Game Developer September Issue Dissects Puzzle Quest, Saboteur

Author: by Staff

The September 2007 issue of Game Developer magazine, the sister print publication to Gamasutra.com, and the leading U.S. trade publication for the video game industry, has shipped to subscribers and is available from the Game Developer Digital service in both subscription and single-issue formats. The cover feature for the September issue is 'Postmortem: Infinite Interactive’s Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords' by Steve Fawkner, and it's explained of the exclusive postmortem: "Infinite Interactive took a leap into the console market with Puzzle Quest, after years of dedicated PC focus. The much more casual title tore up the charts, due to the incredibly long period of time the company took to polish it. CEO and lead designer Steve Fawkner takes us down the path that led these hardcore veterans to casual glory." Another major feature for the new issue is 'Saboteur: The Will to Fight by Christopher M. Hunt and Thomas French, of which it's explained: "Pandemic’s upcoming title Saboteur uses dynamic color changes—from vibrant and full, to black and white film noir—to indicate the state of allied resistance in-game. It’s art as gameplay feature in this unique look at the design and technical challenges of an in-progress high profile title." Finally, the September issue also looks at 'Saving the Day: Save Systems in Games', from Backbone designer David Sirlin, explained as follows: "Games are designed by designers, naturally, but they’re not designed for designers. Save systems that intentionally limit the pick up and drop enjoyment of a game unnecessarily mar the player’s experience. This case study of save systems sheds some light on what could be done better." The issue is rounded out by the customary in-depth news, code, art, audio, and design columns from Game Developer's veteran correspondents, as well as product reviews and editorial columns. Worldwide paper-based subscriptions to Game Developer magazine are currently available at the official magazine website, and the Game Developer Digital version of the issue is also now available, with the site offering six months and a year's subscriptions, alongside access to back issues, all for a reduced price. There is now also an opportunity to buy the digital version of September 2007's magazine as a single issue.