Making a game that stands the test of time and can endure for multiple generations is a challenge.  The rules you use to create the game define how it is played.  Sometimes they’re good enough to last, and sometimes you need to update them as the game and the players evolve. In the case of [...]

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That you’ll never play.* Awhile ago Justin Keverne wrote a piece, the Taxonomy of Left 4 Dead, which compared the characters in L4D to the MUD definitions of online game players set forth by Richard A. Bartle.  It’s a pretty insightful piece, pointing out that the characters emulate the four different type of players (Bill [...]

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Hey, guess what?  I didn’t know I was going to take a (looks over at date on previous post) THREE MONTH HIATUS?~??!!!? Jeeeeebus who do I think I am, anyway? Wow, looking back previously, I’ve realized that I’ve really fallen off the writing/design/critiquing wagon, and usually put a small apology at the beginning of each [...]

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I couldn’t resist.  The Spy’s new hat just had me laughing at its awesomeness, and thinking about the “FYI, I am a Spy” sprays that originally started popping up when TF2 first came out. Every so often I just geek out on nerd culture + art culture, and this is the result.  If you don’t [...]

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Okay, I have a serious bone to pick with the most recent TF2 Spy/Sniper Update.  At risk of throwing any dev cred I may have once had, I’m going to just come out and say it:  it feels unbalanced. Now, I know, I know, someone, at some point, has cried foul at every other update.  [...]

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It’s been awhile, no?  I have a perfectly good excuse.  In fact, it’s so good, it’s not an excuse. Work has been pretty frustrating lately; my project was shelved and now I’ve been pretty much battlefield demoted or side-moted or whatever the “moted” you want to call it to a position that I used to [...]

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I’m back from GDC and slowly climbing back onto the writing horse.  I’d apologize for taking forever between posts again but hey let’s be honest, I’ve been doing a ton of that lately so let’s just move on. I saw some great talks, but one that kinda bothered me in a way and yet at [...]

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While at the Kindergarten meet-and-greet for my daughter’s upcoming indoctrination into our public schools system, I noticed that not many (in fact really none) of the other parents there seemed to be a “gamer.”  Well, really, even a true “nerd” or “geek” or “dork.”  They were all…normal.  I imagine they’d buy games for their kids, [...]

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I don’t know if it’s lack of sleep, but I’m especially cranky today.  I’m tired of seeing not-news and even less interesting posts about stuff that is barely even tangentially related to gaming flooding gaming (and non gaming!) sites.  Can we all agree that this shit can just die now and people can come up [...]

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I figured since it’s been awhile since I wrote something (enter excuses here) I’d take the easy route out and offer up a unique opinion on the whole DLC kerfluffle that’s going on right now in gaming news circles. Hokay, so everyone is pretty much upset at Capcom for releasing multiplayer as DLC content, and [...]

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