Gamasutra Expert Blogs: From GDC Reflections To A Geek's Life

Author: by Staff

In highlights from Gamasutra's Expert Blogs, industry notables share their experiences at last week's GDC, examine game balancing, and share one geek's journey through life. 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. In this latest round-up, industry notables share their experiences at last week's GDC, examine game balancing, and share one geek's journey through life. Here are the top blogs for the week: This Week's Standout Expert Blogs - GDC: The Fantasy of Control Part VI - The Sound of Music (Matthew Burns) Expert blogger and Game Developer columnist Matthew Burns offers up "A series of daily scene reports from GDC 2010 in and around the Moscone Center, San Francisco. Part VI: A parade and Trauma." Check out more GDC reports from Burns here. - Three Rules to Balance By (Tyler Sigman) Big Sandwich Games design director Tyler Sigman says, "Game balancing and tuning are some of the most difficult parts of game design. Thankfully (for me anyway), they are also some of the most enjoyable and rewarding parts. I consistently rely on three rules to help me navigate the minefields." - Zynga: The Future, Or Just A Bit Of It? (David Hayward) "Zynga is not a threat to traditional video game development, but it is most definitely a threat to developers' sense of identity," says Pixel-Lab's David Hayward. - A Game Geek's Journey (Timothy Ryan) Game designer Timothy Ryan writes about "Reflections on the last twenty years of dreaming big and overcoming adversity." It's a nice inside look into one geek's journey. - Social is the Platform: A Designer's Perspective (Joshua Dallman) Video game producer and designer Joshua Dallman writes up "A discussion on the design shift required to move from traditional thinking about new platforms to the new platform of social games." He reminds social game developers that "the true platform is the intangible social and psychological landscape of your real-life-connected players and their friends."