Gamasutra Expert Blogs: From Tribes To Darknet

[In highlights from Gamasutra's Expert Blogs, industry notables write about diverse topics, including making games for "specific passionate tribe", Dark Energy's in-game dev feedback system, 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 Thinking In Tribes: Creating A Top Grossing Mobile Game Without Mass Downloads (Joey Lapegna ) XMG's Joey Lapegna says you don't need to be in the top 50 downloads on the App Store to have a top grossing game. Nor, do you need to only monetize on the addictions of children to survive. You can focus on making games for a specific passionate tribe. A Status Effect Stacking Algorithm (Lars Doucet) Lars Doucet presents a technique for mixing status effects together in a hybrid RPG/Tower Defense game, and weighs the various technical and design considerations that come into play. Darknet - In-Game Player Feedback For The Net Generation (Robert Hewson) Ahead of the PSN launch of Hydrophobia Prophecy this week, which includes the debut of Dark Energy's in-game dev feedback system called Darknet, Robert Hewson shares a bit of the thinking behind it and some of the surprising results he's had so far. How to Get Media Coverage for Your Game (Tom Ohle) Evolve PR's Tom Ohle offers a bit of insight into how you should go about getting media coverage for your video game, with a bunch of real, useful tips from the people who will actually cover your games -- the media!