Blogs - TheUnbeholden

The bullshit of the video game industry

Justifying On Disc DLC - Cliff Bleszinski

Online DRM - Blizzard (Diablo 3)

Bullshit in Sheeps Clothing - Online Passes, DRM under the guise of Limited edition/MMO

Breaking the Bones of the Business - Taking microtransactions from free to play games, and using it for triple A bull shit.

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Shoddy practices:

SQUARE ENIX

ACTIVISION

Ubisoft

EA
Warner Brothers (also responsible for giving MERP a Cease and Desist, was going to be a great LOTR mod created by fans for free)

Consoles:

NEW GENERATION, SAME BULLSHIT

PlayStation VITA

Xbox One out of Ten (AKA Xbone)

The Death of Ownership

THE SOLUTIONS:

DAMN FINE COFFEE ONE OF THE ISSUES THAT YOU CAN AVOID

PERFECT PASTA SAUCE A GOOD THEORY THAT APPLIES TO VIDEOS GAMES

DARK SOULS AND DARK SALES PLAN A BUDGET WISELY BY KNOWING YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE

My take:
What the video game industry needs, is someone willing to take responsibility for a games artistic direction and putting your foot down & saying no to bad ideas that don't mesh with creative leads vision, and getting to the heart of the matter of which gameplay elements work well together through having a devoted set of play testers. The games lead designer should have the final say (and he alone, no publisher telling what can and can't be in the game..). A lead designer should be involved with the writing and the actual testing of the game.
Play Testing

Publishers should make money & expect to, but they don't really know anything about games as evidenced by the continuing fuck ups mentioned in the video links above. The only thing publishers know is what people tell them, using focus groups only lead to generic games with mediocre sales.
The only assurance that publishers should get, is the resume of the lead designer (if hes made good games in the past, that sold decently, it doesn't have to be millions of copies, but 200 thousand is pretty decent profit when combined with a small budget!). The rest of the great designers will come from those publishers who are willing to take risks.
Publishing
EC Fund

Some the best entrepreneurs of other industries, are those that take riskier ventures that seem to be great ideas, because the entrepreneur has experience in advertising (so that it's strengths are focused on) and know alot of people in the industry to make sure it gets in stores.
In other industries trial test is a cheap yet effective strategy, by having a small number of it on sale can be used to show the manager of a store (and by extension the entrepreneur) that it can sell. With video games that would be beta testing & with easy way for people show their satisfaction & feedback (alpha funding proves invaluable for Indie development teams, micro-transaction proves a lucrative business model, Kickstarter shows that donation perks and milestones are great incentives for customers).
Crowdfunding
Microtransaction

Starting a game is only really necessary if you a general idea whats it's about, it doesn't have to be anything detailed.
Pre-Production
How To Start Your Game Narrative
Word Choice
Depth and Complexity
Gamasutra is a site you should read regularly, as it gives lots of advice and indepth view into game design, also I find Yahtzee's column to be very informative on good game ideas and some theories he's had on what aspects of a game there are.
Like the 3 different kinds of elements that makes up a game (a way to put into formula, why people play games): Context Challenge and Gratification and the follow up article Why Easy Games Fail Yahtzee's Game Theory

My Take on Game Theory:
I pretty much agree with the Game Theory. The only real exception to easy games failing at being a good game & how important challenge is to making all the elements work, is when it comes to self improvement. You know like exercise? where you can't fail, you simply do it to improve yourself. The only way to fail is to not meet your own expectations,
ie self imposed limitations. That's really hard to put into a game because it requires no real objectives and many tools for creativity, where your essentially left up to your own devices to create or do whatever it is you want or good at. Plan your own projects ect
Minecraft for instance, but even it has higher difficulty levels like survival, hardcore mode.
For those who believe that self imposed restrictions are not enough for a good game or just don't "get it". Sims is also like that.

Stories:

Gingearstudio.com

Bruce Lee
was a specimen of health. He trained every day and consumed only the
proper food. He was a martinet who never let his work interfere with his
training. Even when he was sent to India to find suitable locations for
filming, he took along his running shoes. The following is an excerpt
from Bruce Lee’s Fighting Method: The Complete Edition.

—Editors Note
One of the most neglected elements of martial artists is the physical
workout. Too much time is spent on developing skill in techniques and
not enough in physical participation. Practicing your skill in fighting
is important, but so is maintaining your overall physical condition.
Actually both are needed to be successful in a real fight. Training is a
skill of disciplining your mind, developing your power and supplying
endurance to your body.

BRUCE LEE is a registered trademark
of Bruce Lee Enterprises LLC. The Bruce Lee name, image and likeness are
intellectual property of Bruce Lee Enterprises LLC. All rights
reserved.

Aerobic Exercises

Lee’s daily training consisted of aerobic exercises, plus others which
were patterned to develop his skill in fighting. He varied his exercises
to avoid boredom. One of his favorite exercises was running four miles a
day in 24 to 25 minutes. He would change his tempo while running —
after several miles of constant, even strides, he would sprint several
feet and then return to easier running. Between changes in running
tempo, he would also shuffle his feet. Lee was not particular where he
ran: at the beach, in parks or woods, up and down hills or on surfaced
streets.
Besides running, he also rode an exercycle to develop his endurance,
legs and cardiovascular muscles. He usually rode full speed — 35 to 40
miles an hour continuously for 45 minutes to an hour. Frequently, he
would ride his exercycle right after his running.
Skipping Rope

Another aerobic exercise that Lee scheduled in his routine was skipping
rope, which you can adopt. This exercise not only develops your stamina
and leg muscles but also improves you, makes you “light on your feet.”
Only recently, physiologists have learned, by several tests, that
skipping rope is more beneficial than jogging. Ten minutes of skipping
rope is equivalent to 30 minutes of jogging. Both are very beneficial
exercises for the cardiovascular system.
Skipping rope properly is one of the best exercises for developing a
sense of balance. First, skip on one foot, holding the other in front of
you; then rotate your foot, skipping on the alternate foot with each
revolution of the rope, from a gradual pace to a really fast tempo.
Minimize your arm swing; instead, use your wrists to swing the rope
over. Lift your foot slightly above the ground, just enough for the rope
to pass. Skip for three minutes (equivalent to a round in a boxing
match), then rest one minute only before you continue for another round.
Three rounds of this exercise are sufficient for a good workout. As you
become conditioned to skipping, you can omit the rest period and do the
exercise for as long as 30 minutes straight. The best rope is made of
leather with ball bearings in the handles.

Shadowboxing and Sparring

Additional endurance exercises are shadowboxing and sparring.
Shadowboxing is a good agility exercise that also builds up your speed.
Relax your body and learn to move easily and smoothly. At first,
concentrate on your form and move with lightness on your feet until it
becomes natural and comfortable — then work faster and harder. It is a
good idea to start your workout with shadowboxing to loosen your
muscles. Imagine your worst enemy stands before you and you are going to
demolish him. If you use your imagination intensely, you can instill
into yourself an almost real fighting frame of mind. Besides developing
stamina, shadowboxing increases your speed, creates ideas and
establishes techniques to be used spontaneously and intuitively. Going
several rounds is the best way to learn proper footwork.
Too many beginners are too lazy to drive themselves. Only by hard and
continuous exercise will you develop endurance. You have to drive
yourself to the point of exhaustion (“out of breath” and expect muscle
ache in a day or two). The best endurance training method seems to be a
lengthy period of exercise interspersed with many brief but
high-intensity endeavors. Stamina types of exercise should be done
gradually and cautiously increased. Six weeks in this kind of training
is a minimum for any sports that require considerable amounts of
endurance. It takes years to be in peak condition, and unfortunately,
stamina is quickly lost when you cease to maintain high-conditioning
exercises. According to some medical experts, you lose most of your
benefit from exercises if you skip more than a day between workouts.

About the Book:

Bruce Lee’s Fighting Method: The Complete Edition brings the iconic four-volume Fighting Method series together into one definitive jeet kune do book.

This comprehensive edition continues to embrace all the photographs,
illustrations and text from earlier versions of the individual works: Bruce Lee’s Fighting Method Volume 1: Self-Defense Techniques; Volume 2: Basic Training; Volume 3: Skill in Techniques; and Volume 4: Advanced Techniques.
It maintains the explanations that give martial artists the jeet kune
do techniques’ instruction necessary to take their skills to the next
level … but with exclusive bonus material.

Muscleandfitness.com
Muscle and Fitness (formerly known as Muscle Builder, a magazine that Bruce Lee himself was a subscription member of) had a excerpt on his weight training routine: May 2013

Bruce Lee - By examining various nutritional supplements used by bodybuilders and studying their routines, Lee was able to adapt and shape his body to complement his own personal martial art.

He studied isometric and plyometric training, in an effort to stimulate fast-twitch muscle fibre growth. He had a friend George Lee (no relation to him) redesign and build resistance equipment to help him isolate particular movements and develop specific techniques.
Of course, for Lee, the physical was only half of the equation. He also made it a point to strengthen his mind. He grew an enormous library of of books covering everything from martial arts to fitness to nutrition and even philosophy.
Lee reasoned that the most dangerous adversary one could face was a "mad man" intent on biting off your nose or biting & ripping open your neck. Such a person, he believed, could only be beaten with swift, economic movements directed at vulnerable targets, and that such movements could only result from a well-conditioned body and mind. The frame of mind he spoke about: a relaxed mentality in combat, describing it as a sleeplike state, one in which eye, brain and muscle coordination work in harmony at break-neck speed to intercept an attack.In fact his new martial art, Jeet Kune Do, literally translates as "the way of the intercepting fist".

Overall Strength:This is very basic, but very sound, program Lee followed 3 times a week for years. Because so much of his training was devoted to martial arts, he had to be efficient with his weight training, and this routine is about as efficient as they come.
------------------------------ Sets Reps
Clean and Press 2 8-12
Barbell Curl 2 8-12
Behind-the-Neck Press 2 8-12
Upright Row 2 8-12
Barbell Squat 2 12-20
Barbell Row 2
8-12 Barbell Bench Press 2 8-12
Barbell Pullover 2 8-12

Pump and Detail:Lee used the following program 3 times a week for 44 days in 1965, in an effort to build up his arms. It worked, as he added 3.4 inches to his upper arms and more than 1/2 inch on his forearms. Keep in mind that Lee kept rest between sets to an absolute minimum, which isn't a surprise, since he was the personification of energy in motion.
----------------------------- Sets Reps
Squat 3 10
Lying Triceps Extension 4 6
Incline Dumbbell Curl 4 6
Concentration Curl 4 6
Weighted Push-up 3 10
Barbell Curl 3 8
One-arm Overhead... 3 6-10
..Dumbbell Extension
Dumbbell Rotation 4 until failure to do anymore
Seated Wrist Curl 4 until failure to do anymore
Reverse Wrist Curl 4 until failure to do anymore
Sit-up 5 12
Calf Raise 5 20
"No thinking, no reflecting---- perfect emptiness, yet therein something moves,
following its non course--- the moon in the stream."
"Nothingness cannot be confined, the softest thing cannot be snapped."
"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them."

With DN3D Reloaded put on hold I'll tell you the story in case anyone isn't up to speed.

In the fall of 2010 DNR received a "personal non-commercial license" from Gearbox and impressed 3D Realms Scott Miller with their screenshots & enthusiasm. Schreiber posted news about a big upcoming update to the project & sent numerous emails to Gearbox about a response for releasing the game and received copy pasted responses "We will get back to you guys after all 3 DNF DLC packs have been released ".

Finally Gearbox said "We can’t give you an answer to that. Ofcourse you can keep working on it, if you want to. But we can’t tell you if we will allow the game to be released.".

Forums.duke4.net
So Fredrick "Fresch" Schreiber responded "You know – I have spent a year in total on this
project. Ever single day, working full time. For free. And so have most
of my team members. I have spent my life savings on this project.

I can in NO way justify having them continue working on this project,
if you don’t want to see it getting released. So I’m afraid i have to
put the project on hold, until you can give us a definite answer."

Position of GBX is pretty simple: "Work as hard as you can, but we won't let you release it".
I really really hope GBX will give in on this matter and grant the DNR team rights to releasing info, the beta, and then the game.

So come on people, let Gearbox hear what you think about this (without swearing or letter bombs or smearing poop on their company cars), and how much you'd like to see DNR get released, and that what they need to do is work out a better compromise with the Interceptor guys than a essential "we won't tell you whether you can release anything" bs.

DNF has a pretty rock development cycle so GBX did the bare minimum to shelve it out and have decided not to release any mod tools. Instead to very very slowly release DLC. You rushed out this game and kicked a lot of fans in the butt, what where left with (no manual saves, the same old weapons, linearity, no jetpack in single player, lame puzzles etc.) and now this, I like any disappointed fan, won't buy no Duke Begins nor anything else from you if you keep treating the fans like this.
Have some balls and let Interceptor release their game. Your way of dealing with the license & relationship with Interceptor led to this consequence, and it lies in your hands to fix this... sometimes you have to bow to public pressure.
You push them around by ignoring their questions & providing half answers and deleting their posts on your forum and banning members who speak out, you push enough and the people will push back. 'Nough said. Join in on the Boycott here

and talk about it here

The best Lets Plays is Youtube.com, they play scary games exclusively and Mesh is a real scardy cat. Probably the first time I've ever laughed so much seeing someone get so scared! not to mention they where the first ever to start doing Lets Plays, before youtube came along.
How it all came to be.
what went wrong:

One video of theirs in particular sort of says it all