Tales of the Rampant Coyote

Adventures in Indie Gaming!

Supreme Commander 2

Posted by Rampant Coyote on June 11, 2010

Took advantage of a Steam sale and picked up Supreme Commander 2 last weekend. It’s changed – a lot – from SC1 and Total Annihilation. A lot more streamlined. I kinda miss the gazillions of units that came with TA + Core Contingency, though. But it is still very much a slugfest, though. And that’s […]


Filed Under: Strategy Games - Comments: 3 Comments to Read



GOG.COM Weekend RPG Promo

Posted by Rampant Coyote on

If you are in the mood for yet more RPGs this weekend, haven’t played these, and you are already done with Eschalon: Book II and Din’s Curse already… GOG.COM is having a weekend RPG sale for 30% off. Darn it, I coulda had Arx Fatalis for… uh… $1.80 less than I paid for it. 🙂 […]


Filed Under: Deals - Comments: Read the First Comment



Frayed Knights – It’s Not What You Do, But How You Do It

Posted by Rampant Coyote on

Time for another li’l update on Frayed Knights – that indie RPG that more than  6.5 BILLION PEOPLE have never heard of. One of the dangers I face on this blog, where I occasionally criticize aspects of games that I feel were done poorly, is that I leave myself open to the same criticisms of […]


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



Reason # 371 Why PC Gaming Is Better Than Console Gaming…

Posted by Rampant Coyote on June 10, 2010

A high-quality fan-made free mod for Left 4 Dead (the original): I Hate Mountains I played it a little last night. Died in the second chapter to the horde. But I had fun, and was pretty impressed with what they’ve done with things. I particularly liked the fireflies in the first chapter.


Filed Under: Free Games - Comments: 2 Comments to Read



Molyneux on RPG Evolution: Translated Into Old-School Gamer English

Posted by Rampant Coyote on June 9, 2010

The contention that mainstream games are “evolving” immediately raises my hackles. Not that I’m against change and true improvements – not at all – but contending that the newest games are the product of evolution in gaming from past efforts  is about like saying reality shows are a product of evolution in performance media  from […]


Filed Under: Biz, Interviews, Mainstream Games - Comments: 8 Comments to Read



Dungeon Siege 3 Announced, But…

Posted by Rampant Coyote on June 8, 2010

So apparently there’s going to be a Dungeon Siege 3.  For consoles and PCs. Sadly, I can’t get enthusiastic about it. I have both of the previous games. I’ve played them both. Well, part-way. There’s nothing I hate about them. Every once in a while I look over at the DS2 box and think, “Gee, […]


Filed Under: Mainstream Games - Comments: 6 Comments to Read



Lone Wolf or Party Animal?

Posted by Rampant Coyote on June 7, 2010

Okay, RPG fans, here’s my question for you: In CRPGs, are you a lone wolf, or a party animal? Do you prefer to play RPGs where you control only one character (though maybe you have a henchman or something to help you out), or do you prefer the kinds of games where you control a […]


Filed Under: Design - Comments: 24 Comments to Read



My Take on Alan Wake

Posted by Rampant Coyote on June 4, 2010

Okay, not that I have much time even for playing games lately (a side effect of FK momentum increasing – YAY!), but I picked up Alan Wake this week and am a little ways into it – only chapter 3 so far. I dig the story. I dig the lighting. I dig the mood. The […]


Filed Under: Mainstream Games - Comments: 3 Comments to Read



Avadon: You Work For Bluebeard…

Posted by Rampant Coyote on

… Except his name is Redbeard. Jeff Vogel has begin his developer diary series on his new game / trilogy / series / franchise, Avadon: The Black Fortress.  His first post is on where his idea came from: Avadon Developer Diary #1 – Where Ideas Come From In this case, it came from an opera. […]


Filed Under: Design, Indie Evangelism - Comments: Read the First Comment



A Love Note to the Hardcore PC Gamers…

Posted by Rampant Coyote on June 3, 2010

The mainstream games biz has abandoned us. Many indies have abandoned us for casual / social games or the iPhone. But Cliffski still loves us. Why Harcore Gamers Are the Best Customers


Filed Under: Biz, Indie Evangelism - Comments: Comments are off for this article



The Casual Games Gold Rush is Over

Posted by Rampant Coyote on

No, they aren’t dead. Not even dying. But it seems that the casual game boom has finally come to an end. Gamezebo: Where Have All the Good Games Gone? My thoughts: This is so very, very predictable to the point of being boring. It is a textbook example of the industry life cycle (which closely […]


Filed Under: Casual Games - Comments: 6 Comments to Read



What If Game Design Hasn’t Progressed In 30 Years?

Posted by Rampant Coyote on June 2, 2010

Matt Barton proposes an interesting thought experiment over at Armchair Arcade: Some Thoughts Towards a Non-Linear Game History His not-quite-so-preposterous idea: What if game design hasn’t truly progressed since 1980, merely changed fashion? If you could somehow make yourself blind to the technological / graphical improvements, has game design really advanced in thirty years? I’d […]


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



Why Are RPGs So Hard to Create?

Posted by Rampant Coyote on June 1, 2010

Computer RPGs have a reputation for being among of the most difficult and time-consuming game genres to develop. This is one of the reasons so few mainstream developers shy away from them. But why is that? Maybe I should ask this question of people like Amanda Fitch, Jeff Vogel, or Inidinera Falls. They make it […]


Filed Under: Game Development - Comments: 7 Comments to Read



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