The challenge of modifying a design for asynchronous play 5
by Gamasutra Community [05.09.13]
David Sirlin hadn't designed his card game Codex to allow for asynchronous play -- but he wanted to see if it was possible. This deep design post details what he had to do to get it there.
Smartphone/Tablet, Indie, Design

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Reminder: GDC China 2013 talk submissions due Friday  
by GDC Staff [05.09.13]
Friday, May 10 is the deadline for English and Mandarin submissions to present talks at the 2013 Game Developers Conference China, organizers are reminding.
Console/PC, Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet, Indie, Serious, Programming, Art, Audio, Design, Production, Business/Marketing

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Playtesting for indies 4
by Gamasutra Community [05.09.13]
Getting player feedback is key, but harnessing the power of playtesting isn't always easy when your resources are limited. One indie team shares its methods.
Console/PC, Indie, Design, Production, Business/Marketing

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Video: Diverse game characters - write them now! 4
by GDC Vault Staff [05.08.13]
"The more stereotypical characters we create, the more we write ourselves into corners," warns Assassin's Creed III: Liberation writer Jill Murray in this GDC 2013 talk.
Console/PC, Social/Online, Design, Production, Video

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Star Wars 1313 dev on talking to the player through design 1
by Kris Ligman [05.08.13]
Matthias Worch, recently attached to the cancelled Star Wars 1313 project, talks in this encore presentation of his GDC 2013 session on how games are the perfect medium of modern culture.
Console/PC, Design, Video

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Blog: If you truly want diversity in games, take the risk 3
by Gamasutra Community [05.08.13]
MIT research Todd Harper argues that now is "the perfect time for people with passion to take the risks" in increasing diversity in their games' characters -- and this impassioned plea explains why.
Console/PC, Indie, Design, Business/Marketing

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Making 4X strategy work on smartphones 4
by Gamasutra Community [05.08.13]
Reducing complexity while enhancing depth -- a tough-sounding task, but this deep design post explains how Galactic Reign's team made the game rewarding to play.
Smartphone/Tablet, Design

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See the guts of an Ouya without tearing yours apart 4
by Mike Rose [05.08.13]
With the public launch of the Ouya Android-powered home console fast approaching, electronics repair company iFixit has taken the console apart, to see exactly what's inside this $99 box.
Console/PC, Smartphone/Tablet, Indie, Design, Business/Marketing

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Watch how this cello controls a video game  
by Mike Rose [05.08.13]
It's not often that we see a video game in which a classical instrument is the controller -- but then Cello Fortress is quite unlike any game we've seen before.
Console/PC, Indie, Design, Business/Marketing, Video

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Analyzing the freemium design of Knight Storm 2
by Gamasutra Community [05.08.13]
Consulting producer/designer Benjamin Sipe takes a close look at Munky Fun's latest iPad game, delving into what works and what does not when it comes to its free-to-play design.
Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet, Design, Business/Marketing

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Should games have stories? 93
by Soren Johnson [05.08.13]
A reprint from Game Developer magazine's February issue, industry veteran Soren Johnson questions whether video games should have stories, and explores various examples.
Console/PC, Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet, Indie, GD Mag, Design, GD Mag Exclusive

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Blog: The single most useful advice for making any game better 31
by Gamasutra Community [05.07.13]
Epic veteran turned indie Lee Perry argues that players need feedback for their actions -- and shares examples from his and others' games, as well as what works for different platforms and genres.
Console/PC, Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet, Indie, Art, Design

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Indie development in the 1990s: The Game-Maker story 15
by Gamasutra Community [05.07.13]
Well before any of today's tools, 1991's Game-Maker allowed proto-indie developers to get their start -- and this extensive history tells its groundbreaking story.
Indie, Design, Production, Business/Marketing, History

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Ubisoft and Patrice Desilets in messy second breakup 11
by Kris Ligman [05.07.13]
UPDATED Ubisoft re-acquired departed Assassin's Creed developer Patrice Desilets when it purchased THQ's Montreal office in January. Now Desilets has left the company again.
Console/PC, Design, Production

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Why Candy Box became more social than 'social games' 13
by Leigh Alexander [05.07.13]
The recent fervor for browser-based Candy Box yields fascinating lessons about social games -- maybe it hasn't been the mechanics or the virality players hated, but the presentation.
Social/Online, Indie, Design, Exclusive

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11 tips for maximizing player expression 5
by Gamasutra Community [05.07.13]
While it's well and good for the author of a game to express herself, the player doing so is more crucial, argues Daniel Cook, designer at Triple Town studio Spry Fox.
Indie, Design

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Learning in games, learning from mistakes 2
by Gamasutra Community [05.07.13]
An interview with SpaceChem's Zach Barth, on the complexities of using games to teach players -- and how the hard lessons he learned making his last game improved his new one, Ironclads.
Indie, Design

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How players master your game 7
by Gamasutra Community [05.07.13]
How can games take "a moment to learn, but a lifetime to master?" As part of his PhD research, Sebastien Hock-koon investigated the process by which players improve and grow.
Console/PC, Design

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4 tips for building an in-game store 6
by Gamasutra Community [05.06.13]
How do you drive players to your in-game store and encourage them to pay? This simple but useful blog post outlines some best practices.
Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet, Design, Business/Marketing

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One developer's bold step forward on iOS 7
by Staff [05.06.13]
In Gamasutra's latest original postmortem, Appy Entertainment's Animal Legends is put under the microscope -- and as the developer was trying new things, there are plenty of hard lessons.
Smartphone/Tablet, Art, Design, Production, Business/Marketing

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