I thought maybe this was posted here before, but couldn't find reference to it in search. Games Seeds is a card game made to help players design games and characters.

http://www.gameseeds.net/
http://kotaku.com/5530433/the-building-blocks-of-video-games

It lists a lot of different components for gameplay on it's cards, helping two teams of players brainstorm a game and it's characters. The ideas are then pitched and voted on by all players to find the winner.

I've often wondered if game design could be broken up into a list of basic components which all games stem from, like the Hero's Journey concept does for story writing. I'm not sure if that was the intent of this card game, but it seems close. I feel like there may be more elements then the cards cover, however.

'tis better to ask for beardness then permission.

The next "true" step would be to have it catch what you want to do, so that using it is as easy as actually walking or turning your head.

That's what I meant, actually. It's hard to convey the difference between the thought of 'forward,' and the word 'forward' in writing.

Seems like a good thing for astronauts and the disabled like they said, but as entertainment it just seems gimmicky right now. I don't think people will like it until it works with specific thought commands like 'forward' or 'jump.'

My bad about the co-op, sorry. It's in there. 

I was reading this article and misinterpreted the line "Today, single player mode is a Donkey Kong only affair," not catching that it was only talking about single player mode, specifically.
http://www.infendo.com/e3-hands-on-donkey-kong-country-returns-indeed/

It's kind of rare and expensive, but if you can get a hold of The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, it's a great book for animators. Not as technically useful as the Survival Kit, but it really instilled me with an appreciation, respect and awe for the art and it's history. I think that's important because a true passion for animation can grow from that respect and breathe that much more life into what you do.

So people are upset about one announcement of a murder's death on twitter, but seem to be eating up the subsequent media explosion about it? Is it the announcement we're really shocked by, or is it just the fact that it's making us think uncomfortable things about the existence of capital punishment? Also for clarification, firing squad has been unlawful in Utah since 2004, but Gardner chose the option before that year.

something tells me Rare wouldn't have used those same high specular shaders anyhow. 

I'm looking forward to this one the most out of what Nintendo announced, though. But I'm disappointed that they got rid of the drop-in co-op with Diddy.

Some older Liquid Television shorts:


- "Smart Talk with Raisin"


- "Glove Story"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QP4t3p-5_S8 - "Flugbild"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZDXwPMXeUU - I think it's called "Running Man"

A few animated music videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q_AHAMVQ9c - "I'll go crazy if I don't go crazy tonight"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAFXayH1bpY - "War Photographer"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epI6D8NG4VE - "Mr. Wobble's Nightmare"

And a couple really good shorts:


- "This one time"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnA4u9CaK7A - "Crater face"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDDHHrt6l4w - "Saturday morning watchmen"

everything in that video was mega tits 1999

http://wii.ign.com/articles/109/1098692p1.html

ha

Some more ones inspired by game pets: (click to see bigger versions)

Wow, nice one Konjak.

Hempuli, that comic's pretty funny. It's got kind of a hark! a vagrant vibe.

Quoridor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quoridor) is a great game from a couple years back.  If you happen to see it in a store I highly recommend picking it up.

Basically, the object of the game is to make it to the other side of the board while simultaneously building a maze to prevent your opponent from doing the same.  I'd actually like to explore this concept more in a real time computer game.  Seems like it could be fun to try out - especially in a 4+ player context.

Quoridor is great. I love the simplicity and elegance of it's design, but that doesn't make it a simple game to play. The only thing I dislike about it, is the point at the endgame when it's obvious who's going to win, and no one can do anything but go through the motions to get to that point.

Any of the Smash Bros. games are chock full of great design, I'd recommend Melee, specifically.
Donkey Kong '94 has always inspired me, or failing that, Mario vs. Donkey Kong for the DS.
Intelligent Qube for PSX is a design favorite of mine.
Sly Cooper, Medal Gear Solid, Power Stone 2, Mario Kart 64, Henry Hatsworth, and Jak II/III are also some good ones design-wise.

As for indie games, some of my favorites from a design standpoint have been:

Fantastic Blood Boy:
http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=1308.0
(great risk/reward concept)

Muon:
http://www.yoyogames.com/games/7094-muon
(simple, elegant mechanics)

Aubergine Sky:
http://www.indiegames.com/blog/2009/07/browser_game_pick_aubergine_sk.html
(fitting gameplay with story)

Bugs:
http://www.ferryhalim.com/orisinal/g3/bugs.htm
(a lot of the other games on that site are also nicely designed)

Chessmine:
http://www.indiegames.com/blog/2009/04/freeware_game_pick_chessmine_e.html
(great twist on the rules of chess for a puzzle game)

I could think of a few women I know that might potentially find indie game development interesting. Next time I get the chance, I'll see what they think of it.

My questions is this: What is that duck biting?

A toy store just opened up near where I live so I was checking out the board games just today. I picked up a set of Mille Bornes, one of my favorite classic card games.

The one I'm looking out for right now is one that a couple of my former co-workers created, 'Last Night on Earth.' It's a zombie apocalypse boardgame that I've played with friends and had a great time with. http://www.flyingfrog.net/lastnightonearth/

I also just recently got this one game called 'Screwball Scramble,' which may or may not really be a true board game, but it's a fun and ingeniously engineered marble obstacle course.

  It fascinates me, because I can't think of many games like it, and it reminds me of the toy version of a platformer.

Some of my favorite Zelda music:

Gerudo Valley:




Zelda II Overworld:




Spirit Tracks Overworld (better with train sfx added from in game):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5W_bFLwB0WY



These have been mentioned previously, but here's some remixes of them I really like:

Yoshi's Island Crystal Caves:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU0kqF0KYgg

Sonic 2 Mystic Cave:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKbpi-34vdI

Mario Galaxy: Gusty Garden (not a remix, though):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKlJmUg5uZU

Scott Adams has an interesting point, but humans will always have their opinions. I don't know how society could even work if we never evaluated concepts before putting them into action.