Adventure Games – What’s To Love?
Posted by Rampant Coyote on April 17, 2013
The trailer for DoubleFine’s adventure game – the one that put Kickstarter on the map for alternative funding for game developers – is out. Here it is, in case you haven’t seen it…
I showed it to a friend, mentioning how much I loved Schaffer’s Grim Fandango when it was released (to this day, my favorite adventure game, even beating out Monkey Island 2).
He said he had never gotten into adventure games. As I thought about it, I said (incorrectly, in retrospect) that while I really loved them back in their heyday, I haven’t really gotten back into them since. I wondered what changed. I mean, I have tons of old-school and newer (indie) graphic adventure games sitting on my hard drive that I haven’t played (at least not to completion). Is something wrong? Have I lost whatever it was that made me love the genre back then? I hope that Broken Age might be the one to rekindle that old love.
Upon further reflection, I’m going to have to say not as much has changed as I thought. There have been some games from Telltale that I have really enjoyed and played to completion recently. Granted, these are not the same as old-school, hardcore adventure games (am I *gasp* not so hardcore anymore?).
And… in reality… there were a lot of unfinished adventure games sitting on my hard drive back in 1992, too. I’m really bad about quitting and moving on to something else when I get killed or stumped in a game, and sometimes I don’t get back to it. Maybe that’s why many of my completed adventure games of the 1990s were the LucasArts titles where you could not die. They were the original “hardcore” casual adventure games!
It’s kind of sad the number of adventure games I profess to love, but I never concluded. Maybe I think on them so fondly because I never had closure. They are unfinished conversations in my head, and my imagination is still filling in the possibilities because I have never really let go. Maybe that’s true of a lot of unfinished RPGs as well. Just as nothing in reality is as terrifying as the unknown, no game – no story – can be as satisfying as I might imagine them to be. Although it helps that they were really dang cool up until the point where I got stumped, forgot to try again, and lost my saved game…
Trying to explain exactly why I loved adventure games – or Grim Fandango in particular – was hard, too. It’s been so long that I forget the reasons why. But ultimately, it comes down to a few very simple principles:
1. Interesting characters. Probably more than anything else. A good principle character who can respond to really weird interactions with amusing comments really helps.
2. Open-ended interaction potential. While the worlds could be frustrating in how much they didn’t allow you to interact with them, part of the fun in both text adventures and graphic adventures was how few restrictions were placed on the interactive potential. This, too, was a source of frustration – sometimes you’d want to scream at your monitor, “What am I supposed to do here?” But this was part of what made the worlds come alive — anything in the world could potentially be interacted with, and sometimes in very interesting and amusing ways.
3. Compelling stories. Always a strong reason to play any game.
4. The euphoria of solving puzzles and problems. Maybe the match-3 genre has adventure games beat by letting you do this dozens of times per minute instead of once every few minutes, but I’m pretty sure there are some biochemical reactions to solving the kind of mental puzzles provided in adventure games. It feels good. And while it’s quite possible in the modern era to get solutions to any adventure game more than two days old on the Internet, finally solving the real stumpers by yourself can probably get you high. It’s not like a challenging action sequence where you can chalk it up to just rehearsing things to the point of a combination of good luck, learned responses, and perfect timing. It’s a full-on “Eureka!” moment which potentially opens up any number of roadblocks which have been hemming you in until that point. It feels like it’s a world-changing event all because you had an idea.
5. As a side-note: Part of it possibly came down to being able to tell stories or use settings that would be harder to work out in another medium. It was the ability to explore the worlds and understand the settings at your own pace that maybe made them work. That allowed the weirdness to become endearing rather than off-putting. This was very true of text adventures as well. The exposition necessary to make it work would slow down a linear narrative to insomnia-defeating levels, but when you can push and pull at the setting and “play with it” in the interactive medium it can come together nicely.
There may be more to it than this. But these are the aspects that I think of. This is also why I like putting a few ‘adventure game’ style puzzles in my RPGs. Not too much, and not too hard – because again, I’m one of those guys who tends to quit after being stumped or lost for too long – but just enough to season my RPGs with a little bit of that remembered flavor.
I suspect and hope that Broken Age will do just fine reminding me why I still hold the genre in such high regard. Hopefully it will remind a lot of people.
As a bonus – Ron Gilbert just wrote a list of how he’d create a Monkey Island game today. He stresses that he has no plans to make a new Monkey Island game, but it certainly sounds like he is considering launching a Kickstarter or something to make another game or series of games in that style. It has a lot of elements that he considers “key” to what he loves about the classics – and how he would update them in a way that he would have done twenty+ years ago if it had been technologically feasible.
Filed Under: Adventure Games - Comments: 7 Comments to Read
Turn Off “Always On” DRM
Posted by Rampant Coyote on April 16, 2013
Last night, I was cleaning up some some things around the office, and I stumbled across my box for City of Heroes. City of Heroes was an awesome MMORPG I played for a couple of years. While I hadn’t played it in a while, I was sad to see the game shut down completely not long ago. That meant my box – and my corresponding box for City of Villains – advertised a game that no longer exists anywhere. I couldn’t bring myself to throw the box away. At least not yet. It’s a reminder of some pretty good times.
But it’s dead. I couldn’t play it again if I wanted to. And believe me, if it was possible, I would have been tempted. But the box is not much more than a grave marker today.
Pretty soon, almost every video game will be like that. Dead, useless, gone from all but history.
It’s called, “Always On DRM.” Publishers freaking LOVE the idea.
A couple of weeks ago, something of a crapstorm took place over rumors that the next-gen XBox was going to have the dreaded “Always On” restriction: If you lose your Internet connection, the console shuts you down. Apparently (the rumors go) after a little bit of a grace period to allow a reconnection, you are unable to even play single-player games.
A Microsoft creative director who nobody had really heard of until that point made a series of inappropriate tweets, mocking those who were alarmed by this rumor. His said things like, “These people should definitely get with the times and get the Internet. It’s awesome.” and “I want every device to be ‘always on.’ ” When people argued with him about several places in the United States where getting Internet connectivity was difficult, he flippantly commented, “Why on Earth would I live there?” For those who complained about Internet outages, he said, “Electricity goes out, too.” During the exchanges, he used the hashtag, “#DealWithIt.”
Shortly thereafter, he resigned from Microsoft, presumably under threat of termination. He was not a spokesperson for Microsoft and was simply speaking his own mind, not realizing his comments to what he thought was an audience of mainly peers, would end up turning into an angry meme. Sadly, many on the Internet took great glee in his loss of his job (presumably over this affair). The angry villagers and their pitchforks won. That, I find pretty disturbing.
I’m afraid Mr. Orth learned the hard way one of the perils of being “always on.”
While I am revolted by the behavior of some people on the Internet who were cheering Mr. Orth’s removal, I can’t say I’m completely unsympathetic to their views. And I do hope Microsoft gets the message. But, sadly, it sounds like they won’t. And I won’t be adding the new XBox (code-named “Durango”) to my inventory, if this is the case.
But I’m afraid too much of the gaming world (and the software world in general) is completely on board with the “always on” idea, simply because it is a convenience to the publishers, and it allows them to exert control over their products “in the wild” that they could not exert otherwise.
My take on it is much like my take on telemarketing: It’s my phone, and I pay the bills, and therefore my phone exists for MY convenience, not yours. Likewise, my Internet connection is for MY convenience, not yours.
Hey, kids! You know what you call software that goes out on your computer and does stuff without your knowledge, permission, or … let’s be honest … benefit?
Malware.
Oh, of course, now it’s not “malware” because you gave it permission when you installed the software. Yeah, there are a whole bunch of horrible programs out there that will make your computer run like a 386 and inform every marketer in the world of your bathroom habits that use the same excuse.
The thing is… well, maybe young gamers really are that ignorant, but those who understand the world recognize that games frequently have an online component, even if it’s just updating a leaderboard. No problem. But we also recognize which components are critical to us playing a game. And that’s really limited to playing simultaneously with friends on the Internet, or playing in shared world. Oh, there are minor conveniences or nifty items, like having our saved game in the cloud so we can resume from a different computer (something relatively few gamers actually use, but I occasionally do), or leaderboards, or having the game directly announce news and updates for us. But we recognize that these are not critical to playing the game.
We also recognize that this is nothing more than a control grab by game manufacturers, an attempt to force us to their door so that we can pay for a game like it was a product, but use it only at their discretion as if it was a service. It’s the best of both worlds as a publisher, and the worst of both worlds as a consumer.
So what does “Always On” DRM get you as a consumer?
Nothing. Oh, Marketers will offer such empty spin-speak BS as, “To better serve you as a customer,” or will list online features that we know damn well do not need to be tied to an “Always On” requirement. Or maybe they’ll even stoop to claiming that it will allow them to “keep costs down” with the implication that they’ll pass the savings on to the customers (they won’t, they’ll charge you what they know they can charge you, it just means that they can afford to keep up the nuclear arms race of massive development and marketing budgets with their competitors). I’m sure Microsoft is getting all kinds of support and exclusives for their new machine from publishers with visions of zero piracy dancing in their heads.
But it’s not just about piracy. This is what people are misinterpreting. It’s about CONTROL. Pure and simple. The publishers control our access to the game at all times. We buy it as if it’s a product, they give us the lack of customer support as if it’s a product, but we are allowed to play the game as if it was a service they were providing for us.
What kind of control? Here are the kind of DOWNSIDES that “Always On” DRM inflicts upon real customers – the people who spend their hard-earned cash on these crippled pieces of software that were once called games:
#1 – As game publishers have frequently proven, they will cancel our “accounts” – basically taking the game away from us – for any reason. This can range from true violations of our terms of service, to speaking badly of the game on their forums. This is bad enough in a shared-world MMO where our behavior effects other people. But in a fundamentally single-player game? WTF?
#2 – Also, as has been demonstrated many times in the past, we may get our “accounts” – our access to the game – taken away for no reason whatsoever. A mistake. A false positive on a piracy test. While these can be appealed and are usually cleared up within a few hours or a few days…. WTF?!?!? I am denied access to play this game I just shelled out $60 for because YOU screwed up? Why? The game is right there on my hard drive; let me play!
#3 – Apparently, publishers have recognized that gamers have short memories, and rather than purchase adequate server hardware to service a big AAA game at launch, they’ll economize and let the players go through hell for the first couple of weeks, unable to play, until things settle down. Then we happy little gamers will forget all about how much the game SUCKED the first two weeks and happily fall for the same B.S. with the next big release.
#4 – Mandatory obsolescence. Like City of Heroes – games can now just “go away.” With the usual apologies from the publisher about how it was no longer cost-effective, hardly anybody was playing anymore, time to move on, etc. Of course, now publishers like EA can throw on a new coat of paint on an older game that is no longer supported, call it a new product, and sell the whole f***ing game AGAIN this year! Just like they do with their sports franchises! It can now be done with EVERY GAME! Quit your whining and give them another $60 + $120 for DLC, you’ve got almost three whole years to enjoy it before we take it away from you!
#5 – Those with less-than-stellar broadband may have to make their kids quit playing games in order to stream a movie.
#6 – It’s gonna be a whole ‘nother pain in the butt for those with spotty Internet connections. Or for people like me who have P.O.S. “refurbished” hardware sent by my broadband provider and and has to be rebooted multiple times a day. I’m fairly convinced that they just have a pool of crap they cycle around from customer to customer, hoping they’ll eventually land at a home where they complain less.
#7 – Oh, yeah, and your play habits can always be monitored. 99.99% of the world won’t give a crap, and some may actually prefer this (there are some benefits, after all), but hey – some people may actually value privacy, and don’t feel that just because they paid for and installed a game that the game-maker is ENTITLED to that information.
#8 – Gaming on the road. My job sends me on the road a lot, and while most hotels have Internet nowadays, it’s either crappy or EXPENSIVE (or both, or either – you can choose gratis connectivity that resembles a 300 baud modem, or pay through the nose for something that sucks less). So I game. Or, often enough, write games, but I play games too. “Always On” could make that very problematic. Particularly since most developers / publishers / DRM providers aren’t particularly respectful of your bandwidth if they don’t feel they have to be. Oh, and while I enjoy “getting away from it all” on camping trips, I still sometimes game on handheld devices when I do. But not if they have “always on” DRM.
Look, I’m a game developer. I’m anti-piracy. I’m not really anti-DRM, just – well, against the kinds of DRM that have come to represent the philosophy. But I’m not anti-DRM as much as I am pro-consumer.
This is why I against “Always On” DRM. It is “anti-consumer.” Look, online gaming is one thing. This is something totally different. This crap has the potential to wreck gaming as I know and love it.
As bad as I feel about Mr. Orth being turned into an industry scapegoat, the industry seems hell-bent on taking this course that screws over their customers for their benefit (gee, I wonder why) and is pulling the same kind of PR blitz and saying the same kinds of things Mr. Orth was saying in an effort to convince us all that it’s not a bad thing, that it’s the way of the future, and really, we should feel happy about companies treating us as nothing more than credit cards with an Internet connection. And we gamers really do need to fight back and send a message that this is unacceptable.
While “voting with your wallet” is a good thing, when an industry is only treating us as nothing more than a wallet, it may need a little help figuring out why the little wallets aren’t standing in line like they are supposed to.
Filed Under: Biz, Geek Life - Comments: 14 Comments to Read
Frayed Knights 2 – Official Title, Q&A
Posted by Rampant Coyote on April 15, 2013
The last couple of weeks, we’ve had a sale on Frayed Knights: The Skull of S’makh-Daon, here (at that link) and on Desura. And we’ve been giving away games and … some other opportunities. As of right now, the sale is just about done – a few hours left until the end of the day. We’ve also given away the opportunity to impact the sequel, to name an NPC, and are stashing a custom item for the winner of the weekend drawing.
Check your emails. The winner has been contacted. If for some reason said person defers, then another name will be drawn.
It’s been fun.
And now – with the big Rampant Games / Frayed Knights event wrapping up, I’m gonna talk a little bit more about Frayed Knights 2. (The screenshot to the right, btw, is still from Frayed Knights 1) .
So I guess we are overdue to announce the official title for the sequel. It’s old news to some (it’s had a title since before FK1 was released), but it is the first time we’ve admitted announced it publicly:
Frayed Knights 2: The Khan of Wrath.
Or I guess we can abbreviate it FK2:KoW
Or something. Plain ol’ KoW sounds too much like my unreleased, needs-to-be-remade-in-Unity Apocalypse Cow game.
By way of explanation of the title – there are Rock Giants, as those following this blog and the comments already know. You may find them in a huge underground complex beneath Mount Wrath, “in the hall of the mountain Khan.” Yes, cue the theme from Peer Gynt. And that’s all we’re gonna say about them at this point.
Here are some Q’s to be A’d about the game. Many of these have been asked and answered before, but there may be some new ones:
Q: Is this using the same engine as the first game?
A: Not unless I redo the first game using the all-new engine at some point. :0 We’ve started over… not quite from scratch, but close enough, using Unity this time around. The underlying game rules have changed somewhat, but aside from some radical changes to the interface, Frayed Knights veterans should be at home in the new game.
Q: What about my characters from Frayed Knights: The Skull of S’makh-Daon? Will I still be able to import them into Frayed Knights 2: The Khan of Wrath?
A: Yes, although you may need to manually reallocate some points, as there will be changes to several of the feats from the previous game. It may go so far as to unspend all of your feat points, for simplicity’s sake, so you can re-buy what you need. Also, some items may go away or be changed from how they worked in FK1. Additionally, some of the choices you made in the first game may come back to haunt you in game 2.
Q: You said the spell system was changing to all these dynamic spells. Will Power Word: Defenestrate still be there?
A: Yes, there will be plenty of “fixed” spells that are either unique, funny, or necessary for a ‘baseline’ caster, in addition to the dynamic ones. And knocking enemies through windows is quite or hitting them in the head with a bunch of boots are simply effects I do not want to give up.
Q: What’s the level range will Khan of Wrath?
A: Right now, we’re targeting level 10 through around level 20, though you may be able to progress a little above that.
Q: What if I never played the first game?
A: As much as I’d LOVE for you to play the first game, too, it will be far from necessary to enjoy the Khan of Wrath. New players should be able to pick up with the sequel without even needing to know the first game existed. You know how The Skull of S’makh-Daon referred back to previous adventures of the Frayed Knights prior to the beginning of the game? It’ll be just like that. All important information will be repeated, so nobody should feel lost.
Q: The UI was too cumbersome in the last game. Will you fix it in this one?
A: The UI is completely redesigned. Hopefully, the new one will be far less cumbersome.
Q: Why don’t you just use the UI layout from [enter favorite game where you play a single character]?
A: Because in that game, you play a single character. The needs of an interface where you control a group of up to six characters – especially one doing some of the unusual things Frayed Knights is doing – are pretty different. We’ll try to borrow what good idea we have, but it’s not quite that simple.
Q: Wait, did you say six characters?
A: Yes, yes I did.
Q: Who else do you play in the game, besides Arianna, Benjamin, Chloe, and Dirk?
A: Someone who’s name begins with an E. And someone who’s name begins with an F. And one with a G. And one with an H. Possibly others, but we’re not promising anything beyond that.
Q: Will the Rats of Nom be back? I love those guys!
A: Oh, boy, will they be back. With a vengeance.
Q: Can I join the Rats of Nom?
A: I guess we could add that as an option, but then the game would end immediately afterwards. ‘Cuz then there’d be no one to stop the Great Devouring.
Q: The what now?
A: Huh? What? I didn’t say anything. Look! A squirrel!
Q: Can we create our own characters from scratch this time?
A: No. Frayed Knights is about the Frayed Knights.
Q: Do we get to fight the arch-lich Nepharides in this game?
A: That would be something of a spoiler, but let’s say this: If so, he’d totally wipe the floor with you.
Q: Are bosses going to be as easy to beat as they were in the last game?
A: No, not quite as bad. But numerical superiority still conveys a hefty advantage.
Q: Will the game be available on the Mac this time? How about Linux?
A: Yes and yes. Part of the switch to the new engine (using Unity) was to make sure we have solid, mature multi-platform support this time around. We were hit by some unpleasant surprises last time, and want to make sure that doesn’t happen again. To that end, we’re shooting for releasing all versions of the game simultaneously (or as close to simultaneously as we can swing it).
We’re also planning releases for tablets and for the Ouya, but those will probably not be not be released simultaneously with the PC versions.
Q: So when’s the Khan of Wrath going to be released?
A: Alas, it’s not happening this year. But we hope to be in serious testing by the end of the year. I was really pushing for that, but real life conspired to kick me about six months behind schedule. It’s the trouble that comes with being a part-time indie.
Q: Do you need help testing?
A: Not at this moment, no. We’ll be contacting members of the community (especially those who helped test the original game) when the time comes, but it will be a slow ramp-up.
Q: Will you be releasing on Steam?
A: We’ll be working with portals much earlier in the process the next time around, including Steam, GOG.COM, and Desura. We’ll see.
Okay, that’s about it for now. I hope that answers a few questions. Please note that while we’re pretty confident about these answers, everything here is subject to change. I mean, if I suddenly sold a million copies of Frayed Knights: The Skull of S’makh-Daon today and could quit the day job and hire full-time help, the game could very conceivably be done before the end of the year. That’s an answer I’d happily change.
We’ve still got a long way to go, but I’m really, REALLY excited about Frayed Knights 2: The Khan of Wrath. I personally learned a lot about making RPGs (particularly about making my kind of RPG) with Frayed Knights: The Skull of S’makh-Daon, and it’s been great being able to apply those lessons from the get-go.
Filed Under: Frayed Knights - Comments: 10 Comments to Read
Frayed Knights Sale Almost Over –
Posted by Rampant Coyote on April 14, 2013
I wanted to post one weekend blog post as a reminder. There are just a few more hours left to take advantage of the half-price sale on Frayed Knights: The Skull of S’makh-Daon. Check it out at:
and on Desura at:
http://www.desura.com/games/frayed-knights-the-skull-of-smakh-daon
Also, the drawing for the special give-away for Frayed Knights 2 will be made in the morning (my time) – about twelve hours from now. So there’s still a little bit of an opportunity to let people know about the sale. Be sure and let me know before then so you can have your name entered into the drawing!
See ya on the flip side.
Filed Under: Frayed Knights, Rampant Games - Comments: Comments are off for this article
A Very Special Frayed Knights 2 Gift…
Posted by Rampant Coyote on April 12, 2013
Okay, guys, we’re entering into the final stretch on the sale for Frayed Knights: The Skull of S’makh-Daon, here and on Desura. I’m worried not everybody that would be interested in about it have heard about it. Actually, that’s not a worry, that’s an overwhelming element of reality.
So for this weekend, I’m gonna make a special request for folks … with an unusual prize.
Here’s what I’m asking: Please spread the word about Frayed Knights and this sale, which is only gonna last through the weekend. On Twitter, on Facebook, in one of your favorite forums, to your friend at the office, your online guild, your dog, whatever. I don’t care. It could even be a message of support on Steam Greenlight. Please don’t be spammy about it, whatever you do! We don’t play that game. Just do something to get the word out over the next couple of days (the sale ends Monday / Tuesday-ish, depending upon your time zone).
When you are done, let me know in the comments here or by email at feedback@rampantgames.com. Just say, “DONE!” or something in the comments in addition to whatever you wanna talk about.
Okay, from those who respond (I’m really hoping there’s more than just one!), I’m gonna have a drawing. The winner is going to get something highly unusual:
A special, secret item in Frayed Knights 2.
It’ll be very hard to find on accident. It’ll be buried away somewhere special. And only YOU, the winner, will be given instructions on how to find this item dedicated to you. It’s up to you as to whether or not you want to share the information to others so they can share. I will not guarantee that the item will be overpowered (in fact, I can just about guarantee it won’t be… much), but it’ll be custom-designed for you.
All for helping let people know about Frayed Knights. Oh, and getting lucky. One thing I’ve learned about being in the indie games biz… luck is always a factor. 🙂
Anyway, thanks for helping a guy out!
The drawing will be handled Monday morning (my time).
As always, have fun!
(P.S. – Psychochild, Susan, Myrkrel, congrats on winning the March to the Moon drawing… please check your emails!)
UPDATE: Instant Kingdom, the makers of the excellent RPG Driftmoon, have an article up today discussing Frayed Knights: The Skull of S’makh-Daon and Private Infiltrator! Check it out.
Filed Under: Frayed Knights, Rampant Games - Comments: 15 Comments to Read
From Whom Much Is Given, Much Is Demanded
Posted by Rampant Coyote on April 11, 2013
The ideas people have come up with for completely useless psychic powers yesterday was a source of amusement all day long. Thank you! Three winners have been emailed with instructions for claiming their prizes. Thank you to everybody who has participated so far. And a big thank-you to the game developers who have contributed copies of their games! I hope you guys will continue to support them with current and future projects, as well.
The sale on Frayed Knights: The Skull of S’makh-Daon ends Monday – ish, depending on your time zone, so be sure and check out the game. It’s available at that link (sales handled via BMT Micro), and through Desura, if you prefer. Don’t miss out!
I was reading this editorial about Original Sin and the current state of RPGs, and it coincided with some experiences I’ve been having at The Day Job. As some of you know, my day job is making simulators. Crane simulators. Back when I first started my career at SingleTrac, making games for the not-yet-released Sony Playstation, most of the guys there had come over from the simulator industry (Evans & Sutherland). They told me about their experience making simulators, and noted that as the graphics improved, their customers became more demanding. When everything seemed more cartoony and “plastic,” nobody complained about the runway lights being the wrong shade of a color. But as things started getting closer to photorealistic, things that had been more than adequate with their more abstract representation were suddenly deficient when they’d been improved!
We’re experiencing a bit of that at the day job too, although not with the graphics so much as the overall fidelity of the simulators. As we’ve increased the realism, our customers have stepped up their expectations. Models and behaviors that have been fine for years are suddenly inadequate because they stand in contrast to other systems that are more realistically modeled.
We see this in games, too, and it goes beyond the “uncanny valley” problem (though it is related). Actually, one of the best explanations of this for me came from the book “Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
In a sense – and this is my interpretation – as it leaves less to the imagination, we are no longer encouraged to invest our own imagination into it. And thus the more abstract work can meet our expectations better because we literally fill in those expectations ourselves.
Which is more satisfying? More engaging? More compelling? And which offers the better gameplay experience?
It really depends. The screenshot to the left can represent a pretty thrilling and enjoyable fight scene, especially when the player is fully focused and “into” the game. The graphics are largely representational, and the “real” action is probably taking place inside the player’s mind.
Compare that to… well… this:
As a gamer, which one would you rather play? Lacking any other data, my first instinct would be to go with the latter. That’s what I’d think that first screen was “supposed” to look like. But in the second screen, any failures to represent things perfectly is going to detract substantially from the experience. If the guy’s weapon animates through his body, or the collision gets a little wonky in the environment, or the bad guys don’t respond in what I think is “properly” from my hits, it’s going to pull me out of the experience. Will my imagination “fill in” for the insufficient or “wrong” details? Probably not. It’s not been engaged to that level. I guess the game is mostly being played on the screen, not in my head.
Consequently, as a developer, most of your time has to be spent preventing those distractions rather than implementing really cool new systems. Because a new system is going to usually come at an enormous cost to make sure it keeps the overall experience seamless. It’s not just graphics. Voice-overs are another sore point for many games (ESPECIALLY RPGs). They impose quite stringent limitations on dialog, story flexibility, and design flexibility during development.
This isn’t all “bad.” I gotta admit – fighting a dragon in Skyrim was one of those high points in gaming for me. And yeah, exploring the ruins of Washington DC (where I used to live) in full 3D glory in Fallout 3 was extremely cool. But I can also go back and have a blast playing Might & Magic I (once I figured out my way through the 1980s interface) or the original 2D Fallout. It’s tough to say which is “better.” But I think one of the side-effects of the indie revolution is that gamers are re-discovering some of the joys and advantages that can come from simpler representations of game worlds. A lot of that detail and effort can go to make more interesting things happen. Like FTL – which would have been very difficult to make as a realistic space combat ‘simulator’.
I think the gaming world is big enough now that we can enjoy the wider scope of both approaches.
GIVE-AWAY TIME!
Okay, guys. Today’s game is an obscure recent title by Califer games, called March to the Moon. As we were talking hybrid games the other day, this one came up – a top-down shooter blended with RPG concepts. Curtis, the guy behind this, is a friend, former coworker in the scary mainstream games industry, and a local here in Utah. March to the Moon is a simple, fun concept with full-on embrace of “programmer graphics” for maximum cheese factor. You start out by clearing out a bar’s basement of rats – something that should make Matt Barton very happy – and progress onwards to a full scale invasion. By… uh… just about everything.
What, you ask, must you do to obtain this rare gem?
Why, leave a comment! If perchance you already own the game, or don’t want it (why not?!?!?!), you can add “N/G” (No Game) to your comment.
If you need something more specific to comment on, how’s this?
I frequently maintain that we have hit the “law of diminishing returns” on graphics a few years ago. This means that the amount of effort needed to provide a marginal increase in graphics quality exceeds its utility or value. The efforts to provide new control experiences (Kinect, the Wii’s controller, etc.) suggests the mainstream game companies sense this to. So – if graphics are no longer the big mountain to climb anymore, what’s the next great frontier that should be or will be pushed in gaming? Audio? More work on controls? “True” 3D, Occulus Rift style? Direct neural interfaces? Smell-o-vision? AI-generated narrative? Greater frontiers in dynamic content (a good way to take advantage of all that 3D power of today’s machines)?
See ya in the comments section. And have fun!
Filed Under: Art, Deals, Rampant Games - Comments: 13 Comments to Read
Tactical Telepathicness … Telepathicity? Telepathitude?
Posted by Rampant Coyote on April 10, 2013
So my birthday was just over a week ago. And I’m still doing stuff about it. Yeah, that’s pretty much how I roll when it comes to schedules and deadlines. The sale continues, and the give-away continues. Yesterday we had three people win copies of the outstanding RPG / TD hybrid, Defender’s Quest. Apparently, the dice favored Tetris mash-ups this time around – Damon Smith, Binh Nguyen, and Darius – please check your emails! (Actually, the dice really favored the two entries that weren’t entering the drawing, rolling those numbers multiple times…. sheesh. I should use different dice next time!) Congrats, and thanks everyone for contributing and sharing ideas!
Frayed Knights: The Skull of S’makh-Daon, the first of the Frayed Knights trilogy, is on sale for half price here and at Desura, an indie-focused gaming service. There are only a few days left on this, so grab it now before you forget! 🙂
And since I realize a few folks here might not know what I’m talking about…
Frayed Knights: The Skull of S’makh-Daon is by far the largest game I’ve ever worked on (and I’ve worked on games that have sold seven digits). After talking about making computer RPGs for years, I finally took some time (a few years, gah!) to actually make one. It is a style of RPG that has been neglected over the last decade or two – the first-person party-based dungeon crawl – in the style of classics like Might & Magic, Wizardry, The Bard’s Tale, etc.
But I wasn’t content with just imitating old classics. I wanted to experiment with new ideas, inject it with my own brand of goofiness, and tie it a bit more to classic “dice-and-paper” role–playing from the era that inspired the original computer RPGs. While there are a lot of things I feel I can improve on (and indeed, I’m working on doing just that with Frayed Knights 2), I’m quite pleased with the results, and I hope people who are just now hearing about the game can check it out and understand why. It garnered multiple awards, including RPG of the Year from RPG Watch and GameBanshee.
I’m super-thrilled to be working on the sequel right now. And I really appreciate everybody who has supported – and continues to support – this game. You guys and gals are the ones who make this all worthwhile.
Making indie games is not … well, as a friend of mine from the game industry used to say, “It’s not all fun and games, sometimes it’s just games.” Yes, it’s fun. And yes, I do it ‘cuz I love it — it sure as hell ain’t the money. Not that I’m at all opposed to that kind of thing. 🙂
For many of us, making an indie game is a huge investment of time, and personal expenses that we hope will be recovered on the back end. Releasing a game doesn’t usually have the fairy-tale ending. Steam doesn’t always appear as a handsome prince, blessing your game and helping you sell hundreds of thousands of copies. You persevere. I study these success stories, working hard to make my own, and even the legendary success stories usually involve years of toiling in obscurity before becoming an “overnight success.”
With that in mind, I wanted to point out the Kickstarter for Craig Stern’s Telepath Tactics: A Strategy RPG. It’s already passed its original goal, and is now trucking into stretch goal territory, but is now entering the final days of the campaign. Craig is like me, one of those “working class indies” who has released quite a few games in the past which are quite good, but haven’t had the budget to really make them “pop.” Hopefully this campaign will do the trick.
If you are interested in this, now is the time as it enters its final push. There are only a few days left. Craig has a track record of previously released games, so as “real” indie Kickstarters go, it’s fairly low-risk IMO.
And I expect it to be full of telepathicness. Well, telepathy. Or something like that. It’s his world’s answer to “magic,” giving it a somewhat different flavor from the run-of-the-mill fantasy worlds. Though there’s plenty of traditional fantasy elements. And I can guarantee it’ll be full of tactics. By stripping away most of the randomness, his games have a different feel to the combat. It’s less of a risk-mitigation thing and more of a planning-ahead thing. If you’ve played his previous games, you know what I’m talking about.
And hey – why not? Have you played Telepath RPG: Servants of God? It’s his most recent and best example of his work. You can check out the free demo at that link. It has the same deterministic tactics-heavy combat system (albeit not nearly as in-depth as what Telepath Tactics is doing), interesting characters and relationships, TONS of dialog and story, and a rich fantasy world.
AND…
(Wait for it….)
You can win a free copy! Craig has kindly donated three of them to be given away around this time tomorrow.
What must you do to obtain one, you ask? Well, I’ve been really digging this “no right answer” stuff in the comments, because not only do I get entertained, everyone else can be, as well. So let’s keep doing that, shall we? With something not exactly related to the game…
Let’s say you were born “gifted” with a telepathic power – a very limited form of mind over matter, or mind-reading, or mind-over-mind, or some other sort of extra-sensory perception. Unlike the heroes in Sinster Design’s Telepath series, your powers are not well suited to a combat role. Or much of a persuasive role. Or – really – any useful role at all.
That’s right – you are “gifted” with one of the world’s most useless variations of telepathy.
What would your useless telepathic gift be?
I’ll start out: Mine is “detect the presence of air.” Not really determining its composition, whether it’s healthy air or poison gas, just that there’s non-vacuum gas of roughly air density within my line of sight. I suppose if I lived in space or spent a lot of time snorkeling I could find some very minor uses for it. But otherwise — yay. There’s air ahead.
Everyone who comments will be added to the drawing unless you state you aren’t interested (use “N/G” at the beginning or end of your post, for “No Game”, to make it easy). That way those who already have the game can contribute as well. The drawing will be sometime tomorrow morning. And yes, unlike Craig’s game, randomness *WILL* be involved. 😉
Have fun!
Filed Under: Deals, Frayed Knights, Rampant Games - Comments: 24 Comments to Read
Defender’s Quest! You Got Your Tower Defense in my RPG!
Posted by Rampant Coyote on April 9, 2013
I’m a sucker for Tower Defense games. It’s sort of a subgenre of Real Time Strategy games (which I’m also a fan of, but I don’t have the devotion to play very competitively). In fact, I have heard that they got their start as user-created mods / levels for Warcraft III and other RTS games. Has anybody NOT played one of these? (Here’s an old but entertaining one that kinda got the ball rolling for the flash-based TD craze).
I suppose, with Role-playing game “elements” being added to pretty much every other genre, it was only a matter of time before someone did a mash-up of RPG and TD. If not the first entry into this mash-up, Defender’s Quest: Valley of the Forgotten is the best (that I know of). When I first heard about it, I thought, “dumb idea.” And then I thought more about it, and thought, “Well, okay, maybe it can be done well…” IMO, the developers of Defender’s Quest did it quite well. I got hooked on it during it’s early beta-release last year, all the way to completion. I blame my failure to complete Legend of Grimrock because of this game.
The web-playable demo is available on Kongregate for those wanting to check it out. ‘Cuz playing it is better than reading about it. But I’ll keep writing.
Anyway, the game has you playing a character named (by default) Azra, a royal librarian who has contracted a horrible worldwide plague and is cast into “the pit” (a walled-off valley) to die. As it turns out, the plague is not a naturally occurring thing, and the plague victims often turn into nigh indestructible “revenants.” But Azra finds herself in possession of a unique power that allows her – and others she summons – to fight these monsters on their own plane of existence, destroying them utterly and potentially averting what seemed to be an inescapable doom for the entire world.
Because allies must be summoned to this plane, they (and Azra) are stationary, and in fact need her to ‘boost” them so that they can achieve their full potential. But their equipment and skills come with them, so experienced, well-equipped allies are more valuable even if they require more psychic energy to allow them to fight to their full potential in each battle. In addition, Azra can obtain a number of spells fueled by psychic energy allowing her to directly affect the battlefield – from doing direct damage to enemies, to speeding up all allies, heals, etc.
Certain allies arrive as part of the story, with default names (but they can be renamed). Others can be recruited in various towns and… other places within the Valley of the Forgotten. You really cannot succeed without hiring additional help, and making sure they are adequately outfitted. During conflicts, you may have to choose between summoning more allies or ‘boosting’ the existing allies. Allies cannot be permanently killed, but damage can cause them to be unsummoned – they disappear and will have to be summoned again, back at their starting boost level. As with any good tactical RPG, combat is a balancing act of trade-offs and risks.
There are important decisions to be made with leveling. Your allies have skill trees they can navigate as they level up. What I like to do is have some allies go to the highest levels of the skill tree, so they can take advantage of the very powerful highest-boost-level powers. Others, I focus on maxing out their low-level powers. These are the ones that can do quite well without requiring the psi energy to boost them to the top levels.
Unlike most other TD games, all of your allies are unique, so there’s no guaranteed single strategy to winning. And as usual, every arena offers different challenges. As a bonus, the game does allow you to revisit battles at higher difficulty levels (generally after you’ve gained a few levels and / or new allies) to face greater challenges for increased rewards.
The end result is a very nice blend of Tower Defense and RPG. Defender’s Quest: Valley of the Forgotten is not a TD game with “RPG elements” – it’s really a full-on RPG with a TD-based combat system. And in that, it kicks butt.
I’m a fan.
Have fun!
Filed Under: Impressions, Rampant Games - Comments: 12 Comments to Read
Is it an Original Sin, or Simply Forsaken Virtue?
Posted by Rampant Coyote on April 8, 2013
The sale on Frayed Knights: The Skull of S’makh-Daon continues this week, for 50% off here and on Desura. Just in case you were wondering, unlike Sim City or Diablo III or the rumored next-gen XBox, Frayed Knights never requires you to be online in order to play. I’m getting to the point where I’m about to call that a competitive advantage of indie games over their AAA cousins…
Now, over the weekend, we had a little contest. It’s a little thing, but anyone who commented was entered into a drawing (well, actually, it was a dice roll) for naming a character in Frayed Knights 2. I was somewhat amused to find Christer “McFunkypants” Kaitila – game developer and major game jam dude – ended up winning the roll. Christer, check your email later today if you didn’t see something from me already for details.
Yeah, little things, but I thought it would be fun. Thanks everyone for commenting.
Today’s trivia question is for (gasp!) another copy of Torchlight, via Steam. The low number of responses last time leads me to believe that pretty much everybody here already has Torchlight, but I’ve got more copies to give away, so I’m doing it! Today’s contest can be answered in the comments – add the note “N/G” to your comment if you aren’t interested in the game – and all that respond with an answer will be entered into the drawing (or dice roll). There is no correct answer… but here’s the setup:
Richard Garriott’s Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues finished its Kickstarter over the weekend, promising a return to Ultima-style fantasy RPGing, invoking memories of the original Quest of the Avatar (Ultima IV). In Ultima IV, you had to achieve Avatarhood by becoming the embodiment of all virtues, often having to balance conflicting requirements. Justice or Compassion? Honesty or Humility?
Well, in Frayed Knights, you play a group of four adventurers: Arianna, the half-elven warrior with a chip on her shoulder; Benjamin, the somewhat zoned-out nature-priest; Chloe, the somewhat ditzy sorceress with flashes of brilliance (and violence); and Dirk, the attention-hungry, adrenaline-junky rogue. Today’s question for the comments is this:
Which of the four Frayed Knights would be the first to FLUNK the quest of the avatar, and why?
Have fun!
Moving along somewhat… with the Kickstarter for “Forsaken Virtues” complete, we’ve got another one at about the halfway stage entitled “Divinity: Original Sin“ – the next in the Divinity series. And while they lack Richard Garriott, they do cite Ultima VII as an influence and something of an idea. This week, Matt Barton interviewed Swen Vanke of Larian studios about this upcoming game and Kickstarter. I’ve only played a bit of the original, strangely named “Divine Divinity.” But I found that this Matt Chat interview was nicely candid, and full of lots of bits and pieces of real-world developer issues. Certainly low on the B.S. It cemented my decision to up my backer pledge a bit. But even if you have no interest in funding this project, it’s an extremely insightful interview.
Plus, I’m kind of amused at back-to-back RPG projects duking out Original Sin vs. Forsaken Virtues.
Throw in comments below! And be sure to answer which of the Frayed Knights would flunk the Quest of the Avatar first (and why) for a chance to win a free copy of the original Torchlight.
Filed Under: Frayed Knights, Game Announcements, Rampant Games - Comments: 9 Comments to Read
Indie Gamers and Hipsters… And Name a Frayed Knights 2 Character!
Posted by Rampant Coyote on April 5, 2013
Hey folks!
The sale on Frayed Knights: The Skull of S’makh-Daon continues! 50% off until the 16th. That’s the day after tax day for us U.S. dwellers. If you are trying to figure out what to do with your weekend, this is a great choice! And guess what? It NEVER requires you to be online to play!
(If you wanna know where that came from – check out this big “up yours, gamers!” controversy that broke just as I was finishing up this post…)
Yesterday’s free game was won by David W. The game – 3079 – is a little on the weird and rough side, but in a good way. But today,
Today… I just want to share this video from Felicia Day’s “Geek and Sundry” channel. Some indies and gamers have been offended by it. Me? I think it’s hilarious. But then I don’t make the kind of games that are getting teased here. And – from what I understand – the makers of the video are friends with some of the indies they are joking about here, so it’s all in good fun.
Watching this video, I thought a little bit about Andy Schatz’s opening speech at this year’s IGF award ceremony. He noted how indie is slowly becoming mainstream, and the mainstream industry that used to dismiss us now treats us as if they like us. He said, “We’re still punk, but the whole world is a little punk now. Like it or not, we’re not The Clash anymore. We’re Green Day.” Indie has won. This is a good thing, and it’s a healthy development for the medium. But indies have gone from being the little tiny rebels-with-a-cause to… something else. It’s a weird transition.
And we’ve become popular enough that people are starting to make jokes about us.
But meanwhile – while I love innovation and the occasional weird game, I’m also pretty jaded and know dang well that 90% of innovation doesn’t yield good results, and weirdness is not strictly a virtue. I’m a fan of busting outside of the comfort zone and blazing new trails, but I’m also keen on using our roots, our legacy, as a base camp.
So for the weekend — I’m not giving away a free game this time. INSTEAD – I’m going to give someone here the chance to have a character named after them in Frayed Knights 2. Someone from today’s comments gets to pick a name (including their own) for a character in Frayed Knights 2. It’s my little thank-you to the community. Or, if you prefer, my little way of being a lazy bum and outsourcing design work to the community. Either way. You’ll have a choice of one of several options, including whether they’ll be a friendly or enemy character. You can provide the name (within reasonable limits – in other words, don’t be obnoxious about it).
This contest will run the ENTIRE weekend. The winner will be contacted on Monday. Ish. (It’s fun working with an entire world of time-zones).
To participate, just leave a comment for this post. About indie games. Possibly inspired by the above video. Some suggestions:
#1 – Why indie games are cool.
Or
#2 – Why indie games are becoming annoyingly pretentious
Or
#3 – What is your favorite indie RPG? Or favorite BESIDES Frayed Knights: The Skull of S’makh-Daon, if you prefer, because Frayed Knights is obviously everyone’s favorite, and not just because it is annoyingly pretentious and everybody who plays it totally gets it.
Or
#4 – Now that mainstream games are starting to get friendly with indies, what sort of things would you expect to see? What would be an epic (or an epically STRANGE) mash-up between AAA and indie?
Or whatever else you wanna say. Have at it! And have fun!
(And remember to use a valid email address so I can contact you if you are the winner. I’m the only one who’ll see it, and that’s the only use it will be put to…)
Filed Under: Frayed Knights, Indie Evangelism - Comments: 10 Comments to Read
Time’s Almost Up For Crowdfunding Some CRPGs I Hope Won’t Suck…
Posted by Rampant Coyote on April 4, 2013
Just ‘cuz time is getting short on some games that I actually expect to kick some serious butt in the not-too-distant-future…
But as with all things Kickstarter… these things may turn out to be nothing more than a waste of money. But entering their final hours. All of these companies have track records of releasing solid titles, so the risk factor is mitigated somewhat.
Torment: Tides of Numenera – blew past their goal on a “spiritual sequel” to Planescape: Torment. It’s really just a case of How Big of a Game they are gonna make. There’s only a few hours left on this one, and they are pushing for their $4 million stretch goal.
Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues – Richard “Lord British” Garriott returns to his roots – well, maybe – with a single & multiplayer fantasy RPG that is intended to be a spiritual sequel to the Ultima series. With extra nods towards Ultima VII and Ultima Online. The $1.5 million goal allows Noah “Spoony” Antwiler an interview with Richard Garriott. Considering how Spoony tore apart the latter Ultimas with a passion, I’d love to see this happen. I have reservations about this one, but I’m still quite excited about it.
Telepath Tactics – Okay, I have come to consider Craig a friend from all our indie exchanges and stuff, but I really am excited about this one, too. It’s near double its goal now, and it looks like it’ll be a lot of fun. If you are in to deep turn-based tactical fantasy combat, this is one you’ll want to get behind. (I’d also recommend his recent RPG, Telepath RPG: Servants of God. It’s good!).
Divinity: Original Sin – I’ve heard this one referred true as “the TRUE spiritual sequel to Ultima VII.” Sans Garriott, obviously, but these guys are nothing if not ambitious. This is kinda the fourth RPG in their series, starting with the awkwardly named “Divine Divinity.” GOG.COM has already gotten behind these guys (and Torment) and committed to be a distributor, and a good deal of the game is already finished (to the point that they expect to ship by the end of the year). Incidentally, the entire Divinity series is currently on sale on Steam for a few hours…
Anyway, I thought I’d say something now, ‘fore it’s too late.
It’s a weird world we live in now, ain’t it? Used to be that these kinds of things were just news and rumors that people would get excited about… and now we pay to make ’em happen. HOPEFULLY.
Filed Under: Game Announcements - Comments: 6 Comments to Read
RIP LucasArts
Posted by Rampant Coyote on
My birthday is over, but the party continues! Frayed Knights: The Skull of S’makh-Daon is on sale for 50% off right now via this site, and also Desura. Even though I’ve been at the indie thing for a long time and know how it works, I’m still surprised at how many people I’d expect to have heard of the game actually have not. Like, most. Apparently, I suck at marketing. I appreciate the help you have all given me in trying to spread the word around.
Yesterday’s trivia contest answer was “Shiela Bones,” the poor rogue whose companions were all slain or turned into a small furry animal. The winner has received a copy of Dark Scavenger via Gamer’s Gate.
Today’s contest prize is also through Gamer’s Gate… the sci-fi indie RPG 3079. Inspired by Minecraft and Fallout, 3079 is a futuristic, open-world action first-person role playing game. You arrive on a planet experiencing constant war. It is your duty to find out why the warring factions cannot find peace on their own & hopefully restore it yourself. All areas, buildings, items, quests and characters are randomly generated. And it’s…. cubey. Quite cubey. But while it looks like Minecraft, it plays pretty differently.
Winning this game will be a little different today. There’s no right answer. Instead, I want to talk about the demise of LucasArts. You can skip down to the end for details, but basically – I want to hear about your favorite LucasArts game in the comments.
R.I.P. LucasArts
I think it was a bookstore where I first saw some games proudly displaying the logo for “LucasFilm Games.” Ballblazer and Rescue on Fractalis, I think they were. I couldn’t afford them, and knew little about them beyond the screenshots and text on the cardboard boxes, and to this day I have never played them. But at the time, my thought was, “AWESOME! George Lucas is making video games now!” Even at the time, I realized that the filmmaker was probably not sweating 6502 Assembly code or anything, but I did believe he’d be overseeing production in some capacity. Maybe he did, on those first games. I don’t know.
Eventually, LucasFilm Games became LucasArts, and through the 1990s they were a powerhouse. Many of their best games were actually created externally, through companies like Totally Games (X-Wing and TIE Fighter). Formerly, Lawrence Holland had worked internally with LucasArts to create one of my favorite early flight sims (circa 1989), Their Finest Hour: the Battle of Britain. My favorite part of that game was actually the manual. It remains one of the best-written game manuals of all time – a distinction that it is unlikely to lose in an era where Pong‘s instructions are likely to be bypassed by the TL;DR crowd. Half of the manual was a history of the war, complete with stories told by pilots who’d been on both sides of the battle.
X-Wing was awesomeness surpassed only by the sequel TIE Fighter, but I still preferred the first game simply because it fulfilled a longstanding fantasy. I was a hardcore Wing Commander fan at the time, and the two games were very different in style. I was trying to explain to a friend (and fellow X-Wing addict) about how I’d like to blend the strengths of the two games, and she shook her head and explained, “For you, X-Wing is a game. For me, it’s more of a religion.”
Another great movie tie-in title that I loved was Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. It was a wonderful blend of Monkey Island style humor and adventure-gamey goodness, coupled with an all-new adventure for the bullwhip-wielding hero, which as far as I’m concerned might as well be canon. After all, it was better than that Crystal Skull movie… Actually, IMO it was better than all but the first movie.
Embarrassingly, I’ve never played Day of the Tentacle or Maniac Mansion. That may be grounds for evicting me from the adventure gaming fan club, but I can at least say I’ve seen good portions of both games being played. Really, Loom was my introduction to the graphic adventure games of the 1990s – which I sadly finished in only two days (and could have finished in a single day if I’d realized I was so close to the end). After waiting a couple of days to play it because LucasArts had to send a replacement for a bad disk (which they did promptly with no fuss, I should add), it was kind of a let down. We replayed it on maximum difficulty to get the somewhat lame special scene only available in hard mode, but I do remember the story being really enchanting and cool. Just… short.
Not short enough to dissuade me from trying out The Secret of Monkey Island. Wow. The first two Monkey Island games were… just beyond awesome. Except for the stupid “Monkey Wrench” puzzle in MI2. I was very gratified to hear that Tim Schafer has finally admitted that that puzzle was stupid and unfair. I feel vindicated, twenty years later. I didn’t play the later Monkey Island games to completion, but in retrospect they were really good games. And the far more recent Tales of Monkey Island series from Telltale Games continue the tradition admirably.
And there were others. Sam & Max, for example, which was bizarre yet cool – which I keep promising myself I’ll finish one day. And Full Throttle – another one I’m rather regretful that I missed, which people tell me was an even more spectacular example of the graphic adventure genre than Day of the Tentacle.
But the best adventure game of them all – to this day – remains Schafer’s Grim Fandango. I’m not sure I can tell you why – it’s been so long since I played through the whole thing. I think it was a combination of the delightful weirdness of the setting (an entire world based on the Mexican Day of the Dead festival mixed with film noir? Really?), and the absolutely rock-solid, lovable (and hate-able) characters.
And one of the most loveable was the main character. While Manuel Calevera was the source of plenty of comedy on his own (spoken with a Mexican Spanish accent), he was very, very different from other comic main characters like Guybrush Threepwood. He’s a film noir hero with comic timing – assertive, worldly, ambitious. At the end of one chapter, he finds himself stuck in a restaurant, inheriting the janitor’s job while he waits to find the girl, Mercedes (“Meche”). The scene shifts to the next chapter – one year later – and Manny is now the owner of said establishment, and has turned it into a hot nightclub on the waterfront that might as well have been named “Rick’s Cafe” from the movie Casablanca.
And then there was Glottis. Glottis the elemental, Glottis the mechanic, Glottis the guy who can turn a hearse into a hot-rod.
And, sadly, the game was quite nearly the end for LucasArts adventure games. And, at least for me, the end of the time when LucasArts really mattered to me. They had one more lukewarm Monkey Island sequel in them, and that was that. At least until they licensed some remakes and the Tales of Monkey Island.
It’s been over a decade since then, and while there have been some really awesome Star Wars licensed games (LEGO Star Wars, the Knights of the Old Republic RPGs) in the intervening years, LucasArts as a developer and publisher has really been dead for a long time for me. The people who made it awesome – who made these wonderful games – have since gone off and joined or started other companies. And they continue to do great things and make great games.
So really, the great studio that was LucasArts isn’t really dead. It’s just moved on. Literally. I feel bad for the approximately 150 employees let go by yesterday’s action, and hope they will rapidly find new employment and do great things in the games industry. Or maybe go indie and wow us with their skills. But yeah – LucasArts has really been pretty dead for a long time. So while I’m sad to see the era officially come to an end, if I were in Disney’s shoes, I’d probably have made the same decision.
WIN A GAME
Okay, so instead of doing Frayed Knights related trivia today, I just want your post in the comments telling us what your favorite LucasArts game is, and why. Please use your real email address, which nobody else can see but I can use to contact you. I’ll pick a winner at random from among the commenters. If for some reason you do not want the game (don’t want to deal with Gamer’s Gate, or you already have the game), add the note (N/G) (for “No Game”) to your comment, but feel free to participate.
Let’s all lift a glass to the LucasArts of old. The studio may be gone, but the legacy lives on in spades!
Filed Under: Adventure Games, Biz, Frayed Knights, Mainstream Games, Rampant Games, Retro - Comments: 16 Comments to Read
The Rampant Games Sale & Give-Away Continues! Day 2!
Posted by Rampant Coyote on April 3, 2013
Wow! First off, I want to thank everybody who sent me birthday well-wishes yesterday through all kinds of different methods. You guys rock. I appreciate it. For the record – in spite of it being a workday at Ye Olde Day Job (I need to sell a LOT more games to leave that one behind), it was a very enjoyable day. I did not get quite as much done on Frayed Knights 2 as I’d hoped, as I’d apparently had a bit too much fun on my birthday and was having trouble keeping my eyes open while writing yet more UI logic (feels like that’s half of the game, some days…) But it was all good.
Another discovery I made yesterday, from some out-of-band comments, is that apparently almost everybody here already owns Torchlight. I may have to work harder to find a good home for a couple more copies I intend to give away over the next two weeks!
The sale on Frayed Knights: The Skull of S’makh-Daon continues… you can pick it up for half price either directly from my website, or if you prefer, via Desura. Both are 50% off. No coupon codes or anything needed this time… the discount is automatically applied.
By the way – the correct answer to yesterday’s trivia question: Farmer Brown’s home was infested by the Rats of Nom.
The funny thing about the Rats of Nom is that they were originally going to appear (prominently) in the second game, but I wanted to “set them up” in the first game. In particular, establishing their sentience, their goal to devour the world, and the fact that they are near-sighted and not particularly skilled at disguise. I mean, they thought their farmer disguise was impenetrable! This quest evolved from a discussion between Kevin and me one day, throwing around ideas that got goofier as we went. But I do love the premise – on the one hand, on the surface, the rats seem a little goofy and incompetent. But you soon find out that they are also very, very dangerous.
Today’s trivia contest is for a copy of the sci-fi adventure / RPG “Dark Scavenger“. I will be distributing it via Gamer’s Gate, so you have to be able to receive games via that service. (If it has a client, I never use it…). Dark Scavenger is a quirky, darkly humorous game with turn-based combat and point-and-click style adventure gamey-ness. As a powerful space traveler, you find yourself stranded on a mysterious planet in the company of three eccentric, yet resourceful aliens. As you desperately seek a way to repair your ship, a massive conflict unfolds around you involving warring factions and a sinister force that threatens to destroy them all.
To win this game, you’ll need answer the following trivia question – also taken from Frayed Knights: The Skull of S’makh-Daon. This one should be able to be answered even by those who have only played the demo. And yes, like the Rats of Nom question, this has something to do with the sequel. Here it goes:
Arianna has an old war-buddy who is staying at the inn at Ardin as well, who is seeking (among other things) a cure for a fellow-adventurer’s condition. This person later offers to assist in locating the titular artifact, but… well, that would be a spoiler. Anyway, the question is: what is this fellow adventurer’s name (first and last)?
Email your answer to feedback@rampantgames.com. If there are multiple correct answers, I’ll pick the winner at random.
In the meantime, have fun!
Filed Under: Frayed Knights, Free Games, Rampant Games - Comments: Comments are off for this article
Rampant Coyote’s Birthday Bash! You are all invited! Get Free Stuff!
Posted by Rampant Coyote on April 2, 2013
Today is my birthday. I feel like partying. How about you?
As much as I’d love to invite you all to the Brazilian churrascaria where I shall be dining tonight with my family, we’ll have to settle on something else. So here’s what we can do.
Frayed Knights: The Skull of S’makh-Daon remains my pride and joy. While I’m all excited about the sequel and everything, Frayed Knights is one of my greatest accomplishments – a culmination of a childhood dream. Sure, I’ve made games that have sold more (a lot more). But this “little” indie game is the biggest game I’ve ever worked on, beyond the old AAA titles that cost seven digits in budget. I’d like to share it.
So, first of all, I’m putting it on sale for the next two weeks. From now until the 16th, Frayed Knights: The Skull of S’makh-Daon is 50% off through Desura and BMT Micro. So if you still haven’t played it, this is a golden opportunity.There are no codes, just a 50% discount for a few days. And don’t forget – the strategy guide is still free. And it’s a lot more than a strategy guide. Like the game itself, I kinda went waaaaaay overboard when I wrote it.
My frustration, your gain.
Okay, next up: Many of you reading this blog are seasoned veterans of Frayed Knights. In fact, I know some of you (not just the testers!) have played through the complete game several times. You guys are awesome. So for you guys – and for some of the folks who are just CRPG experts in general – I’m going to run some trivia contests over the next couple of weeks. The trivia will usually be about Frayed Knights (especially dealing with points that may have bearing on the sequel), but not always. Prizes will include some free games (some may require that you be on certain services, like Steam or Gamers Gate), or a chance to contribute details to the Frayed Knights sequel.
At the end of the two week period, I’ll be announcing a few more details about Frayed Knights 2 (including its official title… which a couple of you have known for a very long time, like since FK1 was released).
Anyway, it should be fun. I just hope I can keep up…
TODAY’S CONTEST
So here’s the first trivia contest. Please email your answers to feedback@rampantgames.com. Use the subject line, “April 2 Trivia Answer”. Be specific! I’m going to be drawing randomly from the correct answers (I expect a lot!), and the winner will be revealed tomorrow morning. Please – if you don’t want to prizes, don’t enter the contest. You’ll have until midnight Pacific Time to answer the question.
Today’s contest is for a free copy of the original game Torchlight via Steam. So if you don’t want Torchlight 1, or don’t use Steam, you can sit this one out…
It’s an easy one. But it’s a two-part question, so don’t mess up and only give half an answer. Here goes…
A sentient, disease-ridden, and exceptionally nearsighted race of rodents have infested WHAT farmhouse in Ardin (the family name), and what is the name of the evil god whom they worship?
Okay, we’ll have the answer, the winner’s name, and a new contest tomorrow morning. Be sure and get your answers in by midnight Pacific time (1:00 AM my time).
In the meantime, have fun!
Filed Under: Frayed Knights, Rampant Games - Comments: 13 Comments to Read
Interview with a Priest of Pokmor-Xang
Posted by Rampant Coyote on April 1, 2013
Here is a special interview for April 1st. Because this kind of in-depth background is the sort of thing that makes the world of Frayed Knights come alive. (And as a reminder, check back tomorrow for some Frayed Knights – related Stuff Happening).
Birz Flemmins is a priest of Pokmor Xang. Or, rather, a former priest of Pokmor Xang, as there was only one known temple where the the religion was practiced, and it is no longer in operation after not just one but TWO attacks by greedy adventurers after their secrets and treasures. Flemmins fortunately survived both assaults, and was willing to talk to me about the secret life of a priest of the pus god.
Rampant Coyote: So Birz, how did you first come to follow Pokmor Xang, the god of Blisters, Boils, and Pimples?
Birz Flemmins: Well, me family – particularly me mum – favored the goddess Karamesis… the goddess of ribbon and bunting. And home decor, I think. Me, I went through the whole rebellion phase, and one day I heard about Pokmor Xang, and started worshiping him. On a lark, you know?
Rampant Coyote: So it wasn’t serious?
Birz Flemmins: Naw, not at first, no. But it got me parents’ underclothes in a wad, so I was happy enough about that.
Rampant Coyote: So how did you go from that to becoming an actual priest of Pokmor Xang?
Birz Flemmins: We was in town at the market and I heard a man actually preaching about Pokmor Xang. It caught me fancy, so I listened. That man was Kratic Barg, the founder of the New Pokmor Xang Movement. Wot he said made sense to me. Plus, he offered free donuts. Mainly the donuts.
Rampant Coyote: What did he say?
Birz Flemmins: Oh, he went on about bringing Pokmor Xang out of obscurity, and that the god’s gratitude for the restoration of his religion would know no bounds. Since I had me a serious acne condition at the time, I figured I could use all the help I could get. And dark powers of magic sounded pretty fun, too. Plus, me parents were pretty anxious to get me apprenticed out of the house. Partly because they were sick of me burning the appropriate incense to Pokmor Xang on our porch. And they’d given up hope of me bein’ much good at anything else. So I signed on right then as Barg’s apprentice, and never went home again.
Barg taught us that wot we needed was a good “Public Relations” campaign for Pokmor Xang. He chucked the old-fashioned boil-ridden demon iconography and stuff like that, and instead used the happy Pokmor Xang wit’ the greasy breakfast image. He also taught that people would respect and fear us when we displayed true power, and that would make all the difference and make us a major religion. Oh, and the occasional human sacrifice. Barg told us that nobody takes a dark religion seriously unless they hold the occasional human sacrifice.
Rampant Coyote: So were you there when he established the temple near Ardin?
Birz Flemmins: Oh, yeah. It was actually a former lizard-man temple of some ugly demon decades earlier. I guess some adventurers had raided THAT temple back before I was born, and killed all the lizard men. But Barg said that was perfect, as it still had some of it’s old dark mojo that would aid us in our work.
Lookin’ back, I guess knowin’ that the previous temple had been raided and all the inhabitants killed should have been a tip-off that it weren’t gonna end well.
Rampant Coyote: What was your greatest accomplishment in your time with the temple of Pokmor Xang?
Birz Flemmins: I’m pretty proud of the year or so I spent collecting pus to create the pus golems. You have no idea how challenging that was.
Rampant Coyote: I’m afraid to ask…
Birz Flemmins: You gotta secretly infect a town wit’ contagious boils. Then you come into town a few days later pretending to be some kind of healer.
Rampant Coyote: I think I’m going to be sick.
Birz Flemmins: Too late, I’m retired, find yer own damn healer.
Rampant Coyote: Uh…. where was I? The masks! What was it with the masks?
Birz Flemmins: They’re traditional, I hear. Plus they had an herbal compartment in the nose.
Rampant Coyote: Herbal compartment?
Birz Flemmins: For strong herbs. You work wit’ rancid pus every day, you need something to block the smell.
Rampant Coyote: Uh…. yeah. Okay.
Birz Flemmins: Believe me, lookin’ at some o’ my fellow priests – the masks were an improvement.
Rampant Coyote: How did you survive the adventurer assault?
Birz Flemmins: I was out in another town collectin’ more pus to make golems. Had two barrels of the stuff. Came back to the temple a week after the attack, and the place smelled worse than ever.
Rampant Coyote: So what have you been doing since?
Birz Flemmins: I been keepin’ busy. Got a job as a thug, breakin’ arms and legs and stuff. It’s fulfilling. I still use my powers sometimes, too. I earn extra money on weekends entertaining at children’s birthday parties. Also, I heard that there’s a job opening up in an army of evil that’s s’posed to take over the world sometime soon, and they need evil priests. I figure I could apply for that.
Rampant Coyote: Any regrets?
Birz Flemmins: Only that I ain’t been able to get revenge on the bastards wot raided the temple. Someday, I figger. Maybe wit’ that evil army.
Filed Under: Frayed Knights, Interviews - Comments: 2 Comments to Read
Don’t Buy Frayed Knights! (Er, yet…)
Posted by Rampant Coyote on March 31, 2013
Never thought I’d write that!
This is not an April Fool’s joke. I don’t do those.
I’m just saying if you haven’t bought Frayed Knights: The Skull of S’makh-Daon yet and have been holding off this long (REALLY? Why not? SHEESH!), you may want to wait just a few hours longer – until Tuesday. April 2nd. My birthday. There’ll be stuff both for the folks who are already veterans of the Frayed Knights universe, and for those who haven’t yet taken the plunge…
More details Tuesday. After we’ve waded through the annoying crap that usually makes up the Internet the day before my birthday…
Filed Under: Frayed Knights, Rampant Games - Comments: Comments are off for this article
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