Make Mac Games

For the past year or so I’ve been organically growing my RSS feed collection with a focus towards what other indie game developers have to say. My collection has grown to a pretty good size including game industry veterans and stalwarts to first-time designers and rookies.
There is a lot to read, and many [...]

Spiderweb Software’s Jeff Vogel (Avernum, Geneforge) describes his
View From the Bottom of the game industry over on RPG Vault. Or what Joe Indie calls the “anti-Pavlina” view of game development.

What is the moral of this? The game industry is a highly competitive, scary place. It’s not hopeless, but it’s a tough road. And that’s [...]

MacBook Pro!
Amazon just notified me that my copy of Civilization III – Complete is on the way!
Stubbs the Zombie Demo has been released
Call of Duty 2.0 for the Mac has been announced.

Robert Blum shares a few links he’s found useful in tracking the hype and success of computer games.

The 2005 Original Mac Games Cup has now officially opened for public voting. The submission phase has closed and there are 36 entries.
36 Free Original Mac Games to download and play. All we ask is that you take the time to vote and rate the games you play.
Related Links:

OMG Downloads Page
OMG Voting Page

Update: It [...]

Interesting article found via MicroISV.com: Hot To Create Your Own Game Company: Part 1
Equally interesting, linked to by the above article: Starting Your Own Game Company

Thomas Warfield of “Pretty Good Solitaire” fame says that playing it safe is risky ala Seth Godin’s adivce in Purple Cow.
So many newcomers seem to believe that the key to success is to make a game just like some other successful game.
But the reason the original game was successful was probably because it was original. [...]

The IGDA (International Game Developers Association) has posted a Game Developers’ Bill of Rights on their site.
Some interesting rights are listed. Though I agree with the thoughts behind them. I would think these are all contingent on the contract you sign with your publisher.
For example:

1. The right to full ownership of what [...]

Wired has a write up on the subject.

On Monday, online game provider Shockwave.com will begin offering advertisers a way to insert ads within the games themselves. While it’s believed to be the first such invasion in web-based games, it’s only one of a growing number of venues advertisers are using to reach its shifting and [...]

Joe Indie has a bullet point list of what to do in order to succeed and survive as an indie game developer.
The points that jumped out at me, were the first two:

Run your business like an indie, not a retail publisher
Choose your projects like an indie, not a retail publisher.

It surprises me how many indie [...]