It’s Not Really a Day Off

Posted by Rampant Coyote on February 18, 2011

For me, at least, being a part-time indie game developer means taking the occasional day off work so I can stay home and… work. Yes, aside from fixing a fence that was damaged in a wind storm a couple of days ago, my day is going to be spent frantically fixing bugs. As will much […]

Filed Under: Production - Comments: 5 Comments to Read

Why Orcs?

Posted by Rampant Coyote on February 17, 2011

Stories rooted in the modern world or familiar historical periods are (relatively) easy to explain to audiences. You can slap a year and location on the screen, and you are done. “Hong Kong, 1928.” Boom. Not many people playing a game were ever in Hong Kong in 1928, but most of us are familiar enough […]

Filed Under: Design - Comments: 15 Comments to Read

Global Game Jam Keynote Speeches

Posted by Rampant Coyote on February 8, 2011

Brenda Brathwaite, John Romero, Graeme Devine, and Tom Lehman gave speeches prior to the start of the Global Game Jam a week and a half ago. While they were specific to the whole “make a game in 48 hours” thing, many of the principles they spoke to were applicable for indies all over. Graeme Devine […]

Filed Under: Game Development - Comments: Read the First Comment

Alpha, Beta, and Release – Indie Definitions

Posted by Rampant Coyote on February 2, 2011

The testing phases of alpha and beta mean different things to different publishers and studios, especially when it comes to games. The terms originate from the hardware industry. As I understand it, alpha testing was component testing, where the individual pieces were rigorously tested for integrity and function. Beta testing was effectively integration testing, when […]

Filed Under: Production - Comments: 6 Comments to Read

Finish the Game!

Posted by Rampant Coyote on January 28, 2011

Jeff Vogel talks about the final stages of making and releasing a new RPG. Avadon Developer Diary #5: Getting It Done Boy do I ever feel his pain. But I think he’s much better at it by now than I am.

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

Why Am I Still Working at 3 AM on a Game?

Posted by Rampant Coyote on January 27, 2011

I used to stay up all hours of the night playing games. Now I stay up all hours of the night making them. Okay, I guess that’s not entirely true. I’ve been making games for almost as long as I’ve been playing them.  Even back to the point where I was trying to squeak something […]

Filed Under: Geek Life, Indie Evangelism, Production - Comments: Read the First Comment

What Minecraft Did Wrong But Didn’t Matter. And What It Did Right That Did Matter

Posted by Rampant Coyote on January 26, 2011

So at this point, Minecraft is a phenomenon that is like Doom or Bejeweled for the new decade.  It’s captured the mainstream game industry’s attention, and of course every indie in the world is thinking, “Wow, could I be the next Minecraft?”  At least for those who aren’t wondering if they could be the next […]

Filed Under: Biz, Design - Comments: 3 Comments to Read

Indie Games: Be More Indie Please

Posted by Rampant Coyote on January 25, 2011

I like to praise the really good subset of indie gaming that is of quality, beautiful, creative, genre-defying, innovative, and / or just extremely well executed. Naturally, I focus on the tip of the iceberg that stands out above the rest. But unfortunately, the indie world is full of crap. And clones. And even clones […]

Filed Under: Game Development, Indie Evangelism - Comments: 13 Comments to Read

Defending the Lack of Class…

Posted by Rampant Coyote on January 21, 2011

Brian “Psychochild” Green has a post today defending skill-based RPG systems versus class-based ones. Stay Classy at Psychochild’s Blog He’s responding to a post at Elder Game: Classes vs. Open Skill Systems This is an old argument that has been going around since at least the early 1980s.  And both authors here outline issues with […]

Filed Under: Design - Comments: 10 Comments to Read

My First Dungeon That I Wroted All By Myself

Posted by Rampant Coyote on January 20, 2011

Dunno why my brain was going there, but for some reason I was thinking of the first(ish) RPG I ever wrote. No, it wasn’t Hackenslash. I don’t remember if it even had a name. It was a game for the Commodore 64 that I wrote (in BASIC!) when I was a kid. For sure, it […]

Filed Under: Programming, Retro - Comments: 10 Comments to Read

Welcome Back, GarageGames

Posted by Rampant Coyote on

I really didn’t like the name “TorquePowered” anyway. Looks like they’re back, they’ve got funding, and they have returned to the original core values from a few years ago. And for a little while, they are offering all their engines for the sub-$100 price point. Good news across the board, I think: Welcome Back, GarageGames […]

Filed Under: Biz, Game Development, Indie Evangelism - Comments: 2 Comments to Read

Arx Fatalis – Source Code Now Freely Available

Posted by Rampant Coyote on January 14, 2011

If you wanted to take apart a reasonably major RPG and dissect it, seeing how it works, now’s your chance. Arx Fatalis Source Code Now Available There’s also the latest patch for the game (still patching it after all these years! Awesome!) at the same location. The source code uses the GPL 3 license, which […]

Filed Under: Programming - Comments: 8 Comments to Read

RPG Design – More on Simplifying

Posted by Rampant Coyote on

I played through the first couple of levels of the first Eye of the Beholder game the other day (“research”).  I’d only really played the second game in the series to completion, so it was fun to revisit the original (well, original AD&D-branded imitation of Dungeon Master, at least).  Going through a couple of levels, […]

Filed Under: Design - Comments: 10 Comments to Read

Does GIMP Cut the Mustard for Indies?

Posted by Rampant Coyote on January 11, 2011

Here’s an explanation as to why professional artists prefer Photoshop to Gimp , I guess: Why GIMP is Inadequate I’m not a professional artist, so I doubt I’m qualified to comment on the author’s specific points.  But the arguments seem reasonable – and GIMP (I guess it’s just GIMP now, and no longer “The Gimp”) […]

Filed Under: Art - Comments: 16 Comments to Read

How Do You Roleplay in a CRPG?

Posted by Rampant Coyote on January 5, 2011

According to the CRPG Addict, … it works something like this. If I were to boil it all down, it would come down to this: You use your imagination, and invest yourself into the game. Although as he suggests, a lot of that depends upon how well the game allows you to do that. I […]

Filed Under: Design, General - Comments: 8 Comments to Read

Story Isn’t Cheating

Posted by Rampant Coyote on January 3, 2011

Hey, it’s been a whole four weeks since the last argument about narrative vs. gameplay, so it’s time for another brawl! Craig Stern of Sinister Design weighs in with this article on the inclusion of narrative (and attractive graphics, sound, etc) in games: Against Narrow Game Design Apparently I’ve not been paying attention to the […]

Filed Under: Design - Comments: 11 Comments to Read



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