January 2010
6 posts
Metagaming
Achievements — system-level awards for certain gameplay goals — are explicit metagames. Many players find that they are substantially less rewarding than the metagames they create for themselves.
After all, part of the fun of a meta-game is not knowing if it’s even technically possible to accomplish your goal.
It’s “Jump the van over the river: 30 points” vs. “Can I get this beat-up van...
Rumors Of An Apple Affiliate Platform
I was pleased to hear the circulating rumor that Apple will announce a powerful affiliate platform on its January 27th press conference. Perhaps this platform will be not just for marketing, but also for selling items directly. And since these sales will likely lead to paid content downloads in a seamless real-time experience, it has the makings of yet another Cupertino game-changer.
Sure,...
4 tags
PR vs. CYA
Any organization in the business of certification runs into the problem of having to market the reliability of certification while also covering their bums.
Google’s Qualified Developer Directory
Google just released a new directory for its Qualified Developer program.
This program has been public since last year, but it’s only recently been marketed. A message marketing the...
Location Based Networks: Fighting Over the Same...
dbreunig:
One of these days, location based networks are going to wake up and realize their numbers and games are meaningless once Google or Facebook flips a switch. So far all of these companies keep targeting the early adopter, game-loving, geek crowd. People that will trade privacy for a mayorship.
Until these companies create a product that provides a real value to a niche, active...
The Google.cn Decision Is Not About IP
Journey To The West
Drewbot on Google & China
The excuse given for their previous censorship efforts was that Google plans to adhere to ‘local laws.’ This sidestepped the issue and ignored the big question: do these local laws harm or impede people or their rights.
Only now, when their own intellectual property is threatened, do they act. The fact that Google actively champions...
Clear Eyes, Full Hearts
I had the chance today to catch up on some reading I had queued up, and I found Tahdg Kelly’s thoughts on Zynga from a couple weeks ago to be a surprisingly validating read.
Zynga’s coffers are deep, as are Playdom and Playfish’s, but at the heart of their model are some deep weaknesses that are going to let a lot of the air out of their Fast Food business models. The audience...