Indie Funding – And What Comes First

Posted by Rampant Coyote on August 12, 2010

I’ve been meaning to post and comment on this for a while. Brian “Psychochild” Green has an excellent article on all the different ways you can fund indie game development. Aspiring indies, take note. Psychochild on Indie Funding I think it’s a pretty exhaustive list, actually, with all kinds of weird options covered within broader […]

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Molyneux sez: “Enjoy It While You Can, Indies! We’re Taking Over Soon!”

Posted by Rampant Coyote on August 9, 2010

Peter Molyneux warns that indies are living on borrowed time, and their opportunity to thrive on certain platforms – notably the iPhone and Android – will soon come to an end under the domination of a major publisher. Molyneux: Indie Havens on Borrowed Time A couple of choice quotes: “We are just one or two […]

Filed Under: Biz, Indie Evangelism - Comments: 9 Comments to Read

Almost Half of PC Game Sales Are Now Downloads…

Posted by Rampant Coyote on July 27, 2010

We’re living in an immaterial world, and I am an immaterial gir… uh, guy, er, whatever. NPD: Full-Game PC Downloads Reaching Parity With Physical Purchases I think if you were to add in things like downloadable content and in-game transactions for virtual items, and especially subscriptions to games like World of Warcraft, the number shifts […]

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“Mindie?” No Thanks

Posted by Rampant Coyote on July 20, 2010

Alistair Doulin writes on both Gamasutra and his own blog (they are the same article) about bridging the gap between mainstream and indie game development… what he jokingly (I hope) refers to as “mindie.” It’s actually not a bad article. I did enjoy reading it. By his definition, most of the games I mention here […]

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The Triumph of 2D

Posted by Rampant Coyote on July 2, 2010

It’s become pretty obvious by now, but Kotaku has a very nice article up about the return of 2D in gaming: The Revenge of 2D Not that it was ever really gone. But while it wasn’t entirely dead (in spite of the wishes of companies like Sony and Microsoft), it’s epitaph and eulogy were written, […]

Filed Under: Biz - Comments: 5 Comments to Read

Diablo II – Ten Years Old?

Posted by Rampant Coyote on July 1, 2010

RPS reminds us that Diablo II just turned ten years old. I still have the collector’s edition box in my closet. It’s, uh… collecting. Dust. I make my snide remarks about action RPGs, but I still love ’em – the good ones, that is. And Diablo II is definitely an example of excellence, and is […]

Filed Under: Biz, Mainstream Games, Retro - Comments: 6 Comments to Read

Shareware is Dead – Long Live Shareware!

Posted by Rampant Coyote on June 22, 2010

Greg of Monkeytime Software sent me this announcement about the organization formerly-known-as the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP) finally striking the word “Shareware” from their name: Shareware is Dead – Long Live Shareware! I’m mixed about the change. Yeah, the term “shareware” is pretty much as obsolete and out-of-fashion as the floppy disk and dial-up […]

Filed Under: Biz - Comments: 5 Comments to Read

Indie Biz: Collaborative Competition

Posted by Rampant Coyote on June 17, 2010

Shortly after I made the uneasy transition from being just-a-programmer to managing a project and running an actual (if not all that profitable, so far) indie business, I read a very inspiring article. I wish I could tell you who wrote it, or link to it, but I can’t recall. But the author pointed out […]

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The Seriously Un-Fun Economics of Games

Posted by Rampant Coyote on June 16, 2010

This Escapist’s publisher, Alexander Macris, strikes a note that is all too familiar to many veteran gamers. He’s feeling left behind as a gamer, and explains the simple economics of why this is the case. Why they aren’t makin’ ’em like they used to anymore. While I’m not sure his numbers are entirely accurate, they […]

Filed Under: Biz - Comments: 15 Comments to Read

Activision’s Indie Contest: Indies Need Not Apply?

Posted by Rampant Coyote on June 15, 2010

Tom Buscaglia, the “Game Attorney,” took some time to read through the rules for Activision’s independent games competition. To be honest, this thing was always something of a head-scratcher for me, and after reading Tom’s take on it, I’m not sure I’m much closer to understanding the contest. Tom Buscaglia: Some Thoughts on the Activision […]

Filed Under: Biz, Indie Evangelism - Comments: 5 Comments to Read

Molyneux on RPG Evolution: Translated Into Old-School Gamer English

Posted by Rampant Coyote on June 9, 2010

The contention that mainstream games are “evolving” immediately raises my hackles. Not that I’m against change and true improvements – not at all – but contending that the newest games are the product of evolution in gaming from past efforts  is about like saying reality shows are a product of evolution in performance media  from […]

Filed Under: Biz, Interviews, Mainstream Games - Comments: 8 Comments to Read

A Love Note to the Hardcore PC Gamers…

Posted by Rampant Coyote on June 3, 2010

The mainstream games biz has abandoned us. Many indies have abandoned us for casual / social games or the iPhone. But Cliffski still loves us. Why Harcore Gamers Are the Best Customers

Filed Under: Biz, Indie Evangelism - Comments: Comments are off for this article

What If Game Design Hasn’t Progressed In 30 Years?

Posted by Rampant Coyote on June 2, 2010

Matt Barton proposes an interesting thought experiment over at Armchair Arcade: Some Thoughts Towards a Non-Linear Game History His not-quite-so-preposterous idea: What if game design hasn’t truly progressed since 1980, merely changed fashion? If you could somehow make yourself blind to the technological / graphical improvements, has game design really advanced in thirty years? I’d […]

Filed Under: Biz, Design - Comments: 9 Comments to Read

Studio or Studios?

Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 30, 2010

Ever notice how many game studios – with just one “studio” – have a company name that says “Studios?” Delusions of grandeur, or planning for the future? And then you have Iron Tower Studio – singular – which now legitimately includes multiple “studios” under their brand. Just a random observation that amuses me…

Filed Under: Biz - Comments: 4 Comments to Read

The Devolution Revolution

Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 28, 2010

Another week, another call for RPGs to “evolve.” So I guess it’s time for my monthly rant about the evolution of the cRPG genre. Hat tip to RPGWatch for this link. My response was snarkier over there than this one will be here. (See? I may be growing as a person. Or something…)  Maybe because, […]

Filed Under: Biz, Indie Evangelism, Mainstream Games - Comments: 15 Comments to Read

Free Vs. Purchased Demos

Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 25, 2010

Steven Peeler of Soldak Entertainment on Free vs. Purchased Demos: “… Charging for the demo just seems very wrong. First of all, it means you are now demanding payment for your marketing. What’s next, making the customer pay for your ads? Also what happens when they don’t like your demo (which is going to happen […]

Filed Under: Biz, Indie Evangelism, Mainstream Games - Comments: 7 Comments to Read



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