kev/null design/book/comics/games/photos/presentations

Gaming

Game mechanics, videogames, use of games

Raptr Launches in Public Beta

Raptr, the startup I joined at the beginning of the year, has gone into public beta. If you play any sort of video games – even casual Flash games like Who’s Got the Biggest Brain on Facebook (my current obsession) – I hope you try it out. I’m very fortunate and proud to have contributed [...]

IA Summit: Inspiration From the Edge

I’ve often believed that the best designers don’t get their ideas and inspiration from the place they work. As a designer that works in the social web space, I do look at a large number of new sites that come through the pipeline for inspiration. However, I also am a big advocate of experimenting with [...]

History of Video Games 1972-2007

When we visited my parents in February, it occurred to my dad that both my brother Jamie and I now work in the video game industry. Jamie started his own company, Klei Entertainment, whilst I joined an early stage startup for gamers called Raptr. My dad said, I let you guys play too many video [...]

Iminlikewithyou and Game Design in the Web

A friend of mine pestered me to join a new site about a month ago. I had heard of it. From what I had heard, it was a new dating site with the worst name: iminlikewithyou (iilwy). As in “I’m not in love with you but maybe I’m in like with you.” The name alone [...]

A Monopoly on Monopoly Rules

I played Monopoly as a kid like everyone else but I probably played it first in Hong Kong. As some of you know, I grew up in a number of cities/countries/continents. Remember Monopoly? Remember the rules? Remember when you’d actually read the rules on about the fifth time you play and suddenly realize the rule you [...]

Robin Williams Plays Spore

I was able to attend a Wired party during E3 where Will Wright of The Sims and SimCity (and really, anything Sim) fame was giving the latest demo of Spore. Spore is a game where you go basically from amoeba all the way up to intergalactic travel and all the evolutionary steps in between. Much [...]

LAPE3 POP

This weekend, I’ll be at the Alternative Press Expo (APE) for the first time. I’m glad that there’s a strong independent creator community here in San Francisco and am looking forward to a different crowd from the design conferences. Brandon and Nicole have graciously offered to share their table with Min Jung, Courtney, Robert and [...]

Eets Canada Day

Jamie and Mike, originally uploaded by kev/null. My brother returned from Seattle the other day and said, “Penny Arcade is going to mention us!” K: “That’s awesome! You’ll have the game for download by then?” J: “Yeah.” K: “Is it up on GameSpy yet?” J: “Don’t know if it will be by then. I worked [...]