May 2011
9 posts
1 tag
A Six Part Analysis System for Games →
Tom Francis on what makes games good:
I hate the feeble attitude that games are too complex, too new, or too arty to quantify their appeal in specific or useful ways. Because it’s hurting our ability to understand them, to explain them to people who don’t get them, and to make them better.
I couldn’t agree more with this conclusion. The categories themselves are well considered and...
1 tag
Is Your Completionist Streak Killing the Artistic... →
Via: Critical Distance
In an interesting perspective on the still smoldering “Game as Art” debate, a seemingly new blog called The Gamesaver makes an interesting entry. The main point of the argument seems to be that a game cannot be both game and art at the same time. The key example the author uses is Uncharted 2, which uses a very well paced narrative to pull the player through...
1 tag
2001 Businessweek Article on Apple Retail Stores →
“They are the most secretive company I’ve ever done business with,” says one top retailer. “They should let the news leak out, to convince the world how exciting their stuff is. That’s how everyone else does it.” Maybe it’s time Steve Jobs stopped thinking quite so differently.
Happy Anniversary to Apple Retail Stores! If you enjoy a good laugh, this one’s for you. The hindsight...
1 tag
Tablets Are Not the New PC, Except When They Are →
Tim Bajarin:
Those making competitive tablets need to really understand this. If they create a tablet and position it as just another PC, they will not make any headway. On the other hand, if they embrace the fact that a tablet delivers a chameleon-like experience and serves as a front end to unified services, then they have a chance of competing with Apple.
An accurate assessment of the...
1 tag
Beating Apple at its Own Game →
Tim Bajarin at PCMag:
But if Apple is the gold standard for success in tablets, then trying to own as much of the hardware, software and services may be a key strategy needed by any competitor if they hope to challenge Apple. And it means doing things they are not used to or even comfortable doing, since it means controlling the cloud back-end, front-end, and the overall user experience.
...
1 tag
Do Scythians Dreamwalk of Pixellated Sheep?
Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP
Is it possible to be fully immersed in a world where all of the characters and locales are composed entirely of low-fi dots?
After only a few minutes of playing Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP, I was. Immediately upon entering the world of the game, a transportation occurs. Before installing this app immersion was the domain of big-budget...
1 tag
If Macs Were Like Cars →
Ben Brooks:
MacBook Air 13″: Mid-sized Sedan all the way. It’s the car that most of us should be driving instead of the SUV that we convinced ourselves that we needed. You get all the power you need for most everyday life driving around, enough room to comfortably fit four when needed and yet a perfect size for taking into the city and parking anywhere. You can haul groceries, golf clubs, or...
1 tag
What Are The Odds?
A simple trip to Staples for a refill on an ink cartridge was the reason I left the house. Who knew that such perfect situation would fall right into my lap. As I approached the automatic doors, I smiled to myself at the posters hanging from the windows at the front of the building.
“New Tablets Are Here!” they crowed triumphantly. Thinking to myself that it might be an interesting...
1 tag
iCloud.com →
Via John Gruber:
John Paczkowski gets confirmation from “sources in the know” that Apple indeed bought the icloud.com domain name, and AppleInsider claims it’s going to be used by iOS 5 and Lion for syncing all sorts of stuff.
So what does all of this iCloud noise mean? At the very least I have to hope that it will bring an end to MobileMe as we know it. Whether Apple intends to abolish the...
