Gamasutra Expert Blogs: From Gamer Satisfaction To Genetic Algorithms

Author: by Staff

In highlights from Gamasutra's Expert Blogs, industry notables talk about satisfying the gamer, the downside of iteration and playing around with genetic algorithms. 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. Here are the top blogs for the week: This Week's Standout Expert Blogs - Satisfying the Player (Seth Sivak) Seth Sivak asks three simple but important questions about player satisfaction, and offers thoughtful answers. "I think the more we can understand what satisfies the player, the stronger our game experiences will become," he writes. - Downsides to Iteration (Adam Saltsman) Indie Adam Saltsman says that "iterating on a proven franchise is the safest way to design games." But there are drawbacks to that idea, which is "pervasive" in the commercial game industry, he says. - MMORPG: Luck or Grind? (Simon Ludgate) Simon Ludgate takes an in-depth look at MMORPGs of the Eastern and Western variety, drawing conclusions about Eastern games' use of luck and Western games' use of the grind. - The Consistency Of Game-Worlds (Radek Koncewicz) Radek Koncewicz takes "A quick look at the readability and predictability of videogame environments using Assassin's Creed and Uncharted 2 as examples." - Playing Around With Genetic Algorithms (Tyler Glaiel) Indie developer Tyler Glaiel "played around with some genetic algorithms today." See what he came up with.