Sep 152009
 
Hate vs. Respect: Gaming as a Developer

I’ll waste no time in dropping the hammer: I really don’t like World of Warcraft. The grinding bores me, the mentality upsets me and the game world just doesn’t engage me enough to warrant the odd five gazillion hours that you need to pour in just to get… well, anywhere. I’ve tried it out, honestly!

Aug 102009
 
Four issues that developers need to drop already

Disclaimer: This article covers the hyperbolic ranting of an entirely fictional (and very foul-tempered) stick figure thing. As such, we reserve the right to label this article as satire and advise you to take any of Angry Joe’s advice in good humour and high spirits. Whether or not he happens to make any valid points [...]

Aug 012009
 
Fives - Battle Royale

Games are all about challenge; presenting the player with some or other obstacle that needs to be overcome in order to progress. Not everything has to be about fighting though. Aside from the blood, guts, gore and general brutality involved in most games, some games take a, how to say, finer edge to things. Some [...]

Jul 182009
 
Fives - Survival Horror

We’ve all been there: you’re alone, walking down a dark passage, firmly gripping an axe in your hands. You can hear your heart pounding in your ears because you’re surrounded by complete silence…except for the mysterious sounds coming from behind the door at the end of the passage. As you draw nearer you stand in [...]

Jul 022009
 
Historical Dev Challenge: Shakespeare

Sometimes, one just has to wonder: is history chock-full of great game developers that were never able to realise their full potential? Would Julius Caesar have invented Pac-Man if he was given a computer instead of the Roman Empire? Could Aristotle use his Greek superpowers of reasoning and insight to create an experience that rivals [...]

Screw It

 Posted by on 24 June 2009  Nandrew, Opinion and Analysis  No Responses »  Tagged with:
Jun 242009
 
Screw It

If there’s one pet hate that I have concerning games (aside from those obnoxious troglodytes that plague multiplayer servers for just about any title you care to mention) it’s the idea of making things competitive. Now, I know that this statement alone will cause a lot of people to froth at the mouth and go [...]

Apr 302009
 
Fighting the Narrow Game Focus

The way I see it, modern indie development is imbalanced. Not in the way that a foul-tempered DotA player would scream “IMBA!” after getting killed for the fifth time in succession – no, I’m talking more about exposure, attention and who is playing what out there. I’m talking about everyone’s tendency to play the same narrow [...]

Apr 292009
 
Game Dev from the Dark Continent

To many developers, the fine art of game creation lies strictly within the domain of the first world. Europe, America and Japan have all been sitting pretty with a very well-developed industry for a while. Other territories have recently hopped onto the bandwagon, of course: we have high-profile offerings such as the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series from [...]