Tag: indie

  • Archmage Rises Dev Blog #7: User Interface Magic

    This past week, I focused my development efforts on the user interface (UI) of Archmage Rises.  Proper software development methodology mandates that we should take on the highest priority, highest risk items first.  We should do this to save enough time and energy to deal with the truly dangerous issues: the unknowns.  Archmage Rises is a UI-heavy game, and…

  • How I Killed the Joy of Video Games

    Someone once told me, “When your hobby becomes your work, it’s time to find a new hobby.”  This couldn’t be more right.  And I couldn’t have been more wrong to ignore it. I encounter many people who want to develop games but have not yet made the plunge for a variety of reasons.  Sometimes they…

  • Archmage Rises: The Team

    If you’ve been following these dev blogs, you’ll know that I have been living at my cottage for the last three and a half months.  No, I wasn’t kicked out due to some indiscretion or ill-advised car purchase. I was living in the cottage so I could manage the little store I mentioned a couple…

  • This Week in Archmage Rises: Managing your Muse

    I had a bizarre personal/family situation that totally consumed me from May to the end of July.  Nothing much happened with Archmage during that time, which was like Chinese water torture for an indie dev. It turns out that I had to take over a little store – from personnel to IT. I couldn’t choose not to…

  • What ‘90s SSI Goldbox RPGs Can Teach Us about the Modern RPG (Archmage Origins Part 2 of 2)

    Sometimes a new solution is just an old idea in a new package. Last time, I covered how re-reading the Dragonlance novels got me thinking about a new kind of RPG.  One that is a realistic open world, procedurally-generated, and full of meaningful choices.  The question is: How can I build it? Is it even possible? Shark…

  • Archmage Origins: Inspiration and DragonLance

    . How to Have a Good Idea I am very interested in what drives creative inspiration.  How to spark it, then harness it.  I’ve read books on it. I’ve looked into what the artistic masters like Da Vinci, Michelangelo or Bach did.  I’ll share the best advice I have assimilated on the topic:

  • Reaction to Why I Left Mobile for PC

    I wrote my previous post because someone asked me to.  I did not anticipate how well it would be received by the gamedev community.  Thank you, everyone!  Some favorite comments: “I share a lot of similar background.” “I wanted to contact you to let you know that I was incredibly inspired by your writing.” “Thank you for…

  • Why I’ve Said Goodbye to Mobile in Favor of PC

    I am fed up with the whole mobile/tablet gaming market.  I’ve worked hard for three years and released two games to almost every mobile device you can think of.  Never again.  From now on I am focusing all my development resources on the PC.  Frankly, I should have started there to begin with. So how…