A Dungeon Crawler Recipe?

Posted by Rampant Coyote on January 23, 2013

It’s a start: The Dungeon Crawler Recipe I think you need more to it than this. And “theme” – I dunno. Some of my favorite games of previous eras played fast and loose with this, and that was part of the fun. It seems modern players get much more hung up and demand a purity […]

Filed Under: Design, Retro - Comments: 4 Comments to Read

Rare Arcade Game that Beat Atari in Court Unearthed

Posted by Rampant Coyote on December 21, 2012

I’d never heard of the arcade game Meteors before. It’s hardly surprising – it sounds like the game had near zero distribution, but it does have the distinction of being the winner of a landmark legal decision in a lawsuit from Atari. The problem was… this was a game that, graphically at least… seems quite […]

Filed Under: Biz, Retro - Comments: 4 Comments to Read

A Trip Back to Baldur’s Gate

Posted by Rampant Coyote on December 20, 2012

I started a new game of Baldur’s Gate earlier this year, after finally purchasing a new copy of the game from GOG.COM (I still have it on CD-ROM, plus the expansion, but there was too good of a sale one day at GOG.COM with a convenient digital download and extras). I didn’t get far before […]

Filed Under: Retro - Comments: 4 Comments to Read

Two Great Arcade Urban Legends

Posted by Rampant Coyote on December 14, 2012

On twitter (I’m @RampantCoyote ) I was chatting a little bit about arcade urban legends. Most of the ones I was familiar with were pretty local – some kid pulling my leg claiming to have gone to a totally new world through the Stargate in Defender Stargate (later redubbed Defender II). Or how it was […]

Filed Under: Geek Life, Retro - Comments: Comments are off for this article

Nine Game Production Lessons Learned from the Arcades

Posted by Rampant Coyote on November 19, 2012

Many game developers of the modern era have begged that the industry transcend its arcade roots. And I cannot disagree with them, as far as they go. The arcade machines were patterned after a different amusement than what games are now (or should be). The old arcade games were designed to maximize quarter revenue, for […]

Filed Under: Production, Retro - Comments: Comments are off for this article

Something Old, Something New… And Everything Else!

Posted by Rampant Coyote on October 24, 2012

I recently confessed that I really don’t know what “old-school RPG” really means, mainly because it’s something that represents different things to different people. In the latest issue of Knights of the Dinner Table, comic creator Jolly Blackburn confessed the same kind of quandary in an editorial about the “old-school” mentality of dice-and-paper gamers. He […]

Filed Under: Design, Mainstream Games, Retro - Comments: 5 Comments to Read

Picture: Worth 1000 Words, Costs 5000

Posted by Rampant Coyote on October 22, 2012

My favorite death in the original Zork adventure game came from my attempt to brush my teeth using a tube of what appeared (according to the description) to be toothpaste.  Apparently, it was actually “All-Purpose Gunk,” a kind of fast-acting glue. The result was… well, it was actually hilarious, and not entirely unexpected. But one […]

Filed Under: Adventure Games, Art, Retro - Comments: 6 Comments to Read

What Is an Old-School RPG?

Posted by Rampant Coyote on September 24, 2012

I’m going to make a confession. This is a big one, coming from a designer of an “old-school style” CRPG, and from a guy who’s constantly harping on the joys of old-school gaming. I don’t know what the hell “old-school” means. Sure, I was there playing these old classics when they were new, and I […]

Filed Under: Retro - Comments: 16 Comments to Read

Is Old-School is Back In Session?

Posted by Rampant Coyote on September 18, 2012

Maybe it’s just because it’s the object of my focus, but it feels like “old-school” RPGs are back in favor … at least a little bit… everywhere but at the big publishers. Game journalists are talking about it. Kickstarters for games like Wasteland 2, Dead State, and now the huge response to Obsidian’s Project Eternity […]

Filed Under: Biz, Design, Retro - Comments: 5 Comments to Read

Hot Dang. All the Ultimas.

Posted by Rampant Coyote on August 23, 2012

The whole series. On sale. With new goodies. That is, if you exclude Akalabeth: World of Doom (which I don’t know was ever officially ported to the PC), and Escape from Mount Drash (which was an unofficial horrible VIC-20 game produced by Sierra in a time when they didn’t realize what ‘intellectual property rights’ really […]

Filed Under: Deals, Retro - Comments: 4 Comments to Read

Going Big When You Are Small

Posted by Rampant Coyote on August 22, 2012

I’ve had a few discussions with friends over the last couple of weeks about RPG design, revisiting past ideas, etc.  Those inspired yesterday’s post. And today’s post. But what really drove something home was this RPG Codex interview with gaming legend Jon Van Caneghem, creator of the Might & Magic series and founder of New […]

Filed Under: Design, Indie Evangelism, Retro - Comments: 5 Comments to Read

PC Game Evolution in Two and a Half Minutes

Posted by Rampant Coyote on July 31, 2012

Just for fun – a little musical video of PC games, complete with music created entirely of remixed sound effects from said games: I liked how many of the games at the end were… INDIE GAMES! Enjoy.

Filed Under: Retro - Comments: 4 Comments to Read

Not Your Father’s Ultima IV

Posted by Rampant Coyote on July 24, 2012

I hate to be critical of games that have not yet been released, especially when they are so clearly a labor of love for the developers. And in this case, it sounds like the principle folks here really, really pushed to make this happen. But man, this preview / interview about Bioware’s upcoming “Ultima IV […]

Filed Under: Game Announcements, Retro - Comments: 7 Comments to Read

Worlds of Ultima 1 & 2: *FREE*

Posted by Rampant Coyote on June 18, 2012

They aren’t indie, but they were made on what would be considered an indie budget today. And they are free at GOG.COM … Worlds of Ultima 1 and 2 – FREE These are two spin-off games from the Ultima series that were made using the Ultima VI engine. As I recall, Warren Spector said his […]

Filed Under: Free Games, Retro - Comments: 8 Comments to Read

Diablo. Or How To Quit Talking About It and Actually Do It.

Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 15, 2012

So I hear there’s some kind of action-RPG that was just released today? Kind of a niche action-roguelike or something? I hope their budget was small, because those kinds of games just don’t sell… Seriously, though, I’m a big fan of the first two Diablo games. The reasons I’m holding off on picking up the […]

Filed Under: Game Development, Retro - Comments: 5 Comments to Read

Dang I Feel Old. More 20th Anniversary Goodies…

Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 11, 2012

Dang. First it was Ultima VII and Ultima Underworld celebrating 20th anniversaries. Coupled with the 30th anniversary of the Commodore 64, I’m really starting to feel old. It can’t have been all that long ago, could it? Sheesh. I need to get off the dime and finally finish some of the games I’ve been meaning […]

Filed Under: Retro - Comments: 2 Comments to Read



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