Farmville is the future. Okay, Farmville is not the future. Farmville is filler. But entertainment that is mobile, social, augmented and can be consumed on the user’s schedule is the future. Most people just can’t justify sitting for X number of hours on their couch to play a game. The game has to fit the [...]
I will be on Strutta Live tomorrow at 4PM. I’ll be sitting down with Jordan Behan and Dustin Sacks. We’ll be talking about games, game development, iPhone development, and how to make all of this stuff as an independent studio. Me on a couch with a beer in hand. Watch it! I guarantee I will say something [...]
I will be teaching an iPhone Game Design course at BCIT this fall. The class starts on September 13th. I’m told there are still a few spots available. Here is the course description: This course focuses on developing games for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch. Emphasis will be placed on issues that are unique [...]
I am often asked what I mean when I use the term meaningful with regards to games. Most people consider games a distraction or a chance to turn their brains off at the end of the day. The word game has a negative connotation. Adults have hobbies and pastimes and play sports. Kids are supposed [...]
I don’t like the term gamer. It is a limited viewpoint of how a game is actually experienced. When I was young, the game console was usually connected to the second TV in the basement. I played Doom or Warcraft on the PC in the bedroom. Games were played between 10pm and 2am. It was [...]
DemoCampVancouver06 started with a moderated panel. Boris Mann moderated the panel with Dustin Sacks of SillySoft Games, Jamie Cheng of Klei Entertainment, and myself taking part. Definition of Terms The panel started with an introduction to terms such as independent game development and casual gaming. I don’t have a good definition for indie games. I [...]
March was a good month in terms of blogging. I was able to crank out 7 blog posts in March including a post with video. Look for more media rich content in the future. I’ll continue to focus on generating higher quality, unique, editorial and opinionated content. I’m focusing on adding more positivity to the [...]
Jamie’s recent blog post reminded me that I never got around to posting my notes from Josh Resnick’s talk on entrepreneurship. Jamie pointed to a great interview over at GameIndustry.biz. Friday was the last day of GDC. I was planning on going to David Jaffe’s keynote in the morning. However, Jaffe was a no-show. Lucky [...]
DemoCamp is an adhoc conference where anyone can pitch an idea for a presentation. The goal is to pitch your idea or demo and get solid, constructive feedback. DemoCamp attracts a diversity of people and as a result is a great networking event as well as a great place to take in new ideas. DemoCampVancouver06 [...]
Last week Apple released a BETA version of the iPhone Software Development Kit. They also announced the iPhone Apps Store. Users will be able to download applications through iTunes on their Mac or PC. Applications can also be downloaded directly from the iPhone or iPod Touch too. This essentially makes Apple the gatekeeper. There are [...]