Gamasutra Member Blogs: From surviving layoffs to team-based mechanics

In highlights from Gamasutra's Member Blogs, our bloggers write about diverse topics, such as surviving layoff roulette in the game industry, designing multiplayer team-based mechanics, and more. Member Blogs can be maintained by any registered Gamasutra user, while invitation-only Expert Blogs -- also highlighted weekly -- are written by selected development professionals. We hope that our blog sections can provide useful and interesting viewpoints on our industry. For more information, check out the official posting guidelines. This Week's Standout Member Blogs Tips for surviving layoff roulette in the gaming industry (Nathan Schuett) It sure seems like there's been a surge in layoffs recently in the game industry. Having gone through it himself a few months back, Nathan Schuett jotted down some thoughts on how to approach the situation if it happens to you. Designing multiplayer team-based mechanics without adding frustration (Michael Parker) Michael Parker looks at why reliance on teammates can cause frustration if your game systems are badly designed, and offers some patterns to prevent this. When is it time for Quick Time? (Christopher Gile) In what situations do Quick Time Events work? Manipulating meshes in Unity 3D (Deniz Opal) Deniz Opal explains how the ability to amend the shape of a 3D object vertex by vertex gives us the power to dynamically change objects. Virtual Buttons Are Holding Mobile Games Back (Muir Freeland) Muir Freeland believes virtual buttons are holding mobile games back, and shares why.