Gamasutra Member Blogs: From Manifestos To Audio

In our weekly Best of Member Blogs column, we showcase notable pieces of writing from members of the game community who maintain Member Blogs on Gamasutra. 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. This Week's Standout Member Blogs - The Society of Professional Game Developers: Our Vision (James Cook) In a previous post, James Cook explained the reasoning behind his goal of creating a new association representing game developers, and in this new post, he lays out its founding principles. For his effort, James will receive a lifetime subscription to Gamasutra sister publication Game Developer magazine. - Games Don't Kill Tom Allins There remains little well-supported evidence that games create killers, and while Tom Allins doesn't claim otherwise, he does recount a recent experience that made him reconsider the kind of basic combat tactics games can indeed impart. - Game Audio Mistakes (Adam Bishop) The scope of game audio has increased tremendously over the decades, but as with most disciplines, the devil is in the details. Here, Adam Bishop focuses on a few key audio areas that are frequently found lacking. - Game Objectives vs. Social Behavior (Davneet Minhas) Behavior in online games is governed not just by the games' explicit rules and mechanics, but also by their emergent social dynamics. Drawing from firsthand experience in City of Heroes and City of Villains, Davneet Minhas explores the frequently fractious relationship between those two forces. - The First Annual Gold 45 Revolver/Ideas Have Consequences/Moral Premise Modding Contest! (Dr. Elliot McGucken) Game researcher, patent author, and commentator Elliot McGucken focuses on the potential of morally elevating games by way of classical artistic ideals. Here, he launches his first mod contest, challenging developers to implement the design methods and messages he espouses.