September 2011
2 posts
Why Indies Fail, Pt. 1 - Home-Working
This is the first in what I expect to be a series of blog-posts about stupid noob indies. It will be one man’s opinion of how you can screw up indie development and some ideas on how to side-step them.
In this series, I will avoid picking on failed indies or creating theoretical companies that will then fail spectacularly in my fantasy land. Instead, I will focus on what I have been doing...
Lesson's Learned - (A Little Over) One Year of...
Those of you who know me well will probably be aware that I can often be a slow learner. Oh, I might have a knack for mysteries ranging from mathematical formulae to new languages, but that’s just my ‘Jack of all trades’ aptitude for new tasks. Or maybe it is just dilettantism… I’d love to think it was a side-effect of being a polymath, but I’m not sure I...
August 2011
1 post
July 2011
1 post
Piracy and Prevention
Intro
Piracy is about as old as copyright; it’s possible that the first time some caveman poet said ‘no copying my work’, someone would have gone home and tried to write a particularly pleasant poem in pictures. Denying it exists is just naive.
For the sake of this discussion, I’ll focus on videogame piracy - that’s the industry I’m in, so it’s the one...
May 2011
1 post
A week in the life of an indie...
I think it’s time to face facts; I am a(n almost) full-time indie. For nearly five years, I have been making games, so going indie was always more likely than going into banking or quantum-physics.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not something I am ashamed of, but it is something I wasn’t really expecting. Life is not quite the same as salaried employment (the wages suck for a...
March 2011
3 posts
Writing for videogames - who writes the story?
Today, I’d like to address one of the big misconceptions in games writing.
Have you ever asked yourself who writes the story for a AAA game? (the kind you pay £50 for on Amazon) Let’s be honest, the first reaction is ‘the writer’…
Er… Nope…
I think Clive Barker might get away with it and I suppose there are some games based on books or films, but...
Playing is learning...
This was just something I was thinking about. The way that young animals (and young humans) learn the skills they need for later life is often by playing. Kittens pounce on each other, most prey animals run around…
On the other hand, human children (if they are lucky) often sit in an overcrowded classroom and listen to someone talking about a subject they are only half interested in and...
Moving the Blog →
This blog has been around for a while, with periods of silence and activity, but one of the issues with a WordPress blog is the constant updating. I could move the blog to WordPress.com, but I…
February 2011
3 posts
Gamer Burn-Out →
Now that I am thirty, I am finally coming to terms with the idea that my D&D days are over, at least until Freya can play, but they do have one enduring legacy for me as a games-designer.
I think I…
13 tags
Gamer Burn-Out
Now that I am thirty, I am finally coming to terms with the idea that my D&D days are over, at least until Freya can play, but they do have one enduring legacy for me as a games-designer.
I think I am burning out as a player…
I like games, but they are not built for people like me any more. I am an explorer and a builder, not a killer. Modern games cater to a sub-culture that I...
My first Game-Jam
Last night, I attended day one of my first ever game-jam in Cambridge. The theory was that we had three hours, from seven until ten, to make a game based on one or all of the three supplied themes - two players, one screen; bungee-jumping; Swiss cheese - and some people hit that target, but it was more of a warm-up day while people arrived and got up to speed.
My own offering (available [here])...
January 2011
8 posts
“A key element to be a successful entrepreneur is a certain amount of naiveté,...”
– Martin Eberhard, Stanford University, 10/10/07
As the time draws near, I am looking forward to next week’s game-jam. It is sad that I had to miss the Global Game Jam, but what can you do?
Today, I have been looking into Python, both for Ren’Py and seeing if I can make use of the PyGame libraries (LGPL makes them commercially-viable) for future games.
I must admit that I am not 100% convinced by the whole indenting thing, coming...
Freya's Aett →
Stuff and Nonsense
Okay… I now have a Tumblr account to go with the Wordpress blog, the LiveJournal, the DeadJournal, the Posterous site, the Twitter streams, the Facebook account, the LinkedIn and all the rest.
So… What do I use this one for then?
It’ll probably just get used to discuss the progress of Freya’s Aett.
How I started writing for games...
In a previous post, I discussed how I got into the games industry. The second-most common question I get is how to become a games-writer or narrative designer. This one is slightly harder, but I’ll talk about the traits that I think helped me get in.
First of all, the six years in theatre might not have hurt. Writing and directing for much of that time could not have hurt my...
How I got in...
Being a lecturer means coming in contact with a lot of people who are looking to break into the games industry. The fact that I have made games, worked for AAA studios, carries a little weight. Since I get asked ‘how to get a job as a…’ so often, I suppose the best thing to do would be to write about my experiences here and let people read about them.
So, without further...
TIGJAM UK 4, 4-7 Feb 2011
Just a quick one: I will be visiting the fourth TIGJAM UK from the 4th to the 7th of February this year, so feel free to drop in and say hello if you are in the Cambridge area that weekend. It looks like it could be a great opportunity to see indie developers in action.
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September 2010
3 posts
I can do this. I think...
At last, I have decided to write. Not just ‘write’, but follow Stephen King’s advice and write 2,000 words every day until it get easier. In theory, that means 9:30 until lunch. Today, I finally had lunch at 3pm, but I hit 2035 words…
I know that I promised this before, but that was before losing my job and finding myself floundering. I think I am finally back in...
Dorian's Tale
Here is an exercise from a job application. There were some restrictions, but the gist was to get this down in 30 minutes, so it is slightly shorter than my normal exercises.
So, if you want to see what I do when I have 30 minutes, a 500-word limit and a timer ticking away ion the corner, just click below…
Dorian sighed. He realised it had never been the best idea to join the Federal ...
A (rambling) exploration of writing...
Herein, I will go off on one about writing in a stream-of-consciousness oupouring. Feel free to tune out, I won’t be offended. Or hitch a ride in my fevered imagination and thought-processes…
A thought occurred to me today; almost all fantasy/ sci-fi writing seems to be either wish-fulfilment or some kind of cathartic self-help. The former is obvious in many works; in the...
July 2010
2 posts
My little side-project...
Cut loose from big-business, I suppose I am free to consider myself a freelancer or an indie, but the last thing I want to be is a bum. I need to stay active, to keep getting my ideas down on (digital or literal) paper or I will go mad. Unemployment does not suit me, but working on my own projects while I find gainful employment is enough for now. Of course, better than ‘stay...
An update...
Apologies for the silence.
As some people will know, the company I worked for laid off some staff and I was one of those selected for redundancy. This means that I have been a little preoccupied recently, but it is not all doom and gloom. For the foreseeable future, I will be freelancing; this means networking (it’s a pity I just missed the Develop Conference / Expo) and looking for...
June 2010
1 post
Sergeant Boot, meet Mr Bottom; this could be the...
I try to be a writer, good or bad, and I even manage it from time to time. The trouble is that I procrastinate and fail to finish, or else I get something out that I am almost embarrassed to show people.
I think this needs to change, so I need a deadline and a nudge. I get these enough at work, but let’s not get into that; I like having an income…
Lucky, Sir Terry Pratchett has...
May 2010
1 post
Open Source is not Communism
A quick one; I have been accused of being a communist for my support of Free and Open-Source Software. Using Linux is therefore akin to joining the Party and worshipping Marx. Amusingly, the latest accusation came as a certain group raised over a million dollars between them by following a “free as in ‘Free speech’, not as in ‘free beer’” mindset.
Four...
April 2010
1 post
The Interrogation
This is something I wrote about a month ago as an example of an interactive script. It is not great, but it was done in one night and I am quite happy with the female protagonist. The prompt was “realistic, maybe slightly gritty” and I think I am quite happy, considering this is outside my normal style.
1 INT. DAY 1
A darkened room with two doors and a television screen ...
March 2010
2 posts
An older piece
This week, I think I will not have a writing exercise up . As an apology, I offer you an older story; this is actually a prologue of sorts to a D&D campaign that was originally started in second edition and later played for a time in fourth edition. I confess that it is fantasy, my default ‘go to’ genre, but I hope it serves as an example of my style which is not so formal...
Writing Prompt: "...and I realised how lucky I...
The fourth in a series of articles chronicling my output from writing exercises, this is less about ‘good writing’ and more about working to constraints without over-thinking them.
The aim this time was to finish a 750-word exercise with the words “…and I realised how lucky I was” by any means necessary. The opening was actually taken from a notebook of mine. (like any good writer / ...
February 2010
3 posts
Writing Prompt: "...and he watched. What else...
The third in a series of articles chronicling my output from writing exercises, this is less about ‘good writing’ and more about working to constraints without over-thinking them.
The aim this time was to finish a 750-word exercise with the words “…and he watched. What else could he do?” to help get these words (paraphrased from a children’s book my daughter loves)...
Writing Prompt: what a difference a day (or two)...
The second in a series of articles chronicling my output from writing exercises, this is less about ‘good writing’ and more about working to constraints without over-thinking them.
This exercise was a repeat of the earlier brief to write 750 words or more in under an hour starting with the words “The book fell to the floor…” and ending with “…and then he saw the light in the window.” This...
Writing Prompt: The book fell to the floor......
The first on what might become a series of articles chronicling my output from writing exercises, this is less about ‘good writing’ and more about working to constraints without over-thinking them.
This exercise was simply to write 750 words or more in under an hour starting with the words “The book fell to the floor…” and ending with “…and then he...
December 2009
2 posts
Giving your player true authorial control in a...
This is a response to a blog post on Gamasutra by a man named Steve Mallory, a designer I know through the ‘net who makes some good points about narrative design; read the original post here…
True authorial control… Now there is a scary phrase to use in front of your producer…
True authorial control is taking your player and asking them what they want to do today,...
Bardic Gaming
As a bard, one single tale can be made to fit a wide variety of different uses. Certain elements can be built up or glossed over depending on your audience and the message that you are trying to convey.
This goes beyond stories having multiple interpretations and actually hinges on changing the story to suit your purpose; you reduce a tale to its skeleton and then flesh it out in such a way...
November 2009
4 posts
Games Designer as a dream job?
If you read this blog, you probably know me and what I do for a living. For the last three years, I have been working on computer games, working my way up from a level designer to a mighty designer and then even specialising somewhat into Narrative Design.
I make games, I live that dream. I even do some writing, so I must be doubly-blessed. I have had the chance to pass on my knowledge of...
Catching the Wave - part 1
Recently, I was lucky enough to win a Google Wave invitation through a contest aimed at getting Dungeon Masters running D&D 4e games over Google Wave, pitching a game called ‘The Breath of Heroes’. The idea is not a new one, I had already seen an article on Gameplaywright called Playing on a Wave about using Google Wave for games using the Gumshoe system, but I always find that...
Attention to detail
In recent years, I have noticed certain disturbing trends in the industry, the worst of which has to be the death of finesse. In an age where time is money, it almost seems that the English language itself has become a casualty of ‘efficiency’ and has been supplanted by txtspk and just plain bad spelling.
Unfortunately, this seems to have been accepted as a fact of life, with...
Narrative designers
Last week, my manager approached the design team about a game on a very short time-scale, asking what we needed. Considering the story requirements, I said that we needed a narrative designer and a whole lot of creative freedom. Then I put myself forward for the narrative designer role.
I expected a fight, maybe even a refusal. I didn’t expect to be given the job…
So what is...
September 2009
2 posts
D&D 4e is to Tabletop RPGs what World of Warcraft...
In many ways, I suppose D&D represents the ‘mass-market’ face of tabletop roleplaying. It was the first big hit, the one that started the ball rolling, so it always got the benefit of the doubt. It was also good at adapting to its audience.
At first, it was a dungeon crawling Lord of the Rings game; it was (well, inspired really) the EssexMUD of its day. Soon it opened up...
2 tags
Security of Online Accounts
Over at WoW.com, there is a post about “Why Blizzard should make authenticators mandatory on Battle.net accounts” and it got me thinking about just how many online accounts the average gamer has. Taking myself as a typical gamer; they might have two MMORPG accounts (one P2P and at least one one F2P), one Steam account, they probably have a paypal account, online banking, a couple...
July 2009
5 posts
Archaic Speech for Dummies - Pt. 3
Last week, we continued learning about archaic speech. It was another very patronising lesson, but you just keep coming back…
This week, we will learn a little about insults, so let’s put a nice safe break in. Only continue reading if you are sure that you want to…
Still here? Good. Let’s start with a basic statement; archaic insults should be light and witty,...
Archaic Speech for Dummies – Pt. 2
Last week, we started learning about archaic speech. It was a very patronising lesson, but you seem to have come back…
Today, we will learn about oaths and curses. We will touch on religion, some slightly vulgar words and imagery that might border on violence involving sexual acts and anatomical impossibilities.
When modern people swear, we have some very unimaginative curses, but ...
6 tags
Gender Roles
Inspired by my post about playing female characters online, I got thinking about gender roles in RPGs. I don’t believe in women’s things and men’s things, but there is a tendency for people to drift toward certain stereotypes. You probably don’t think about it when you are actually playing a game, but CRPGs do give us stereotypes. Arch-mages are men with beards,...
12 tags
Archaic Speech for Dummies - Pt. I
So you want to try some archaic speech in your roleplaying, be it MMOs or tabletop games? I will try to offer some help over the course of this series of articles which might help.
First of all, ask yourself if it is really a good idea. If you are playing a barbarian, you only really need to yell ‘Krom!’ a few times. On the other hand, done well with a character who justifies...
6 tags
MMO Monday - Gender-Bending
I am a man. I can’t say that I have ever really wanted to change that. It is not like I have ever gone out in women’s clothing, I have only ever passed myself off as a woman once online, but… people look at me funny when I say that I often play women in games and I am not talking Tomb Raider or Bloodrayne.
My initial reason for this was simply ugly male models in MMOs. ...
May 2009
6 posts
10 tags
MMO Monday - Actual Change Visible in MMO Worlds
The most frustrating thing about the average MMORPG is that almost nothing you do will make a difference to the game in the long-run. There are notable exceptions, the Sleeper in Everquest for instance, but there is generally no permanent change in the world.
The reason for this is no great secret; everybody wants to be the hero, so you cannot have one person out of the thousands who are...
4 tags
MMO Monday - D&D Online
Now here is a game that got me excited. It is not because it was D&D 3.5, because I think that there are better systems out there, nor even because I am a fan of Ebberron, even if I am one of the few people to remember Keith Baker’s hushed-up forays into PC gaming.
No, what got me was the feeling that everyone served a purpose and every class was true to its roots. You...
4 tags
Embarassed by D&D?
My name is Anthony and I play D&D. I am not a geek, not according to the geeks I know. I tried calling myself a geek, but the real geeks disowned me. I was too cool to hang out in their world. I am not alone in this. Vin Diesel plays (or played) D&D and nobody would call him a geek. Not to his face, at any rate.
So why are people so scared to just admit it? I worked with a man...
8 tags
MMO Monday - One Game to rule them all
Recently, through sheer dumb luck and a POETS day, my wife and I acquired a pair of keys for Lord of the Rings Online. I had played its 14-day trial before and had fond memories of it, but I had never got around to upgrading my account to the full version.
I started downloading on Friday, I finished some time on Sunday. This is normal for us, we are lucky to get 60kB/s on our 8-Mb ...
6 tags
Roleplay servers in MMOs; then and now...
Barring the free month I received with a copy of Ultima Online, my first real experience of a modern MMO was Everquest, about a week prior to the release of the ‘Shadows of Luclin’ expansion.
The game had me enthralled; no wonder it was known to some as ‘Ever-crack’ for its ‘addictive’ nature. It was the immersion that got me, a well-defended immersion...