Gamasutra Expert Blogs: From Mobile Mistakes To The Gameplay Groove

[In highlights from Gamasutra's Expert Blogs, industry notables write about diverse topics, including the PR mistakes in the mobile market, the importance of good transitions, and the significance of the "gameplay groove."] 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 - The 7 Deadly Sins Of PR For Mobile Games (Luis Levy) Luis Levy discusses the most common PR mistakes in the mobile app market, providing tips to help avoid these issues altogether. - The Effect Of Sequelitis On Interactive Narratives (Evan Jones) While sequels for narrative driven games make up a large part of the current market, their narrative structure often suffers when trying to tie stories to previous titles. Evan Jones examines this issue and lists several methods of dealing with story-driven sequels. - Smooth Transitions (Radek Koncewicz) In order to maintain a cohesive atmosphere and maintain a player's attention, a game must transition to new areas or gameplay styles in a smooth manner. Radek Koncewicz emphasizes the importance of good transitions and offers several examples of games that got it right. - Psychology Of Play, Social Games And Game Design (Michael Fergusson) Taking a psychological stance on approaching play and game design, Michael Fergusson outlines the variety of ways in which we play, and how they alter the way we experience games. - The Gameplay Groove (Matthew LoPresti) Matthew LoPresti explains the "gameplay groove," and how one's understanding of a game's rules and structure changes over time, and why developers must keep this in mind when designing game systems.