Author: by Staff

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. In this latest round-up, industry notables write about meddling producers, a disabled gamer who lost a suit against Sony, and indie problems. Here are the top blogs for the week: This Week's Standout Expert Blogs - Will You Create a World of Consumers or Contributors? (Reid Kimball) Reid Kimball reviews Jesse Schell's fascinating and well-received talk at last week's DICE Summit in Las Vegas. Kimball thinks that game developers have a very important decision to make... - Needs More Cowbell: Why Publishing Producers Sometimes Dictate Design (Timothy Ryan) Timothy Ryan explains the complicated relationship between game developers and producers, and why "the publishing producer sometimes dictates and micro-manages the design." It's not always the producer's fault... - Games, Disability and Anti-Discrimination Laws (Jas Purewal) Sony was able to win a lawsuit brought to court by a disabled gamer who claimed games EverQuest violated the Americans With Disabilities Act. Should gamers and games be protected by anti-discrimination laws? Lawyer Jas Purewal examines... - Message and Merriment (Steve Mallory) Steve Mallory takes a look at Christian and faith-based games, and asks why the adherence to religious source material often leads to a game that's just not any good. - Finding Indie Game Developers (Alistair Doulin) Alistair Doulin sees a problem with the indie game development community. He says they have "trouble finding other like-minded indie developers to work with." Here, he explains the problem further and outlines the cause and solution.