Gamasutra Member Blogs: From Flawed Games To Why We Play

Author: by Staff

In highlights from Gamasutra's Member Blogs, our bloggers write about why we play games, cloud computing, bloody characters and why we often are so attracted to flawed games. 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 - Why am I playing? (Dan Felder) Dan Felder asks why we play games -- and says he has the answer. For his effort, Dan will receive a lifetime subscription to Gamasutra sister publication Game Developer magazine. - If You Prick Us, Do We Not Bleed? (Anjin Anhut) Anjin Anhut wants more game developers to add visual flair to their games by showing a bit more pain. Enough with the health bars -- show some blood, torn clothes and broken bones to indicate player damage. - Cloud Gaming (Daniel Siconnelli) In light of the introduction of services such as OnLive and Gaikai, Daniel Siconnelli examines the pros and cons of cloud computing. - Nothing Like the Sun: Why can't we help but love flawed games? (Xander Markham) Xander Markham has another blog post this week, now examining our love of flawed games like No More Heroes and Deadly Premonition. Why are many so attracted to these seemingly imperfect interactive experiences? - Structure or AI Director? (Alexander Kerezman) Alexander Kerezman examines meticulously structured gameplay versus gameplay driven by a dynamic AI director, such as in the Left 4 Dead series. There's a lot of praise for Valve's AI director, but there are certainly advantages to having more structured gameplay as well, he says.