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Avid game design theorist; experienced programmer and software project manager; first (noncommercial) game developed was a real-time multiplayer space combat sim for IBM mainframes in 1985. Currently working as Community Manager for Storybricks (Namaste Entertainment): http://www.storybricks.com/ .
Gaming-related interests include "deep" gameplay, Explorer/Simulationist gameplay, psychology of gamers, player-centered design, massively multiplayer game design, and industry trends.
Personal game design blog at: http://flatfingers-theory.blogspot.com/
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Member Blogs
FUS ROH DAH! The Unrelenting Force of Content Coherence  |
| Posted by Bart Stewart on Tue, 17 Jan 2012 01:41:00 EST in
Design
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| In which we consider how the careful selection of gameplay elements can burn a game into our hearts and minds. |
| Read More... | 9 Comments |
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In Defense of Surprising Gameplay |
| Posted by Bart Stewart on Sat, 20 Aug 2011 01:13:00 EDT in
Design
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| Game developers often try to find and remove all unexpected interactions in the belief that anything not intended is likely to be a bug. But this may be unnecessarily preventing the development of games in which surprise is a necessary feature. |
| Read More... | 14 Comments |
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Play Style DOES Matter |
| Posted by Bart Stewart on Fri, 23 Jul 2010 05:51:00 EDT in
Design
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| Since Warren Spector demonstrated Epic Mickey at E3 2010, there's been a microburst of gaming media coverage of his design philosophy that "play style matters." It's about time. |
| Read More... | 3 Comments |
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Blizzard's Core Game Design Concepts: A Contrary View |
| Posted by Bart Stewart on Sat, 13 Mar 2010 03:41:00 EST in
Design
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| At GDC 2010, Blizzard EVP of Game Design Rob Pardo described a number of design concepts behind Blizzard's games. While these are obviously successful for Blizzard's games, they can be seen as working only for simple action games. There are other kinds. |
| Read More... | 16 Comments |
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Reactions to the Schell Presentation: A Playstyle-Based Analysis |
| Posted by Bart Stewart on Mon, 01 Mar 2010 06:11:00 EST in
Design
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| The online reaction to Jesse Schell's DICE 2010 presentation can be understood as a reaction to computer gaming becoming a mass entertainment form. Where early gamers enjoyed intangible immersion, today's typical gamer now expects tangible rewards. |
| Read More... | 0 Comments |
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Enabling Deeper Relationships Through Multifaction |
| Posted by Bart Stewart on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:46:00 EST in
Design
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| The MMORPG concept of "faction" allows small choices to accumulate into big consequences. Extending this concept to allow NPC groups to have faction with each other creates even more dynamic social environments in gameworlds. |
| Read More... | 2 Comments |
[More Bart Stewart Blogs]
Bart Stewart's Comments
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Comment In: Dishonored: The Successes [Blog - 11/05/2012 - 05:00]
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I 'm truly not trying ... I 'm truly not trying to be contrarian -- I agree with many of the points, pro and con, made about Dishonored. r n r nI 'm hesitant to fully embrace some of the criticisms, particularly from the Deus Ex side, precisely because I know that as a gamer I ... |
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Comment In: Six words about role-playing games [Blog - 11/05/2012 - 07:22]
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World-exploration through numerically represented characters. ... World-exploration through numerically represented characters. |
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Comment In: 6 rules for writing F2P messaging your players will actually read [News - 11/08/2012 - 03:13]
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They really do, don 't ... They really do, don 't they r n r nOr as I 've started thinking of it, every feature that developers of computer roleplaying games have implemented is an attempt to do one thing: replicate a good DM. That is the central problem of all computer roleplaying game design. r ... |
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Comment In: What Would Geralt Do? Witcher 2's Approach to Choice and Decision [Feature - 11/08/2012 - 12:00]
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Excellent interview. But, this: r ... Excellent interview. But, this: r n r n MS: We just cannot go against our lore. r n r nWell, great. Now I 'm going to wonder what Star Trek Online might have been like had it been developed by CDPR. r n r nMore seriously, why do so many ... |
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Comment In: EVE Online and the meaning of 'sandbox' [News - 11/08/2012 - 05:05]
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That 's exactly the kind ... That 's exactly the kind of thing I was after, Chad -- thanks. r n r nOn its face your example seems pretty sandboxy. You 're not constraining how to build the highest tower in ten minutes. r n r nOn the other hand, what about all the things the ... |
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Comment In: Dishonored: The Missteps [Blog - 10/28/2012 - 11:35]
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To varying degrees, I think ... To varying degrees, I think these are fair objections. r n r nI give Arkane some leeway on the lack of Thief-like environment-modification abilities. While I 'd have enjoyed those, Arkane were apparently going for a design that would allow players to switch fluidly between stealth and combat play. Emphasizing ... |
[More Bart Stewart Comments]
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