It’s the Voice Acting’s Fault

Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 24, 2010

I’ve complained about it before. Shamus Young complains about it better. Y’know, for a brief, glowing moment in the history of our hobby – pretty much the late 90’s – it seemed like we almost had it right. The text was supplemented by voice, but it was limited –  enough to help visualize characters.  But […]

Filed Under: Biz, Design - Comments: 11 Comments to Read

Humble Indie Bundle Breaks $1 Million, Extends 3 Days, Goes Open Source

Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 12, 2010

Remember the “Humble Indie Bundle” I talked about last week? Well, it seems the pie-in-the-sky goal was hit in the final hour, by some generous donations well above the suggested retail price of the games in the bundle. It seems to many observers that some kind of significant milestone was achieved in the history of […]

Filed Under: Biz, Indie Evangelism - Comments: 10 Comments to Read

Samarost 2 Added to the Humble Indie Bundle (Only 1 Day Left)

Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 10, 2010

The “Humble Indie Bundle” has been updated to include a copy of Samarost 2, by Aminata design. Those who have already purchased the bundle had it added to their list already. The Humble Indie Bundle is a collection of six (formerly five) indie games that allow you to pay whatever your want for them. Your […]

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

What If Super Mario Brothers Had Been Made in 2010?

Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 5, 2010

Painful ‘cuz it’s so true! Kotaku: If Super Mario Bros. Was Made In 2010

Filed Under: Biz, Retro - Comments: Read the First Comment

Games – Too Big, Too Hard?

Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 4, 2010

Unable to resist an easy double entendre, GamePro EVP John Davison writes about how we now have solid evidence of something gamers are frequently loathe to admit: Too Big and Too Hard The upshot of the article is this: Now that game developers are including stats reporting in their games, they are learning our actual […]

Filed Under: Biz, Design - Comments: 13 Comments to Read

More Departures from Infinity Ward

Posted by Rampant Coyote on April 27, 2010

So, is this a case of a parent company killing the goose that laid the golden egg? Five More Out at Modern Warfare Studio Infinity Ward It’s really tough to tell who’s at fault here – I’m sure the courts will be deciding that for a while. I don’t know if West and Zampella were […]

Filed Under: Biz - Comments: 2 Comments to Read

Jeff Vogel on How He Saved the Games Industry Overnight

Posted by Rampant Coyote on April 22, 2010

Long-time indie RPG maker Jeff Vogel makes some dang good points: “If you asked me why I used that same old clunky game engine and why I am still using it, I would give this answer: Because I am really smart and cool and awesome. And if more people emulated me, the game industry would […]

Filed Under: Biz, Production - Comments: 8 Comments to Read

Games as Art? I Thought I Saw That Horse Twitch!

Posted by Rampant Coyote on

An actual chat yesterday Me: I am surprised that Ebert jumped back to repeat himself on this subject. I guess he wanted the publicity it gave him last time. Friend: Can’t blame him, really. It’s an interesting discussion point and gets him all kinds of free publicity all at once. Me: I can blame him! […]

Filed Under: Art, Biz, Movies, Politics - Comments: 7 Comments to Read

Do Game Developers Actually Play Games? Shouldn’t They?

Posted by Rampant Coyote on April 20, 2010

In the forum thread about RPG Codex’s Game Developer Picks for RPG of the Decade [warning: They have been known to occasionally engage in harsh language… 😉 ] some posters rather colorfully called into question the judgment of these game developers (myself included as one of the offending responses) by asking whether we actually play […]

Filed Under: Biz, Game Development - Comments: 7 Comments to Read

The Collapse of Complex Video Game Development?

Posted by Rampant Coyote on April 8, 2010

A few days ago, a friend of mine sent me this link to an an article entitled, “The Collapse of Complex Business Models.” Deep stuff. I’m not sure I entirely comprehend it. But it made me think about the videogame business. The article was inspired / based upon the 1988 book by Joseph Tainter, The […]

Filed Under: Biz - Comments: 5 Comments to Read

Ron Gilbert Leaves Hothead

Posted by Rampant Coyote on April 7, 2010

DeathSpank is practically done, but Ron Gilbert has announced that he’s left Hothead Games.  Conjecture as to why he has done this is pretty much useless as it could be anything. The sad part for me – as I kinda follow what he’s been doing – is realizing that this entire phase of his career […]

Filed Under: Biz - Comments: Comments are off for this article

Why Mainstream RPGs Are FUBAR

Posted by Rampant Coyote on March 15, 2010

Gareth has the principle commentary: A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words, Part 1 A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words, Part 2 The important note to make about the second one is that it was made from the perspective of a Japanese RPG developer. Final Fantasy = JRPG, Tomb Raider = WRPG? WTF? Okay, […]

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



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