Gamasutra Expert Blogs: From Depth To Multiplayer

[In highlights from Gamasutra's Expert Blogs, industry notables write about diverse topics, including the definition of depth in games, the problem with multiplayer games being other players, and more.] In our weekly Best of Expert Blogs column, we showcase notable pieces of writing from members of the game development community who maintain Expert Blogs on Gamasutra. Member Blogs -- also highlighted weekly -- can be maintained by any registered Gamasutra user, while the invitation-only Expert Blogs are written by development professionals with a wealth of experience to share. We hope that both sections can provide useful and interesting viewpoints on our industry. For more information about the blogs, check out the latest official posting guidelines. Here are the top blogs for the week: This Week's Standout Expert Blogs What Is Depth In Games? (Lewis Pulsipher) What is "depth" in games? It's another of those "everyone knows what it means but does not define it." Lewis Pulsipher says he's not defining it yet, but he's asking readers to help define it. The Problem With Multiplayer? Those Damned Other Players! (Simon Ludgate) Simon Ludgate asks, "Will the next great revolution in multiplayer gaming finally get rid of those damned other players?" The Real "New Frontier" Of Gaming (Tyler York) The future of gaming is the intersection between virtual worlds and the real world, argues Tyler York. Just look at the resurgence of MMOs, the rise of hardcore social games, and the proliferation of location-based mobile games. The Autonomy Of Dark Souls (Tom Betts) Tom Betts looks at how Dark Souls never prioritizes "the story" over "the game", instead treating story as the world, as something that pre-exists and is there to be "read" through exploration and sparse NPC-driven exposition.