A Milestone: The Next Generation of Game Geeks Gets Going

Posted by Rampant Coyote on July 28, 2016

My wife and I were just kids when we got married. At least, that’d be the assumption today. We were both still in school, and didn’t have much money saved up. We made do, and made it work. Splurging on a video game was  a big deal. I was a PC gamer somewhat out of […]

Filed Under: Geek Life - Comments: 5 Comments to Read

Game Design: Chrono Trigger’s Design Secrets

Posted by Rampant Coyote on July 27, 2016

Even if you aren’t a fan of classic JRPGs, this article provides some valuable insight into the design elements that went into Chrono Trigger, and made it stand out as a classic more than twenty years after its release. While the approaches they chose aren’t universally applicable, it does demonstrate how some very conscious, careful […]

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At What Cost Survival?

Posted by Rampant Coyote on July 25, 2016

Okay, depending on the game, I like survival mechanics. It’s a not-insignificant part of why I love the Ultima Underworld series so much. Maybe there’s an effective Maslow’s Hierarchy for RPGs or something, but having that base level struggle, particularly at the beginning, can be pretty fun. It’s becoming more common lately. I think this […]

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Games vs. Stories, Revisited

Posted by Rampant Coyote on July 21, 2016

I have often posited that you can have a great game, or a great story, but not both. Having spent some time improving (well, reducing the suck level of) my fiction-writing chops, I think I’m ready to offer a more informed opinion: You can have a great game, or a great story, but not both. […]

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Heinlein’s Rules and the Resubmission Blues

Posted by Rampant Coyote on July 20, 2016

I understand that one of the key tricks to being successful as a writer (or, really, anything else in life) is perseverance. The first Harry Potter book was rejected a dozen times before it was finally accepted for publication. Which means that only one in thirteen editors that reviewed the manuscript thought it was good enough […]

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The Most Awful Idea Ever for an Augmented Reality Game

Posted by Rampant Coyote on July 18, 2016

Pokémon Go has become the gaming fad of the season. I haven’t played due to not having enough memory on my phone. But I have a lot of friends playing. As both a gamer and game designer, I respect the idea. In my opinion, one of the biggest things it has done has been to […]

Filed Under: Indie Horror Games - Comments: 2 Comments to Read

That Music Sounds Familiar…

Posted by Rampant Coyote on July 15, 2016

So in addition to having amassed a pretty gigantic library of video games that I haven’t actually had time to play, I have amassed a pretty substantial library of video game music. One of the advantages of going through GOG.COM was that you used to get the soundtracks as free bonus files. That was before […]

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What Game Could I Build for a Million Dollars?

Posted by Rampant Coyote on July 13, 2016

So let’s say you were given a million dollars to build your dream game. Could you? At least in the U.S., the chances are… well, only if you don’t dream very big. Michael Fitch tackles the question in “What Does $1 MM Buy in Game Development?” I don’t know what it would take to have indie […]

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Raph Koster: AR (Augmented Reality) is an MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online game)

Posted by Rampant Coyote on July 12, 2016

There’s a lot here that I’m still getting my head around: AR is an MMO I’m not sure I’d go so far as to say AR is an MMO. Not fundamentally. But in the context of Pokemon GO…. they really did create an MMO, and set it in the real world. Even non-players are at […]

Filed Under: Virtual Reality - Comments: Read the First Comment

Best Dungeon Crawlers of All Time?

Posted by Rampant Coyote on July 11, 2016

IGN writers Jared Petty and Chloi Rad dare a task that I don’t think I’d be willing to tackle.. naming the top ten dungeon-crawlers of *ALL TIME*. I say I wouldn’t dare because I don’t think I could narrow my list down to the top ten, let alone attempt to order them. I’d argue with […]

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Video Card Upgrade

Posted by Rampant Coyote on July 8, 2016

It is weird to wax nostalgic over the video cards of the early days of PC hardware accelerated graphics… cards like the Voodoo and Voodoo 2, and the Nvidia Riva 128 and TNT.  Really, compared to now, those cards were beyond pathetic. I think the nostalgia factor for me comes more from the era… the […]

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The Art of the Juggle

Posted by Rampant Coyote on July 7, 2016

  I work 11.25 hours, writing code. I come home (late), have dinner (saved in the fridge), spend time with the family, and watch a show with the wife. And then I spend another 4 hours… working, writing code. I like my day job. It’s not usually this bad, and I’m doing some exciting and fun […]

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Learning to Program: How Hard Is It?

Posted by Rampant Coyote on July 6, 2016

When people ask me about learning computer programming, I truthfully answer that I don’t feel it’s hard to learn. It’s not. It’s about one semester’s worth of a high school algebra class and a high school language class.  There’s a “coding bootcamp” in nearby Provo that trains students how to do web development in JavaScript […]

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Quick Take: Batman v. Superman

Posted by Rampant Coyote on July 5, 2016

I finally saw Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. The version I saw was the extended edition, which apparently resolves a lot of questions about character motivations, at the cost of a more plodding and confusing pace. So I won’t complain about the pacing here, because… well, I’m sure the theatrical release was better edited. […]

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Happy Independence Day

Posted by Rampant Coyote on July 4, 2016

Happy Independence Day, for those readers from or living in the U.S.A. Everyone else… have a great day wherever you are. It’s a day off work for me, which means… I’m doing what I’m usually doing. Hanging out inside virtual dungeons. I’m weird that way. Be safe and have fun!

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The Pulp Legacy: Modern Pulp Fiction

Posted by Rampant Coyote on July 1, 2016

My previous post was all about classic “pulp” fiction from the late 19th century up through the middle of the 20th century. But then… it died out. Maybe not as dead as disco, but that particular form faded into the background. The rise of easier, more accessible entertainment probably accounted for much of it. However, in […]

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