Gamasutra Expert Blogs: Engine Specifics, DS Game Insights

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 official posting guidelines. This Week's Standout Expert Blogs The Engine Survey: Technology Results (Mark DeLoura) Continuing the release of his impressive and exhaustive data about developers and game engine solutions, Mark DeLoura delves into concerns about licensed engines, important engine capabilities, crucial tools, and why developers say they would rather use an in-house engine if they could -- another must-read. Five Years, 20 Lessons, 20 DS Games (J.C. Connors) Everyone making a Nintendo DS game will want to read this excellent compilation of mini-postmortems from Griptonite Games studio head J.C. Connors -- and, for that matter, so will anyone making a game for pretty much any platform, because nearly all of the lessons learned can be applied to development at any scale. (Griptonite's Spore Creatures is pictured above.) Cross-Platform Development For A Single Platform Game? (Glenn Corpes) In his ongoing progress blog about his upcoming iPhone game, longtime programmer Glenn Corpes, a Bullfrog veteran, thinks back to his time developing Populous to explain why simultaneous multiplatform development can pay dividends in knowledge beyond simply reaching a broader audience. How To Replace Levels In MMOs, Part 2 (Brian "Psychochild" Green) In his previous Gamasutra Blogs post, MMO consultant and Meridian 59 lead engineer Brian Green proposed eliminating character levels from MMOs -- and in his followup post, he delves into what's wrong (and right) with levels, and points to some design routes that have mitigated their negatives. Class Acts: Getting Girl Scouts in the Game! (Stephen Jacobs) Compared to their male counterparts, young girls tend to be less often courted by the game industry. Here, RIT associate professor (and father of a Girl Scout) Stephen Jacobs recounts a Girl Scout badge program he designed to expose girls to game mechanics and design, with the help of some of his female students as well as some notable game industry women.