In Defense of Skepticism

There's a certain stigma in our (America's) society, that has been plagued with misinterpretation and hijacking of definition and practice. Pause for a moment and contemplate on the thoughts and feelings this word conjures: skeptic. I'm going to bet some of you felt a little bit of revulsion, maybe exasperation. You may have thought of people stubbornly crossing their arms and claiming defiantly "I don't believe it!" I don't blame you; I'm a skeptic, and I often have the same response.

Once Upon a Time in the Game Industry

Among the gaming old-farts, I'm a tween at best, but still a silver-hair. I shake my grey brick of a GameBoy at all of these young whipper-snappers and tell them to get off of my virtual lawn. The GameBoy still works, by the way, though I think The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is permanently jammed in the cartridge slot.

It is once again with this "back in my day" mindset that I am here today. Tuck in, fellow gamers, and I will tell you a bedtime story.

Profit Mongering (The New Business as Usual)

Being 25 at the time of this writing, I can safely say I am an old fart when it comes to gaming. As such, I feel entitled to a bit of "back in my day" ranting. Allow me to wax nostalgic for a bit.

Viva Taliban!

Video games have long been a source of controversy with regards to their content. Many are violent, some are pornographic, and even the more benign games are likely to contain something that someone finds offensive. That becomes more likely when games seek to emulate major events going on in the world. But where can we draw the line on how true to life a game can be?

Fight the Future: DLC in the Wake of Advancing Technology

Downloadable content (DLC) has been the norm for several years, but I bring its usefulness and practicality into question. It may be "the way things are" now, but should consumers tolerate it?

Gaming in the Midst of Current Events

Many would argue that video games are realistic. They're certainly getting more realistic every day, especially with the industry's overzealous focus on graphics (but that's another post). Soccer moms would talk your ear off about how games are too realistic, with exploding heads and blood everywhere. Heaven forbid they actually pay attention to what their kids are playing (sorry, yet another post there). As realistic or unrealistic as games are or are not, you'd be hard pressed to find someone who would disagree that there are lines game developers should not cross.

Procedurally-Generated Content and You

Procedurally generated content is an old trick for video game developers. Using some algorithms, parts of games can be randomized to make things more realistic. Some examples would be a troop of soldiers with randomized faces, or a jungle with randomly placed trees. But remember, it's not really random - it's done through math, to give the appearance of random. Read on for more on this technique.

Stealth? In my shooter?

It's more likely than you think.

Core Functionality of Counter-Strike: Source's Bots

While I was attending Collins College, I had a class in Artificial Intelligence and Game Design. For a group project, I interviewed Michael Booth. Yes, the Michael Booth, CEO of (at the time) Turtle Rock Studios, developer of the Counter-Strike bots, main brain behind the phenomenal Left 4 Dead. This was very exciting for me at the time. Read on for our exchange.