I’ve done this rant live to various people, but I thought it was time to write it down. First of all: I like Unity3D. I sincerely think Unity3D existing makes the games industry a better place. But, basically, I don’t see how it can be used for efficient, professional game development, with teams of 6 [...]
Intelligent Artifice
Uncategorized —
Uncategorized posts about interactive entertainment and related topics
Category Archives: Uncategorized
The three most common techniques for telling stories in games
Mainstream games, or at least a significant subset that I’m too lazy to define here, make use of three big techniques to tell stories: Cut-scenes. Invisible boxes. Environmental storytelling. I think both game developers and players understand these techniques by now, and in fact I think players are getting tired of them. I know I [...]
A rant about games and how they’re perceived
Last night I had a discussion on Twitter with Luke Dicken about game definitions, and why they matter. It reminded me of some strongly-held views I’ve had for some time about attempts to place games in a larger context: art, society, culture, et cetera. I don’t care if games are a legitimate art form, medium [...]
Pushing ideas to different parts of your brain
A couple of months ago The New Yorker published a profile of Hilary Mantel by Larissa MacFarquhar. I found this paragraph particularly interesting: When she’s starting a new book, she needs to feel her way inside the characters, to know what it’s like to be them. There is a trick she uses sometimes, which another [...]
Game definitions and the designer’s toolbox
When you hear someone say “that’s not a game,” they usually mean “this is not what I was expecting from a game”. Game definitions are like tools. You need to get something done, so you open your toolbox, pick the right tool, and then use it. As a craftsman, you care about your tools, you [...]
Good food in Paris
Paris is a huge place that caters to a lot of different tastes, and there’s an entire industry listing the best places to eat. Here I am just going to list some places that I have personally been to or that I have heard good things about from people I trust, plus some resources to [...]
An interview with Harlan Ellison
There’s a great interview with Harlan Ellison at The Onion’s A.V. Club. I won’t try to explain why but I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I strive to be a bloviating asshole like Mr. Ellison.
Chef Owners Who Work The Line
First a dance video, now a cooking story? Yes. Here is Shuna Fish Lydon, in her own inimitable style, telling a story about a day at work, ten years ago, cooking at the French Laundry. Finally Eric says something that makes us all look up from our minute, detail oriented tasks. “You heard me, get [...]
Nice viral ad
I didn’t realize it was an ad until the end. Even if the ball is CG, it’s still cool. (Thanks, Cyberwoo!)
