Archive
Get your batmobile out of my peanut butter
I am still not very far in the new Batman game Arkham Knight but I fear my hate of vehicles in games that don’t require them is coming through. I would not mind if the Batmobile was an option for me to play with but it seems so forced into every fricken thing I am doing that I hate it. I just want to glide around Gotham and beat up bad guys while solving crimes. I don’t want to have to bring that stupid wanna be tank everywhere I go. The controls are not great and the feeling to me is they wanted a peanut butter and chocolate combination and instead I got peanut butter and poop. It reminds me of my hate of the Mako in Mass Effect and Driving in general in Watch Dogs.
Friday Friends Features: Fated
I have featured my old company Frima before but today I wanted to highlight one of their teams who are working on their VR game Fated. I got to see a sneak peak demo at GDC this year and it is already looking seriously cool. I know most of the team and they are seriously talented. I can’t wait to see the finished product but while we wait they have a great developers blog. I personally think it is one of the better developer blogs out there and a lot of people should take note when doing this themselves in the future. So go check it out here.
Best Practices From Leap Motion
With VR being a relatively new field of development. At least on a wide scale compared to other technology it is important to learn from the mistakes of others sooner than later. I highly recommend reading any and all best practices that are out there. Here is a link to Leap Motions Best Practices.
Back Again
Hello. If anyone is still out there I am back again. Been a busy year and a half working on mobile sports games, card battle games and match 3 games. I’m about to endeavor into one of my favorite spaces in technology and game design Virtual Reality (VR). Decided to dust off the blog and post about my discoveries and research on the subject. Still will post some on management and design but the primary focus going forward for a bit is VR. A lot of this will be for reference for myself but I hope what I find is helpful for you too.
New Adventure
After 3 years in Quebec City I have moved to a new company and a new country. Do to the new position and company I will probably be even more silent than I was before but you never know.
True to Design: What I’m Reading
Postmortem: State of Play’s Lume: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/181503/postmortem_state_of_plays_lume.php
The Making of Warcraft‘s Multiplayer: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/181339/the_making_of_warcrafts_.php
When Players Make The Rules: On Memes and the Meta-Game: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/181598/when_players_make_the_rules_on_.php
10 Questions and Answers for Managers about Praise: http://www.greatleadershipbydan.com/2012/11/10-questions-and-answers-for-managers.html
The 5 Perils of Leadership: http://www.greatleadershipbydan.com/2012/11/the-5-perils-of-leadership.html
Everything You’ll Ever Need To Know About Gamification: http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/17/everything-youll-ever-need-to-know-about-gamification/
Rebooting Lara: Rhianna Pratchett on Writing for Tomb Raide: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/181813/rebooting_lara_rhianna_pratchett_.php
How Can Gameplay Allow Players to Get Creative?: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/181915/how_can_gameplay_allow_players_to_.php
How to design a game economy: http://psychochild.org/?p=1179
What Do Investors Look for in a Game Developer?: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/182962/what_do_investors_look_for_in_a_.php
Three Ways to Behave Yourself to Better Leadership: http://eblingroup.com/2012/12/three-ways-to-behave-yourself-to-better-leadership.html
The Traits That Make RG III a Leader: http://eblingroup.com/2012/12/the-traits-that-make-rg-iii-a-leader.html
Supercell’s Secret Sauce: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/183064/supercells_secret_sauce.php
Suck at Coding, But Make Games Anyway: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/182860/suck_at_coding_but_make_games_.php
Free-to-Play: The Lost Generation: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/182777/freetoplay_the_lost_generation.php
Leadership Lessons from Yoga: The Benefits of Staying in the Room: http://eblingroup.com/2012/11/leadership-lessons-from-yoga-the-benefits-of-staying-in-the-room.html
From Torment to Eternity: Chris Avellone on RPGs: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/182612/from_torment_to_eternity_chris_.php
Leadership Lessons from Yoga: The Benefits of Staying in the Room:
http://eblingroup.com/2012/11/leadership-lessons-from-yoga-the-benefits-of-staying-in-the-room.html
Are You Managing Penguins or Polar Bears?: http://www.greatleadershipbydan.com/2012/12/are-you-managing-penguins-or-polar-bears.html
Seven Habits of Highly Effective Programmers: http://gamasutra.com/blogs/PhilChu/20121212/183405/Seven_Habits_of_Highly_Effective_Programmers.php
True to Design: What I’m Reading
How One Studio Saved Itself From the Downturn: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/180212/how_one_studio_saved_itself_from_.php
The Evolution of Puzzle Craft: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/180102/the_evolution_of_puzzle_craft.php
EVE Online and the meaning of ‘sandbox’: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/179811/EVE_Online_and_the_meaning_of_sandbox.php#.UI5xJlFKcXI
Postmortem: 5 lessons learned making Diamond Dash mobile: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/179824/Postmortem_5_lessons_learned_making_Diamond_Dash_mobile.php#.UI52vFFKcXI
Shifting your Leadership as your Company Outgrows the Start-up Phase: http://www.greatleadershipbydan.com/2012/10/shifting-your-leadership-as-your.html
What Would Geralt Do? Witcher 2‘s Approach to Choice and Decision: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/180342/what_would_geralt_do_witcher_2s_.php
An Assassin’s Revolution: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/180412/an_assassins_revolution.php
Five Things Leaders Can Learn from Mayor Bloomberg About Crisis Communications: http://eblingroup.com/2012/10/five-things-leaders-can-learn-from-mayor-bloomberg-about-crisis-communications.html
Postmortem: Humble Hearts’ Dust: An Elysian Tail: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/180520/postmortem_humble_hearts_dust_.php
How to Design Your iOS Game to Grow: Learning from the Style of Tiger Style: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/180671/how_to_design_your_ios_game_to_.php
The Tightrope Walk: Hitman Absolution, Freedom, and Realism: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/180778/the_tightrope_walk_hitman_.php
5 Big Ideas: What’s Next for Leadership Development?: http://www.greatleadershipbydan.com/2012/11/5-big-ideas-whats-next-for-leadership.html
6 rules for writing F2P messaging your players will actually read: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/180760/6_rules_for_writing_F2P_messaging_your_players_will_actually_read.php#.UJPpHlEiAXI
The End of the Journey: One Indie Studio’s Tale: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/180933/the_end_of_the_journey_one_indie_.php
The Tip of the Iceberg: Storytelling and Reactive Design in Canabalt and Capsule: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/180850/the_tip_of_the_iceberg_.php
Q&A: Tenchu developer talks stealth, now that it’s back in fashion: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/179718/QA_Tenchu_developer_talks_stealth_now_that_its_back_in_fashion.php#.UJmDKVEiAXI
Is Game Music All It Can Be?: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/181003/is_game_music_all_it_can_be.php
Game Developer magazine’s Power 50: Design: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/180512/Game_Developer_magazines_Power_50_Design.php#.UJqkoVEiAXI
The Walking Dead, Mirror Neurons, and Empathy: http://www.psychologyofgames.com/2012/11/the-walking-dead-mirror-neurons-and-empathy/
Guest post: How much does the #1 game on the iOS store earn in a day? $199k (I think): http://www.insidesocialgames.com/2012/11/07/guest-post-how-much-does-the-1-game-on-the-ios-store-earn-in-a-day-199k-i-think/
Strategies for Answering Your Customers’ Toughest Questions:
Simplifying Leadership with the 3C Disciplines:
http://www.greatleadershipbydan.com/2012/11/simplifying-leadership-with-3c.html
Why Middle Managers Need to “Fire” Themselves as Supervisors: http://www.greatleadershipbydan.com/2012/11/why-middle-managers-need-to-fire.html
Postmortem: Sony Bend Studio’s Uncharted: Golden Abyss: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/181082/postmortem_sony_bend_studios_.php
