[Game Design]

 
This is a list of some of the posts and interviews I have done relating to gaming, and in particular, MMO design. Hopefully the categories and summaries below help you find what you are looking for...
 
Start Making Games
 
As a veteran designer I get asked 'How do I start making games?' all the time. So much so in fact that I made a web-site to answer the question!You can find it at startmakinggames.com 
 
The site is a free resource aimed at folks wanting to start out in game development.
 
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Older Posts

Direct links to some of my older ramblings on game development. No promises on how well any of the below has aged! Might still be some useful musings in there.

Getting started in Game Design

Let's get you started in Game Design - Resources for starting out.
Putting Your Best Foot Forward - Want to be a Game Designer? Have a portfolio!
Ten books that aren't about game design - That every game designer should read!

General Game Design Musings

Ten tips to staying sane as a designer - How to avoid going nuts ...
Bowie, Bookstores, and Echo Chambers - Broadening your design perspectives.
The Anecdote of the Darwin fence - A story from Anarchy Online illustrates some of the challenges of MMO design
Playing alone in a multiplayer world - How do MMOs handle those who want to play alone?
The Contradictions of Class balance Part 1 - Do players and developers mean the same thing when they say 'balance'?
The Contradictions of Class balance Part 2 - What is balance anyway?
Desires and Compromises 1 - The game play generation gap
Desires and Compromises 2 - How do we want to evolve?
The Difficulty Conundrum - The challenges of introducing challenge in an MMO...
The numbers game (part 1) - What do numbers mean in todays market?
The numbers game (part 2) - Do the numbers really matter?
It's not you, it's me - A few thoughts on our relationships with MMOs
If you teach a man to fish - Some thoughts of player generated content...

Player versus Player design

Conquest versus Competition - What motivates players to fight?
Why we Fight - Some observations on the challenges of PVP content in MMOs

Storytelling, and creating worlds

The Back Story Alternative - Why creating a world is important.
The Lupine Monkey God Experiment - What happens when you engage in some meta-gaming in a facebook game?
Let me tell you a story - Some observations on how we look at MMOs in terms of storytelling
The Black and White of Storytelling - Consequences and storytelling
Political Correctness and Storytelling - How much should outside influences be allowed to effect gameplay?
The Progression Conundrum - How progression can and can't conflict with storytelling

Games as Art

Straight Thinking - An article on gamasutra from Michael Samyn of Tales of Tales sparks some thoughts...
Games as an art form - Some observations on games as art

Games and Online Community

How to feed your trolls and Influence people - My lecture from MIGS 2012 on managing community feedback
Why so serious? - Understanding the factors that can contribute to the waves of negativity out there...
You aren't the center of the universe - How can we better interact with our communities...
Did I say too much? - What can and can't we say as developers these days?
How do you like your information? - What do players prefer when it comes to information flow from developers?
Dealing with that Aggression - what irks you about aggressive communities?

Working in Gaming

From ideas to implementation - How do ideas move from concept to production?
Why do we do it? - Some insight into what a designer gets out of all this...
Heart and Soul - Some Observations on what it means to put a little bit of yourself into games
How do I get to work in Games? - ...the oft asked question about how to get started in the gaming industry
So what exactly do you do? - Me, and what an executive producer, Game Director or whatever it is they call me at the moment actually does...