Gamasutra Member Blogs: From Dying Genres To That Violent Game Law

Author: by Staff

In highlights from Gamasutra's Member Blogs, our bloggers write about dying genres, important lessons in gaming history and the recently re-introduced California violent game law. Member Blogs can be maintained by any registered Gamasutra user, while invitation-only Expert Blogs -- also highlighted weekly -- are written by selected development professionals. Our favorite blog post of the week will earn its author a lifetime subscription to Gamasutra's sister publication, Game Developer magazine. (All magazine recipients outside of the United States or Canada will receive lifetime electronic subscriptions.) 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 - The Demise Of A Genre (Isaiah Taylor) Member blogger Isaiah Taylor has an interesting theory on "dead" genres. He writes: "The gaming community eventually tired of the Mega Mans, the Gradiuses and even the Street Fighters. In this article, I take a look at the most popular genre, first-person and third-person shooters and question if this genre is next." For his effort, Isaiah will receive a lifetime subscription to Gamasutra sister publication Game Developer magazine. - Serious War Games: Serious as Life and Death (Shava Nerad) "If we want serious games, maybe more of them should be about war," writes Shava Nerad. "Something more directly related to real life than StarCraft II. Context." - Looking Back To Look Forward (Xander Markham) "Gaming is still in its infancy as a medium and as the possibilities of the wide world open up before the eyes of its developers and its players, new perspectives can be gained on the challenges and possibilities of the future by looking back at the past," says Xander Markham. - Will the Attempts at Game Legislation Stop? (EphriamKnight) "With the Supreme Court's recent decision to review the California law, what will happen if they strike it down as unconstitutional?" asks Ephriam Knight. "Will this end all attempts at game regulation?" Probably not. - RMT/no RMT: Do We Need a New Bartle Test? (Shava Nerad) In another post from Shava Nerad, she examines the implications recent success of new paid virtual items in World of Warcraft.