KEYNOTES

The Gamer's Bill of Rights

Brad Wardell — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 02:55:39 +0100

Just like humanity in general, PC gamers are entitled to basic liberties: freedom to return computer games that don't work (for a full refund); minimum requirements that are actually accurate; to not be treated as a criminal by game companies, and so forth.

Today's Opinion and Links

Colin Campbell — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 20:53:00 +0000

Games journalists who write about the allegedly woeful state of games journalism, in my view, fall into three personality types:

1) I pretty much invented games journalism dontcha know. Here - look at my Jovian talent and how much more wonderful I am than everyone else.
2) I am a nasty little shit-bag with a grudge against a world that has failed to recognize that I exist.
3) My competitors are taking readers away from me for fun, and so snide, inaccurate editorials are my only recourse to vengeance.

Overlord II: The Best Sex Scene of the Year

Chris Dahlen — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 12:29:10 +0100

I’m torn as to whether sex belongs in games. I’ve followed the debate for years, between the folks who feel that sexuality proves maturity – that if games can show relations between consenting adults, we can finally call them “art” – and the folks who think games can’t handle it, because they don’t understand relationships and they can’t capture nuance and anyway, kids play these things, so we should all keep our pants on. Set aside the theory, and in practice, you can see that games are conflicted.

Gabe Newell Writes for Edge

Gabe Newell — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 14:01:00 +0000

Left4Dead released this week, and I’m extremely pleased with the reception so far.

We set out to create a first-person four-player game in which the action changes each time it’s played. We wanted to use procedural narrative to simulate stories because, in a multiplayer environment like this, we felt a more linear, scripted approach would not deliver in the same way.

5 Cardinal Sins of Official Game Sites

Owen Davis — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 00:42:36 +0000

Owen Davis is the President of Evolution Research.

I, like many other gamers, am turned-off by official game product sites and avoid them at all costs. Out of frustration I frequently resort to mainstream game information sites to get my fix of game updates, trailers, and screenshots. The reason for this is simple: many official game sites just aren't any good.

The Most Boring Game of the Year

Chris Dahlen — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:54:26 +0000

Playing Demon’s Souls makes me a boring person.

I've been playing the game. A lot. And I love it. A lot. The other night I spent hours with it, and in those hours, all I did was farm the same sections again and again, futz around with my gear, gain a few soul levels, and kill one Vanguard demon - and I killed him by shooting about fifty arrows into his forehead while he just stood there scratching himself.

Emil Pagliarulo Writes for Edge

Emil Pagliarulo — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 16:30:00 +0000

At Bethesda, Emil Pagliarulo has worked on Morrowind and Oblivion and is now lead designer on Fallout 3. Before working at Bethesda, he was a designer on the Thief series, and worked at Looking Glass and Ion Storm Austin.

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I often struggle with whether or not we as game developers should have a heightened sense of social responsibility when creating entertainment.

The Power of Tangential Learning

James_Portnow — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 22:21:39 +0100

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Examining PS3’s Value Message

Kris Graft — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 00:18:03 +0000
Sony fired the latest salvo in the console war last week with a chart that spelled out, from Sony’s perspective, the value of the three current videogame consoles.

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The Killzone Effect

Alex Walker — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 03:10:40 +0000

This article is a reader-submitted blog.

EDGE has come in for a rough ride these last few days. The Killzone 2 review (or more accurately score) has shaken the internet to its very core. Among the accusations has been that EDGE is biased against the PlayStation 3, awarding games on that console significantly lower marks than those over the road on the Xbox 360. So the question is, is this the case?
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Herman Miller: Winross Truck Trailer

SUDA51 — Thu, 07 May 2009 01:20:57 +0100

I love Herman Miller's chairs.
We use many of their products here in the Grasshopper office.
People from Herman Miller Japan heard about this and sent us this novelty.
Well, I took this blog picture with a toy on my chair.
This chair is an Embody Chair, a new product from Herman Miller.
It's a replacement for the Aeron Chair I used to use, and is very
comfortable.

My Belief in the PlayStation 3 Advantage

Scott Steinberg — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 09:15:43 +0100
PlayStation 3 offers a value proposition that’s second-to-none. This is the message that we’re taking out to consumers; we’re talking about blockbuster games, creative independent games, downloadable movies, music, photos and Blu-ray.

Blu-ray and Downloadables

When I talk about choice, this is what I mean. We offer both Blu-ray and a way to consume content without a disk.
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Loving, Hating Videogames

Steven Poole — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 02:23:46 +0100

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Comic Taste Figure Doraemon: Don't Worry, Doraemon

SUDA51 — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 07:23:15 +0100

"Doreamon" is so famous that you'd be hard pressed to find a single Japanese person who hasn't heard of it. It's the story of a clumsy kid named Nobita who fails at pretty much everything he tries to do and Doraemon, the cat-robot from the future who helps him out with an amazing assortment of handy tools.

This diorama shows Nobita reminiscing about Doraemon after he had returned to the future.(Sagaracci)

Why the "Age of Steam" May Not Last

Brad Wardell — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:14:57 +0000

Brad Wardell is CEO of PC game developer Stardock, which also recently launched the digital distribution platform, Impulse.

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I read with interest Edge's Age of Steam article. I must confess that I am surprised to see Edge, or anyone else for that matter, imply that Steam's early lead in digital distribution translates to permanent dominance.
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Greetings from SUDA51

SUDA51 — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 15:40:46 +0000

Hello, EDGE readers.
I'm SUDA51, from Grasshopper Manufacture.

Grasshopper Manufacture is a Japanese game developer.
This is our website:

http://www.grasshopper.co.jp/
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Six Students Who Shouldn't Develop Games

Richard Bartle — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:59:09 +0100
The way we work at Essex, we have a common first year for all students wanting to study one of: computer games, software engineering, artificial intelligence, networks, security and straight computer science. Right now it's this way partly because we want to give all of our students a solid grounding across the board, and partly as a form of insurance so that those students who like computers but are unsure as to which direction they want their career to go have an extra year to make their decision.

Here are some stereotypes of people I interview who don't make the cut:
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The Eye Of The Beholder

NGai Croal — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 12:18:24 +0100

One of the most overused words in the videogame writer’s lexicon is the word ‘realistic’. I’m as guilty of it as the next person, but I always feel slightly, um, guilty whenever I use it, especially in reference to graphics. Because even those titles which are widely seen as exemplars of game realism, be they Crysis or Mass Effect or Grand Theft Auto, are themselves stylised in some way. So what is it that we mean when we say that a game is realistic? Are we talking about verisimilitude? Detail? Atmosphere?

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A Few of My Least Favorite Things

Randy Smith — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 08:42:02 +0000
Randy Smith is a lead game designer at EA's LA studio. His current project is a collaboration with Steven Spielberg.
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Video: The Uncanny Valley

James_Portnow — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 08:17:22 +0000

The video above is a collaborative work between James Portnow and Daniel Floyd discussing the Uncanny Valley. It is based off an article by James Portnow, the full t
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