Gamasutra Expert Blogs: From Interactive Storytelling To Games As Painkillers

[In highlights from Gamasutra's Expert Blogs, industry notables write about diverse topics, including how games should integrate story elements, tips for working at home, and how games can help reduce physical pain.] 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 recently updated official posting guidelines. Here are the top blogs for the week: This Week's Standout Expert Blogs - Story Transplantation: Part 3 (Josh Foreman) In his continuing series on implementing story in games, Josh Foreman argues why games should trend away from cutscenes and instead find ways to directly involve the player in the narrative. - Interview: The Best Game History Book You’ll Ever Read? (Luis Levy) Here, Luis Levy interviews Tristan Donovan, author of Replay, to discuss Donovan's inspiration for the book and his process for creating a written account of video game history. - Working From Home As An Indie (Alistair Doulin) As an indie developer working from home, Alistair Doulin outlines the ways in which he establishes a defined boundary between working and relaxation. - Do Game Developers Need To Care About UBB? (Neil Gower) Hoping to warn developers about potential changes to Canada's Internet service infrastructure, Neil Gower discusses how usage-based billing could endanger digital distribution, cloud-based gaming, and more. - Game Design For Physical Pain Reduction: SnowWorld (Brice Morrison) Brice Morrison highlights SnowWorld, a game developed at the University of Washington Harborview Burn Centre that uses virtual reality goggles and calming visual stimuli to help reduce pain in patients by up to 50 percent.