How to Revive a Legacy RPG. Or Not.

Posted by Rampant Coyote on December 27, 2010

The newest game in the Wizardry series is apparently entitled Wizardry: Town of the Imprisoned Spirits or something like that. According to what I could glean, it is something of an upgrade / sequel over a previous release subtitled Dungeon of the Imprisoned Souls. It’s a budget, downloadable release in Japan that has a chance […]

Filed Under: Biz, Design - Comments: 18 Comments to Read

A More Compelling RPG: More Thoughts on Might & Magic 1. And X-Com.

Posted by Rampant Coyote on December 9, 2010

My post Monday was about how the old-and-creaky Might & Magic 1 somehow being more compelling (and, let’s face it, more fun) to me to play after three hours in than Bioware’s recent heir apparent to the Baldur’s Gate legacy, Dragon Age. The discussion around the post was, in my opinion, far more interesting than […]

Filed Under: Design - Comments: 20 Comments to Read

The Chart of Bioware Clichés

Posted by Rampant Coyote on December 7, 2010

So it’s old. It’s new to me. Neener. Courtesy of Hellforge (and hat tip to Morinar…) Click for the large, more readable version of the chart… 🙂 Now, okay. Let’s be honest here.  It wouldn’t be hard to pick any handful of random RPGs (or other genres) and make a similar chart based on common […]

Filed Under: Design - Comments: 16 Comments to Read

And the More Compelling Role-Playing Game Is…

Posted by Rampant Coyote on December 6, 2010

Over the last few days, I spent a some time playing a couple of CRPGs. I try and do that kind of thing. I call it “research,” which is my story and I’m sticking to it. It is kind of a tricky thing, these days, with all the work I’m doing on my own project. […]

Filed Under: Design - Comments: 26 Comments to Read

Bad Game Designer, No Twinkie XI

Posted by Rampant Coyote on December 3, 2010

The eleventh (now annual) “Bad Game Designer, No Twinkie!” column by Earnest Adams is up at Gamasutra.com. This year’s Twinkie Denial Conditions include: * Long, Boring, Unimaginative Boss Battles: Self-healing bosses warrant a special mention in this section. * Save Points Before Long Non-Interactive Sections: Meaning if you die once you FINALLY regain control and […]

Filed Under: Design - Comments: 10 Comments to Read

The Battle That Rages for Centuries – Or Feels Like It.

Posted by Rampant Coyote on November 30, 2010

I’m a fan of turn-based combat in RPGs. Not to the exclusion of real-time combat, but I love the little tactical mini-game of turn-based combat. I’m one of those people for whom the original X-Com might as well have been brought down from Mount Olympus itself by Promethius (in the hand that wasn’t holding a […]

Filed Under: Design - Comments: 18 Comments to Read

Monster Names in Frayed Knights

Posted by Rampant Coyote on November 17, 2010

Edward Maurina asked me about how I come up with monster names in Frayed Knights.  He is on a tight schedule naming monsters, too, so I figured I’d answer sooner rather than later. Though his question did make me think: “How DO I name monsters in Frayed Knights?” While I’m done with all the monsters […]

Filed Under: Design, Frayed Knights - Comments: 5 Comments to Read

Weapon Stats in RPGs

Posted by Rampant Coyote on November 9, 2010

My education on medieval weaponry began with the Dungeons & Dragons weapons tables.  My education on modern weapons began with the Twilight: 2000 weapons tables and supplements. I say began, as since then I’ve come to own quite a few medieval weapons of my own, study books on weaponry and warfare throughout the ages, and […]

Filed Under: Design - Comments: 9 Comments to Read

Game Design Evolution – Yeah, That’s About The Size of It…

Posted by Rampant Coyote on November 7, 2010

I don’t know who is originally responsible for this image, but it pretty much sums everything up nicely, and not just for first-person shooters or map design:

Filed Under: Design - Comments: 54 Comments to Read

Making Games: Adding Role-Playing to Computer Role-Playing Games

Posted by Rampant Coyote on November 4, 2010

Continuing from yesterday’s discussion, I thought I’d provide a concrete example of how process might be applied to  a creative endeavor (like a game). While I’m really talking about the general idea, I figured I’d focus on a specific trait near-and-dear to many CRPG fans’ black hearts, role-playing. One point repeated from The CRPG Addict’s […]

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

RPG Combat: Good Reasons Why You Got Your Butt Kicked

Posted by Rampant Coyote on October 21, 2010

I felt like rambling on today a little bit about CRPG combat, and my philosophy on how combat should work in CRPGs. Of course, all CRPG combat systems are different, so it’s very hard find a enough commonality to compare them all. But we can start with the basics. Like getting your butt kicked. So […]

Filed Under: Design - Comments: 11 Comments to Read

Old-School RPGs Revisited – Blog Recommendation

Posted by Rampant Coyote on October 8, 2010

As much of a fan as I am of old-school western RPGs, I can’t hold a candle to this guy. I discovered him recently and have been going through his candid play-throughs and semi-reviews of old computer RPGs, and have enjoyed them thoroughly. Even when he completely disses on Ultima II (I never played the […]

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

Turn-Based Combat – Tactics Versus Execution

Posted by Rampant Coyote on October 6, 2010

As she was cleaning up our storage closet this week (making room for Christmas presents, I guess), my wife pulled out an old wargame of mine that has been preserved over the decades – the TSR release of the hard-core air combat game Air War. I’ve never been much of a wargamer, but Air War […]

Filed Under: Design - Comments: 5 Comments to Read

Is the “Old School Goodness” Now Poison?

Posted by Rampant Coyote on September 23, 2010

Ouch. ‘ … the vast majority was utterly flummoxed by the game. As one of them put it, “I’d say for gamers of our generation, an RPG like Ultima IV is boring and pretty much unplayable.” After removing the arrow from my chest, I asked them to explain why.‘ I’ve been chewing on this and […]

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

Frayed Knights: Tool Time

Posted by Rampant Coyote on September 17, 2010

Time for another update on Frayed Knights, the “quick” and “easy” indie RPG that was somehow going to magically take only a few months of my spare time to complete. This update is going to be super-ultra-sexy. Which in this case means, “Totally boring unless you are a programming or design geek.” My apologies. Abraham […]

Filed Under: Design, Frayed Knights - Comments: 5 Comments to Read

Behind the Mask

Posted by Rampant Coyote on September 15, 2010

While I may lose a few geek points by this admission, I was never a huge comic book fan. There were a couple of titles I collected (particularly those written by Chris Claremont), and a few others I followed as I could afford them or read friends’ copies. I’ve gotten into passionate arguments over Marvel […]

Filed Under: Design, Geek Life - Comments: 3 Comments to Read



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