Think

Social networks, ARGs and virtual worlds (like in World of Warcraft) blur the lines between our virtual and real lives. Yikes! Very Neal Stephenson's "Snow Crash" era of virtual reality goggles. But seriously, developers still search for the right blend of emotions and technology in their projects. Emotions pull people into the action and connect them to the characters. And with all the personal information found on social networks and blogs, there must be a way to harness all the emotion in a virtual manner.

An article from the San Jose Mercury News and another from the BBC News explain how emotions should be a key factor in developing games. We agree. Storytelling is key. Emotion brings stories to life.

Khoi Vinh, design director for the NYTimes.com, puts together a sound argument for paring down features in new online campaigns. Make something to delight the beginner or intermediate user and you will surely entertain the expert. But experts, the feisty group that they are, will always want more. Better features. Esoteric content. Add this and you will likely lose the beginners and intermediate users. So what's the answer... Well a good balance is always wise advice but err on the side of the non-expert. In my humble non-expert opinion.

Towerblaster is a neat little game. At first blush it seemed like a logic puzzle, but the more I played it the more I realized that it's really a card game with a different visual metaphor.