Gamasutra Expert Blogs: From Minecraft to learning the hard way

In highlights from Gamasutra's Expert Blogs, industry notables write about diverse topics, including the concept of uncanny with Minecraft, lessons learned the hard way for a new developer, and more. In our weekly Best of Expert Blogs column, we showcase notable pieces of writing from members of the game development community who maintain Expert Blogs on Gamasutra. Member Blogs -- also highlighted weekly -- can be maintained by any registered Gamasutra user, while the invitation-only Expert Blogs are written by development professionals with a wealth of experience to share. We hope that both sections can provide useful and interesting viewpoints on our industry. For more information about the blogs, check out the latest official posting guidelines. Here are the top blogs for the week: This Week's Standout Expert Blogs Minecraft and the uncanny (Mike Langlois) Mike Langlois presents the first half of a two-part series on Minecraft and the concept of the uncanny. On being a "gameplay programmer" (Shay Pierce) Former Omgpop developer Shay Pierce describes the role of gameplay programmers as "creating mathematical structures that evoke emotion." Things we learned the hard way : #1 - #4 (Steve Fulton) Steve Fulton shares a series of cathartic cartoons he created as an outlet for his displeasure with the business fortunes of his new indie development house. Ludonarrative Dissonance in The Old Republic (Eric Schwarz) The Star Wars MMO has been through a rough patch, but Eric Schwarz says the divide between MMO gameplay and single-player story may have foretold its issues even months before its release. The Urge to Emerge (Kris Graft) Editor in chief Kris Graft examines Gamasutra's approach to emerging trends and markets.