Becoming an Indie is easy. Success is what’s hard.

Posted by Rampant Coyote on February 29, 2016

An article at Gamasutra last week proposed 10 easy, one-liner steps to becoming an indie game developer. It was instantly met with criticism, and some arguably better articles appeared correcting the deficiencies. But while the original author made it sound like a more generalized blueprint to “going indie,” it really just outlined the straightforward approach […]

Filed Under: Game Development - Comments: 2 Comments to Read

The Return of Master of Orion

Posted by Rampant Coyote on February 26, 2016

I normally don’t play “Early Access” games, on the justification that I don’t have time to play the completed, released games I already own, so why would I want to play a buggy, incomplete game? But I make exceptions. And for the early access launch of Master of Orion, the rebooting of a franchise I […]

Filed Under: Impressions, Strategy Games - Comments: 2 Comments to Read

Burn Your Ships vs. Don’t Quit Your Day Job

Posted by Rampant Coyote on February 25, 2016

When I was first discovering the “indie” side of game development and entrepreneurship… and I see the same in writing … I was confronted with two seemingly contradictory pieces of advice: BURN YOUR SHIPS! (BYS) In reference to conquistador Hernando Cortez, who burned his ships and his only avenue of escape. The only way back was […]

Filed Under: Indie Evangelism - Comments: 5 Comments to Read

The Finiteness* of Time

Posted by Rampant Coyote on February 24, 2016

When I was in elementary school, summers seemed to last forever. In junior high, there was plenty of time in the afternoon to do just about everything… except maybe all my homework. That perception really does go away as an adult. Things seem to move faster. As a guy trying to pack in family, game […]

Filed Under: Geek Life - Comments: 7 Comments to Read

RPG Design: There’s a Reaper in the Basement

Posted by Rampant Coyote on February 23, 2016

Lord British has a very powerful Reaper in his basement in Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Souls. This is a problem. But maybe not in the way you expect. It’s extremely hard to defeat, but not impossible. Therein lies the rub. If it was “level appropriate,” it would be just another combat encounter. If it was […]

Filed Under: Design - Comments: 2 Comments to Read

Book Impressions: The Aeronaut’s Windlass

Posted by Rampant Coyote on February 22, 2016

It took me a long time to get started on the Harry Dresden series, by Jim Butcher. Everyone was talking about it, but I thought I’d be smart and wait until the series was further along before starting. Then, you know, I wouldn’t have to wait so long to get to the next one. In retrospect, […]

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

Utah Unity Users Group Meeting – Feb 2016

Posted by Rampant Coyote on February 19, 2016

The quarterly meeting of the Utah Unity Users Group Meeting began with the usual Monty Python jokes about the “UUUG” acronym in a classroom at Salt Lake Community College. Then we launched into pizza, networking, and a word from our sponsors. In particular, we heard from KForce Staffing & Solutions, the bringers of the pizza. […]

Filed Under: Game Development, Programming - Comments: Comments are off for this article

The Game Engine Competition Heats Up

Posted by Rampant Coyote on February 18, 2016

Over the last couple of weeks, the competition for game engines has gotten more interesting. Now, I’ve got zero interest in abandoning Unity at this point. I’m pretty comfortable with it, and it has so far proven to be every bit as powerful as I need it to be. But for those still looking at […]

Filed Under: Game Development - Comments: 2 Comments to Read

Personal Relationships with the Audience

Posted by Rampant Coyote on February 17, 2016

I’ve recently noticed that about half of the video games I play and the books I read are written by people I am personally acquainted with. Maybe not close friends – in some cases they are just people I’m Facebook friends with, or who I’ve exchanged emails or forum posts with, or who I’ve chatted […]

Filed Under: Biz, Books, Geek Life, Indie Evangelism - Comments: Read the First Comment

Some Thoughts on the Craft of Writing

Posted by Rampant Coyote on February 16, 2016

Back in high school, I thought I was pretty good at writing. I have one surviving example from that era. I used it as reference for an article I wrote for The Escapist several years ago on my first LARP experience (before that was even a term). I winced a lot when I read my […]

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

LTUE 2016 – What I Learned

Posted by Rampant Coyote on February 15, 2016

I came home with dozens of pages of notes from Life, the Universe, and Everything.  I think I gathered an average of 2 pages of notes from each of the panels, and hit an average of five panels a day, dealing with such topics as: Managing a giant project, marketing on a budget, how to […]

Filed Under: Biz, Books, Events - Comments: Read the First Comment

Leveling Up at Life, the Universe, and Everything

Posted by Rampant Coyote on February 12, 2016

I was driving home this evening with Golden Earring’s Radar Love playing on the stereo. I resisted the urge – only barely – to crank it up to eardrum-bleeding levels. I’m not even sure my car stereo goes that high, but it’s the thought that counts, right? It’s the perfect music for driving alone on […]

Filed Under: Books, Events - Comments: 3 Comments to Read

What We Can Learn From Doom

Posted by Rampant Coyote on February 11, 2016

Relatively short, sweet, and good for making you think – what gameplay lessons can we learn from Doom: Now I don’t know about the magic number 7 (and after all, Doom 2 increased the bad guy count anyway), but I think this guy nails the basics of it. I remember a criticism of an early […]

Filed Under: Design - Comments: 2 Comments to Read

Mythica 2: The Darkspore at WalMart in the U.S.

Posted by Rampant Coyote on February 10, 2016

Mythica 2: The Darkspore was released at WalMart throughout the United States yesterday. First-week sales are really important, so if you are at all inclined to check these movies out and haven’t already, and live in the U.S., now would be a great chance to snag a copy. I’m a fan of the series (and […]

Filed Under: Movies - Comments: 3 Comments to Read

Felipe Pepe tackles the nature of the RPG

Posted by Rampant Coyote on February 9, 2016

Elitist Old Farts unite! Or… uh, not. Why should we start now? Felipe Pepe has composed a not-short article describing the nature of role-playing games, which largely breaks down into a discussion of why they are getting so difficult to define, and why they are proving difficult to… *cough* evolve. Why Are RPGs So Difficult to […]

Filed Under: Design, Geek Life - Comments: 2 Comments to Read

A Fistful of New Books

Posted by Rampant Coyote on February 8, 2016

Okay, I guess you can’t REALLY make a fist if you are holding a book, but that’s besides the point. Here are some very new / upcoming books I wanted to tell ya’ll about, by or featuring friends of mine. And one that even includes my own humble contribution. First of all, there’s It Came […]

Filed Under: Books - Comments: 2 Comments to Read



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