Gamasutra Expert Blogs: From Assembly Lines To Monkeys

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 Creative Assembly Lines (Colin Anderson) Colin Anderson with Scotland-based Denki looks at successful production systems -- from Henry Ford's assembly line to extraordinary hit-making "factories" like Pixar -- in order to find important lessons that might be applicable to game development. Is a "Creative Assembly Line" feasible? Chatbots 102 – Postmortem (Bruce Wilcox) Bruce Wilcox writes up a fascinating and at times hilarious postmortem of the development of his chatterbot Suzette. For instance, when asked by a judge at the 2009 Chatterbox Awards, "What is the difference between chatbot and human?", a relatively young Suzette (she's evolved since then) replied: "A cooking style of Chinese cannibals." More great conversation and reflection within... Art Games (Tyler Glaiel) This is not a new entry in the games as art debate -- instead, Closure designer Tyler Glaiel accepts that certain games can carry weighty discussions revolving around symbolism and deeper meaning. But like other forms of art, not every piece brilliant, as he admits he has a "love-hate relationship with art games. ... It's good to see people trying though." A Simple View Of Game Story (Jeff Spock) Games writer Jeff Spock argues that the formula for story, in its most basic form, is relatively simple. So why do games so often screw up the story? Here, he examines some of the possible weak links. Of Monkeys And Shiny Things (Armando Marini) Armando Marini, creative director at Ubisoft Montreal reveals his rule of thumb for making game development choices: "Monkeys like shiny things." Who does he liken to monkeys? Gamers. Let him explain -- it's not as offensive as it sounds.