away. Here's a story about a game that explores the struggle to keep imagination alive.
Indie, Design

---

What stealth means to this Splinter Cell dev 5
by Mike Rose [04.15.13]
"Part of the dynamic of stealth games is that you're holding that power of life and death over the NPCs, but electing not to do anything with it." - Patrick Redding at Ubisoft Toronto talks about tackling stealth in video games.
Console/PC, Design

---

The hard road to the Baldur's Gate remake 6
by Trent Oster [04.15.13]
It's a beloved classic, but making a new version for tablets and contemporary PCs turned out to be a much bigger challenge than the team at Overhaul had anticipated.
Console/PC, Smartphone/Tablet, Indie, Programming, Art, Design, Production, Business/Marketing

---

From architect to developer 9
by Gamasutra Community [04.15.13]
From designing buildings to making games -- what important lessons did this accomplished architecture student bring with him when he became an indie developer?
Indie, Design

---

Blog: How video games' revolutionaries became 'The Man' 52
by Gamasutra Community [04.15.13]
Daniel Cook writes about how the game industry's original experimenters have now become the establishment -- and hopes that true creativity can sprout in today's game industry landscape.
Console/PC, Indie, Design, Business/Marketing

---

12 ways to improve turn-based RPG combat systems 12
by Gamasutra Community [04.15.13]
The turn-based RPG has been with us for a long time -- but there's still room for the venerable genre to grow and change, and this post offers 12 suggestions on how to make better games.
Console/PC, Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet, Indie, Design

---

A visitor from the future pays homage to today's free-to-play games 14
by Matthew Wasteland & Magnus Underland [04.12.13]
In the future, food costs nothing -- and we have free-to-play games to thank. Read this rare account from a time traveler who gives us massive spoilers from the year 2113.
GD Mag, Design, GD Mag Exclusive

---

Making a game the Nintendo way - Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon 7
by Staff [04.12.13]
Luigi's Mansion went through a lengthy, rapid prototyping process to meet Nintendo's quality standards. Here's how the company worked with a Western partner to achieve great results.
Console/PC, Programming, Design, Exclusive

---

Yodo1 to launch robust social service for your smartphone games  
by Christian Nutt [04.12.13]
The Beijing-based startup has built a new end-to-end rewards and social layer called Kryptanium, and it's planning to launch it in the U.S. in June -- first details from the CEO inside.
Smartphone/Tablet, Indie, Design, Business/Marketing

---

Blog: Monster Hunter - ugly, but popular 19
by Gamasutra Community [04.12.13]
"Monster Hunter is really becoming the emblem of those video gamers who are genuinely interested in the gameplay, more than any visual frill," says blogger Marco Magnani.
Console/PC, Art, Design, Business/Marketing

---

On video games and cultural relevancy... 35
by Kris Graft [04.12.13]
"We are in the midst of the most important and influential movement in video games in a decade, if not ever." - Adam Saltsman, developer behind Canabalt and Hundreds.
Console/PC, Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet, Indie, Design

---

How a trip to China made Hero Academy a better game 5
by Gamasutra Community [04.12.13]
How Robot's popular smartphone strategy series took on a new Chinese-themed army for its release in the territory, which made it back into the Western version of the game, too.
Smartphone/Tablet, Art, Design, Business/Marketing

---

Can all games be judged the same way? 4
by Gamasutra Community [04.12.13]
Radiator developer Robert Yang responds to Koster's blog post, explaining why constructive criticism of games can easily misconstrued -- and is rightfully viewed as suspect by those who receive it.
Indie, Design

---

Exploring the debate around what is, or isn't, a game 46
by Gamasutra Community [04.12.13]
"It's hard to say with absolute certainty what constitutes a game, and we shouldn't be too anxious to go to war over it," writes academic and developer Devin Wilson.
Console/PC, Indie, Design

---

Playable: A look at how accomplished developers make games 1
by Mike Rose [04.12.13]
As part of a new indie game development initiative, a group of accomplished developers will create a series of experimental games aimed at showing exactly what goes into the development process.
Indie, Programming, Design, Production

---

Postmortem: Game Oven's Fingle 6
by Gamasutra Community [04.12.13]
Developers Adriaan de Jongh and Bojan Endrovski tell the true story of the development of the sexy, awkward, and very popular iPad game that asks players to rub their hands together.
Smartphone/Tablet, Design, Production, Exclusive

---