It's Not a Game

With the 2009 Game Developer's Conference in full swing, I've been doing a little looking into, you guessed it, game development. The gaming industry is incredibly interesting, and for years I've loved pontificating about it, without any real knowledge of its inner-workings. I'd call myself an armchair general, but I don't know what the video game equivalent of that is, though I imagine both could have the word "armchair in them". In any case, an industry so reliant on technology is constantly evolving, and players like Nintendo have proved that hardware isn't necessarily the key to to success. But where, oh where, might a relative newcomer to the cold hard facts of the industry go to educate myself on how things really work? There are any number of places, but I am particularly fond of Gamasutra. As their tagline says, they are devoted to the "art & business of making games". Perfect! Even a cursory glance at the articles they feature is a great resource to breaking intelligently into the conversation of video games. And there are things to talk about. The upcoming OnLive service is sure to impact the gaming community. If you don't need to buy a console or even a fancy pc to play next gen games, I think you may potentially gain new players, but there may also be a negative effect on publishers and developers. How can they make money in a state of perpetual renting? Also, the idea of virtual ownership of a game without a physical copy is definitely an avenue that will be explored in the future, and OnLive is perhaps just the first major step towards it.
Now, I know what you're thinking. Gaming isn't all about video games! What about all the fun games we play that don't require an outlet or $400? Well, fear not! David Sirlin website, the aptly named Sirlin.net, is full of awesome design articles on all types of gaming. Admittedly, he's worked alot on some video game projects, but he doesn't limit his insights to that style of gaming alone. All of it is insightful and an interesting read. At the very least, it gives you some food for thought. I'm particularly interested in his book "Playing to Win". Winning as a lifestyle for self-improvement? That's something I can get behind!