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Raph Koster

Raph Koster

Game designer, author, speaker

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Raph Koster
Raph Koster
Game designer, author, speaker
  • The Sunday Poem: 48

    Hours September 16, 2007September 16, 2007 Categories The Sunday Poem
    Comments 2 Comments

    A number shy of fifty, count short of a century’s half.
    An age where half the time remaining is decline.
    A span of time not quite tomorrow, a batch of hours
    Piled past a rising sun and past a moonlit night.

    The gap of time to find a killer before he’s off scot free;
    The span of time for ecstasy to filter through a brain.
    “A day or two,” the time we cite when something needs
    Some getting over, the “she’ll be better in” refrain.

    Anticipation’s simplest metric. The continental States.
    The year of Paul of Tarsus’ mission, when singing
    visions Damascened his eyes. Two even pair of dozens,
    a pile of potential chickens, a deck without the kings.

    All numbers have their secrets; odd or even, prime or strange.
    All figures have their seasons, and all periods have a range.

    Read More The Sunday Poem: 48Continue

  • Cross-learning with Habbo and WoW…

    Hours September 16, 2007 Categories Game talk

    Gamasutra – Question Of The Week: World Of Warcraft Vs. Habbo ?

    “Following the Austin Game Developers Conference last week, how important do you think online worlds such as Habbo and web-based social gaming in general is to the future of online games, compared to existing game biz successes like World Of Warcraft? What can WoW learn from Habbo, and vice versa?”

    Obviously, a question that I am very interested in seeing the answers to!

    Read More Cross-learning with Habbo and WoW…Continue

  • Buying one-shotting

    Hours September 15, 2007 Categories Game talk
    Comments 12 Comments

    So in the recent F13 interview, I made the statement that “Mark Jacobs is on crack,” as regards his position towards microtransactions. Naturally, this was said with a laugh and all in good humor. Whether the transcription catches that is always up for grabs. I knew that quote would get picked up, though!

    It got noticed over at the Warhammer forums, and now there’s a discussion not of the quote, but more specifically of the actual impact of microtransactions.
    Raph Koster Speaks: “Mark Jacobs is on Crack” – Warhammer Forums

    Read More “Buying one-shotting”

    Read More Buying one-shottingContinue

  • Another stupid meme

    Hours September 15, 2007 Categories Misc
    Comments 7 Comments

    You can blame Grimwell for this one.

    Four jobs I have had in my life (not including your current job):

    1. Sandwich maker at a Subway.
    2. Tutoring learning-disabled college students
    3. Teaching Spanish to fifth graders
    4. Running A/V for conferences

    Read More “Another stupid meme”

    Read More Another stupid memeContinue

  • Video games train new miners in Peru | CNET News.com

    Hours September 15, 2007 Categories Game talk
    Comments 2 Comments

    Games continue to creep into the oddest places. 🙂 I suspect that one of the major applications is going to be something we really didn’t suspect at all, like telephone sanitizing.

    Video games train new miners in Peru | CNET News.com

    This, of course, actually sounds like fun. Check out the way Reuters talks about it:

    The simulators require drivers to pass through timed obstacle courses in simulated mining pits, being careful to avoid wrecking multimillion-dollar rigs and causing the games to crash.

    The driver’s cabin in the dump truck bounces over the rough road of mines, and some players enjoyed backing the truck up to a ravine and pulling a lever to dump the dirt load.

    A little more breathlessness and you could see this selling on a console.

    Read More Video games train new miners in Peru | CNET News.comContinue

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  • Blog
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  • Game Design
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