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PAUL ALEXANDER
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Atlanta, GA, USA
Student of Interactive Media and Game Design, SCAD Atlanta
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What happens to iPhone developers when their games are copied? And what's behind the rise of "clones" in the App Store and elsewhere? This is the definitive story of indie developer Vlambeer, Gamenauts, and the controversy surrounding Ninja Fishing.
Monday, September 12, 2011 |
Comments (6)
POST BY THIS AUTHOR (14)
What's more stunning about Quantic Dream's GDC tech demo - its technological excellence, or its careless tone and dialogue?
Thursday, March 08, 2012 |
Comments (12)
Gamasutra's interview with the makers of id's upcoming title, Rage, is a shining example of solid games journalism.
Friday, October 07, 2011 |
Comments (29)
Paul Alexander responds to Brandon Justice's recent EGM opinion piece on the used games "controversy."
Thursday, July 21, 2011 |
Comments (12)
When the IGF comes to a close, what can indie developers do to get gamers' attention? Here are four ideas to help them make a splash.
Wednesday, March 02, 2011 |
Comments (2)
A short, Italian plumber changed the life of this gamer forever.
Thursday, November 11, 2010 |
Comments (4)
Part two of an interview with James Swirksy, one of the filmmakers behind the upcoming documentary Indie Game: The Movie. Swirksy dishes about triple-A games, the world of competitive air guitar, and the process behind funding and crafting this exciting documentary.
Monday, October 25, 2010 |
Comments (3)
Part one of an interview with James Swirksy, one of the filmmakers behind the upcoming documentary Indie Game: The Movie. Swirksy dishes about triple-A games, the world of competitive air guitar, and the process behind funding and crafting this exciting documentary.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010 |
Comments (0)
Should Japanese developers look to the West for inspiration? Paul Alexander thinks Keiji Inafune missed the mark in his recent New York Times interview.
Monday, September 27, 2010 |
Comments (3)
Maybe someday, some happy accident will result in an enjoyable video-game film being made. But the Mass Effect movie project is proof that it’s not worth all the time, money, and popcorn butter-related stomach cramps, and here’s why.
Wednesday, September 01, 2010 |
Comments (15)
How can indie developers find more independence and increased financial success? A possible solution may come from a surprising place: the organic foods industry.
Monday, May 03, 2010 |
Comments (4)
Ever thought of getting a video game tattoo? This BitMobber shows us his and gives some helpful advice for anyone looking to get one.
Sunday, March 21, 2010 |
Comments (8)
Where does the future of video games lie? The history of art may already offer us some possible answers.
Thursday, December 17, 2009 |
Comments (2)
COMMENTS BY THIS AUTHOR (71)
"There's a Game Criticism and Analysis class offered at SCAD, where I'm a Junior in the game design program, but it's a 400 level class. Honestly though, you're better off just picking up a couple of good books that thoughtfully critique or examine games. A good intro would be Tom Bissell's book Extra Lives. It's super readable, I got through it in about a day. When you're done with that you might consider checking out some books by Georgia Tech professor Ian Bogost. His writing can get pretty crunchy but How To Do Things With Video Games is pretty approachable. These aren't books on video game criticism per se, but they are thoughtful examinations of the moving parts of game"
Thursday, April 19, 2012
"I'm not sure what you're referring to exactly, but I remember watching their tech demo from Heavy Rain, and there definitely seemed to be a little toying with the 4th wall in that as well. I did actually mention on twitter that maybe the operator is David Cage's metaphor for himself (and that that'd be "pretty deep, maaaan.")"
Friday, March 09, 2012
"Don't get me wrong, there are bigger design issues with games, and in the grand scheme of things this is a really minor offense. I just didn't see anybody commenting on this aspect of Kara - all I heard was "WHOA GRAPHICS AWESOME." And I mean, yeah...but...no. "
Friday, March 09, 2012
"I know it's "only" a tech demo, but it's clear that for David Cage and QD this is meant to be indicative of the emotional potential of their future output. How am I supposed to have confidence in that process if they can't nail a 7 minute trailer?"
Friday, March 09, 2012
"I don't think there's any strong evidence to show that Kara's lazy misogyny is indicative of the writers' creative intent, but what if there was? They still failed to introduce any meaningful characterization into the story, and it's certainly clear they want you to feel emotional. Your point about Scorcese et al is taken, as it's self-evident. If they wanted to create a well-written misogynist character, they could have. Again, I ask: does the change in tone accomplish the goal of affecting us meaningfully? "
Friday, March 09, 2012
"HISCOCK!!!"
Tuesday, November 08, 2011
"It's important to remember that there's more than one multiplayer mode in ME3, and Jasmine only played the competitive portion. I'm actually interested in the co-operative missions, which could potentially be a really cool extension of the single-player campaign."
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
"@Rob - minor correction needed in the second to last paragraph. Tried to email you but couldn't track down your address."
Friday, October 07, 2011
"@Bobby and Rob - kudos for bringing up Shoe's 2006 conversation with Peter Moore. That was the first thing that popped in my head when I read this interview.
In a way, id's responses in this interview seem far more disconcerting. Peter Moore could be forgiven for his answers - he was the face of the XBox's marketing campaign at the time. This interview included id's CEO, sure, but it also included one of the game's artists. That neither of them were able (or willing) to adequately articulate why their game is, like, so totally awesome is pretty crazy.
@Shoe I agree wholeheartedly. These guys could have benefited greatly from a personality like Bleszinkski or Jaffe in their camp. Regardless of how you feel about those guys, they always manage to be both candid and on-messag"
Friday, October 07, 2011
"PR people are really given a difficult job. They sort of have the same job as presidential speechwriters/coaches: educate and inform the public, but within a limited scope of field - and always stay on message. When you allow your company to start going off on tangents about a game's creative vision, there's an opportunity for some interest on the part of the reader, sure. But there's also an increased chance that something could be picked up on by readers that wasn't meant to come across the way it was, or someone could flub a detail...and then it's PR's job to clean up that mess."
Tuesday, October 04, 2011
"Fitting that this article appeared in my Twitter feed the same day:
http://nygamecritics.wordpress.com/2011/09/29/the-state-of-videogame-journalism/
The stakes have never been higher for the games press to start moving in a variety of bold new directions. Not just one will do. Experimentation with different creative ideas - to say nothing of new methods of profitability - are needed. Now."
Tuesday, October 04, 2011
You could argue that some games use "addictiveness," "education," or "fear" as their engaging hook and games like Dear Esther engage players in a different way - fun just isn't the word to describe it. Games can be recreational, enjoyable, and interesting, all without having to maintain this sense of "fun" that feels super familiar to hardcore gamers.
This isn't a controversial concept in gaming academia - games don't have to be fun to be interesting, period. They just have to be engaging. But try telling that to someone who plops down $60 with the expectations of having a totally radical badass gaming experience."