Taxonomy
Casual gaming - on a console
Video game consoles are no longer just for teenage boys - at least that seemed to be the prevailing message at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, which wrapped up this week in Los Angeles. Traditionally the event where companies gather to show off the next Halo, Grand Theft Auto or Call of Duty, this year saw a ton of announcements that might convince more than a few casual gamers to ask for a Nintendo DS, Wii, or even an Xbox 360 this holiday season.
Women's Murder Club: How I-play found a perfect fit
Story is not always the top priority in casual game development. Sure, it's a great compliment to some games, adding an extra layer of satisfaction to the gameplay or a few laughs, but for other games it's a downright hindrance.
That's part of what put I-play in such an unusual position while developing Women's Murder Club. They wanted more than a threadbare way to get from Level A to Level B; their primary motivation was a solid narrative.
Games aplenty for the new iPhone
Studios like PopCap and EA have been developing mobile phone games for years, but they've never seen anything quite like Apple's iPhone. The device's multi-touch screen, motion sensors and high-definition graphics open up intriguing new possibilities for game design - and companies have already starting to take advantage of them.
Boarding pass: How Airport Mania made a safe landing
Some game companies use pretty pedestrian means to pick their projects; maybe doing some market research and testing what ideas have been popular in the marketplace, or by licensing an IP and going from there, or just making a sequel.
For Reflexive's Russell Carroll, the producer of Airport Mania, the process is much less regimented.
Notes from the Underbelly of Social Gaming
Place more than two casual game executives in a room together and the one thing they will agree on is that casual game downloads are dead. They are not, of course. The market is just changing, evolving into a whole new market with new genres, distribution channels, and pricing (unlike the price of gas, download games are cheaper, yea!).
Give the People What They Want
I would love to go to one store to buy every product I want. But shuttling from one retailer to another is the reality of the American consumer. That's what specials are all about. That's why Macy's has one-day-only sales and AT&T has the iPhone. People who sell stuff employ all kinds of strategies to get you into their establishments, because capitalism thrives on the better mouse-trap theory, and mouse-traps are not just products, but offerings and services. Such as, only available here.
How Build-A-Lot 2 got better by staying the same
Much like a real estate tycoon staring at an empty lot, HipSoft had a blank canvas in front of them as they pondered their next project. So why, with all those possibilities, return to Built-a-Lot, especially just a month after the first game was completed?
Facebook is Gaming’s Napster
Last week, I had the pleasure of speaking on Eric Goldberg's panel at the LA Games and Mobile Conference. During the session, I made the assertion that Facebook is the Napster of the games industry. The comment really got people talking, and although I must admit that I spoke off the top of my head, I’ve been trying to find a way of encapsulating the emergent changes to the games industry in a succinct way; I think I’ve found it.
Gamezebo Update: May 21, 2008
We have been working hard to fix the issues we were having with the new Gamezebo Web site. As promised, here's my update:
We fixed the issue so that screen shots display with all our Margie B's huge Tips (and we've been posting new ones quickly). We've also made fixes so that our search feature should be working much better and you'll see a lot less file not founds on the site.
Next Up: Fixing Gamezebo To Go so you start to get daily updates again. Thanks for your patience and excellent suggestions.
The healing power of games
When Harold Snaring of Lake Cushman, Washington suffered a stroke last year, his wife Marilyn brought some unconventional therapy to the rehab center: her copy of Mystery Case Files: Huntsville, a popular hidden object game from Big Fish Games.
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