Quick Take: Extinct

Posted by Rampant Coyote on October 27, 2017

My family has thoroughly enjoyed Extinct, a streaming TV show available from BYUTV.org (the makers of Studio C, Granite Flats, etc.) or at Extinct.tv. It’s a post-apocalyptic science fiction show with a really unusual premise. The human race has been wiped out by an alien invasion. But a portion of the population, at the last […]

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

Divinity: Original Sin 2 vs. Ultima 7…

Posted by Rampant Coyote on October 26, 2017

I’m pretty sure one of the reasons I’m such a fan of the Divinity series (particularly the latest Divinity: Original Sin games) is that Larian Studios – and in particular founder and designer Swen Vincke – uses Ultima 7 as their inspiration. Ultima 7 (both parts) has been at or near the top of my […]

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On my way through the fire and flames in a fried-out Kombi on a Saturday night…

Posted by Rampant Coyote on October 25, 2017

Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock. That was when many gamers first heard the song “Through the Fire and Flames” by DragonForce. But it wasn’t just the hearing… no. During the credits after “beating” the game, this blistering 200 beats-per-minute song appeared with the chart, and was thereafter unlocked as a bonus song. It was […]

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Getting Ready for National Novel Writing Month 2017

Posted by Rampant Coyote on October 23, 2017

November is “National Novel Writing Month” (NaNoWriMo, and yes, it’s a weird abbreviation). It’s the month for aspiring and amateur authors to kick their butts in gear and getting that draft done on that novel. (The professionals–the ones who make at least part of their living through writing–live it every month of the year.) So […]

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Released: Crystal King

Posted by Rampant Coyote on October 20, 2017

My long-time friend, coworker, and collaborator John M. Olsen has just released his debut fantasy novel, Crystal King. It’s a story of intrigue and survival with an intriguing magic system. An army has overrun and destroyed the royal council and much of the kingdom of Riland’s leadership. Now, Gavin Stoutheart’s father the baron is missing, […]

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Daggerfall Ported to Unity, Playable from Start to Finish

Posted by Rampant Coyote on October 19, 2017

I didn’t think I’d see this one finished (or get this close to finished) when I heard about it YEARS ago. But… it’s happening. Slowly but surely. Some fools have ported Daggerfall into Unity.  I love that we have fools of this caliber in our world. It’s not completely done yet-most notably the magic system […]

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Watch the Giant Robot Duel

Posted by Rampant Coyote on October 18, 2017

My wife laughed at me as I giggled and geeked out over this thing. What can I say? I’ve been a fan of mecha fighting games and anime for a long time. Seeing one for real… even knowing full well the limitations of reality… was awesome. If you missed it, you can catch the long-awaited battle […]

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The Real-Life Giant Mecha Battle… TONIGHT

Posted by Rampant Coyote on October 17, 2017

The duel between the two piloted giant robot companies was more than a year overdue. But finally, in an abandoned steel mill in Japan, the battle was joined. Unfortunately, citing safety concerns, they couldn’t do it in front of a large, live audience. When mechas are shooting projectiles capable of doing damage to several tons […]

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Writing: Word Count and Why Does It Matter?

Posted by Rampant Coyote on October 13, 2017

When you are talking about works of fiction, authors and editors often refer to word count. Why does the number of words matter? As a reader, I really don’t care. I’m not counting. Naturally, when you are taking things to print, page count matters, because that directly impacts the cost of production. In the digital […]

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Burning Bright by Melissa McShane Wins the Diamond Quill Award

Posted by Rampant Coyote on October 12, 2017

A little over a year ago, I reviewed Burning Bright by Melissa McShane. This is still (so far) my favorite book by her, although there are two more books in the series (Wondering Sight and Abounding Might) which are near the top of my very large To Read pile. The best way to describe the book […]

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Quick Take: VR Dungeon Knight

Posted by Rampant Coyote on October 11, 2017

I saw a game pop up on my list called “VR Dungeon Knight.” I was tempted to ignore it, because it was still early access. But the more I read, the more I realized that it could have been subtitled, “A Game Made for Jay Barnson.” A VR dungeon crawl with procedurally-generated levels? With cooperative […]

Filed Under: Impressions, Virtual Reality - Comments: 3 Comments to Read

Here comes another new pulp-style magazine!

Posted by Rampant Coyote on October 10, 2017

What? Another pulp-style magazine is starting up? I’m giddy! Tales from the Magician’s Skull (a magazine of all new swords & sorcery fiction in the classic pulp style) The first issue already has content. I have zero involvement–I learned about this the first day of its campaign. It’s being produced by Goodman Games, a role-playing […]

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Reminder: League of Utah Writers Fall Conference and VR Presentation

Posted by Rampant Coyote on October 5, 2017

At the League of Utah Writers Fall Conference tomorrow, I’ll be co-presenting an “ask the expert” class on Virtual Reality. This class will be in rooms 023/025 at 1:00 in the afternoon. There is still time to register, and it’s FREE on Friday. So… yay! The full conference (including Saturday and the awards banquet Saturday night) […]

Filed Under: Events, Virtual Reality, Writing - Comments: 2 Comments to Read

Rocksmith: Don’t Fear the… 1100 Songs!

Posted by Rampant Coyote on October 3, 2017

When I was a teenager and first started learning guitar (back in the ancient Days of Shred), we didn’t normally have access to the Internet. The geekiest of us had modems and access to Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) that *might* carry certain USENet discussions. I bought songbooks the old-fashioned way, in paper form, with 30 […]

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



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