Gamasutra Member Blogs: From Player Cruelty To Communication Mishaps

In highlights from Gamasutra's Member Blogs, our bloggers write about diverse topics, including player cruelty in sandbox games, how cinematic structure applies to games, and why the 'EA louse' is a symptom of miscommunication. Member Blogs can be maintained by any registered Gamasutra user, while invitation-only Expert Blogs -- also highlighted weekly -- are written by selected development professionals. We hope that our blog sections can provide useful and interesting viewpoints on our industry. For more information, check out the official posting guidelines. Here are the top member blogs for the week: This Week's Standout Member Blogs - A Sociopathic Comedy of Errors, Player Cruelty in Open World Games and Developer Savviness (Andrew Calhoun) Andrew Calhoun examines how open world games enable players to partake in a number of illicit and amoral acts, and considers why players choose to murder, attack, or steal in these sandbox environments. - Last Rites: A Journey Into The Depths Of The Void (Xander Markham) Xander Markham takes a look at Ice-Pick Lodge's The Void, explaining how the game avoids traditional game assumptions and establishes a chilling atmosphere for the player. - From First Act To End: A Comparison Of Video Games And Feature Films (Altug Isigan) Using the three-act structure often found in cinema, Altug Isigan applies the same structure to classic games to demonstrate how they tackle issues such as narrative growth and player action. - The Importance of Role-Playing In Non-Roleplaying Games (Dylan Woodbury) Dylan Woodbury breaks down the importance of role-playing, and how making a player feel connected to a game almost always creates a more valuable experience. - Why You Should Not Blame EA Louse (Jacek Wesolowski) After a heated blog post from the troubled "EA Louse," Jacek Wesolowski suggests that the post indicates a lack of communication within the studio, and that developers should keep internal communication in check to avoid seeing the symptoms of a distressed team.