Gamasutra Expert Blogs: From BloodRayne To Gimmicks

[In highlights from Gamasutra's Expert Blogs, industry notables write about diverse topics, including metrics used in BloodRayne: Betrayal's development, gimmicky consoles, and more.] 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 latest official posting guidelines. Here are the top blogs for the week: This Week's Standout Expert Blogs - On The Productive Use Of Metrics In The Development Of Gory Vampire Games (Jeff Lee) WayForward Technology programmer Jeff Lee shares some of the metrics his studio employed ("in reasonably gory detail") when creating upcoming PSN/XBLA game BloodRayne: Betrayal. - Gimmick or Not? Wii, 3DS, Xbox Kinect, PS3 Move, Wii U (Ian Fisch) The word gimmick gets thrown around a lot, but what pieces of hardware really deserve this description? Developer Ian Fisch looks at the latest consoles and motion control platforms to decide which merit the label. - "Gamers" and "Game Players" (Lewis Pulsipher) Dividing groups of people into two more or less opposites can be illuminating. Video gamers have made Lewis Pulsipher realize that there are different ways to approach game playing "as a part of your life". Are games a lifestyle, or just a part of life? - Distilling The Elements of Old-School Design (Josh Bycer) The term "old-school" encompasses multiple game mechanics, both good and bad, and Josh Bycer argues that understanding the differences between the two is an important lesson on game design.