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Gunstringer

The Gunstringer was conceived by Twisted Pixel in one night, in a restaurant, in front of a Microsoft executive. From this curious beginning, the team went on to create a compelling core-friendly Kinect game, complete with a full-motion video downloadable episode, all in 12 months, without an environment artist. Post-release, Microsoft purchased them, so they must have done something right!

Intuition, Expectations. And Culture

What makes a game mechanic intuitive? How about a user interface? Game developers have grappled with these questions for years, usually relying on user tests and player feedback. This article proposes that in addition to playtests, developers should brush up on a bit of psychology to measure players' expectations against the final game.

All That Glitters: An Interview with Bungie's Senior Graphics Architect

Hao Chen leads Bungie's graphics team, which helped bring the world of Halo to life, and now a brand new IP. We spoke in depth with Chen about trends in graphics, and revamping the company's engine for multiple platforms and the next generation of consoles.

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