High Scores And Egos: There's Always A Bigger Doodle 
The Last Moments Of GAME 
How Bad User Interfaces Are Ruining Video Games And Other Wonderful Things 
She Tried To Make Good Video Games For Girls, Whatever That Meant 
The Story Of Doodle Jump: Brotherly Love And Digital Snacks 
Sunday Comics: Dead Island 
At the end of 2011, seven game developers from six different studios sat together to record a podcast. The theme they were given was the top tips for game development, and over the course of the recording they pooled together their experience to come up with 26 pieces of advice that every developer should at least consider. I realised that there was a wealth of knowledge being shared, and that someone should write it down in an article. This is that article.
At the two developers I’ve worked for, there’s always been a strong demand for talented programmers. You honestly can’t get enough of them. It looks like NSW’s educational facilities have recognised the growing need for developers and has realigned a number of courses to be more in tune with the current state of the interactive industry. Namely, iPhone and Android app development.
Gaming’s reached a turning point. Western games have more realistic graphics and physics than Japanese games. This isn’t good or bad. It’s true.
Speaking last night at The Art History of Games symposium in Atlanta, Doom developer John Romero talked about the “masters” the game industry should look to for help creating games today. Which industry figures could make Romero their bitch?
According to the third annual Game Developer Census, game industry employment in North America has risen slightly in 2009, due in part to new Canadian studios and a rise in social and online gaming developers.
The ESA Foundation, representing the charitable arm of the games industry, has announced that they will be making 30 scholarships available this year to aspiring female and minority game developers.
Gamasutra has an interesting look at the issue of casual portal exclusives and how such exclusives may be hurting the casual games industry — and pulling developers into a no-win fray. Russell Carroll compares the digital milieu to regular retail establishments: “I can’t imagine having to go to Target to get EA games and to Wal-Mart to get Activision games”, and notes that this could be a good thing if it winds up being a Pepsi/Coke type thing (which, frankly, I can’t quite imagine, since beverages and games are just slightly different animals). And what of the poor developers?:
Over at the Escapist, they’re taking a look at the future of gaming — Hal Halpin, president of the Entertainment Consumers Association, looks at a number of ‘maybe, maybe not’ predictions with his own take. Ranging from the mundane (‘Game prices will go down!’) to the political (‘Things will get better once gamers become politicians!’) to the industry-focused (‘Publishing structure is stuck in a rut and won’t change!’). It’s a fun read with some good points on the present and future directions of the gaming industry. On the publishing structure, Halpin has this to say:
