Orcs and Elves are Mainstream Now?

Posted by Rampant Coyote on August 31, 2010

It’s kinda weird. Back when I was a young’un playing Dungeons & Dragons, elves were Santa’s helpers, and almost nobody outside of the geek set had a clue what we meant when we talked about orcs. Nowadays, principally due to the the success of the Lord of the Rings movies and World of Warcraft, elves […]

Filed Under: Geek Life - Comments: 16 Comments to Read

“We Sold One and a Half Million Copies of a Dying Genre on a Dying Platform”

Posted by Rampant Coyote on August 30, 2010

Here’s a fun little interview with Tomasz Gop about The Witcher 2 at Gamasutra: Working in ‘a Dying Genre on a Dying Platform’ The quote that makes the title of this article is their favorite joke – their way of sticking it to the publishers and pundits that still predict doom if you make PC-only […]

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

Making a Game – On Fast Forward

Posted by Rampant Coyote on

Wouldn’t it be cool if we could make a game this fast? But no – this is a time-lapse look at Markus “Minecraft” Persson’s Ludum Dare 18 entry – a “game in a weekend” competition. As with many of the competitors, it’s dang impressive what was accomplished in only 48 hours of development time. The […]

Filed Under: Free Games, Game Development - Comments: 3 Comments to Read

Reinventing the RPG Genre?

Posted by Rampant Coyote on August 27, 2010

When I read some smarmy designer-turned-marketing guy brag in the press about how they are making an RPG that is “reinventing the genre” (or effectively making such a statement, using only slightly more humble terminology), I generally read this as code for, “We’re making it more like God of War or some other action-game.” And, […]

Filed Under: Indie Evangelism - Comments: 3 Comments to Read

At Least Some Things Don’t Change

Posted by Rampant Coyote on

We bought a minivan (also known in Utah as a “Mormon Assault Vehicle”). Not that we have enough kids to justify it – we only have the two. But see, my youngest daughter entered junior high school this week.  And the ladies in the neighborhood carpool to school and other activities, and to participate in […]

Filed Under: Geek Life - Comments: 4 Comments to Read

The Dungeons & Dragons Effect

Posted by Rampant Coyote on August 26, 2010

Jason Wilson explores the influence of the original dice-and-paper RPG, Dungeons & Dragons, on the video game industry — from the early days until today. The article includes comments from Brenda Brathwaite (Wizardry series, among other games), Thomasz Gop of CD Projekt (The Witcher), and Tony Evans of Obsidian  (Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir, […]

Filed Under: Retro - Comments: 12 Comments to Read

Are JRPGs “True” RPGs?

Posted by Rampant Coyote on August 25, 2010

Kombo.com makes the assertion, “An RPG is not an RPG when it’s a JRPG.” I wanted to get all up in their grill with that and whip out Persona as the counterpoint, but they already made that exception themselves.  D’oh. So instead, as a fan of (some) jRPGs, I still feel a desire to defend […]

Filed Under: Design - Comments: 7 Comments to Read

Three Tales of Indie Game Development …

Posted by Rampant Coyote on August 24, 2010

Imagining riches with your l33t indie game-making skills? It’s definitely possible. Here are some reflections on some semi-recent projects grounded firmly in reality. One is a traditional single-player game for PC that I thought (at the time) would be a sure-fire hit, blending one hit game with rock & roll mystique. Another is an indie […]

Filed Under: Biz, Indie Evangelism - Comments: Read the First Comment

“Eschalon” Creator at Low Hit Points After Epic Victory Against His Own Appendix

Posted by Rampant Coyote on August 23, 2010

So at the risk of sounding like a total gossip-blog… As Thomas “Eschalon” Riegsecker of Basilisk Games put it on Saturday, “At hospital. My appendix decided it had enough of living with me.” He has since tweeted that he’s at home, recovering from surgery. Good luck, Thomas – and best wishes & prayers for a […]

Filed Under: News - Comments: 2 Comments to Read

Our Colorful Past…

Posted by Rampant Coyote on

Many years ago, when our youngest daughter was probably around five or so, she asked us if the world had color when we were children. We chuckled and explained to her that the world had always had color, but it was merely the photographs and movies we had back then that were in black & […]

Filed Under: General - Comments: 8 Comments to Read

Make a Game Too Fun, and Get Sued!

Posted by Rampant Coyote on August 21, 2010

Ah, America. Used to be the land of the free and the home of the brave. Now it’s the land of the entitled and the home of people who don’t want to take responsibility. So apparently, if you are a loser who can’t get a life and instead spend all your waking hours playing MMOs, […]

Filed Under: Politics - Comments: 9 Comments to Read

Frayed Knights: Goblinville Reborn

Posted by Rampant Coyote on August 20, 2010

Yeah. That Frayed Knights thing. The indie computer RPG with its tongue planted in its cheek in development. This is an update. And I’m sure you will find it the latest of all of my updates up until this point. For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been working on content. Specifically, the LAST dungeon […]

Filed Under: Frayed Knights - Comments: Read the First Comment

Indie RPG News Round-Up, Aug 19 2010

Posted by Rampant Coyote on August 19, 2010

Some Indie RPG Goodness that has been happening lately… Road Gangs This is a vehicle based RPG set in a post-apocalyptic United States by new game-maker Blackwater Games. Your gang must find a number of nuclear scientists hidden in cities all over the country and use them to disable a certain number of nuclear silos […]

Filed Under: News - Comments: 11 Comments to Read

Activision Answers Indie Contest Questions

Posted by Rampant Coyote on August 18, 2010

For those who were interested in what the heck a big mainstream publisher like Activision was doing sponsoring an indie game competition: Activision and the Indies: How Does This Contest Work? Note: You have only a few days to enter the contest, so get cracking if you are interested.

Filed Under: Indie Evangelism - Comments: Read the First Comment

Am I Becoming One of THOSE Guys?

Posted by Rampant Coyote on

When I was a kid, I remember reading movie reviews in the paper (yes, that’s what we had to do back in those days, on actual paper even…) and being stunned at how the critics would pan the movies I thought were so awesome. Why, those guys were out-of-touch old-fart snobs who had obviously become […]

Filed Under: Indie Evangelism, Movies - Comments: 2 Comments to Read

So If The Videogame Thing Doesn’t Work Out, I Guess We Could Fall Back On Being Doctors…

Posted by Rampant Coyote on August 17, 2010

This interview at RPS with the founders of Bioware is fun. Whether it’s the fact that NOBODY knew what they were doing in the studio when they made Baldur’s Gate, their decision to follow their dreams and make videogames in spite of having spent years and serious money into graduating from med school (and deciding […]

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



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