Gamasutra expert blogs: From extreme storytelling to the perfect online store

[In highlights from Gamasutra's Expert Blogs, industry notables write about diverse topics, including the use of narrative mechanics, the perfect online store, game music's evolution, 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 Detail mechanics (Randy OConnor) Randy Oconnor argues that the moments that stick with us are often small game mechanics that expand and complement the system of a game world. Extreme storytelling: The use of narrative mechanics (Josh Bycer) Story and gameplay have always been at odds with each other. Josh Bycer says there has been a positive trend lately of games that have tried merging these concepts into something new. The Holy Grail of digital distribution (Lars Doucet) Steam is awesome but impossible to get on to. The App Store accepts everyone but is overcrowded. Is this a fundamental tradeoff or is there a solution? Lars Doucet imagines what the solution might be, if it ever arrives. Game music evolution (Alexander Brandon) Game music has gone through many stages in the last 30 years. We're at a crossroads now. Do we stagnate, or evolve? Alexander Brandon explores the many elements that make up what is now a vast and respected industry, and what it took to get there.