Escaping the RPG Trap

Now that the snow has melted, I’ve no excuse not to be looking for work, and I’ve decided that so long as I’m unemployed on a weekday I’ll instead spend that time self-employed learning how to make games. No forums, no TV, no gaming — at least during work hours.  That seems to [...]

It’s Not Gaming, It’s Research!

As with the other 1 in 365.25 people, Christmas is also my Birthday. I’m now 32 – Happy Birthday to me.
As of late, I’ve been researching Mercenaries 2 and Mass Effect, by purchasing a price-dropped $30 copy of both games’ PC versions.  Between the two, we have a game I’d like to develop: an [...]

Still Loafing

Though perhaps I’ve little of significance to say today, I’ve always taken exception to leaving a several day gap since my previous entry.
I said in the last entry that game development was imminent, and it’s still imminent, because since the last entry I pretty much just sampled Warhammer 40k (recently dropped on GameTap) and completed [...]

Two Things RPGs rarely get right

I’ve found a simple solution for motivation that has worked remarkably well, and that is to simply lay off the forums. While time flies, time also needs to be filled with something, and creating a void can provoke action.
Going slowly stir-crazy helps, too.  About the most entertaining thing I’ve done is check out the pilot [...]

Procrastination Immortal

Has it really been 5 days?  How time flies.  As of late, the majority of my time has been largely dumped on the Escapist Magazine forums and Kohan II with a brief visit through the Drakensang demo.  Due to popular agreement (I put it to a vote on a thread) I think I’ve settled on [...]

Grappling With Matters Of Sheer Necessity

Though I’m dwindling away the last 2 weeks of it, my academic career lays in burning ruin, just 12 credits from graduation.  It’s back to work for me, right on the cusp of what threatens to be the third great American depression.  At least all that time in the unemployment line will leave a lot [...]

Something Different In CRPGs: The Rings of Zilfin Approach

Artforms tend to get formulaic after awhile (it’s certainly easier and more practical than reinventing the wheel at every turn) and Rings of Ziflin is an interesting example because it represents a road less traveled.  The following is a video I made that captures some gameplay from Rings of Zilfin better than a screenshot can.
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State Of The Game: Dungeon Crawlers

What follows is a fairly comprehensive bit of exposition at what a Dungeon Crawler is, where it’s come from and where it’s likely going.  The short version: “from misguided Diablo clone lust and straight down the toilet.”  If you want the full story, however, read on.