Gamasutra Member Blogs: From Piracy To StarCraft 101

In highlights from Gamasutra's Member Blogs, our bloggers write about diverse topics, including the effects of piracy on the industry, communal discovery in social games, and a college course on StarCraft. 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 - Why Piracy Will Never Die (Josh Bycer) Josh Bycer takes a look at piracy in the industry, discussing why people illegally download games, the effectiveness of DRM, and the effects of piracy on small developers. - Less Is More (Tim Keenan) Frustrated by unnecessary fetch quests and exhaustively long levels, Tim Keenan argues that developers should cut unnecessary sequences to make their games varied and interesting from start to finish. - Communal Discovery in Social Networking Games ( Dylan Woodbury ) Dylan Woodbury uses elements from Seth Priebatsch's TED panel to discuss the dynamics of social games that keep users coming back, and how communal discovery creates a sense of camaraderie among players. - Emotional Baggage ( Kimberly Unger) While horror games have a lot in common with horror films, Kimberly Unger argues that interactivity can lessen players' sense of fear, since games provide agency over the events that play out. - Interview: Nate Poling On His StarCraft-Themed College Class (Mark Tanjutco) Mark Tanjutco interviews University of Florida student Nate Polling, who teaches a course on the fundamentals of StarCraft, discussing how Polling broke down the fundamentals and theory of the game for students of any skill level.