Postmortem: Konami's Metal Gear Acid 2: Playing the 3D Card
By Shinta Nojiri
The original Metal Gear Acid turned a beloved series on its ear, bringing it into the realm of card-based strategy. The sequel takes it one step further, by making the game fully playable with 3D goggles. Who says there's no more room to innovate? In this postmortem, game director Shinta Nojiri discusses not only the game's unconventional design, but some alarming conditions of the Eastern game industry—namely, never going home.

The Art of Self-Promotion
By Stuart Roch
Breaking into the games industry is tough enough; creating a name for yourself once in requires true dedication. Treyarch's Stuart Roch maintains that a successful career starts (and ends) with good self-promotion. In this feature article, he shares five steps game developers can take to make the most of their career painlessly ... well, almost.

Final Fantasy XI's Patch System Design
By Fumiaki Shiraishi
How a game patch is disbursed to users and installed varies widely across the industry, with at least four common approaches currently being used. For persistent games, like MMOGs, the patch creators need to establish reliable and accurate methods that accommodate the player, since patches are likely to ship on a regular basis. Fumiaki Shiraishi, who worked on the patch design of Final Fantasy XI, shares the technical considerations of these various methods, justifying why, if he had a second chance, he would opt for a hybrid approach.

Interview with Cliff Bleszinski: At War with Complacency
By Brandon Sheffield
Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski, also known as CliffyB, talks straight in this exclusive interview. He's got a bone to pick with usability and an insightful take on simplifying player controls. The Epic designer shares his criticisms and witticisms.

Game Plan
By Simon Carless
Marvelous Ideas

Heads Up Display
Dev kits reach game schools, research points to the health benefits of games, developers’ early impressions of the Revolution, and more!

Skunk Works
By Jill Duffy and Tom Carroll
GDC Product Roundup and Spiral Graphics’ Genetica 2.5 Pro

A Thousand Words
Funcom’s Dreamfall: The Longest Journey

Pixel Pusher
By Steve Theodore
Best Practices From a Collective Force

Business Level
By Stephen Smith
Play Smart With Wages

Aural Fixation
By Alexander Brandon
Databasic Ideas: Part II

Game Shui
By Noah Falstein
112 Down, 288 To Go: The State of The 400 Project

The Inner Product
By Mick West
Parallax Mapped Bullet Holes

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