The Ten Books Thingie

Posted by Rampant Coyote on September 3, 2014

There’s a little thingie going on right now on Facebook about the ten books that influenced you the most. I’m posting them here because … well, Facebook. And because it is a fun topic for a blog post. This is a weird question, of course, because a book might have influenced me via the Butterfly […]

Filed Under: Books - Comments: 7 Comments to Read

Building Awesome RPG Levels Blazingly Fast By Embracing Feature Creep

Posted by Rampant Coyote on June 16, 2014

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

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

Terra Mechanica; Frayed Knights 2 Coming to Salt Lake Comic Con

Posted by Rampant Coyote on June 2, 2014

As you’ve no doubt noticed if you check the blog lately, I’ve been doing double-duty as a game developer and a writer.  I hope to get some serious cross-training advantages in both categories. I’ve worked on a few short stories, and now I have had my first one published in Terra Mechanica: A Steampunk Anthology. […]

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

Terra Mechanica “Virtual” Launch Party – There will be … SWAG!

Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 29, 2014

So this is something kinda different for me. Something I might take advantage of as an indie game developer in the future… Little indie book publishers deal with the same problems as indie game developers & indie game publishers. Events are important, but they can’t afford big New York City launches where they invite the […]

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Indies, E-Books, and an Anthology Deal

Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 27, 2014

Xchyler Publishing (pronounced “Skyler,” although they often just call themselves “The X“), is running a sale this week in honor of hitting 1700 likes on their Facebook page. And also in honor (or so I want to think) of the release of Terra Mechanica: A Steampunk Anthology, which contains my short story “Dots, Dashes, and […]

Filed Under: Books, Deals - Comments: 5 Comments to Read

Research – Going Down the Rabbit Hole

Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 23, 2014

Today’s post is actually on another site – in this case, Xchyler Publishing. I’m a guest poster there today… Author Spotlight – Jay Barnson: Researching the Story, or Down the Rabbit Hole This is another article that could have been written about game design as easily as story development. And for me, it’s often one […]

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The Rampant Coyote Gets Interviewed – At a Writing Blog!

Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 22, 2014

Yes, you are gonna hear more from me on the authorial front, especially over the next couple of weeks. There’s a new emphasis on the word “Tales” here at “Tales of the Rampant Coyote.” Today, I have an interview posted at the J. Aurel Guay Archive. While it’s focused on writing, I do talk a […]

Filed Under: Books, Interviews - Comments: Comments are off for this article

What Is Steampunk (to me)?

Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 19, 2014

I do not have a “steampunk” game in development right now (but I do have a few ideas I’d love to explore in the future). My short story, “Dots, Dashes, and Deceit” is being released in the anthology Terra Mechanica: A Steampunk Anthology in two weeks. I love the subgenre, and I thought I’d try […]

Filed Under: Books, Design - Comments: 5 Comments to Read

Terra Mechanica – Coming Soon!

Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 12, 2014

Well, folks, it’s not Frayed Knights 2, but one of my latest projects is getting released in a few days – Terra Mechanica: A Steampunk Anthology I was kinda surprised how many long hours went into a short story. I thought it would be a lot easier working with a publisher to handle all the […]

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An Author is Me?

Posted by Rampant Coyote on December 26, 2013

“If you really like it you can have the rights, It could make a million for you overnight. If you must return it, you can send it here But I need a break and I want to be a paperback writer, Paperback writer.” – The Beatles, Paperback Writer In fourth grade, my class was assigned […]

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An Unusual Tale of Online Romance

Posted by Rampant Coyote on August 27, 2013

Last week I read a very cute novel. I don’t normally go for little romantic comedy books, but this was an exception. It was about a girl, Nattie, who meets a guy online. At least she thinks it’s a guy, but she’s not sure at first. The whole anonymity that comes from remote communication via […]

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Farewell, Game Developer Magazine…

Posted by Rampant Coyote on June 7, 2013

1994 kicked all kinds of butt. I was finishing up school, and starting to get serious about what I wanted to do with my life. The idea of making games for a living was just starting to appear feasible. So I supplemented my formal education by learning all I could about making video games. After […]

Filed Under: Biz, Books - Comments: 9 Comments to Read

Movie: John Carter

Posted by Rampant Coyote on March 27, 2012

Evidently, the original books by Edgar Rice Burroughs (more famous for his “Tarzan” stories) about John Carter and Mars were a source of inspiration for James Cameron for his movie Avatar. Avatar had stunning and beautiful 3D graphics (and IMO not much else going for it), and the movie went and sold a gajillion tickets. […]

Filed Under: Books, Movies - Comments: 8 Comments to Read

Neuromancer – The Movie?

Posted by Rampant Coyote on November 11, 2011

I discovered the novel Neuromancer just shortly after the 80’s had faded. Then I discovered the (by then, old) adventure / RPG based on the book, which was somewhat surprisingly quite good in spite of failing to capture anything close to the tone of the novel. For those who haven’t played the game or read […]

Filed Under: Books, Movies - Comments: 7 Comments to Read

They Are Like Text Adventures Without a Command Prompt, See..?

Posted by Rampant Coyote on August 31, 2011

So I’m going for a slight deviation of usual topics here. One of the regrets of my lifestyle is that I don’t have much time to read fiction. I don’t have time for a lot of things, like TV, but I generally don’t regret much missed TV, as I have no real interest in remaining […]

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How to Run a Game Company… Into the Ground

Posted by Rampant Coyote on March 21, 2011

I recently re-read the book Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture by David Kushner. I had to buy a new copy, actually, as I can’t remember who I loaned my previous copy out to. I think it ought to be considered required reading by anybody wishing to leave […]

Filed Under: Biz, Books - Comments: 6 Comments to Read



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