This is no ordinary golfing game: it’s a surrealist post-apocalyptic golfing game.
You walk and jetpack your way around the remainders of life on earth as you play ball.
To be released on September 3 by the publisher Demagog Studio on Steam.
The story of Earth’s last hurrah is told from multiple points of view, building as the game progresses.
The Game has 3 different modes, from casual to expert.
The art style has a dream-like vibe, with the haziness and destruction of the background fitting perfectly with the depopulated planet that used to be our own
Death’s door is a stylized game with lovely graphics!
It’s to released on X-box S/X and steam in the coming future!
The movements of each character are unique, and the designs are stellar!
The textures used give depth to the already cute and easily-readable characters and environment. The isometric placement of the scenery and fight areas brings them an additional layer of depth in an already 3-D gamescape.
This game looks to a fun a fun romp through a lovingly crafted world, a will be one to look after.
The easiest way to determine factions would be to simply split them by location, or world history.
Then, the conflict could revolve around gaining or maintaining territory, and that could include groups being pushed out of their original territories and then trying to take them back.
You can also split it by the each of the area’s history, using previous conflicts to shape the factions, i.e. political ones.
The Characters ready!
Build your factions around your characters’ core beliefs.
What do your characters care about? What is their worldview? What about the opposite?
With a focus on the characters, the creation of the factions can become integral to your OC’s story. Will they need to grow out of the faction? Will the faction grow and change as the character does? Will they leave one for another as their story moves forward?
And conversely: what does being in that faction say about the character? What does a monster being in a Hunter’s faction, for example, say about the monster? Are they guilty? Do they doubt their identity, or are they a wolf in Sheep’s clothing waiting to strike?
Video Games have long graduated from simple fights between good and evil. Games are now tied with intricacies and multiple sides, each believing that they are the ones that are correct.
The question now becomes “How do I put that into my game?”. As with my other articles, there are multiple ways to go about this!
It is best to begin at the beginning!
I want to start with the factions…
The Question to ask here is “Why are there factions in the first place?”
Usally a group splits over an arguement; as creator, you decide what kind of disagreement causes the breakup.
What do people believe in enough that their goals and ideals split? Is it something simpler, like a land disagreement or a family squabble? Are the factions gunning for power, splitting politically? Are the factions after a superweapon, an their reasons for wanting it are causing the divide?
In this way, the creation of the factions and therefor, their very existence drives the story.
Emphasis
By creating them first, it puts more emphasis on them, rather than other aspects. This works in your favor if you want to use your story to explore methodologies or philosophies, and what causes people’s differences.
Having factions be at the center of your story allows for discussions with lines drawn in the sand, and it’s up to you (or your players) to decide if they stay, move, or fade entirely.
Effect
A good way to gauge how much your factions affect the story you’re creating is this:
What happens if something about the faction changes?
If destroying the faction of choice does nothing, then it has no impact on the story. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing: If it impacts the World or the characters, it can stay! Asking this question can help gauge how much you want to focus on that faction. If it’s deemed insignificant, than you can skim over it, or maybe change your story if you’re really attached to the idea of it.
What does the faction add to your story?
As mentioned above, if the addition of this faction bolsters other parts of your story, it should stay in. Depending on how much it affects the rest, you can draw the players/readers attention to it by having the story be more closely tied to the factions.
Larger than Light‘s gameplay takes full advantage of the medium its made for, with a playful style that’s a feat for the eyes.
The gentle pastels and harsh shadows don’t just look good: they’re used for gameplay! You maneuver Characters that represent both Shadow and Light source to traverse this puzzle-platformer.
You help the main characters Skia and Lux overcome their differences and bond as siblings as you adventure, and listen to their conversations as you go along. This game not only looks good, but also sounds good, with fully-voiced dialogue!
This game can also be found on steam, for the more than reasonable price of $4.99!
Currently in free-to-play beta mode, Ninza is a combination platformer and brawler!!! From Indie developers Klakmioch, this game has a homepage, twitter and discord.
I tried it out, and while I’m not much of a brawler -or platformer- it’s a lot of fun! I love the characters, and the actual controls are pretty simple! The concept of the game itself is gret, too.
The main menu is easily traversable, and there are 4 game-modes available for play (for now at least). The game is relatively easy on the eyes, with minimal of the bright, flashy, effects that can hurt your eyes, and the animations are very readable. The backgrounds are done in a way that reminds me both of Japanese woodblock prints and those old-style story books done in paints and colored pencils.
If you have your eyes open for a brawler to play around with your pals, this one may be the one you want your mitts on.
This is a game made by architecture students. I see it more of an art piece, for those times when people say that video games are an art- which this game really proves.
The Stages of death mark the stages seen in the game, rendered lovingly by first-time creators, by a team of 3 students from National Superior School of Architecture of Versailles. It’s a variation on 3-D platformers with stunning lighting an easy-to learn gameplay.
Even if the entire game runs for a mere hour, I believe that it will be an hour well spent.
Bored of Games where all you do is shoot a bunch of zombies? Just read the Instructions adds in puzzles as you mow your way through waves of robo-like enemies!
Explore a surreal environment with your friends! This game is a co-op, and solving the set of instructions given to yuo allow you to access the next level.
This game is for those who want just a little something more in their classic shooters.
Both the environments and the monsters give you something interesting to look at as you brainstorm your path through the game.
Just read the Instructions is available to Beta, and is due to come out sometime in 2021 on Steam.
Sometimes, research turns into something else entirely.
Yesterday, as I was researching more historical board games for a few other artcles, I came upon a website that sold a few dozen physical variations on chess. It not only caugfht my eye, but also sent me on a fun wikipedia dive.
Today, I’ll be rating different chess variations by aesthetic, readability, and how much they made me want to play that particular variation.
3-person chess (Hexagonal)
Aesthetic: 10/10 a blast to boggle at. The squares merging in the center is incredibly pleasing.
Readability: 10/10: clearly readable!!! Lovely.
Want to Play: 10/10 YES. Wish I knew more people IRL who liked chess to play this version of the game!
3-person chess (circular)
Aesthetic: 10/10 a joy to look at, makes a fun centerpiece, will fit on a circular table and not look ridiculous.
Readability: 4/10 Makes my eyes hurt: The board tries to be more readable by adding diagonal lines through the squares, but I feel that makes the board even more confusing to try to decipher in a game. It looks cool, sure, but doesn’t do well for play. the colors for the pieces are standard, I suppose, but better choices could have been made.
Want to Play: 5/10 Due to the board, it’s not high up on my play list, regardless of how cool it will look on a coffee or café table.
Stacked Chess
Aesthetic: Not so much for me: a 6/10. The boards and pieces are very standard, and while the connecting spire adds a bit of flair, it doesn’t do much for the look. The pieces look cheap.
Readability: The individual boards are perfectly readable, 10/10, this is what standardization is good for.
Want to Play: ehhhhh *wiggle hand in a so-so manner* 4/10. If I wanted to do something like this, there’s quite a few digital versions which do a better job with the concept of multiple boards, one of which is “5D chess with multiverse time travel“.
Peace Chess (Paco Sako)
Aesthetic: Cute!!! I honestly love the way the piece designs were modified for the new gameplay. 10/10
Readability: 10/10: standard board, and the pieces retain enough of their silhouette to remain distinctive.
Want to Play: 6.5/10. The concept of “peace chess”, in which the kings try to reach each other by jumping through other pieces is enough to warrant a try, but I’m not entirely sure about the replayability. Since you can’t take pieces off the board, I feel that there’s not many moves to h=be had after a few plays.
Jester Chess
Aesthetic: Overall, really standard: other than the titular piece and extra spaces, nothing else is added, visually. 5/10: it works, I guess.
Readability: Looks Just like your average chess board but with more squares: it’s a 10×10 black and white board. The pieces are the same as your average ones, with the exception of the added, titular piece: the Jester. 10/10. Unique piece design, recognizable board.
Want to Play: Definitely intriguing! The added piece (whose rule for movement is literally “whatever piece your opponent just moved”) would add interest to your usual game, with extreme annoying sibling energy attached. Prefect for people who want to aggravate their family, 8.5/10.
As a DM, you lead your fellow players in the adventure of a lifetime! And you can’t do that without a setting for your adventurers to traverse!
There a Few ways to do this, like always!
Base it off of a real-life location
You can simply pick a point on the globe and lift the terrain and cities wholesale. This way, you can point your focus towards the plot and characters of your campaign.
Pros:
Makes your life easier
Can use history for flavor
Cons:
Expectations of Culture and mannerisms that come with a person’s knowledge
There will be history here, and the players might expect use of it
Create your own from scratch
Use map generators or craft a map from your own imagination to craft the most individualized map
Pros:
You can have whatever you want wherever you’d like
Create your own world history
Cons:
You have to make it yourself
Create your own world history
Custom maps can be made multiple ways.
Decide on a central or key location, and build what you need around it
Make a legend, and drop dice (signifying different physical objects) over a piece of paper
Random generator
Use a Mix of both!
You can use a real-life map as a base (for terrain or city placement), and then edit it to fit your lore/characters/villain’s actions
