Gamasutra Expert Blogs: From Cow Clicker's Satire Of Social Games To Limbo's Troubled Puzzle Design

In highlights from Gamasutra's Expert Blogs, industry notables write about diverse topics, including Cow Clicker's satirical look at social games, tips for rookie indie developers, and why Limbo suffers from poor puzzle design. 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 official posting guidelines. Here are the top blogs for the week: This Week's Standout Expert Blogs - Is Cow Clicker A Travesty? (Ian Bogost) Cow Clicker creator Ian Bogost addresses many of the semantic claims made about his game, and explains why he believes Cow Clicker should not be considered a parody, but a satire, or perhaps even a travesty of Facebook games. - Gamazon: Battle Of The Breasts (Arinn Dembo) In her most recent entry in a series of posts about women in games, Arinn Dembo discusses the trouble that comes with using a female protagonist, and how female characters are often portrayed in overly sexualized ways. - The Indie Condition (Alistair Doulin) Alistair Doulin provides several tips to help rookie indie developers focus their goals, work collaboratively with other developers, and take a project to completion. - Is Your Game Comfortable? (Randy O'Connor) Drawing comparisons between furniture and game design, Randy O'Connor argues that, like a comfortable chair, the "feel," or interactive nature of a game is far more important than the way it looks. - Puzzles Should Have Clues (Adam Bishop) Frustrated by Limbo's deceptive method of conveying clues and information, Adam Bishop addresses what makes a good or bad puzzle and why rules and communication are essential to good puzzle design.