For many game developers, the appeal of working with remote collaborators is hard to pass up. If you’re an indie, cutting out office space costs and commuting time is a no-brainer. If you’re an established studio, being able to work …
How to Survive Working with Remote Collaborators Read more »
The act of going to a karaoke bar is filled with more dramatic tension than you might think. The sheer amount of questions in play at any given time is intense: What will the next person sing? Will they do …
It’s impossible to accuse Icarus Proudbottom Teaches Typing of false advertising. After glancing at the title, you’d expect to find a goofy take on the earnest but dated educational games of yore like Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing, Number Munchers, and …
The Indie’s Guide to Harnessing Press Momentum with Icarus Proudbottom Read more »
Evan Berman knows how gamers think. A veteran community manager with credits on HAWKEN, TERA, Dragonica Online and the infamous Hellgate: London, Berman (aka ‘Scapes’ in the forums) has spent many hours thinking how to best react when faced with …
At first glance, computers and video games seem to be a perfect match. Computers allow games to have absurdly complex rule sets that nobody has to remember, they can create real-time simulations that would be impossible to do otherwise, and …
Mind Games: Offloading Cycles to the Player’s IPU (Imagination Processing Unit) Read more »
The great thing about numbers is that they go up. For the most part, people love it when their own numbers start to rise: the amount of money in your bank account, the number of possessions you own, the number …
Just Make My Numbers Go Up: Breaking Our Addiction to Points Read more »
Your helicopter touches down on the deck. You’ve arrived at the outskirts of a magnificent city of the future – gleaming skyscrapers pierce distant clouds, flying robots of all kinds swerve in airborne traffic patterns, and a sunset so real …
Ever notice how nobody ever wants to add more guesswork? The phrase is always “taking the guesswork out” of something, and lately, games are no exception. More and more games these days come loaded with overdone tutorials, excessive pop-ups and …
If you’re involved in the game industry in any way, chances are you share a gift common to most developers: enthusiastic proactivity. The competitive nature and innate complexity of learning how to make digital games all but requires not only …
Everybody likes feeling important. It’s the reason why you’re more inclined to listen to someone if they address you as “Sir” or “Miss” as opposed to “Hey you” or “Listen, schmuck.” It’s the reason why older siblings often feel a …