Even though it was a bit of a quiet week, what with New Year's Eve/Day and all, big sister site Gamasutra has kicked back into high gear after the break, and there were a number of original features/Q&As posted that might be of interest to y'all.

In particularly, check out the Q&As with Dimps and Nunchuck Games execs, as well as a neat GCG design article, Heather Chandler on good team management, and Ray Kurzweil's unveiling as one of the keynotes for next month's GDC, run by the folks in the office next-door. Here's the lowdown:

- Production Values: The Value of Communication In Game Development
"In her latest 'Production Values' feature, EA, Ubisoft and Activision veteran Heather Chandler discusses how game producers can improve communication on their teams, helping to fix mismatched creative visions, missed deadlines, and more."

- Q&A: Nunchuck Games' Luntz On Testing His Ninja Reflex
"Gamasutra spoke to Nunchuck Games founder and former Z-Axis head David Luntz ahead of the release of Ninja Reflex, the company's first game, about his somewhat unusual business model built on relationships, and why he feels he's finally free to make the kinds of games he's always wanted to make -- nunchuks, shuriken, ninjas and all."

- GDC 2008 Gets Keynote From Futurist Ray Kurzweil
"GDC organizers CMP have announced that renowned futurist Ray Kurzweil will keynote the 2008 Game Developers Conference on "The Next 20 Years of Gaming" -- a look at the next two decades of video games and what the landscape may well look like come GDC 2028."

- Q&A: Dimps' Tanaka Talks 2D Fighter Comeback, Japanese Market
"Could the industry see a resurgence of the 2D fighting game? Gamasutra presents a rare interview with Dimps COO Mitsuhiro Tanaka (Dragonball Z: Budokai, the pictured-above Rumble Fish) about the concept, the peculiarities of being funded by several major competing Japanese developers, and why middleware issues might be holding Japanese technology back."

- Educational Feature: The Fine Art of Balance
"Sister game dev education web site GameCareerGuide.com has a new feature on balance in game design. The article introduces new developers, game dev students, and entry-level designers to some basic principles of balance, pulling examples from Oblivion, World of Warcraft, and other eminent games."

- Q&A: Softimage's Schoennagel Talks Free Mod, Dead Rising
"Gamasutra recently spoke in-depth with Softimage's Mark Schoennagel about the company's free modeling and animation mod tool, the details of its XNA integration and its innovative GATOR technology, and the surprising way Softimage's products helped create zombie horror in Capcom's Dead Rising."

- Work Doesn't Take A Holiday But David Perry's Free To Play
"After David Perry (Earthworm Jim, MDK) left Shiny Entertainment in 2006, he decided to take 'a year off'. Yet, now CCO for free-to-play PC MMO publisher Acclaim, he's busier than ever, and Gamasutra quizzes him about his multiple projects."