Content round-up from Gamasutra's industry leading sites with Gamasutra Features Director Christian Nutt

As I write this, the traditional industry is in the calm before the fall storm — E3 having happened, along with the unveiling of Nintendo's new home console Wii U and Sony's new portable PlayStation Vita, both of which are the culminations of the lessons these companies have learned so far. Elsewhere, social gaming giant Zynga is about to IPO, and what effect that has on the industry can only be guessed at right now — though we do see more core games talent, this time notable developer Keita Takahashi — fleeing the restrictions of consoles for the wilds of mobile and the web.

Christian Nutt
Features Director
Gamasutra

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Gamasutra

How Sid Meier Civilized Social Gaming
Renowned game designer Sid Meier tells Gamasutra how his traditional "find the fun" design philosophy can translate to the fast-paced, metrics-based world of social gaming, with his latest title, CivWorld.

Understanding Balance in Video Games
What's the value of balancing your game, and how do you do it? 100 Rogues developer Keith Burgun tackles the issue of game balance, bringing to light insights that aren't entirely obvious, and showing where game balance really counts.

Analysis: Putting Zynga's IPO In Perspective
Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris takes a deeper look at the numbers behind Zynga's $1 billion IPO, and comes to the conclusion: "Damn, would it be nice to be Mark Pincus."

Opinion: Why Do Games Publishers Exist?
In the age of digital distribution and social marketing, do we need these inflated, expensive, inefficient organizations? Gamasutra's business editor Colin Campbell gets ready for the revolution.

Supreme Court Decision: 'Video Games Qualify For First Amendment Protection'
In a landmark ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the video game industry, striking down a California video game law that sought to place government restrictions on the sale of violent video games to minors.

Interview: 'Intuition' Led Keita Takahashi To Tiny Speck's Glitch
Gamasutra spoke with iconoclastic game designer Keita Takahashi and Tiny Speck founder Stewart Butterfield to discuss the Katamari Damacy creator's involvement in the upcoming social game Glitch.

GameSetWatch

Digital Press Veterans Kickstart Videogame History Museum
Digital Press members and Classic Gaming Expo organizers have initiated a Kickstarter donation drive for The Videogame History Museum, a non-profit physical collection "dedicated to preserving, archiving, and documenting the history of the videogame industry."

2011's First Half: A Review
GameSetWatch looks at the packaging art for some of the year's biggest releases so far, and summarizes the first half of 2011 as "a spicy nacho adrenaline rush mixed with a refreshing burst of cool ranch."

Today Show: Gamers Over 30 Are 'Weird'
"Do you think it's okay for men to play video games in their 30s and over?" asks Today show viewer Elizabeth in a note sent in recently for the program's segment with TV personality Donny Deutsch, The Other View: Getting A Guy's Perspective On Love.

IndieGames

Q&A: The Publication of Gemini Rue
Developer Joshua Nuernberger talks with IndieGames.com about publishing his point-and-click, sci-fi noir thriller Gemini Rue, which was an Independent Games Festival 2010 Student Showcase winner and released for PC recently to much acclaim.

E3 2011: Hands-On Impressions of Papo & Yo (Minority)
Part of a series of early looks at indie titles that appeared at E3 2011, this preview examines Montreal-based studio Minority's first and highly anticipated title Papo & Yo, a unique adventure game releasing exclusively for PlayStation Network.

The nD: Indie Handheld Game System
Robert Pelloni, the man behind the Duke Nukem Forever of indie games, Bob's Game, revealed earlier this year that he was making an indie gaming handheld system. Of course, most people decided it was all a big joke, and a publicity stunt for his game. He released a new trailer, though, and suddenly we don't know what to think anymore.

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Debbie Beam

Increase ROI through Gamasutra's Affiliated Sites

If ROI, Share-of-Voice and influence are important to you, then the Game Network of sites is here to deliver. This robust network is home to the largest community and economy of developers world-wide; with access to 1 million unique visitors/month, 3.3 million page views/month and 500,000 registered members, you can't afford NOT to utilize Gama as your portal to success. Keep in mind, 71% of Gamasutra members are directly involved in the purchase of new technologies, products and services - making Gamasutra an essential vehicle to consistently reach decision makers throughout the year.

The Affiliated Site Sponsorship offers exclusive coverage (100% Share-of-Voice) to key sectors of the game industry. Wrap your brand & message around the latest news, blogs, interviews and expert analysis on IndieGames.com or GameSetWatch.com for an entire month and be seen as an industry leader. The 1-month Affiliated Site sponsorship includes an exclusive homepage call-out box with sponsor logo and description for maximum visibility and 160x600 banner with 100% share of voice so you get every impression for the entire month!

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Rafael Vallin

GDC Vault: Continuing education is key to staying on the cutting edge of videogame technology.

GDC Vault is making an effort to help solve this problem by offering new Educational Licenses to schools, giving faculty and students 24/7 365 access to GDC Vault's on-demand library of GDC content (GDC SF, GDC Online, GDC Europe, and GDC China) going as far back as 1996. The content includes conference recordings and proceedings in slide, audio, and video formats. With content from leading software and hardware providers like EA/Maxis, NVIDIA, Ubisoft, Intel, Namco, RIM/BlackBerry, Bungie, Playdom, Unity, Blizzard, Zynga, Pop Cap, Three Rings, SCEA, Crytek, Nintendo and many more, GDC Vault is an invaluable teaching and reference tool for Educators and Students alike!

Best part about GDC Vault's new Educational Licenses - they're affordable. Schools can unlock all the valuable content from (4) GDC events for their entire staff and student body for the low yearly rate of $5,000 NET. That's less than the cost of sending two faculty members to (1) GDC!  

Sample the GDC Vault content for yourself here, free: http://gdcvault.com/free  

Rafael Vallin is the Game Network's Education Account Manager. He can be reached at Rafael.Vallin@ubm.com

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