One of the things I’ve learned in making my own visual novel is that scope can very easily blow out. Every new scene, character, idea, and story beat that you add in means more backgrounds, CGs, character costumes and music. Then it all becomes very expensive. And so, in most cases, you have to get creative and figure out how…
One of the finest examples that I can think of that highlight the differences between Western and Eastern game development, and some of the weaknesses that we as a collective industry have in critiquing video games, is to look at Dante’s Inferno and El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron side-by-side.…
Of all the ways to use the mighty Demon Slayer license I…
Endless Ocean Luminous is a rare treat. We live in a world…
Pascal’s wager, the philosophical concept, is an excellent thought exercise that considers that humans play a simple game, not unlike the Prisoner’s Dilemma, on whether we should believe God exists. It breaks down like this: If God does not exist, then whether you believe in him or not is irrelevant…
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We rarely see indie developers tackle the rhythm genre, and for understandable reasons. It’s not a genre with mass market appeal, but it’s also one filled with established franchises backed by more budget and polish than an indie studio could muster. And with simple mechanics that aren’t easily innovated upon,…
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There are a few genres that simply don’t age well. A good JRPG is timeless, as are platformers, brawlers, fighting games and SHMUPs or side-scrolling shooters. Sports games and FPSers, however, don’t. With FPSers, if you strip the nostalgia out of even the mighty Doom or Duke Nukem, I would…
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What’s the result of combining cryptids, retro graphics, and pulp fiction? Why, Mothmen 1966 of course! It is the first title in what is already being called the Pixel Pulp series, by LCB Game Studio. I feel a bit bad for those I’m close with, as I’ve been rambling about…
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Take Game Of Thrones. Take Princess Maker. Mash them together (after taking the sex out of both), turn the result into a spreadsheet simulation, and you’ve got Long Live The Queen. This ultra indie game is not without its delights and offers players a decent challenge on their way to…
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Australians should make more visual novels. I don’t just say that because I make them and need to kick myself into actually finalising my latest one (it’s getting there, day by day!). It’s just that whenever an Australian produces a VN, it’s typically gold. Max’s Big Bust is a hilarious…
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Like with most PC releases, I missed the original launch of Gamedec last year. I just don’t pay enough attention to that space, it seems, because if I did I would have bought this instantly. As such I’m glad it has come to Nintendo Switch, because while the Switch does…
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Perfect Gold: The Alchemy Of Happiness highlights just how mundane love and romance can be. I don’t mean that in a negative sense, though. Far too often in the arts romance, as a subject, either deviates toward smutty eroticism or overly sentimental tear-jerking. There’s nothing inherently wrong with either of…
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Capcom’s previous retro fighting game compilation, 2018’s Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection, was an excellent and loving historical record of Capcom’s most valuable property. Four years later the company has done much the same thing with the Capcom Fighting Collection… but if anything I think this is the superior option…
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There was a time when video games were primitive enough that a book could be a more vivid gameplay experience. For example, the original Wizardry came out in 1980, and though it’s rightfully remembered as a classic, it’s also not much more than the seemingly endless sequences of corridors and…
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