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Strategy Gaming at GDC

March 6th, 2011 by Troy Goodfellow · GDC

I miss the Game Developer’s Conference. Haven’t been there since 2007, the year when Computer Games Magazine was shuttered the day after the conference closed. It’s one of my favorites because, for me at least, the attention is on the art and craft of making a game. If I could write any book, it would be to follow a game from conception to release, but since that will never be done, watching and reading about GDC panels is a decent second choice.

My old friend Tom Chick moderated a panel on the future of strategy games this year, so that would have been fun to go to. There is a brief summary here at Gamasutra and a pretty decent discussion about the AI comments here on Quarter to Three.

Once video or audio become available, I’ll link to it.

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Three Moves Ahead Episode 106 – An Expansive Discussion with Johan Andersson

March 3rd, 2011 by Rob Zacny · Podcast, Three Moves Ahead

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Paradox’s Johan Andersson talks to Rob about EU3: Divine Wind, expansions, the design process at Paradox, and the newly-announced Sengoku.


Johan’s Q&A with GameShark

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Three Moves Ahead Episode 105 – Sometimes You Gotta Roll the Hard Six

February 24th, 2011 by Rob Zacny · Podcast, Three Moves Ahead

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In the wake of another successful Rabbitcon, Lara Crigger and Rob Daviau join Julian and Rob to talk about good luck, bad luck, and fun luck. Rob and Lara discuss her first wargaming experience, Hold the Line, and how it came down to a photo finish despite some unspeakably bad luck for her American forces at the start. Rob Daviau explains how luck aids the storyteller, and shapes game narratives. Then the panel considers why the sort of luck in a deck of cards is often more interesting than the luck in a roll of the dice, and how luck can shake up repetitive gameplay.

Rob (Red) vs. Lara (Blue) at the Battle of Long Island

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No Reboot Without Relocation

February 20th, 2011 by Troy Goodfellow · Me

As of today, I live in Toronto. Again. The city I love more than any other, and one full of happy memories.

It was obvious to a lot of people that as awesome as 2010 was professionally, personally it was a bit of a mess. I prefer to keep the details private, not because they are embarrassing, but because they are pedestrian, mundane and not really anyone’s business anyway. But now I have a new job, a fresh start and a return to the country that I missed more the longer I was away.

Some debts will never be repaid, and I want to thank the good friend who not only gave me a second home for the last three months, but drove with me from Maryland to Canada and helped me schlep too many boxes for too long. When he blogs about hockey games, you should pay attention. He was there when I felt alone and took me in when I needed it. He and his wife are two very good people.

This transition has been very difficult, and many good friends have been there through meltdowns, melancholy and now the thrill of starting again in a small apartment in The Annex. I hope to get my internet properly activated soon and the blogging will resume in earnest.

I own nothing but books and computer stuff. Send food. Podcast and blog meetup in the spring.

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Three Moves Ahead Episode 104 – What Would Manstein Do?

February 17th, 2011 by Rob Zacny · Podcast, Three Moves Ahead

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Bruce and Rob welcome Troy back to the show by monopolizing conversation as they describe their reactions to War in the East. Bruce consults von Manstein’s Lost Victories in the hopes of discovering where they went, but Rob is pretty sure the Germans dropped them somewhere in the Pripyat Marshes. All Troy knows for sure is that 2by3 scored a big win with this game. Then Rob takes a trip into Dungeons and finds a pleasant surprise, while Bruce is really pleased by an invasion of Poland wargame with a marvelously bad interface.

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Three Moves Ahead Episode 103 – Community

February 10th, 2011 by Rob Zacny · Podcast, Three Moves Ahead

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Rob turtles up for a free-for-all discussion of RTS multiplayer gaming with Tom Chick and Chris Remo. What really powers the Starcraft II community, and why can’t other RTS games match it? It looks unstoppable, but does a challenger arise with League of Legends? 3MA favorites Supreme Commander II and RUSE depress the panel with their multiplayer front-end, but Chris cheers himself up by building a cathedral in Dawn of Discovery.

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