Gamasutra Expert Blogs: From Outsourcing To Visionaries

[In highlights from Gamasutra's Expert Blogs, industry notables write about diverse topics, including a gentleman's guide to outsourcing, the iOS clone market, what makes a good visionary on a game project, and the rising cost of free-to-play.] 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 The Proposal: A Gentleman's Guide To Outsourcing (Paul Culp) An outsourcing manager's value is in their ability to assemble the right people, team, or studio to get the job done. Paul Culp says this requires developing relationships based on mutual trust and respect, beginning with the very first email. Fishing, The iOS Clone Market, And Patent/Copyright (Andy Schatz) Pocketwatch Games' Andy Schatz (Monaco) argues that game design should be covered by copyright law, not patent law. The recent controversy over Vlambeer's Flash game Radical Fishing and Gamenauts' iOS release Ninja Fishing illustrates why. What Makes A Good 'Visionary'? (Clinton Keith) There is a lot of talk about the visionary for a game, the person who creates and guide the vision through development. Clinton Keith examines who is the visionary on a game project, and what do they need to do to make their vision come to life?