Gamasutra Member Blogs: From 3DS Woes To The Endangered Social Space

[In highlights from Gamasutra's Member Blogs, our bloggers write about diverse topics, including the critical flaws in the Nintendo 3DS and the problems facing social games.] Member Blogs can be maintained by any registered Gamasutra user, while invitation-only Expert Blogs -- also highlighted weekly -- are written by selected development professionals. We hope that our blog sections can provide useful and interesting viewpoints on our industry. For more information, check out the official posting guidelines. Here are the top member blogs for the week: This Week's Standout Member Blogs - My Cranky Grampa Complaints About The Nintendo 3DS (Daniel Thomas MacInnes) Daniel Thomas MacInnes expresses his concerns about the Nintendo 3DS, pointing out several flaws that could significantly harm the platform down the line. - Holy Moly Dragons Postmortem (Adam Reilly) Looking back on his own iOS title Holy Moly Dragons, Adam Reilly looks at the successes and failures the team experienced while developing this 3D tower defense game. - The Problem With Shepard (Joseph Cassano) Joseph Cassano examines the problems facing protagonists like Mass Effect's Commander Shepard, arguing that characters that serve as empty vessels strip away opportunities for character development. - Social Games & Gamification: The McDonaldization Of Gaming? (Jim Cummings) Looking at some general criticisms of social games and gamification, Jim Cummings suggests many social games might not be any good for us, and sacrifice quality in favor sheer financial success. - What Really Worries Game Designers: Game Design Driven By Psychological Theory And Behavioral Quantification (Travis Ross) Travis Ross focuses on the current state of social games, noting that unless these titles begin to evolve, the social space could eventually suffer from a tragedy of the commons.