Psychochild's Blog

Games are supposed to be fun, duh. It seems to be a regular comment that if something isn't fun, it should be removed from a game. Why are game developers so stupid to leave in systems that nobody finds fun? Or, just look at those EEEEEVIL free-to-play games with their "pay to win" strategies, forcing people to pay money to avoid the parts that aren't fun, amirite?

Except, there's a good reason why games have parts that don't seem fun on the surface, but that build a long-term feeling of satisfaction. Let's take a look at satisfaction and why it matters in games.
(more...)

So, Camelot Unchained is on the cusp of meeting its goal. As I write this, it needs just over $150,000 in 23 hours right now.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/13861848/camelot-unchained

The success of this campaign will have tremendous ramifications on future MMO projects. I encourage you to support it.
(more...)

I'm probably not going to shock anyone here by saying that MMOs aren't living up to their potential. I've said before that there's something missing our games. I think that while games are offering a little more of that spirit of adventure I mentioned in the previous blog topic, we developers still have a ways to go to realize the full potential of MMOs.

One of the biggest problems is how we design the game to allow interaction with other people.
(more...)

Are you a game programmer? Do you love games? Do you especially love MMOs? Are you tired of the same old thing in every MMO? Want to push the industry forward and have a hand in developing entirely new forms of online gameplay? If you know AI, this will be a tremendous opportunity for you.

Unfortunately, the contract information is still under NDA so I can't be explicit here, but we'll share the details with qualified applicants. I hope you understand that I'm not prone to hyperbole, but let me say this is an incredibly exciting in terms of professional opportunity and personal satisfaction of doing something highly original.

Job title: AI programmer
Location: San Diego, CA
Salary: $70k + share options + relocation incentives
(more...)

Over the weekend I got to chat with Adam "Ferrel" Trzonkowski and Chris “Syeric” Coke. We chatted about Storybricks, the tabletop RPGs I've supported on Kickstarter, and you'll hear me totally geek out about the cosmology of the old World of Darkness from White Wolf.

You can listen to the podcast at: http://epicslantpress.com/blog/2013/04/08/game-on-esp-edition-02-brian-green/

A few more thoughts after the jump.
(more...)

I was busy during GDC last week, meeting with people and making contacts. After a week of hard work, I have a tremendous announcement to make: I'm running a new Kickstarter campaign!

But wait! It's even more exciting than you might possibly imagine. This is the mega-Kickstarter game campaign! I've gathered every major developer who has run a game-focused Kickstarter campaign and I've gotten them to join force into one, ultimate campaign!

Read on for information about the project and the tiers!
(more...)

What makes a game successful? Well, if I had the answer to that, I'd be bottling it and selling it and buying a gold-plated sports car. The reality is that there are a ton of little parts and pieces that contribute to the whole. You have to figure out each of those little elements (and have a healthy dose of luck) to succeed

Let's take a look at one particular aspect: how much of the game should be new, compared to how much should be familiar to your players.
(more...)

Been a bit busy with different projects and the "day job". Some potentially exciting things going down with Storybricks, but under serious NDA, unfortunately. Hopefully we can discuss details soon. :)

Anyway, I've got a post I want to write, but at this pace it might take me a few weeks. So, let me solicit questions from you all and have an open thread here. Post what you want to post about. Ask me a question, get my feedback, or just rant about something you don't have space to put anywhere else. Standard caveat applies, anything truly offensive will probably get deleted. But, you'll have to be in excessive bad taste to get to that point.

So... what's on your mind? :)

Also, there's a separate thread over on Google+.

I decided to sign up as a soldier in the secret war. It was pretty appealing when The Secret World was only $10 after they dropped subscriptions. Cheapest entry into an exclusive club, ever!

And, to answer the burning question: Dragon. You may congratulate or boo me in the comments section. ;)

A more substantial review beyond the jump.
(more...)

One recurring complaint of MMO players is the "grind". It's interesting taking a look at the history of MMOs, because it becomes obvious that it's mostly player perception that determines what is a grind. Every mechanic that people deride as a grind started out as something fun. In fact, sometimes it is a particularly new or novel feature that eventually becomes the dreaded grind.

Let's take a look at how something fun devolves into a grind.
(more...)