The Game that Changed Everything

Posted by Rampant Coyote on June 30, 2014

I spent a little bit of time playing Doom this weekend. Yes, twenty-year old Doom. Updated a little bit with some new technology to take advantage of modern hardware and to make it nicely mouse-playable and everything, but it was still the same game. Running in Doomsday with a fan-made high-quality texture pack. There are […]

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

What Game Design Mojo?

Posted by Rampant Coyote on June 27, 2014

When I first started in the video game business (and I’m kind of afraid to mention when that was anymore), I was pretty sure of myself. I knew games. I knew what was fun. I was a frickin’ gaming genius. That didn’t last long. I blame Dunning-Kruger. The more professional game designers I spoke with, […]

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

I Really Wanna Make a VR Game

Posted by Rampant Coyote on June 26, 2014

Nevermind that I can’t last ten minutes with the Oculus Rift before I feel like throwing up… I wanna make a VR game. Schedule-wise, there’s no way I can do it. Not until after FK2 is released (and probably not until FK3 – I’d like to do a “rolling start” there), so we’re talking a […]

Filed Under: Tech - Comments: 12 Comments to Read

Bad Jokes Trump Average Games

Posted by Rampant Coyote on June 25, 2014

Maybe I’m taking things way too seriously here, but this kinda saddens me: Rock Simulator 2014 on Greenlight Not only do empty promises get more attention than real, delivered games… but joke projects may trump serious development efforts. In theory, the $100 Greenlight fee was supposed to weed these out, which I’m sure it did. […]

Filed Under: Biz - Comments: 7 Comments to Read

RPG Design: Getting In Over Your Head

Posted by Rampant Coyote on June 24, 2014

When I was a kid, I dreamed about a computer RPG that (in my dream) was completely awesome. Amusingly, although the end of the dream was more like a live-action adventure, the first half of the game in my dream was probably closer to something like the early Ultima games. Setting forth from the first […]

Filed Under: Design - Comments: 6 Comments to Read

Design: Exploration Rewards and Side Quests

Posted by Rampant Coyote on June 23, 2014

My favorite Android game right now is Catan. That’s not saying much – I don’t play many Android games. Perhaps not coincidentally, it’s also one of my favorite board games. Still. My favorite mode is one that comes with the Seafarers expansion called “Fog Islands.” It’s got all the fun stuff that comes with the […]

Filed Under: Design - Comments: 4 Comments to Read

The Semi-Annual Steam Feeding Frenzy Begins

Posted by Rampant Coyote on June 20, 2014

According to Gamasutra, this is the biggest, steepest discount yet on Steam. I’m somewhat emboldened by the fact that I haven’t yet purchased anything, but it hasn’t been a full day yet. And… before it’s over, I’m grabbing some Rocksmith 1 songs (which work for RS2014). But, as usual, I’ve not pulled the trigger yet, […]

Filed Under: Biz, Deals - Comments: 12 Comments to Read

Writing for Games vs. Traditional Fiction

Posted by Rampant Coyote on June 19, 2014

At the Comic Con spin-off convention this spring, FanX, I attended a writing panel by a number of authors who were either well-known in the games industry (both video games and tabletop / dice-and-paper), or popular authors who were also avid gamers (particularly role-playing games). The panelists included Michael A. Stackpole, Larry Correia, Tracy Hickman, […]

Filed Under: Writing - Comments: Read the First Comment

The Return of the Text Adventure?

Posted by Rampant Coyote on June 18, 2014

Not that they ever truly went away… but now, text adventures are on Steam. Hanging out with the mainstream games again. That’s novel. “Heroes Rise” Is the First Text Adventure on Steam; We Need Your Help! I haven’t played it yet. In all honesty, I’ve played maybe five interactive fiction games in as many years. […]

Filed Under: Adventure Games - Comments: 4 Comments to Read

How White Wolf Went Bye-Bye

Posted by Rampant Coyote on June 17, 2014

Man. I must be getting old. I remember when White Wolf Publishing was the hot new concept in the dice & paper gaming community. I had friends who playtested an early version of Werewolf: The Apocalypse. Vampire: The Masquerade was the hot new trend in gaming.  The rules were clever but imbalanced, the rulebook was […]

Filed Under: Biz - Comments: 8 Comments to Read

Building Awesome RPG Levels Blazingly Fast By Embracing Feature Creep

Posted by Rampant Coyote on June 16, 2014

“Create as if nobody will ever see it; then polish as if millions will.” I saw this advice for writing, and wondered how applicable it would be for games. The first part – creating as if nobody will see it – gives the writer two benefits. The first is a freedom to write whatever kind […]

Filed Under: Books, Frayed Knights, Production - Comments: 2 Comments to Read

GOG.COM Summer Sale Begins

Posted by Rampant Coyote on June 13, 2014

Like I don’t already have more games than I have time to play? GOG.COM is having a game sale that includes steep discounts, daily bundles, and “flash sales” that are changing every hour. I think they are fundamentally evil. GOG.COM Summer Sale      

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

Frayed Knights: The Skull of S’makh-Daon Escapes Greenlight Limbo!

Posted by Rampant Coyote on June 12, 2014

At this point, it’s not such a major milestone in the grand scheme of things, and I’m not sure whether to cheer or just breathe a sigh of relief. It’s really more of the beginning of the process, but I feel it should not go unremarked. Frayed Knights: The Skull of S’makh-Daon is greenlit for Steam. […]

Filed Under: Frayed Knights - Comments: 16 Comments to Read

Computer RPGS: The Wallflowers of the Steam Age? Part 2

Posted by Rampant Coyote on June 11, 2014

In light of Computer RPGS: The Wallflowers of the Steam Age Part 1, are computer role-playing games worse off in the age of cheap, plentiful games than other genres, and if so, why? What inhibits people from starting them, and once they start, what makes them give up long before the game is complete? From the […]

Filed Under: Biz, Design, Indie Evangelism - Comments: 8 Comments to Read

Computer RPGS: The Wallflowers of the Steam Age? Part 1

Posted by Rampant Coyote on June 10, 2014

I’ve been a fan of computer role-playing games since the days when they were not known by that name, and weren’t much more than a mid-week substitute for a weekend Dungeons & Dragons game with friends. Some of my fondest gaming memories involve me sinking my teeth into a massive, meaty RPG, getting lost for […]

Filed Under: Biz, Indie Evangelism - Comments: 12 Comments to Read

“Go-To” Games

Posted by Rampant Coyote on June 9, 2014

Yes, I use games to waste time. I use games to procrastinate stuff I’m supposed to be doing. I admit it. In particular, I tend to have one game – sometimes two – that becomes my brain’s release valve. I gravitate to it when I don’t have anything in particular in mind other than just […]

Filed Under: Geek Life - Comments: 8 Comments to Read



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