As some of you know, I'm on the Online Games Committee of the International Game Developers Association. One of our projects is that we release White Papers on the state of the industry every so often. Our newest White Paper just went live, and it's focused on my own corner of the industry -- Persistent State Worlds. I'm listed as "Editor in Chief" on this one, which means that I was one of the volunteer editors who pulled in contributions from many different individuals, and tried to massage the whole thing into something that has at least a superficial appearance of looking somewhat consistent and professional. ;)

The Paper is about 80 pages long, and gives general "developer to developer" advice about my industry, covering everything from a quick overview of major products, to design considerations on multiplayer gameplay and dealing with online communities, to technical considerations, to some stats about the international marketplace, including the rapidly-growing Asian market.

The official announcement about the White Paper's release hasn't gone out yet, but the paper is up now on the IGDA website. It's a free download, if anyone wants to take a look.

Elonka :)

IGDA State of the Industry - Persistent State Worlds White Paper