Gamasutra Expert Blogs: From non-violent games to the producer dilemma

In highlights from Gamasutra's Expert Blogs, industry notables write about diverse topics, including the dilemma all producers face, and an invitation to dream up a non-violent game concept. 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 Let's try no violence (Nathan Fouts) What would you make, if your company's next game could have no physical violence in it? The producer dilemma (Samuel Rantaeskola) The constant hunt for short-term gains will prevent you from improving. Samuel Rantaeskola says it's important to find the balance between results and improvements -- the producer role is extremely tricky since results will almost always win over improvements. Xbox 360 Internet Explorer plays HTML5 games... but not flash (Steve Fulton) Steve Fulton asks, "With Flash absent, will HTML5 gaming thrive in the Xbox 360's new I.E. browser?" The skill divisions of combat-heavy game players (Ben Ruiz) There are three strata of gamers that play combat-heavy action games in distinct ways at specific skill levels. Ben Ruiz explains the nature of these divisions, why you want to please their members, and how to go about doing it. You won't be a good manager if can't let someone go (Greg Holsclaw) "Those were the direct words of someone I really respect, forcing me to confront a stalled project, and what it might take to get it back on track," says Greg Holsclaw. "My question to the game world, is this true?"