What Games Are

The VR-Smartwatch Continuum

There's a lot of enthusiasm at either end of the spectrum for "go big" virtual reality and "go small" smartwatches and other wearable devices. Is the "game-changing" hype of either justified? Or are t

The Reason To Be Cheerful About HoloLens

With the release of the HoloLens, Microsoft put something out there that has a chance of being transformative. Not in the high concept way, but in a general way especially for gaming. But is Microsoft

The Message Is The Product: Solving Mobile Gaming’s Price Problem

The medium is the message, says Marshall McLuhan. If so the message is the product too. In considering the problem of paid games on mobile (conventional wisdom says people won't pay for them) it seems

The Perfect Gaming Phone

As a recent acquirer of an iPhone 6 Plus I had thought that a bigger phone would have better battery and be easier on my eyes. However what I hadn't expected was the degree to which playing games on i

An Open Letter To Tim Cook About Game Censorship

An open letter to the CEO of Apple to change the company's mind in how it handles the vetting of game content, as happened this week with Papers Please. Video games are an art form just like movies or

Investing In Games: Broad Or Deep?

Suppose two studios approach you. Studio A has a strategy centered around making a big play on one game. It plans to take your investment and use it to make that game as best it can and find success.

Crowdfunding Ain’t The Bank

We in the games trade like the crowdfunding avenue in so far as the money that it brings, but we still struggle to not hold our communities at one remove as we might investors. As a result we are ofte

The Lesson Of Monument Valley

I’m fascinated by the reviews left by Monument Valley players after learning that new content was going to cost an extra $2. Why does something so apparently ordinary generate such resentment?

What Is Journalism Anymore?

With the increasing rise of YouTubers, movements like Gamergate and so on, questions about the role of journalism abound. Who's a journalist? What does it even mean to be a "journalist" as opposed to

Is Mobile Gaming The New Core Gaming?

With mobile gaming revenue set to eclipse console next and year and PC by 2017, the question should be asked whether what we currently call "core" gaming really is any such thing any more. Or are mobi

So Long #Gamergate. What Did You Teach Us?

The hashtag is still going, as are the fervent speculations and plans for operations on 8chan and Reddit, but the movement that is #Gamergate is dead. But what, if anything, did it teach us?

Why And How To Hire A Game Designer

I am a game designer but I don't envy the task of potential employers or partners in trying to find someone like me to hire. Game design is very difficult to assess from the outside, to understand wha

The #Gamergate Answer

In response to my article last week I got a fair degree of heated comments, but most civil ones said that the gamergate issue was about journalistic integrity. Is it? Or is it actually about the cultu

The #Gamergate Question

Depending on how closely you follow the gaming and tech press, you may have heard of #gamergate. Those of us inside the industry have. This week it's essentially all we've been able to talk about. How

Mobile’s “One Game Wonder” Problem

Mobile gaming is a massive success, but it's notable how many big game makers struggle to convert their successes into longer term franchises or other offerings. This week's King news is just another

The Seven Constants Of Game Design, Part Three

In the last of this three part series on the constant factors of game design we're talking all about the role of the player as character (or not) and powerful draw of purpose.

The Seven Constants Of Game Design, Part One

In the first of a two part series exploring game design, this article discusses the idea that games operate within a universe of defined constants, meaning traits to do with play that stand independen

How Real Will Wearable Games Be?

Wearables, primarily smartwatches, are in many ways a compelling idea. Yet do the actual wearables we're seeing offer anything like that? From a gaming standpoint are they really that big of a deal, o

The Numinous Veil Of Ignorance

In watching the latest drama unfold over Facebook and its experimentation with users, I'm moved to argue that sometimes you can be too honest. For game makers especially sometimes it's better for user

Pirate Radio, YouTubers And Video Games

YouTubers are considered a big boon by some, but also a big threat by others. Game developers in particular sometimes feel that what they're doing is less journalism/coverage and more like pirate radi
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