Gamasutra Member Blogs: From balancing tricks to the hardest part of making a game

In highlights from Gamasutra's Member Blogs, our bloggers write about diverse topics, such as the hardest part for making a game as a one-man indie, tricks for improving game balance, and more. Member Blogs can be maintained by any registered Gamasutra user, while invitation-only Expert Blogs -- also highlighted weekly -- are written by selected development professionals. We hope that our blog sections can provide useful and interesting viewpoints on our industry. For more information, check out the official posting guidelines. This Week's Standout Member Blogs How console stagnated the art and business of gaming (Neil Schneider) Call it a soft economic environment or media angst against the PC, there is a cause and effect for nearly everything in life. Neil Schneider theorizes about key trends that have hurt PC gaming, and what needs to happen for PC to meet its potential. Bright, slow, and deadly (Robert Dieterich) In many shoot'em ups, bullets are the real stars of the game. Robert Dieterich shares some tips for making your shoot'em up bullets stand out. Remembering fun: A look back at Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (Mark Filipowich) If games are to be taken seriously, they can't be making serious things "fun," argues Mark Filipowich. However, infusing darker, edgier, and more serious elements into contemporary design philosophy should still not come at the expense of fun. Four tricks to improve game balance (David Maletz) Having trouble finding the balance between frustratingly hard and boringly easy? David Maletz offers four tricks that could help. The hardest part of making a video game... (Ken Amarit (pictured)) Ken Amarit believes the hardest part of making a video game is writing a press release and sending out self-aggrandizing emails. For a one-man indie, it can be seriously challenging to cold-email journalists with a press release about yourself and your game without sounding stiff, cheesy, or pompous.