Tales of the Rampant Coyote

Adventures in Indie Gaming!

Quick Take: Star Trek Bridge Crew

Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 31, 2017

Many years ago, my wife won a free pass to a cool starship group experience. This was back before things like escape rooms were a thing, but it was a similar (but more expensive) idea. A big ol’ trailer was set up as the bridge of a starship, everyone was given a tunic and instructions […]


Filed Under: Casual Games, Impressions, Virtual Reality - Comments: 2 Comments to Read



Game Development: Getting the Basics Right

Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 29, 2017

I should know better playing games that come in a “shovelware” bundle. They are published by indies now, but the same thing was true in the early days of the CD-ROM revolution in the 90s, when bundlers would throw a half-dozen or more lackluster titles on a CD for $15 or less. Actually, I do […]


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



RPG Design: Being the Bad Guy

Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 25, 2017

When Tyranny was announced, I wasn’t interested. I’m still not. As much as I want to play all the games, my cup is definitely overflowing right now, and the concept didn’t thrill me. Actually, it left me cold. It seems I wasn’t the only one. Rock Paper Shotgun: The Fall of Tyranny This is me: […]


Filed Under: Design, Writing - Comments: 2 Comments to Read



My Fyrecon Schedule

Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 23, 2017

I’m gonna be at Fyrecon in a couple of weeks, ya’ll! Click here for Fyrecon registration, if you are interested in attending. As far as my presentation schedule is concerned, I’ll be a panelist / instructor at the following sessions: The Future of Steampunk and Cyberpunk – 2:30 PM Friday, June 9th – Bldg D2, […]


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



StoryHack – Free Issue and Kickstarter Reminder

Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 22, 2017

Have you read Issue 0 of StoryHack yet? If not, be sure and grab it while it’s free! It includes my story, “Dead Last” (which appears… dead last… of course). Actually, let me know what you think of the story. I’d like to do more with this character and this world of sorcery-meets-espionage. Get StoryHack […]


Filed Under: Books, Crowdfunding, Short Fiction - Comments: Read the First Comment



What Space Opera Means to Me

Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 19, 2017

I’m part of the Star Wars generation. One of the first big movies I ever saw as a kid was Star Wars. Not “Episode IV” or “A New Hope” – at the time, it was just “Star Wars.”  I think I was still in 2nd grade at the time it hit the theaters. But … […]


Filed Under: Books, Geek Life, Movies - Comments: Read the First Comment



Space Opera Week – Links to Cool Operatic Spacey Thingies!

Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 18, 2017

Okay – still hitting the space opera theme (I started this week with a review of a space opera novel quite by accident… but hey, let’s keep rolling with it). Here is a very nice essay of what Space Opera is and what it should be: Wonder and the Soul’s Desire by Dominika Lein. It’s more inspirational than […]


Filed Under: Books, Links & Tidbits, Movies, Space Sims - Comments: 4 Comments to Read



Leigh Brackett on Space Opera

Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 16, 2017

Tor.com and Barnes & Noble are calling this “Space Opera Week,” and several other blogs are following suit. Why not? Guardians of the Galaxy 2 recently came out, there’s a new teaser out for the next movie in the Star Wars saga, the harder-SF TV show “The Expanse” seems to be a huge success for […]


Filed Under: Books, Geek Life, Short Fiction - Comments: 5 Comments to Read



Book Impressions: Star Nomad by Lindsay Buroker

Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 15, 2017

I’ve read a few books / stories lately that I figure I ought to actually devote a blog post to. My time for anything outside of work, sleep, and spending time with my family has been at a premium lately due to day job schedule fun. There’s only 168 hours in a week BTW… I’m coming […]


Filed Under: Books - Comments: Read the First Comment



Spring into Books 2017

Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 12, 2017

I’ll be signing books on Saturday May 20th at Spring Into Books at the Viridian Event Center in West Jordan, Utah.  A week from tomorrow. Best of all? It’s FREE! There will be a lot of awesome local authors there. Utah has a surprisingly large number of authors in general considering the population, and the joke […]


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



FYRECON – Last Day for Early Bird Prices

Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 10, 2017

Today is the LAST DAY to sign up for early-bird prices with Fyrecon registration. Seriously, if you are a Utah author / artist / scriptwriter / filmmaker with an interest in fantasy & science fiction, you should consider going. Actually, even if you are not local, you should consider it. It’s cheap, there will be […]


Filed Under: General - Comments: Comments are off for this article



StoryHack and DragonComet…

Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 9, 2017

As I announced several days ago, I have a story published in a brand-new magazine that emphasizes PULP STORIES!  “Storyhack Action & Adventure” is launching, and it’s pretty awesome. My story is called “Dead Last.” It’s an urban fantasy of secret societies and magic-wielding agents. And guns. And a necromancer. And it’s out NOW! Issue #0 is […]


Filed Under: Short Fiction, Writing - Comments: Comments are off for this article



“Who Ya Gonna Call?” My evening as a Ghostbuster at The Void.

Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 8, 2017

Friday night, my wife and I went to The Void here in Utah to try out the VR Ghostbusters experience. The Void has locations currently open in New York and Dubai, but they’ve finally opened it up at a temporary facility here in Utah while their new center is under construction. I’ve posted about it […]


Filed Under: Virtual Reality - Comments: 2 Comments to Read



May the Fourth Be With You! Happy Star Wars Day!

Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 4, 2017

Yes, I’m still a big geeky fan. And this is about the BEST THING EVER!  


Filed Under: Geek Life - Comments: Comments are off for this article



PC Game Development Rulebook Rule Violation #7

Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 3, 2017

There ought to be Okay, here’s one for the PC Game Development rulebook (Which isn’t really a thing, but it ought to be. Let’s get that going): Rule #7: Thou shalt not take input from the game input device without authorization! Meaning: Just because there’s a device (or especially a virtual device) is plugged into the […]


Filed Under: Design - Comments: 5 Comments to Read



Star Wars PC Game Sale

Posted by Rampant Coyote on May 2, 2017

GOG.COM is running a sale on all Star Wars games in their library. IMO, the best games on the list are the Knights of the Old Republic RPGs, and the X-Wing / TIE Fighter series. I personally wasn’t a huge fan of X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter… it seemed to lose a lot in the effort […]


Filed Under: Deals - Comments: Comments are off for this article



« previous top