Gamasutra Expert Blogs: From Indie Viability To The Reasons We Play Games

In highlights from Gamasutra's Expert Blogs, industry notables write about diverse topics, including the viability of indie games, breaking into the industry, and the reasons why we play games in the first place. 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 - Indie Versus Goliath (Christopher Hazard) It’s easy to assume that indie games within tried and true genres will get overlooked when competing with their big-budget counterparts. Christopher Hazard, currently working on the indie RTS Achron, explains how indie games can stand out using an economic concept known as the Pareto frontier. - The Value Of Good Bots (Joshua McDonald) Joshua McDonald explains the importance of including well-crafted bots in multiplayer games in order to appeal to less hardcore players, or to enrich the experience by adding more options for players. - Let’s Make A Deal!
(Robert Madsen) Breaking into the industry can be a daunting task, but Robert Madsen outlines the three most common ways to start a career in game development, discussing the benefits and pitfalls of each path. - The Purpose Of A Game (Randy O’Connor) Questioning why we play games in the first place, Randy O’Connor examines what compels us to play the games we love, and why games should give players incentive not just to play to win, but to experience everything they have to offer.