Gamasutra Member Blogs: From Creating Characters To JRPG Stagnation

[In highlights from Gamasutra's Member Blogs, our bloggers write about diverse topics, including how to create believable characters, gaming wishlists for the new decade, and why JRPGs need to diverge from their established tropes.] Member Blogs can be maintained by any registered Gamasutra user, while invitation-only Expert Blogs -- also highlighted weekly -- are written by selected development professionals. We hope that our blog sections can provide useful and interesting viewpoints on our industry. For more information, check out the official posting guidelines. Here are the top member blogs for the week: This Week's Standout Member Blogs - Dynamic Vs Static Rendering (David Maletz) Davis Maletz discusses the differences between dynamic and static rendering for simulating lighting in games, outlining the use of each for the future of game development. - Creating Compelling Characters (Shelly Warmuth) When it comes to creating fully realized characters, developers must ensure their creations posses defined motivations to maintain a sense of believability, though Shelly Warmuth argues these characteristics can also prevent certain audiences from sympathizing with complex protagonists. - Some Things We Want From The New Decade Of Gaming (Dylan Woodbury) With the new year upon us, Dylan Woodbury offers a list changes he hopes to see throughout the industry, such as an emphasis new character archetypes and more thematic maturity. - Measuring The Space (John Mawhorter) John Mawhorter analyzes how the first person shooter can be classified into many different subgenres, and suggests that by looking at established genres on a micro level, developers can more easily find opportunities to create new experiences. - Vagrant Story And Its Lessons For Uninspired JRPG Game Design (Kamruz M) Frustrated by the lack of evolution in modern JRPGs, Kamruz M suggests developers look at Vagrant Story for inspiration on how to break from the established genre tropes.