What do you think is the most important, influential or interesting game that was released in 2012, and why?

I’m toying with the idea of defining whales as “those players who represent 50% of your revenue”, meaning that you can quickly get a sense of how whale-dependent your business is. Is this a good idea and/or benchmark,...

A reader writes: “Right now I'm at pains to figure out what makes card battle games (Rage of Bahamut...) so successful and how they seem to disregard so many of our game development rules”. Can you help GAMESbrief’s...

Is energy over? Zynga uses energy as a monetisation method, and as a result, many players now see energy as a cynical money-grabbing ploy that typifies the cynical exploitation endemic in free-to-play games. Yet Boss Alien, the...

One of the GAMESbrief design rules is that players must not fail, using examples such as Backbreaker and Bejewelled Blitz. It has also been one of the more controversial, with comments via Twitter and the web saying...

It was recently reported that Zynga’s market value was less than the value of its cash holdings and the property it owns in San Francisco. If you were suddenly asked to replace Mark Pincus, what would you...