Gamasutra Member Blogs: From Distribution Models To Zynga Criticism

In highlights from Gamasutra's Member Blogs, our bloggers write about diverse topics, including distribution models for indie games, the importance of cutscenes, and criticisms of social game company Zynga. 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 - Indies And Digital Distribution Markets (Jason Clark) Independent developers often need to consider which platforms and distribution services they wish to use to release their game; often that decision can make or break a game's financial success. Jason Clark offers several factors for indie developers to keep in mind when choosing a distribution model. - Level Design Lesson 10: Spawn Perspectives (Raymond Benefield) In his continuing series on level design, Raymond Benefield discusses the importance of controlling a player's perspective as they spawn, and how that can influence a player's actions. - Patience Is A Virtue (Joseph Cassano) While cutscenes may limit interactivity and remove a player's agency from a game, Joseph Cassano argues that at times, cutscenes are preferable to interactive scenes when they benefit storytelling. - Throw The Hardcore A Bone, Not Just Your Table Scraps (John Mawhorter) Frustrated by the simplicity of casual and portable games, John Mawhorter argues that even casual games should make an effort to include features to appeal to a broader audience. - Criticism != Elitism, Culture != Metrics, Gamers == All Grown Up. (Slade Villena) Slade Villena offers a response to Nicholas Lovell's recent Gamasutra bog post, providing his thoughts on elitism, criticism, and attitudes toward Zynga.