Gamasutra Member Blogs: From Auteur Theory To Procedural Content

In highlights from Gamasutra's Member Blogs, our bloggers write about diverse topics, including auteurism in the industry, the crucial elements of an action game, and the pros and cons of procedural content. 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. Here are the top member blogs for the week: This Week's Standout Member Blogs - Death Of the Author: How Auteur Theory Can Save The Games Industry (Xander Markham) Unlike more established media, games often lack a sense of auteurism or artistic identity. Xander Markham examines why this is the case and what the industry should do to embrace those who provide games with a unique sense of authorship. - Simplify, Organize, Prioritize (Jorge Rodriguez) Jorge Rodriguez offers several tips to help developers organize and prioritize their day-to-day tasks in order to solve problems and complete complicated projects in a more manageable fashion. - Improving Your Games Ass Kicking Potential, Or AKP (Josh Bycer) Action games are often perceived as a simple, straightforward genre, though Josh Bycer examines the critical elements of a successful action game and explains why the action genre relies on the precise execution of several necessary systems. - What Can We Learn From Location based Games (Simeon Pashley) Location based applications such as FourSquare and Gowalla have become a hit on mobile devices, but can this appeal translate into games? Simeon Pashley ponders the idea of incorporating aspects of these applications into the framework of more traditional gaming experiences. - The Final Fronteir: Using Procedural Content To Increase Value And Immersion (Walker Hardin) Procedurally generated content can speed up a game’s development, but it can also introduce complications that can harm a project in the long run. By comparing the pros and cons of various types of procedural content, Walker Hardin examines where and why procedural content should be used in game development.