Jade Raymond: Caught In The Crossfire

From Angry Pixel:
After a tasteless comic of Jade Raymond surfaced online, it looks like the person who delivered one of this year's best games is caught in a controversy that has most gamers pointing their fingers at perverted gamers and UbiSoft. The Angry Pixel looks at the issue from Jade's perspective and how people can make stuff up just because they can.

My two cents: I'm not going to comment on the comic. Haven't seen it. Don't care to. I am going to comment on the idea that Jade Raymond is where she is because she's pretty not because she has talent. While I am sure that it doesn't hurt to have someone attractive representing your game to the media, Jade has a proven track record in game development. It bothers me because if she were a guy, gender wouldn't be an issue. It bothers me because from my own experience people tend to make assumptions based on appearances and because of that I feel like I have to work harder than anyone else. If I am the best at what I do, then no one can say that I am where I am because I am this that or the other thing. Everyone should say that I earned it.

read more | digg story

Will There Ever Be One Console To Rule Them All?

From Gamasutra:

Recently, there has been talk about the idea of a standardized game console platform -- whether this would be unified hardware specifications or development tools. The article is a discussion of the following questions:

• Do you think it's possible that the video games industry will create a standardized (development or hardware) platform in the future?
  
• How would independent developers not benefit in a market with a single gaming platform?
• Isn't PC gaming already the "one gaming platform" standard? Or is this analogy not quite right?

read more | digg story

Ten features should be embraced by game designers

A really great list of features that game designers shouldn't take for granted.

From Business Week:

Steve Krug argues in his book Don't Make Me Think! that a good program or product should let users accomplish their intended tasks as easily and directly as possible. The less time it takes a person to complete a desired task (even if only by a few seconds), the more satisfying it becomes. When that happens, people are more likely to use a product in greater frequency and return for more. So in the spirit of improved usability, here are ten standard features every videogame designer should embrace.

read more | digg story

The Original Gaming Bug: Centipede Creator Dona Bailey

In 1980, Atari had one single software engineer who was female. That woman, Dona Bailey -- whose only prior programming experience was assembly displays at General Motors -- created the classic arcade title Centipede, against enormous odds in a high-stakes environment in the infancy of the gaming industry. . . .

read more | digg story