James_Portnow's blog

A Season of Hope

The Child's Play charity dinner made me especially proud to be part of this industry.

December 17, 2008

The Ethics of Persuasive Games

The question before us today is “Should games persuade?”

November 16, 2008

As in-game character models become more photo-realistic, their 'artificialness becomes more obvious'. James Portnow explores the phenomenon known as "The Uncanny Valley", with a mini-video documentary.

November 04, 2008

Meaningful Play Roundup

October 13, 2008

The Power of Tangential Learning

In a combined video and text keynote, James Portnow presents a variety of cheap and free ways for games to fulfill the role of teacher.

September 10, 2008

Top 5 SIGGRAPH Predictions for Real Time Rendering

Game Designer Lost in a Graphics Engineer's World:

August 18, 2008

Dastardly Developer's Diary - SIGGRAPH

Developer James Portnow enjoys the wild side of convention life.

August 18, 2008

Design Challenge, a Dead Hard Drive, iPhone Games and other Tribulations

Dear Reader,

August 10, 2008

iPhone Games - Design Challenge #4

Divide By Zero's James Portnow wants you to propose an iPhone game to win a subscription to Edge magazine.

July 23, 2008

Today's News

PlayStation Platforms Dominate In Japan

PSP and PS3 lead weekly hardware sales, while Sega’s latest J-League Soccer title heads the software chart.
GameStop Acquires Jolt Online Gaming

Leading US games retailer reportedly purchases a majority stake in publisher of free-to-play browser titles.
Class Action Lawsuit Over Xbox Live Bans

Law firm alleges that Microsoft's recent wave of Xbox Live bans “has resulted in a great deal of collateral damage”.

Recent Features

MIGS: Only Fun and Games?

Brenda Braithwaite and Randy Smith discuss the potential in making games that aren't necessarily fun to play.
Learning Vehicle

Code Of Everand aims to turn tired government policy points into engrossing play. We speak to developer Area/Code to find out how.
MIGS: Every Click Counts

Street Fighter remixer David Sirlin shows how enforcing needless effort on players means they play the interface, not the game.

Keynotes

Survival Of The Fittest

Modern Warfare 2 didn’t muddle its morals: the game has no morals, and that’s exactly the way we like it, argues Chris Dahlen.
Jacks Of Both Trades

If games and movies don't develop some mutual respect, all we can expect are films that are really bad action games and games that are really bad films, says Steven Poole.
The Mecca Of Videogames

Chris Dahlen is lucky to live just an hour from the world’s greatest classic arcade, Funspot - so lucky that he takes it for granted.

From Edge Magazine

Time Extend: Radiant Silvergun

It should have started a revolution, but Radiant Silvergun became famous instead for its price. One of gaming's greatest injustices?
A Brave New World

How do you innovate in the post-Wikipedia era? How about by creating a virtual world built from geographical data of the real world?
Time Extend: The Mark Of Kri

It was touted for its combat system, but SCE San Diego's team of ex-Disney animators really focused on movement rather than mechanics.
The Making Of: Tapper

Looking for a game to play in a bar, two coders hit upon an apt concept: beer. And a legend was born.
Review: Forza 3

It's the driving game that makes you feel nothing other than fabulous. Just where can the genre go from here?