Updates


11.01.05
I've uploaded the Team Member Review Form. You are all responsible for printing out this form for each of your team members. Complete the form either on the computer or by hand (you can edit this document in any word processor). If you do not fill out and hand in your set of forms, you will receive a 1 point deduction in your personal grade for this project.

Mike Kolb thinks you should read this. It's a rant against the "casual gamer" and current marketing trends to "dumb down" FPS games for a broader audience. Across the board, that's probably true, although there is no reason "hardcore" gaming should be a more dominant niche than, say, "art" gaming. It's really another kind of alternative to the mainstream experience, but just happens to have dominated the PC game market in the past 10 years. As the market matures and grows, a smaller percentage of games classify as "hardcore" -- or, as I mean it, difficult and of a particular aesthetic. (Oh, and just for the record, this isn't exactly an academic essay and shouldn't be used as a model piece of writing.)

09.20.05
Thank Sean Janis for reminding me that Game Commercials Live will be showing off all the latest, greatest and ain't-even-out-yets from a select handfull of companies (but some big ones: EA, Rockstar, everone-loves-THQ). That's happening tomorrow (Wed, 9.21) in the Student Union. And I updated the schedule and pushed back a couple things. Doublecheck dates on the In-Progress for Game Mod and the Culture Critical Pres..

09.15.05
I just caught this article on Games.net: 5 Ways to Save Games. I have to say, I think these are five really great points. What do you think?.

09.14.05
I have finally updated the Schedule to reflect that Rosh Hashana is on October 3/4, and class will be cancelled on October 4th. We're officially behind on reading. We will continue discussing until we're done, and we'll try to pick up some speed somewhere along the way. So keep reading; try to keep up with the set schedule and then you'll be ahead of us and always caught up.

Also, thanks to Mike Kolb, who sent this link to a GameSpy Forums discussion about the future of the games industry, commercial influences, and indy game dev. Some interesting points of view expressed here, and it's sometimes really enlightening to listen to gamers -- after all, the game needs the player to go. And if you haven't been reading The Escapist (the magazine mentioned in the first post of the thread), then you really should.

Oh, and Graaaagh!

09.10.05
I've added some more links to the resources page. Under the general Videogames category, at the end of the list, are some good resources for discovering indie games. I think these games often have some of the most exciting new gameplay and graphics techiniques, and are generally free, which helps a lot, too. And I added a couple of resources for game development at the end of the Game Development list.

09.05.05
I've added a couple of links that might be interesting. One is to a free development utility called Adventure Game Studio. AGS allows you to make point-and-click games with a variety of graphic styles (even 2D photos) and was used to create Soviet Unterzögersdorf , a new art game that satirizes a fictional contemporary CCCP holdout. You can check out the game at the link and download it for free. AGS-created games can be played on Windows, Mac and Linux.

Also, I've added a link to a page that might give you some insight on your board game. Invisible City Productions provides a place for users to post PDFs of game boards and rules. There are some cool games here, like Zombie Rancher.

08.25.05
This is the course website for DMS 315: Videogame Design. Be sure to doublecheck your preferred email address in your myUB interface. I'll be using these email addresses to communicate with you all semester.