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Neil Sorens's Blog
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US-based Creative Director at Zen Studios, an independent developer of console games in Budapest, Hungary. I've been designing professionally for 12 years (and much longer as a hobby) and couldn't imagine myself doing anything else.
I have an endless fascination with gaming's unexplored possibilities. Much of my writing on this site is about taking advantage of unexploited (or under-exploited) game design opportunities. The toughest part of game design is not giving players what they ask for (sequel to GameX), but figuring out what they want and don't yet realize. |
Expert Blogs
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Connected Games, part 4: You're doing it wrong! |
| Posted by Neil Sorens on Tue, 11 Jun 2013 10:39:00 EDT in
Smartphone/Tablet,
Social/Online,
Console/PC,
Design
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| Current practices in connected games that need to change to achieve long-term success. |
| Read More... | 0 Comments |
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Reason #29 Why Android Market Is Broken |
| Posted by Neil Sorens on Tue, 30 Apr 2013 09:40:00 EDT in
Business/Marketing,
Smartphone/Tablet
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| Amazon's Android game market is worse than the DVD shop at a market in China. |
| Read More... | 0 Comments |
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It's Time For the US Government To Step In |
| Posted by Neil Sorens on Thu, 11 Apr 2013 05:59:00 EDT in
Business/Marketing
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| As President of the United States, I will step in to get the US video game industry back on its feet. |
| Read More... | 0 Comments |
Indie games are due for a downward correction  |
| Posted by Neil Sorens on Mon, 17 Dec 2012 11:49:00 EST in
Indie,
Smartphone/Tablet,
Console/PC,
Business/Marketing
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| Why the current level of indie game development isn't sustainable, and what will cause it to falter |
| Read More... | 47 Comments |
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Diablo 3 Swallows the Spider to Catch the Fly |
| Posted by Neil Sorens on Tue, 03 Jul 2012 11:55:00 EDT in
Design,
Console/PC
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| How basing Diablo 3's character progression on auction house use led to unhappy players. |
| Read More... | 22 Comments |
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Welcome to Zyngaville! |
| Posted by Neil Sorens on Wed, 10 Aug 2011 04:22:00 EDT in
Design,
Social/Online
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| A visit to Zynga's fabulous new amusement park. |
| Read More... | 3 Comments |
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Neil Sorens's Comments
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Comment In: The Top F2P Monetization Tricks [Blog - 06/26/2013 - 08:16]
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No, the blocker levels that ... No, the blocker levels that rely on luck or RMT-obtained powerups for completion start out very infrequent and grow in frequency steadily over the course of the game. Eventually, you simply have to be really lucky or spend money to progress. Skill is often only a minor factor, especially in ... |
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Comment In: Further clarification on Sony's DRM policies: No more online pass [News - 06/11/2013 - 06:42]
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So publishers can use codes ... So publishers can use codes and other measures against used games, but they can 't charge for online play specifically because Sony advertises that to customers as being a PS benefit. r n r nSeems like semantics, when the basic truth is that the only real difference between XB1 and ... |
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Comment In: Respecting the player's wallet [News - 04/29/2013 - 03:39]
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@Ramin - Yes, you are ... @Ramin - Yes, you are correct. We are already seeing a flood of people all chasing the whales upon which a F2P relies for success, and they will be overfished. The flood of publishers and developers leaving console land with their wagons painted iOS or bust are in for a ... |
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Comment In: Gender Gap and the Game Developer Salary Survey [Blog - 04/04/2013 - 03:19]
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it 's not a particularly ... it 's not a particularly hospitable industry for women as indicated by the meager gender ratio r n r nDoes this mean that the education field and college admissions as well are inherently hostile to men, because they have a significantly higher percentage of females in them |
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Comment In: 'You can't have a female character in games' [News - 03/19/2013 - 08:55]
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Sarah, so we need to ... Sarah, so we need to make games with female leads because they will appeal more to females That implies that yes, male leads will appeal more to male gamers. And if your primary concern is appealing to as many people as you can or at least, appealing to as many ... |
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Comment In: Amid gun debate, game investors express concern [News - 12/21/2012 - 02:30]
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You know that 95 of ... You know that 95 of gun murders are committed with illegally obtained weapons many stolen from or sold illegally by police and military , and not crazies legally buying weapons, right r n r nThe root problem is the intent to kill, not the tools used to do so. Those ... |
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