Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Gaming Links

Lots of interesting links today.

There's an interesting analysis of the design elements of Dead Rising over at Gamasutra. Dead Rising is one of those games that is going to get elevated in stature with each passing year--as it should--and it will someday be recognized as a Hall of Fame game. It was unique and gripping and funny, and you can read about it here.

Andrew Borelli sent me a link to an in-depth profile of Dani Bunten, the designer of M.U.L.E. as well as Seven Cities of Gold (which, to this day, remains one of my favorite games). If you don't know anything about Dani Bunten as a pioneer in game design, it's a must-read, and if you do know about Dani Bunten, it's still a must-read. Find it here.

John Harwood sent me a link to a well-written and very funny Gal Civ II "war report." Written by Tom Francis, it's basically a journal of what's happened since he started a game using the "gigantic" galaxy option. It's terrific writing and highly entertaining, and you can read it here.

There's a new feature over at The Escapist titled "Next-Gen Storytelling." Yes, it's being written by Warren Spector, and yes, I've said that Deus Ex 2 was a crap game maybe a hundred (thousand) times, but he still has some thoughtful insights. It's a four-part series, and you can read part one here. Thanks to Rob for the link.

N'Gai Croal and Geoff Keighly have an interesting discussion about NPD numbers over at Croal's Level Up blog. They cover all the bases, and there are a few interesting disclosures as well. Read it here.

Finally, here's an article about a band using reprogrammed Guitar Hero controllers to function as real instruments. The programming work is an achievement in itself, and the guitar sounds fantastic. It's a CNET video, and you can watch it here. Thanks to Jonin for the link.

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