Halo3: How Microsoft Labs Invented a New Science of Play – Clive Thompson, Wired, Jul 2008
Pagulayan makes a note of the problem. It is his job to find flaws in Halo 3 that its creators, who know what players should do, might not be able to see. He assesses whether the aliens have gotten too lethal, whether the revamped Needler guns are powerful enough, and — most important — if and when players are getting bored or (as is more often the case) frustrated.
Social gaming design: Bartle types vsus Web 2.0 participation pyramid – Andrew Chen, Futuristic Play, Jun 2008
In a pure UGC web 2.0 site, you need the content creators otherwise there’s nothing to do for anyone else. Take a site like Digg or Facebook, and if it’s just you on the site, it’s not so interesting. Compare this perspective to the games world, which has long built gradual “solo” experiences that then open into social experiences.
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