Character Development and writing: A Conversation with Ashton Raze

Ashton Raze

Not too long ago, I talked with Ashton Raze about character design, writing, applications in Game Development, and other highly unrelated topics. She was willing to answer some questions I had for her, and I thoroughly enjoyed talking to her.  It's amazing what random conversations on Twitter can turn into! Our conversation started on Twitter before moving to a more formal interview.  Those 140 character limits tend to really cramp what one can say.  Our initial conversation was how easy it is to add a token character to the plot for little reason than to check off a box on the diversity checklist.  I got to thinking about solutions to this problem when I started talking to Raze.

Admittedly, I had a bit of an agenda to push when I first reached out to Raze.  I set out to rant about game characters and how developers don't spend enough time fleshing the character beyond a few simple traits/tropes. While talking with Raze, the conversation quickly changed and went an entirely different direction.  The conversation changed to writing and character development, and as such, I've had to rethink how I would write this article.

Getting Digital Distribution to be taken seriously

PC gaming has changed, just like war.  Developers have had to grow and adapt to the changing environment.  Some do better, some don't do so well.  However, there's still quite a bit that needs to be fixed.  If this is going to be the future, there's a lot that needs to be done.

Review: Beat Hazard

System: PC (Steam), Xbox 360 (Xbox Live Indie Games)
Rating: N/A
Reviewed on: 360
Price: 400 MS Points (~$5) / $9.99 (Steam)

Now here's a game that makes me feel like a little kid again.  My dad got me started on gaming when I was three years old.  We played all the classics: Galaga, Centipede, Pac-Man, Asteroids...

Wait a minute...This game looks a lot like asteroids!  What's this? I can use my own music?  It's only $5 on XBL?  I'm sold!

That was more or less what I first thought when I saw this game.  As I sat down and tried it out, I found myself feeling more and more mixed.  I had a lot of fun with this game, but not without reservations.

EA's forum ban policy: How much is too much?

EA, what happened to you?

There's an article over on GamePolitics that talks about EA's Origin service and how people banned from the forums are subsequently unable to play the games they paid for.  After reading the comments and linked articles, there's a few sticky topics that I want to pick apart.