Rob Manuel

“We need games like 'A Closed World' for many reasons. When you hear another developer talk about how games need to grow up, they need to tackle adult themes, and how they need to embrace that ability to transport the player into a different world, this is that game that they want other developers to make.”

“Sometimes it's not always about what you can see or hear but what's under the hood of a game that's most impressive. Between those thousands and thousands of lines of code, magic happens. Sometimes the most amazing feats of gaming wizardry happen without you even noticing.”

“'Minecraft' opens up a world of limitless possibilities, driven by the player and created by the fans who love it.”

“Not only a great game, 'Uncharted 2' raised the bar for storytelling for the medium. The game treated action as a part of the overall story rather than a way to move from plot point to plot point.”

“While the Super Bowl still smashes records for butts in the seats, eSports often run longer and never blinks. There's no commercial break. There's no halftime show. From start to finish, someone is going to walk home a champion, and you don't want to miss a second of it.”

“'A Valley Without Wind' takes the idea of dungeon crawls and throws it on its head by casting you as a magic user in this 2D platforming labyrinth of a world. From NPC's to rescue, spells to learn, and a whole civilization you practically need to build back from scratch, this adventure takes to a new world where few other games dare to go.”

“'Armada d6' proves that some of the best games out there are still being playing on your tabletop.”

“'Toybox' is that kind of game that will stretch your mental capacity by doing very simple things like solving an easy puzzle of shooting aliens. You'll just need to do everything at the same time to make it through alive. Just to make things tricky, the tasks change every week so you can't get used to any set.”

“For me, it's great to see 'Gateways' finally make it to the console. Think of it as 'Portal' meets 'Castlevania' as you try to put together your gateway gun before your lab becomes overrun with nasty enemies.”

“'Fowl Space' was a lovechild of boredom. While in class, two of the developers started passing designs back and forth. Somewhere in the middle of all that ink and crumpled paper, a chicken in a space helmet was born and thus we have 'Fowl Space.'”

“The world is full of people who say, 'But I had that idea first,' but did they do anything about it? Nope, they sat on their bum dreaming.”

“With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if you need to escape the same dreary titles.”

“One part puzzle mixed with one part racer with just a dash of art and music just to blend everything together, 'Dyad' takes you on a fast-paced trip down a tunnel filled with lights and a shifting list of rules to keep your neurons nimble.”

“There's a certain logic to avoiding the haters, but as a strategy, it's utterly flawed. When you turn off the feedback, you lose the benefits as well as the drawbacks. It's like having a sore finger and cutting off your arm.”

“Look at the world of both film and indie games, and you'll find a startling similarity between the two when it comes to creating the perfect horror story. The tricks storytellers pull to make your blood run cold never change; a creaking floorboard, the eerie feeling of being watched, wandering into a world filled with unspeakable terror.”

“Try celebrating the best and not the worst.”

“Bacon. Let's talk about bacon. There's no meat more glorious than bacon. You can add it to pasta instead of cheese. You can stick it in a sandwich, er... instead of cheese.”

“Twitch is a platform. Switch it on, and you'll find thousands of channels of pure gameplay rolling around with people talking in the background. Dig a little deeper, and you'll also find people talking on camera, with sets built like an actual talk show, and schedules of events posted at the bottom of the web page.”

“More than just music, the splash of water or a lone footstep can put you in the moment. Sound is just another tool in the developer's toolbox to draw the player further into the game.”

“Keep it simple, stupid. Good game design shouldn't keep you looking at the manual but should have enough depth where you feel like you bring something new to the game every time you play.”