Prey

Videogame technology is evolving. Where animation for the Apple II’s Prince of Persia was achieved by the developer sticking a sheet of tracing paper over videos of his little brother performing acrobatics, we now have motion capture, destructible environments and specular reflection (whatever that means). Nevertheless, all the technological innovation in the world can’t save those games lacking that special something – good game design. Want a few examples? Read on...

Anyone want to take bets on how long Bioshock 2’s multiplayer will last? If a multiplayer mode isn’t hugely popular, it isn’t at all. They either prosper or die, especially on consoles, where the community that can develop around dedicated servers isn’t present.

Left 4 Dead 2, Modern Warfare 2, Assassin’s Creed 2, and Uncharted 2 made 2009 a year of epic sequels. Too bad none of the studios in this feature will be releasing any sequels, ever… at least not in their original forms. 2009, like 2008, was a rough economic year, and lead to the demise of multiple influential and promising developers.

The internet is often thought of as a well of information, but that’s a flawed metaphor. It’s much more like a worldwide network of networks, if you follow my logic. And as the internet ages, it’s becoming littered with servers, and those servers are becoming littered with old data.

Sam Fisher’s gone through some midlife crisis-sized changes over the past couple of years. One minute he’s a tortured emo agent on the run, with as little respect for the law as he does for kept facial hair. The next he’s a malicious murderer, who makes Jack Bauer look like Jack Osborne.

Above: From badly groomed to just plain bad

The Conviction of 2007 has heavy influences from

I’m not a miserable sexist ass; I’m just a practical observer. One thing I’ve observed is that men and women are different (I figured that one out pretty early on). Since I’m a rational person, I’m aware that nothing is entirely one way or another. Even the divide between life and death is ambiguous (uh, zombies, amirite?).

What do Gears of War 2, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Halo 3, Dead Space and Prey all have in common? Well, they were all innovative, highly praised and sold well at a time when - ok, let's drop the pretense. You’re here about the ass.

There are many examples of game level archetypes that designers go back to again and again. How many Sewers, Ice Worlds or Warehouse Maps have you experienced in your gaming life?