Are Used Games the Publisher’s Enemy… Or Secret Ally?
Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 20, 2010
So now downloadable content (DLC) and online multiplayer are weapons used in the war against used game sales. Now, I’m a proponent of used games. About half the console games I get nowadays… well, okay, half are downloaded, but half of the BOXED games I get are used. And the other half – well, if I’m gonna shell out $50 (or now, $60) for a new boxed game on release day, you’d better believe I want the right to sell it to someone else if I find out the game sucks.
As attacks go, cutting off someone’s access to free DLC or online playability unless they pay extra money isn’t huge and disturbing to me. It will be, once they start making 90% of the game Downloadable Content (it’s probably comin’, folks…). The publishers are free to do what they want.
Okay, let’s do the math. If I buy a used game, I know that I’m going to need to spend an extra $10 to get access to the extra content or online playability. So it’s used value, to me, drop $10. Not a big deal — eventually the used games dealers are going to have to drop their prices to meet that. Maybe not the whole $10, but probably a significant portion thereof. So the consumer pays the same amount (or maybe a little more) for a used game as they would have anyway, but the used game dealer has to share the money with the original publisher.
Okay – sounds like a win for publishers, a loss for used game dealers, and more-or-less neutral for the used-games-buyer. Maybe a small loss. Not too horrible. Yet.
But let’s take it a step further. What’s the used game dealer going to do? Pass on the loss in value back to the consumer. The value of used games is going to drop. The first time I buy a new EA game and discover how little GameStop is willing to pay to buy it back, that’s going to factor into my new-game-buying habits. So this could very well HURT new game sales more than it helps recoup on used game revenues.
Then again, it’s not like GameStop was paying all that much to begin with. They enjoy a huge mark-up on their used game sales. So maybe the impact won’t be so dire.
The problem is that these secondary impacts could be really significant and are also very hard to measure. There are so many variables and LOTS of places to throw blame when game sales begin looking less-than-stellar. Blame piracy! Blame the market audience! Blame the recession! I imagine when you are sitting in a board room trying to explain why sales of World War Ninja 4 have fallen off the cliff, it’s hard to admit to yourself and the board of directors that the cause might have nothing to do with the game itself or its audience, but the fact that customers got burned on your horrible DRM policy in WWN2 and your used game policy on WWN3 and have become gunshy about buying any more games in the series. So instead you cancel WWN5, lay off the dev team, and find some other hot property out there to buy up and ruin.
We’ll see what happens. I don’t intend to villify the publishers for doing something like this – and compared to Ubisoft’s PC-based DRM travesty this is pretty small potatoes. But especially combined with things like making people pay for demos and so forth, I think this sounds like very self-destructive behavior on the part of publishers in a mad scramble for short-term gains.
Which, as an indie, I want to say that I FULLY SUPPORT! Guys, go ahead and blow yourselves up! You’ll make it a lot easier for us to sell to gamers who are tired of finding out they’ve spent $60+ a pop on something that they aren’t actually allowed to preview, re-sell, or even PLAY except with a bunch of restrictions….
Filed Under: Mainstream Games - Comments: 9 Comments to Read
Indie RPG Updates and Events
Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 19, 2010
Patches and a tournament!
Avernum 6
Spiderweb Software has updated Avernum 6 for Windows to v1.0.1. This free update fixes a handful of bugs and balance issues, and, as Spiderweb reports, “is the next stage in our tireless assault against typos. Installing this update is a good idea.”
Screenshots, more information, and the update are available at http://www.avernum.com/avernum6/index.html
Eschalon: Book II
While no game-breaking bugs have been reported, Basilisk Games has squished a few, and released the 1.0.2 updated for Eschalon: Book II. The details (and the patch) can be grabbed here: http://basiliskgames.com/eschalon-book-ii-1-02-update
Din’s Curse Mini-Tournament
And Soldak Entertainment is running a series of mini-tournaments – purely for fun – for Din’s Curse. I think it’s a clever idea. And for “clever” I naturally mean “awesome.” He starts by creating a hardcore (meaning: permadeath!) character in a starting world. And then releases the saved game. Your objective, for the week, is to see how high of a level you can get before dying. While it’s not totally a fair tournament… while the starting conditions are equal, things change rapidly in this game… it’s just for fun.
Details available here: http://www.soldak.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2367
Filed Under: News - Comments: 3 Comments to Read
What Are The Most Significant Indie Computer RPGs?
Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 18, 2010
It’s list-time again! What some dude (me) thinks are the most significant indie computer RPGs.
[UPDATE: Be sure and check the comments for this post. As predicted, folks have submitted a lot of their own personal candidates, including a couple that I want to kick myself for overlooking, and a few that I’d not yet heard of. Man, there you guys go, exposing my ignorance YET AGAIN…. ]
What does “significant” mean? It’s not quite the same as “most popular,” “most influential,” “the best,” or even “one of my favorites.” Basically, if I was wanting to provide someone with snapshots of what I consider the most noteworthy (for whatever reason – including raising controversy) indie RPGs over the last couple of decades so they might gain a broad overview of the history tiny little sub-category of games, these would be the games I’d show them.
Now, the whole “indie” thing gets a little fuzzy if you go back much further than two decades. As I pretty much define indies as those studios who bypass the big publisher system that controls the industry, if you go back too far you get into a time where… uh, there was no big publisher system that controls the industry, and most game studios’ projects were self-funded. There really has to be an establishment for there to be an anti-establishment. All the guys who took out ads in computer and gaming mags for mail-order titles back then embodied the indie spirit, and one day I need to go back and find some PDFs of those old magazines and look up the titles of those games. Maybe they still exist somewhere.
And then there’s my own ignorance of what was happening much earlier than about 1991 or so. Well, okay, my ignorance in GENERAL, but especially here. I played a lot of funky homebrewed software back then, but very little of it ever achieved any level of distribution (or completion). If it seems there are more entries from just the last few years, this can be attributed both to my own lack of insight into earlier years, and the fact that indie RPGs have really enjoyed a surge of popularity and releases in just the last few years. I expect as many “indie” RPGs were released just last year than in the entire first half of the decade.
But all those weak qualifications aside, here’s my stab at creating such a list:
Vampyre: The Talisman of Invocation – This was a 1990 freeware EGA Ultima clone by high school students Brian Weston and Victor Shao. The plot was almost non-existent and I never played it too far, but I was always impressed by what these kids had written (I wasn’t that long out of high school myself at this time). While it wasn’t the first / only RPG out there at the time that might qualify as an indie, it actually achieved pretty decent distribution. I stumbled across it on my college library’s “public domain” collection, and on several bulletin boards. I saw posts and talked to many people who played it. I never heard of anybody ever finishing it (without cheating), however.
Why is it significant? This was an indie, homebrewed game that managed – at least from a technical perspective – not too short of the mark of that of a fairly contemporary title (Ultima IV, in this case). And it obtained fairly widespread distribution – which wasn’t saying much, back then.
Vampyre: The Talisman of Invocation
Dungeons of Kairn – Mike Lawrence’s 1991 shareware RPG was also very obviously inspired by the earlier classics – the Ultima, Wizardry, and Might & Magic series are likely suspects. Like many earlier party-based games, you had a roster of characters from which you could compose a party. Like the 1980s-era Ultimas, the game featured a top-down overland travel view, and a pseudo-3D dungeon view.
Why is it significant? The game remains one of the few shareware RPGs still remembered and mentioned today from the early 1990s, and included a surprising level of complexity and detail.
Exile / Avernum Series – Before anyone used the word “indie” to describe games. Exile: Escape From the Pit started things off, and with commercial success (principally on the Mac), it became a four-game series. Later, these were remade / re-imagined with much more advanced technology as the Avernum series. As these games from the earlier days of shareware, where making shareware “trilogies” with the first episode free was par for the course, these games are known for having ginormous demos. And being generally ginormous on their own. And being choc full of hardcore, old-school, turn-based-tactical goodness harkening back to an earlier era… Which wasn’t all that much earlier when the first game was released.
Why is it significant? For many years, Jeff Vogel’s Spiderweb Software was THE Shareware RPG Studio. And this was Spiderweb’s flagship series.
Roguelikes – I confess, I’m not much of a follower of the roguelike scene, and it’s been quite a few years since I had many weeks of my life sucked down into the pits of games like Moria. The biggest ones these days would include Nethack (of course), Adom, and Angband – and various derivatives. I’d have to defer to experts on the subject for better clarification, so I’m just lumping them together here.
Why are they significant? While there isn’t quite as much crossover between roguelikes and other indie RPGs as I would expect, but the influence is hard to deny – particularly their indirect influence by way of Diablo. And yes, I do consider them to be RPGs.
Dink Smallwood – A tiny, silly, glitchy action-RPG from RTSoft in 1997, Dink Smallwood was released in 1997 as a boxed mail-order game. Later, in 1999, it was released digitally as a free download. Dink Smallwood features tongue-in-cheek (and often mildly off-color) humor, and some reasonably powerful tools and mod capabilities, which extended its popularity among fans for many years.
Why is it significant? People still talk about the game today, years after its release – probably due to its mod friendliness and price (free) – or the fact that there wasn’t much else from that time frame. Whether or not it is a “true” RPG is probably more in question.
Devil Whiskey – This game was inspired by the Bard’s Tale, Dragon Wars, and similar games. Still limited to the four cardinal directions for movement, the game used OpenGL and real 3D graphics for rendering the world. It featured some absolutely gorgeous portraits and music. And, like the first Bard’s Tale game, just surviving a few seconds out on the street is a chore at level 1.
Unfortunately, Devil Whiskey’s developer has pretty much vanished, the website is succumbing to bit-rot, and even getting the demo can be tricky. However, I was informed at the time of this writing that the boxed set of the game is still being sold at Decklin’s Domain, and that digital downloads are planned in the not-too-distant future.
Why is it significant? This game provided inspiration for more than one indie RPG developer, and amongst its indie-gaming peers, it still stands out as a solid indie title seven years after its release.
Geneforge Series – The second (or maybe third, depending on how you are counting) major RPG series from Spiderweb Software, Geneforge goes from the sword-and-sorcery realm to that of “science fantasy” with another story of warring factions competing over the secrets of genetic manipulation and the creation of life.
Why is it significant? Spiderweb. Major series. And not traditional fantasy.
Super Columbine Massacre RPG! – I’m not fond of it, and I found what I considered it’s revisionist explanation to ring disingenuous after playing the game. The game lets you reenact the 1999 Columbine High School tragedy as the villains in a bizarre, fanciful, 16-bit RPG universe, and then follows their later adventures in Hell, populated by creatures from Doom and characters that were supposedly influential on Harris and Klebold.
Why is it significant? Any indie RPG making this big of a stink has to be labeled “significant.” It went into ethical territory that no mainstream RPG would dare.
Minions of Mirth – While I don’t really want to open the floodgate here for indie MMOs (of which we have many, many examples), Minions of Mirth is fully playable as a single-player game as well (at least it was the last time I checked). If I were to guess at the inspiration for this game, I’d not hesitate to answer “EverQuest.” While not the most exciting game in single-player mode, the technical accomplishments and sheer quantity of content for the game are amazing for such a tiny team – though they obtained plenty of community support after release.
Why is it significant? While still not very well-known, it’s a solid indie success story, and a major technological achievement in the “kids don’t try this at home” category.
Aveyond Series – as I understand it, Aveyond was not originally intended to be a breakout title that found an audience amongst non-traditional RPG fans (namely, the casual market). Designer Amanda Fitch, an RPG fan herself, simply made an RPG that she and her small (*cough* at the time) community would enjoy. Well, two. Her second, Aveyond, was a commercial venture, taking advantage of the new licensing for the next iteration of the RPG Maker engine. But she made a high-quality, entertaining game which found great appeal amongst both classic console RPG fans and women who wouldn’t know what the 
acronym “RPG” meant.
Why are they significant? Aveyond found – and continues to find – great success, and hits an audience few RPGs previously could. It also inspired a contingent of indie RPG developers who saw commercial opportunity in fulfilling their dreams using RPG Maker as their principle tool. And the Aveyond games continue to represent the high bar of quality in the RPG Maker game category.
Cute Knight Series – Appearing at around the same time as Aveyond, Cute Knight was another RPG that enjoyed a strong appeal with girls. Borrowing heavily from both the Princess Maker series and old-school dungeon crawls, Cute Knight is a “Sim-RPG” that few hardcore RPG fans (admit to having) played, yet enjoyed significant commercial and critical success.
Why is it significant? It’s a genre-buster that hit new audiences and set a few trends. And note: “success.” Nevermind your dreams of indie stardom – in this branch of the biz, being able to pay the bills is always considered success.
The Spirit Engine 2 – Utilizing the unusual (but not unheard of) side-scrolling perspective, The Spirit Engine 2 weaves a story of a small group of heroes facing a murderous cult and a political conspiracy. The first game in the series was released as freeware, and the sequel has now become freeware / “donationware” a few months ago, so they are easy on the wallet to check out.
Why is it significant? While unfortunately not a commercial success, the game still garnered a good deal of attention. The side-scrolling perspective also helps it stand out. But principally, the game stands out as an example of solid indie craftsmanship and polish in spite of what might be considered “retro” technology. The incredible soundtrack stands out in particular, and that’s really saying something in this list.
Depths of Peril – Like Cute Knight, this game went outside the box to embrace features from another genre to make a unique experience. In this case, Depths of Peril united the action-RPG gameplay of Diablo with some strategy / negotiation elements more frequently found in games like Civilization, and also incorporated some exciting dynamic quests and events that would progress organically based on the player’s (and rival NPCs) actions – or lack thereof. The mix was a little intimidating for some players, and has since been toned down for later titles.
Why is it significant? Maybe this is wishful thinking here, as I would really love to see Depths of Peril be more influential than it probably is. However, it did succeed in shaking things up a bit in the indie RPG realm, and was frankly better than most mainstream RPG releases that year.
Eschalon Series – Now with the second chapter of the saga released, this old-school powerhouse of an RPG takes inspiration from mainstream games of the 80s and early 90s, as well as indie titles such as the Avernum series. Marrying old-school gameplay and concepts with more modern interfaces and polish, the Eschalon games play about like the old-school classics would if viewed through the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia.
Why are they significant? The series looks sharp, plays sharp, and feels like something out of the early 90’s. And that’s a good thing. They demonstrated that high production values could be obtained on an indie budget, and that there remains a lot of potential for modern games in old, abandoned game ideas.
Laxius Force Series – Taken in and of itself, I don’t consider the original Laxius Force to be that significant of an indie release. When I first encountered the game, I thought it to be entertaining, but not quite up to the standards of its elder RPG Maker Peer, Aveyond. Since that time, however, studio Aldorlea Games has used this title as a springboard for a pretty massive stable of RPG Maker-based commercial games. Their quality continues to improve, and Aldorlea has become a big fish in the small pond of casual RPGs.
Why is it significant? I’m using the Laxius Force series (which is expecting another installment this year, which I cannot wait to see) as a proxy for Aldorlea here, as it was a harbinger of good things to come.
Knights of the Chalice – Speaking of old-school, Knights of the Chalice embraced low-res graphics (optimized for 320 x 200 resolution, reminiscent of Ultima VII‘s visuals), turn-based tactical combat, and borrowed heavily from 1970s-era Dungeons & Dragons (using the newer, “open gaming license” D20 rules system as a baseline). And it’s old-school hard and nasty, making regular reloading a necessity. In spite (or because) of this, it has proven to be ridiculously fun for a large number of fans. Myself included.
Why is it significant? Knights of the Chalice was everything that seemed destined to fail, from the “overly complex” rule system to the likewise detailed, difficult, turn-based combat system that common knowledge stated was nothing but tedious, and to the graphics optimized for a screen resolution that had been obsolete for over fifteen years. And yet, it kicked butt and garnered some significant attention.
Din’s Curse – It’s far too early for this one to be called a classic, as it is still only weeks old. However, as the third game from Depths of Peril creator Soldak Entertainment, it shows the improvements of consecutive refinement in both the game engine and the design. The principle claim to fame of Din’s Curse is simply the presence of a Diablo-style game in an extremely dynamic and ever-changing game-world. I really hope other titles pick up on the ideas set forth in this game.
Why is it significant? While even the best procedurally-generated plots and events get old and mechanical after time, Din’s Curse shows the entire industry – mainstream and indie alike – how it should be done. Or at least a major example of how it should be done.
Your Turn!
I’m not suggesting this list is anything like the final word on the matter – far from it. I’m hoping this will actually start the discussion, as I’d like to hear other people’s picks or comments. I’m just one guy with limited visibility into this area – and you, my friends, are many. What did I overlook or get wrong?
Filed Under: Indie Evangelism - Comments: 22 Comments to Read
My Moonlighting Level Designer…
Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 17, 2010
Hah! Now we know why Brian hasn’t finished Anarchy Manor yet!
He’s totally been moonlighting for Gareth on Scars of War!
Actually, I encouraged him to do this. Hopefully Gareth and I won’t end up in any kind of bidding war over his services. He’s done some great work for me, and hopefully continues to do so for both of us, and we’ll be able to get as much cheap work out of him as possible before he gets snatched up by a mainstream game development shop full-time. Or gets contracted by hundreds of li’l indies or something.
Filed Under: Art - Comments: Read the First Comment
Interview: Thomas Riegsecker, Creator of Eschalon: Book II
Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 14, 2010
So I apparently have this habit of ambushing game developers with a request for interview a mere days before a major release. Somehow, Thomas Riegsecker of Basilisk Games still managed to do the interview in a timely manner without impacting the release of his new game of awesome old-schooly RPG goodness, Eschalon: Book 2 (I hope I haven’t delayed the Mac & Linux releases… *gulp*). In this interview, he talks about his new game, of course, but also his influences as a game designer, the sordid truth about the inception and composition of Basilisk Games, his regrets and desire to travel back in time to change his past, his gaming influences that no doubt pushed his mind to the breaking point, and the shocking truth about old-school RPGs. Or something like that…
So let’s jump into the fun of people giving smart answers to dumb questions!
Rampant Coyote: First of all, I wanted to give you the opportunity to introduce yourself. So who is the man behind the curtain?
Thomas Riegsecker: I’m just a guy that enjoys playing and making games. I’ve played enough in my lifetime to have a good sense about what makes them good and what makes them bad.
Rampant Coyote: If you could pick three games that inspired you to become an indie, and make your own games, what would they be, and why? How did they inspire you?
Thomas Riegsecker: Any classic RPG from before 1995 is what I would consider to be my inspiration. Series such as Ultima, Might & Magic, and Wizardry– these are all on my computer right now and I often load them up just for inspiration. I could probably write an entire book on how these games have inspired me, but it basically comes down to playability. They are simple to get in to, yet complex enough to stimulate the brain. Wrap this in a huge fantasy world with fantastic monsters and sprawling dungeons, and there you have it. The problem is that no one makes these games anymore.
However, if I can name a single person who inspired me, it is of course Jeff Vogel. Without him paving the way by proving that making indie RPGs could be a legitimate and viable career, I doubt I’d be doing this. Vogel’s the man.
Rampant Coyote: Tell me a little about Basilisk Games. Is it just you plus contractors, or do you have a dedicated team? How and why did you get started?
Thomas Riegsecker: Basilisk Games is primarily just one person: myself. I do hire contractors to help with music, graphics, or writing when I feel bogged down, but I still manage probably 90% of each game by myself.
I got started on this career path after I lost my IT job in 2005. After going through the interview process with a dozen different firms and getting nowhere, I decided that I was done with all that. I cashed out my life savings and started making Book I. It’s was a big risk and I am still waiting to see if it was a smart move or not.
Rampant Coyote: The big marketing point for Eschalon: Book 1 was that it was “old school” in style. What does “old school” mean to you? How did you incorporate that feel into Eschalon: Book 1?
Thomas Riegsecker: Modern RPGs tend to consist of action-oriented game play, “skill trees” and storylines that can fit on a napkin. You may ask: what is wrong with a skill tree? Well, with a skill tree you can’t build an incompetent character- your skills may branch out, but they all lead to the same bad-ass dealer-of-death by the end of the game. It doesn’t matter what branches you take- you will have a successful character by game’s end. The only difference is the special effects you’ll get to see blasting out from your weapon.
Old-school, to me, means that we give the player ultimate control over the development of their character. With a complex array of attributes, stats, and skills you have the freedom to experiment with your character’s design- and that means you have the potential to make a jack-of-all-trades dud…or a god-like titan that can walk through the game with little effort. There is freedom in an old-school game; not just in the character design but also in the world design- a sense that you really can go anywhere from the very start.
Rampant Coyote: There are a lot of modern RPGs being released on PC and consoles (not to mention MMORPGs) that all promise evolved, superior gameplay – but apparently there’s enough of an underserved “niche” out there to have made it worthwhile for you to continue on with the Eschalon series. What do games like the Eschalon series have to offer a gamer in a world full of games like Mass Effect 2, Fallout 3, and World of Warcraft?
Thomas Riegsecker: World of Warcraft is awesome in so many ways, and it has altered the landscape of gaming forever. But to me, when I enter that game, I feel as though I am just one of a million other would-be-heroes. Everyone there wants to be the best, the most respected, the one with the coolest mounts and weapons and spells. I don’t find that competition enjoyable. Now in Eschalon, you are the hero. There is no one else there to compete with. Every dungeon you come across if fresh to your eyes- it is pristine and untouched, waiting for you to unlock its secrets. No one else has come before you to raid it and leave their garbage behind.
This sense of “this world was made just for you” is what I love about single-player RPGs.
As for the other RPGs you mentioned- I admit that I enjoyed the hell out of Fallout 3, but calling it an “RPG” is being really loose with the term. It was a good “tactical shooter with role-playing elements”, but it could never satisfy that itch you get when you need a good old-fashion RPG.
I never played Mass Effect, so I have no comment there.
Rampant Coyote: Congratulations on just releasing Eschalon: Book 2. What are the biggest improvements in the game over its predecessor?
Thomas Riegsecker: It is just bigger and better all around. It has a larger game world, improved balancing with spells and skills, an updated graphics engine and about 60 other fan-suggested enhancements. We really took everyone’s comments and suggestions regarding Book I to heart and tried to make a game that is truly an evolution of its predecessor.
Rampant Coyote: Without giving away too many spoilers – what is the story of the second game about?
Thomas Riegsecker: The menace that overtook Thaermore in Book I has not been stopped, and now it threatens to wash over Mistfell as well. Through this conflict, you begin to learn more of your past that was lost to you in Book I when your memory was erased. As the story peaks near the end, the truth about the war is revealed, which sets up the story for Book III.
Rampant Coyote: The Eschalon series is more skill-based than class based, with the class really only defining your starting skills. For a single-player, single-character game, that’s generally assumed to be the best way to go, but balancing the skills against each other can be tricky. What challenges did you run into balancing the skills in the games, especially with Book 2 allowing you to go to a much higher level?
Thomas Riegsecker: Skill balancing is hugely difficult and all I can say is that we’ve done our best to keep them all equalized. There will always be exploits or limitations to any open-ended system, but that is okay. It’s what most people expect from this kind of RPG- finding an edge or exploit is as much a part of the game as the game itself.
The biggest problem for many new players is that they tend to spread themselves too thin- too many points spread out over too many skills, so it becomes very hard for them by mid-game. We can’t just “dumb the game down” for these people, so it can be challenging for players who are used to a more guided route to character development.
This is also why we’ve allowed for higher leveling in Book 2- if you find out by mid-game that your character is lacking in some skills, you can hang back and level a few more times before continuing with the storyline. Some people may finish the game at level 18, others may wait until they’ve hit 22 or 23.
Rampant Coyote: Combat in Book I – well, for me – was often a bit more of a slug-fest interrupted by potion-drinking. Have you made any improvements to the combat system for the sequel?
Thomas Riegsecker: In keeping with old-school RPG tradition, combat tends to still be about exchanging blows with your enemy until one of you is drained of Hit Points, which is true for every RPG ever made. However, in Book II we’ve added a few elements to make this more strategic for players. You can now select your combat style, such as Power, Finesse, or Parry, which improves your ability to inflict damage, strike, or defend against various opponents. Numerous other factors such as weapon wear, weather, darkness and much more also factor in to combat, so you really need to do more than just click the mouse to be successful.
Rampant Coyote: There has been a lot of discussion about food & drink requirements for Eschalon: Book 2. It is definitely an old-school system, and was hardly universal even back in the day. Why a food & water requirement? And what form has it finally taken in Eschalon: Book 2?
Thomas Riegsecker: Food and Water is an optional rule in Book II, and it does two things: First, it adds challenge to the game for the exceptionally skilled players who want it. When the Food & Water Rule is turned on, you must plan ahead for extended trips into the dungeon, and a simple walk from one city to another becomes a true journey when you need to stock up on supplies before you leave.
Secondly, it personalizes the game for many people. Your character becomes just a little bit more real- he gets hungry and thirsty, he needs to camp when drained, or seek medical attention when injured. It just gives a bit more life to your on-screen avatar.
Rampant Coyote: If you had the chance to use the Tardis to go back and leave your younger self a bit of advice about making the first game, what would it be? And were you able to follow your fantasy-advice in making the sequel?
Thomas Riegsecker: I’d tell my ignorant self: 1) beware of “feature creep”. It can drain the life and finances from a project quicker than anything else. 2) Don’t let nay-sayers bring you down, just make a game that you enjoy and you’ll find others who will like it too. 3) Good tools are invaluable. Don’t skimp on the tools you use to make the games.
And no, I didn’t follow all of this advice with Book II.
Rampant Coyote: This may be a LOT premature, but you’ve talked about working on a new game that isn’t in the style of the Eschalon series. Any more hints on what’s simmering in the depths of Basilisk Games?
Thomas Riegsecker: The future is cloudy. Ask me again in 6 months.
Rampant Coyote: Anything else you’d like to add?
Thomas Riegsecker: Yes- when can I get my hands on Frayed Knights?
Rampant Coyote: Oh, come on, you know the answer to that one: “When it’s done!” (I’ll pay you later for the mention!) Thanks, Thomas, for a great interview and some insight into what I certainly hope will prove to be a highly successful and influential RPG and the guy behind it!
Filed Under: Indie Evangelism, Interviews - Comments: 13 Comments to Read
Eschalon: Book II Now Available At Rampant Games
Posted by Rampant Coyote on
I finally got the chance to play Eschalon: Book II. And I’m kinda embarrassed about it, because I started giggling like a schoolgirl halfway through the character creation process. Okay, part of that was probably because I’ve been punchy from not getting nearly enough sleep this week, but still… I was really in the mood to sink my teeth into a deep old-school RPG tonight, and I was expecting to load up an old favorite and play it for a bit. Instead, Eschalon: Book II scratched that itch, and then some.
Turn-based combat? Check. Lots (and LOTS) of character creation options? Check. Depth of game system that doesn’t shy away from numbers? Check. Big, open world? Check. Engaging storyline? Check. Old-school mechanics that were fun once upon a time before being streamlined out (if some might be “optional” now, as they aren’t universally loved)? Check. Tons of polish? Check.
As a vet of the first game, the interface was pretty straightforward and familiar. There’s a lot to do here, but it’s not inaccessible to newbs, either. Yeah, there’s a LOT going on and a lot you can do, which makes for more than a couple of buttons / hotkeys. But it’s pretty good about stepping you through the important parts early on.
I also enjoyed the explanation for how the game was starting you over back at level 1 again. If you played the first one, there was that whole thing with the amnesia due to a potion of forgetfulness? Apparently that stuff stays in your system, and has caused even more recent memories and skills to atrophy.
Anyway, I hope you can excuse me for getting a little bit giddy. From what I’ve played, it’s been worth the wait. You can check it out at RampantGames.com, or directly from the developer’s site at Basilisk Games, or whatever. Just support your local indie and give this one a try. If you are a serious CRPG fan – indie or no – you should at least be familiar with this game.
Currently, only the Windows version is available, but the Linux and Mac versions are coming very soon!
Filed Under: Game Announcements, Indie Evangelism - Comments: Comments are off for this article
DOSBox 0.74 Released
Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 13, 2010
Not that this makes a huge difference – I’m still running on an ancient version of the software (0.65?) and it runs amazingly well. In fact, I’d say it runs DOS games better than about any real DOS machine I ever owned / used. But they just made a great thing even better.
This really shows my age, but reading the changelog is like a visit back to my college days. Technically, even back to my high school days, but I still using a Commodore 64 back then and was fairly ignorant of the “IBM Compatibles” of the late 80’s. But reading about things like the GUS (Gravis UltraSound), Adlib, Tandy, PCjr, and the old Hercules and CGA adapters (an era I skipped entirely, but still saw the last vestiges of in my games) – man, that took me back.
Man, PC gaming really sucked back then.
But many of the games themselves were pretty awesome.
Filed Under: Retro - Comments: Read the First Comment
Eschalon: Book 2
Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 12, 2010
It’s out. Now.
Yeah. Been waiting a while for this one. I know a lot of you have, too. If you are into old-school PC-style RPGs, with all that depth and open-world exploration, you are in luck.
Familiarity with the first game, Eschalon: Book 1, is not necessary for the sequel. As I understand it, there’s no bringing your character over or anything like that – you start back at 1st level. Gotta keep that training up or you lose it, you know?
Now, you are theoretically supposed to be playing the same character from the first game. But if you played the first game, your character had to be a male. In this one, he can be a she. You can either assume that the character from the previous game was actually a sort-of Samus type individual in disguise and was actually a girl all along… or you can assume that in-between games, the main character acquired one of those belts of gender-switching that were all the rage back in the 1st edition AD&D days. Or something. Your fantasy, your call.
So what are you waiting for? Old-school RPG goodness. Go get it. And have fun!
Filed Under: Game Announcements - Comments: 2 Comments to Read
Humble Indie Bundle Breaks $1 Million, Extends 3 Days, Goes Open Source
Posted by Rampant Coyote on
Remember the “Humble Indie Bundle” I talked about last week? Well, it seems the pie-in-the-sky goal was hit in the final hour, by some generous donations well above the suggested retail price of the games in the bundle. It seems to many observers that some kind of significant milestone was achieved in the history of indie games, but we’re not exactly sure what it was. But the fact that these guys kicked serious butt cannot be overlooked:
The Humble Indie Bundle hit $1 million in sales, with over $300k going to charity.
Because of this, the offer has been extended an extra three days, and four of the games have pledged to going open-source. Oh, and my personal thanks to Chris W. who pointed out to me that Penumba: Overture included in the bundle included a coupon code to get the rest of the series for only $5. I hadn’t yet installed the game, so I hadn’t known about it. I did, took advantage of the sale, and picked up the entire series.
My feeling is that the Humble Indie Bundle was both brilliant marketing and a very classy move (see? It’s possible to do both). So this little indie thing has, from my perspective, accomplished a number of pretty awesome things:
#1 – They’ve provided some serious donation money to the EFF and Child’s Play, two very worthy causes in my book. Society wins.
#2 – We gamers got a lot of games for (usually, depending on donation) pretty cheap. Or at least cheap enough for us. We paid what we could afford and felt was reasonable for some pretty cool games. The gamers win.
#3 – They managed to obtain a ton of exposure for indie games – theirs specifically, but indie games in general. We’ve got mainstream sites talking about this deal. And they’ll be talking even more about it now that these guys hit the magic million mark. And I’ll bet a lot of people who wouldn’t think twice about indie games have made modest donations and are now seeing what indie games can be. The indie games community wins.
#4 – They are now adding to the open source community. I don’t know that their game code for those going open source is going to be any major Event or anything there. But hey – maybe some new indie-to-be is going to learn their future trade / hobby studying the source code to Lugaru or Aquaria. This is good. Game programmers win.
#5 – My guess is the devs here made bank on this deal. On generally older games that had entered the long-tail phase. Gee, now why is it that maintaining your IP rights might be important? Some (like the Penumbra guys) also used it as a good marketing opportunity to sell more games, or at least let people know what new stuff they have in development. The developers win.
#6 – And finally – subtly, perhaps, but not insignificantly – these guys just kinda schooled us all on how indies can change the world. I’m not just talking the charities, here. I’m talking the whole enchilada, parts 1-4 above, as kind of the kid brother of what the Penny Arcade founders did with Child’s Play charity and PAX to the industry at large. They went outside the box, publicized the crap outta what they were doing, and created a win / win / win scenario overall that was good for gamers, the developers, and society in general. They bypassed all middlemen – even game portals and digital content distributors. In fact, I think that’s really what made it work. They totally let their indie freak flag fly on this one. And they blew away even their own expectations. The indie community wins, again.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is how it is done. Not this way exactly – I don’t know if an exact clone of the Humble Indie Bundle thing would ever succeed again on such a scale. Or maybe it would, on an even bigger scale. I don’t know. But for me, while this doesn’t necessarily represent any kind of game-changer, it does point out what kind of things are possible for some lowly indie game developers slaving away in their basements who might harbor a Big Audacious Goal and the creativity and will to carry it out.
Power to the indies!
And congrats to the Humble Indie Bundle guys! You deserve it!
Filed Under: Biz, Indie Evangelism - Comments: 10 Comments to Read
Making Epic 3D Dungeons (Part 1)
Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 11, 2010
UPDATE: Part 2 of this series, dealing with practical considerations for level design, can be found here:
Making Epic 3D Dungeons, Part 2 – Applying the Lessons
I grew up playing D&D, sometimes using the classic modules from TSR, often penned by Gary Gygax himself, or other writers like Allen Hammack, Ken Rolston (known to modern CRPG players as the lead designer for The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion), and Lawrence Schick. The modules had these really neat maps in light blue ink. The light blue ink made them difficult to copy by many of the copy machines of the era, so that was copy protection circa 1983.
As a result, in my mind, that’s what a “dungeon” (to use the generic term from fantasy RPGs) looks like. Something like this. Or this. Or the one on the right.
In 1988, I attended a lecture by Tracy Hickman, author of a lot of … well, juvenile fantasy literature back in a time when such a thing hardly existed. He was also the author of the classic D&D module, Ravenloft. The lecture was specifically about adventure creation, and he spoke a few minutes about maps. He commented on how, if you tried to create a 3D model of one of the castles from these classic D&D modules, it would come out very “dumpy” and un-castle-like. That was part of his thinking when he designed the castle in Ravenloft. He tried to make it more realistic. He also discovered how terribly the third dimension tripped up pencil-and-paper gamers. They’d be convinced that some awful teleport trap had happened, when in reality they’d just made a mapping error.
The early first-person-perspective Computer RPGs worked well translating the old 2D graph-paper maps. These games offered four directional views in a tile-based world. They really couldn’t show curves or any walls oriented in anything but the four cardinal directions, but they got the job done okay.
And of course, the top-down or isometric view CRPGs worked fine with these kinds of maps, although again everything worked best at nice 90 degree angles without very many exceptions. The descendants of these latter games still stick to the nice 2D, rectilinear maps pretty well, though they often offer more interesting wall and floor shapes and height changes.
But Ultima Underworld was the game that started screwing everything up.
For the most part, it stuck with safe 90-degree angles and so forth too, but it added the vertical element to its maps. And underground rivers. And occasionally broke out of the rectilinear world to give us 45-degree corridors. Our worlds and perspective would be forever changed.
Yeah, Doom didn’t help much, either. But it came a little later. Ultima Underworld was ahead of its time in many ways. But still – those maps bore enough resemblance to the old 2D maps of the classic Advanced Dungeons & Dragons era that I was in familiar territory.
So anyway, fast forward to today. Making 3D maps for a first-person perspective game. Tracy Hickman was 100% correct. What I think of as an awesome, classic, “old-school” map – like one of the above examples – comes out awfully , squat, boring, and – yes, dumpy – if translated directly into full-on 3D. Oh, and they also turn out pretty maze-like, too. And about 2/3rds of their actual size relative to what should be your “proper” eyepoint. I’m sure there are some things that can be done to make it more interesting and visually appealing (Kevin did wonders for the Temple of Pokmor Xang, which began life as a 2D graph-paper map with very few elevation-change cues). But apparently the direct translation of my vision of a “good map” runs counter to that of visually appealing and functional 3D map design.
And to make matters even more complicated, the needs of an RPG run counter to the principles of good FPS map design, too. As Brian, my another map-maker for Frayed Knights (and another family member roped into helping on my insane projects) has discovered. In an FPS, particularly competitive multiplayer levels, very circular map design is called for, with lots of “choke points” where paths converge on each other. You want very few if any “dead ends.” On the contrary, in an RPG, exploration is the goal, and finding all those end-nodes and discovering what surprises they hold is the whole point. He’s still fighting a few habits on that.
Meanwhile, I keep learning that I’ve got to use the vertical. vertical = interesting. I took it to an extreme recently and built a “mini-dungeon” constructed entirely in a huge vertical shaft.
Anyway, it’s not like this is totally uncharted territory. There are plenty of books (I own one) and articles out there on level design. It’s not like there was anything sacred about those old-school Gygaxian maps even back in the day. But there’s one thing to understand what’s right and what’s wrong, and what should be done when making a 3D RPG map, and something else entirely to build the thing so that it neither looks nor plays shoddy.
On my end, there’s a lot of learning I still have to do. And a lot of habits to break. And a lot of skills I still have to develop. These maps take a lot of time and effort to create.
I do miss the old 2D maps sometimes, and get just a little jealous of those indie RPG developers who still get to work in the somewhat more flat, tile-based realm. There’s a lot to be said – and a lot more that can be done – within that simpler framework. But it’s also very fun (if a lot of work) to embrace the third dimension, learn to love the vertical, and do the kinds of things that Tracy Hickman could only dream (and write) of in 1988.
Filed Under: Art, Design - Comments: 26 Comments to Read
Samarost 2 Added to the Humble Indie Bundle (Only 1 Day Left)
Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 10, 2010
The “Humble Indie Bundle” has been updated to include a copy of Samarost 2, by Aminata design. Those who have already purchased the bundle had it added to their list already.
The Humble Indie Bundle is a collection of six (formerly five) indie games that allow you to pay whatever your want for them. Your payment can be divided among the developers and the two charities in whatever ratio you want – by default, it’s evenly split among all parties. Personally, while I’m a fan of the EFF and Child’s Play, I consider the indies a pretty worthy cause, too.
It sounds like this experiment, while not yielding the average donations they had expected, made up for it with quantity. It’s been a nice success for the developers and for the charities they are supporting. As a side-note, it seems that the biggest average donations have come from Linux users.
What impresses me, here, is how the flexibility of small indie studios can so easily allow them to do stuff like this. While it’s not exactly a common thing (yet) for indies, this level of cooperation and contribution to the community to the benefit of the gamers is pretty dang awesome, IMO.
And the games are pretty cool, too.
As another side note – as of this time, there’s only one more day left to take advantage of this deal. So if you are interested, NOW IS THE TIME.
Check out The Humble Indie Bundle
Filed Under: Biz, Game Announcements, Indie Evangelism - Comments: 5 Comments to Read
Telepath RPG: Servants of God Demo Released
Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 9, 2010
Craig Stern of Sinister Design has released “the first” playable demo of his upcoming indie RPG, Telepath RPG: Servants of God. If you’ve played his tactics game, Telepath Psy Arena 2, then you may have some idea of what’s in store. But the RPG has much more story and character involvement. As he explains it:
Part Japanese strategy RPG, part free-roaming Western RPG, there is no RPG out there quite like Telepath RPG: Servants of God. The finished game will feature:
- A narrative about identity, the nature of the mind, and the existence of God
- Dialog choices that have real in-game consequences
- Furious tactical turn-based combat
- Psychic powers that affect the game both on and off the battlefield
- A party of interesting characters that you can choose to grow close with or alienate.
Sinister Design’s Telepath series features a pretty unique setting, which automatically scores it a couple of cool points right there with me, plus it has a turn-based, tactical combat system… which nets it a couple more. Now it doesn’t sound like the full release is all that imminent, so maybe he’s following my bad example… But what I have played so far I have enjoyed, and I enjoyed TPA2. So I’m looking forward to this one.
Play the demo, and let Craig know what you think!
Download the pre-release demo for Telepath RPG: Servants of God
And here’s the trailer video:
Filed Under: Game Announcements - Comments: 2 Comments to Read
More Frayed, More Knights, More Frayed Knightses!
Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 7, 2010
And now, for another exciting adventure in the development of Frayed Knights, the amazing indie RPG that all the other RPGs picked on in elementary school because it’s mother dressed it funny. And it comes with a Big Announcement
Way too freaking long ago … although, in terms of Duke Nukem Forever’s history, not so long at all (but that didn’t end well, did it?)… I gave an interview at RPG Watch about how long the full length of the game would be, as the pilot neared completion. I estimated that the final game would be six to ten times longer than the pilot. Which, even then, made me concerned that the game would be too short.
Heh.
Heh-heh.
(Cue hysterical laughter.)
What a fool I was.
Not that short is BAD, in-and-of itself. While I have many years in the games business as both a mainstream developer and an indie, I’ve never designed a full-fledged RPG before, and Frayed Knights was supposed to be kind of a learning project for me. Not any kind of magnum opus. But too short – that would be bad. Because I want to make sure I give gamers value for their time and money. So I worried about the game being too short.
Well, it’s been a learning experience, alright. I’ve learned I suck as a project manager. So here are some things that happened to greatly expand the scope of this “little” indie project:
One: I over-estimated how much time it would take for a player to complete the pilot, and under-estimated the amount of time that could be spent in the rest of the game (at least, so it seems right now).
Two: I panicked a little bit when I found out that I had under-estimated the length of the pilot, based on the feedback I received. This made me concerned that the game was too short. Short is not bad, but too short is not cool. So I deliberately added some more to the game than I’d originally intended.
Three: Feature and content creep happened. As it often does.
Four: Combat was made (so far) a lot more interesting, but also a bit more involved. Hitting the attack button as fast as you can to end the combat in seconds won’t be the answer anymore.
Five: While it won’t affect those who make a beeline for the ending, I’ve added a few more elements that should reward those who enjoy exploring their environment more thoroughly. Plus, there’s a lot more to the game than just beating up monsters and disarming traps, now, which was pretty much ALL that was there in the pilot.
Six: Somehow how “small” dungeons became medium-sized, our “medium-sized” dungeons became large, and we’re ending up with a whole lot more “mini-dungeons” in the game than we originally expected.
Seven: Leveling up is too much fun. I originally thought I’d only have maybe ten or twelve levels in the game. I’d save later levels and cooler abilities for future titles. But… well, we couldn’t resist. So there are a lot of levels, and a lot of options when you level. So I kinda let things get outta control, you know, because I want there to be a lot of opportunity to level up, so you needed all this content, right? More dungeons, more monsters, more… stuff…
Of course, I deliberately did the drama-star thing so that players might have options other than reloading a saved game when disaster or near-disaster strikes, which means players may not be forced to repeat the same fights over and over again. This works to speed up gameplay a bit, but I don’t consider it an impact on quality.
Anyway, the bottom-line is that the game has expanded. A Lot. While we’re still guesstimating as pieces have been coming together, we’re possibly looking at the game being four or five times bigger than it was ever intended to be. Which means, for practical purposes, in the time and effort it’s taking us to get Frayed Knights done, we could have done four more games.
So what was originally intended to be a quick-and-dirty RPG project to help me “get my feet wet” in developing indie RPGs has turned into a gigantic three-act monster.
So – to get this bad boy under control, I could either aggressively shrink the scope of the project – something I’m too sucky of a project manager and too egotistical as a designer to do – or ….
Cue Big News fanfare (for the five or six people who might care and don’t know already)…
… We could break the project up into its three acts as separate, smaller, cheaper games.
This feels like a very natural move. I’d been fretting recently that the three acts were too self-contained, and I’d gone out of my way to force the player to go between areas that “belonged” in separate acts. I have to undo a little bit of work here, but the game breaks very naturally along these three lines. It feels like I’ve been subconsciously planning this all along.
This has already helped us tighten focus and improve the storyline a bit. There’s still this big overall story arc between the three, but we also want there to be a solid, self-contained story for each act. This illuminated for me the fact that the second act was weak in the story department – a lot happens, but it was really just a very long bridge between the first and third parts. So I’m working on that.
This probably won’t mean that Frayed Knights 1 will be out a whole lot faster than the otherwise. We’re trying to aim for having all three acts being more-or-less playable before releasing the first one, as we don’t want there to be this awful, ugly long delay between releases. This will also mean that the core gameplay / engine won’t change much between the three. There will be a lot of new / cool stuff in the later games that weren’t in the first one – like new playable characters – but that’s always been the plan.
Because the core of the game will remain constant, however, it means that your characters and history (decisions, flags, etc) will also “port” between games. So you won’t be able to escape your past that easily.
A default party, appropriately leveled up and equipped, will also be provided for each game, however, so playing all three games in order won’t be strictly necessary.
This decision frees me up to do a lot of things that I was hesitant to do before, because of game scope and several other issues. It also leaves a lot of questions open that I still need to answer. My objective is still to provide the most fun for your gamer dollar with these games – I just get three smaller chances at it instead of going all-or-nothing.
And finally – will the three games of the Frayed Knights Trilogy once again be too short?
Answer: Probably not. Especially at the reduced price.
Filed Under: Frayed Knights - Comments: 13 Comments to Read
Interview With “Din’s Curse” Developer Steven Peeler
Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 6, 2010
Today we have an interview from the creator of a couple of my favorite indie RPGs, Depths of Peril and Din’s Curse. In this interview, Steven reveals a bit about the man behind the games, about what drives him as an indie game developer, and a lot about his newly-released (and, I note from personal experience, highly addictive) action-RPG Din’s Curse.
Rampant Coyote: First of all, tell us a little bit about yourself and your background. Who is the mind and soul of Soldak?
Steven Peeler: You just had to start off with a completely open ended question didn’t you? Let’s see. My name is Steven Peeler. I do all of the design and programming work on Soldak’s games (Depths of Peril, Kivi’s Underworld, and Din’s Curse). I also do all of the boring business stuff. I once upon a time worked for Ritual Entertainment for a little over 6 years and was their Technical Director when I left.
Hmm, that was pretty dry. Let’s see what else, I’m 36, married, have 2 kids (13 and 8), I love games, books, and movies and I’m bald by choice. Ok, that was at least a little more interesting.
Rampant Coyote: So what games have most influenced you as a designer?
Steven Peeler: I usually don’t bother to internally rank things so my answers to questions like this vary based on my mood. Some of my favorites are Civilization 3 & 4 (turned based strategy games give me time to plan), Diablo (sometimes I do really like real-time because they can be pretty intense and I like building up my character), Master of Orion (I just plain like 4X space games), Doom (this is the last game I can think of that was actually kind of scary), and Temple of Elemental Evil (I miss turned based RPGs).
Rampant Coyote: You left behind a career in mainstream, big-budget titles to focus on making indie games. What prompted this move?
Steven Peeler: Yep, I worked at Ritual Entertainment before I started Soldak. The main instigator was some internal political crap that started a little before I left. I don’t do office politics. It’s a waste of time and energy. Anyway once that started, I began considering other options. Even though it was (and still is) very risky I decided the thing I really wanted to do was create my own games, especially RPGs.
Rampant Coyote: Several years and three games later, what have you learned about being an indie?
Steven Peeler: It’s hard work, of course that’s probably true of any project of reasonable size. I’m still trying to figure out how to make Soldak more stable without resorting to following the latest fad or taking on contracting work.
Rampant Games: Why indie RPGs? What prompted you to go after one of the most challenging game genres right out of the chute, and what has kept you on that path?
Steven Peeler: I like RPGs. It really is about that simple. Since I started Soldak, the “smart money” in the indie world has shifted from making match 3 games to hidden object games to iPhone apps and now to Facebook social games. I could have worked on any of these to “make the quick bucks”, but if I can’t work on something I love, what’s the point of being an indie?
Rampant Games: So let’s talk about Din’s Curse. What’s it about? What kind of experience should a gamer considering downloading the demo expect?
Steven Peeler: Din’s Curse is a single player and co-op multiplayer action RPG with 141 class combinations, infinite number of dynamically generated towns, real consequences, and a dynamic, evolving world.
While the action parts will be familiar to anyone who has played an action RPG, this isn’t your typical action RPG. The world is different every game and it constantly changes based on what you do, what the NPCs do, and even what the monsters do. For example, let’s say the boss Draco has taken over part of the dungeon. In most games, what happens if you don’t and go kill him? Pretty much nothing. He will sit there forever and wait for you to kill him. This is not even remotely true in Din’s Curse. Some of the things he might do are start an uprising of Nagas, send a group of Naga Priests to attack the town, send an assassin to the town to try to kill the townspeople, build an earthquake machine, or even start a war between the Nagas and the Orcs.
Rampant Coyote: What sets Din’s Curse apart from the two previous titles (Depths of Peril and Kivi’s Underworld)? What’s awesome about it?
Steven Peeler: The most significant features that set Din’s Curse apart from our previous games are the dynamic world, randomization, interaction with the environment, and hybrids.
I mentioned this in the previous question a bit. Depths of Peril had a very dynamic world which worked very well. We have pushed this concept a lot more in Din’s Curse. There are way more twists and turns from one quest to another and it is much more obvious when it happens compared to DoP. Sometimes these are good and sometimes they are bad. For example sometimes a townsperson will reward you with a chest of items or maybe even build a statue in your honor. Here’s a good example that’s not in your favor: an elite Saurian Mage kills a zombie that attacked him and gets promoted and is now known as Shock, a unique monster. Shock launches attacks on the town and does other nasty things and eventually attacks and kills off Draco our Naga boss. Now Shock is the boss of the dungeon. This is just one example of what can happen and is not scripted at all.
There are tons of random elements: monsters, items, dungeons, towns, NPCs, world modifiers, objects, traps, weather, and the list goes on and on. Shoot, you can even start a character with a random hybrid combination if you want to.
Din’s Curse has an environment that has lots of ways to interact. You really do need to pay attention to your surroundings. It can be very dangerous to you, but also to your enemies. Accidentally hitting a gas leak with a fireball might kill you from the powerful explosion. Throw a flaming oil into a group of barrels and you can roast nearby monsters to death. It’s really not wise to run across the magma or pools of acid. Breaking the fragile support beams might cause massive cave-ins that bury you and all of the nearby monsters. Used carefully, the environment can be a helpful ally. Used poorly, the environment will gladly kill you.
In Din’s Curse we have 6 classes which each have 3 specialties. When you start a new character you can choose a full class with its 3 specialties or you can choose to play a hybrid. A hybrid character can choose any 2 specialty from any of the classes. While you do get one less specialty than a full class, a hybrid can be very powerful because you can mix anything together. Want to wear plate armor and summon undead? Then play a Defender/Conjurer. Want to sneak around and shoot arrows? Then play a Trickster/Archer. Want to be good by healing wounds and evil by summoning demons? Then play a Healer/Warlock. I think you get the idea. Overall there are 141 combinations (actually more if you play strange things like a Weaponmaster/Weaponmaster).
This all makes for a game that has ridiculous amount of replayability. You will be seeing new things and new combinations for a long time.
Rampant Coyote: You’ve incorporated a lot of roguelike elements into Din’s Curse. Can you tell me more about them?
Steven Peeler: Actually the funny thing is I really haven’t purposely pulled many ideas from roguelikes. Diablo took the idea of rogue, added nice graphics, and simplified it a lot. Din starts with a Diablo action RPG concept and adds a lot more depth. So it’s not too surprising that we overlap roguelikes quite a bit.
Some of the things we have in common are a hardcore mode, lots of environmental interaction, and special rooms. Hardcore (also know as permadeath) is only an option, but it’s there for those that like that tense, danger feeling. There are tons of objects to interact with in the environment like traps, dangerous liquids like magma and oil, support beams that are holding up the ceiling, obelisks that can give you cool temporary boosts, and many more cool things. Beware many monsters can also use the environment to their advantage! As for special rooms, we have things like vaults, lairs, and treasure rooms which are very similar to some roguelikes.
Rampant Coyote: Okay – this is an extremely dangerous question, I know, and we won’t hold you to ANYTHING, but… have you given any thought to what might be next after Din’s Curse?
Steven Peeler: I really wish I knew. I haven’t started anything yet, but right now I am leaning towards an expansion for Din’s Curse. Although a couple nights ago I had a dream that has me thinking about one of my old game ideas, so we’ll see.
Rampant Coyote: Is there anything else you’d like to add about Din’s Curse, your other titles, or just about being an indie game developer or gamer?
Steven Peeler: For those of you that complain that all the AAA games seem to be more of the same and never bother to really even attempt to innovate, you really owe it to yourself to come over and try an indie RPG like Din’s Curse. Our games won’t hold up to the graphics standard of the latest AAA games, but we do try to create games that are different and have much more depth. Even if you don’t try or buy our games, there are a bunch of other really cool indie RPGs out there. Try them and find out what you’re missing.
Thanks, Steven, for taking the time out to humor me and share some of your thoughts with the readers here!
Filed Under: Indie Evangelism, Interviews - Comments: 4 Comments to Read
What If Super Mario Brothers Had Been Made in 2010?
Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 5, 2010
Painful ‘cuz it’s so true!
Kotaku: If Super Mario Bros. Was Made In 2010
Filed Under: Biz, Retro - Comments: Read the First Comment
The Humble Indie Bundle – For Charity!
Posted by Rampant Coyote on
Five indie games – Aquaria, World of Goo, Lugaru, Penumbra Overture, and Gish.
You pick the price.
And you choose how much goes to charity. Or, rather, charities (plural) – specifically Child’s Play and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. By default, every dollar you spend is equally divided amongst the developers and the two charities. I think all are worthy causes, personally.
It’s a win-win-win scenario across the board. Have some fun, do some good. And help indie games change the world.
Filed Under: Deals, Indie Evangelism - Comments: Comments are off for this article
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