Solar Echoes in November (part 4)

Although it isn't until the first weekend of December, I wanted to share that Solar Echoes is going back to Shorehammer, the Warhammer convention in Ocean City, Maryland! I've been asked to give a presentation again, and this year, instead of talking about Game Design, I'll be talking about Designing and Running Solar Echoes Missions. This talk will include all kinds of useful information for writing your own mission, figuring out gameplay balance, designing and acting out interesting characters, running combat, pacing the game, and more. Of course, I'll also be running games at Shorehammer, and players will get to try the new Operation: Broken Citadel. The convention was a ton of fun last year, with some of the nicest gamers around, so hopefully I'll see you there!

Solar Echoes in November (part 3)

Another exciting development for Solar Echoes is artist John Fell has recently finished another project for me. I'm really looking forward to using this new artwork in a project I've been thinking about for a while now—a Solar Echoes video! This will involve John's character artwork, with text-conversation bubbles at the bottom while characters are shown in stills talking to each other. If you're unfamiliar, this classic style is commonly used in a lot of RPG video games, especially JRPG's (Japanese RPG's.) The recent project John finished was to add in various facial expressions to the existing character artwork, so now I can make each race (except the expressionless Omuls, of course) show emotions such as anger, sadness, happiness, frustration, and a few others. I'm looking forward to starting work on the video, and though you won't see it finished before November, know that it's underway!

Solar Echoes in November (part 2)

Before Chessiecon and Operation: Broken Citadel at the end of the month, there are a few other things happening with Solar Echoes to watch for. I have been in contact with Wicked Gaming Studios, and they have a very talented professional miniature painter that usually specializes in painting Warhammer figures. The owner of the studio has agreed to paint 3D printed Solar Echoes miniatures, so I've already sent him a high-res miniature of the alien insect race, the Chiraktis! He is going to begin preliminary coloration plans this week, so as things progress, I'll be updating you with the photos he shares of his progress. I'm very excited to partner with Wicked Gaming Studios to see the amazing potential of a 3D-printed Solar Echoes figure! Check out some examples of miniature painting done at Wicked Gaming Studios:

Solar Echoes in November (part 1)

Solar Echoes is officially 5 years old! Well, since release, it's actually 7 years old if I count the 2 years it took to design the game, establish Corefun Studios, LLC, get the Solar Echoes Trademark, etc. As you may have noticed last week, there's been a 40% off sale going on over at RPGnow.com to celebrate the 5^th anniversary. However, it expires tomorrow, on the 7^th! Other than the anniversary, though, what else is new with Solar Echoes? There are a lot of things brewing that I wanted to share with you, so lets begin! One thing that I mentioned in October is that I'm currently working on another new mission, called “Operation: Broken Citadel,” which is a sequel to “Operation: Void Hunter.” This mission will be a continuation of the Void Hunter story arc, but you can also play it as a stand-alone adventure if you prefer. My plan is to have it finished sometime around Thanksgiving—I'm going to run it for the first time ever at the Chessiecon Convention over Thanksgiving weekend, so if you'd like to be one of the first to try it, I'll see you there!

 Last Day of RPGnow.com 40% Off Sale

Game Replay Value (part 5)

I'm glad that there are so many types of games out there to enjoy, and I often do play through linear-experience-type games, once. But when it really comes down to it, I like to feel that my skills are improving at something, too, or that I can be creative and play the game in a wide variety of ways. The types of games that inspire and reward me the most for the time I invest are the games I've sunk many hours into (Starcraft, Chess, Destiny, Overwatch, Diablo, Eye of Judgement, etc). Of course, developers take a risk when pursuing this type of game, because if the right balance isn't achieved, gamers might decide it's either too easy or too difficult. However, the rewards to both players and developers can also be immense, because this type of game is the most likely type to be a massive success for a long time. Just look at Blizzard's Starcraft, a world-wide hit for twenty years!

Game Replay Value (part 4)

In a sense, the reason people enjoy sports is the same reason people continue to play the same game. The same rules, same setting, and same "controls" provide a familiarity that inspires a focus on skill itself. How many times have you heard people claim to be good at a linear adventure game, like the amazing Uncharted video game series? I certainly enjoyed playing all of the Uncharted games--they were truly fun experiences--but after I solved one, the only incentive to play it again was to unlock certain trophies I missed or gain a few extra perks or weapons. The thing about linear games is that, after you complete them, you have to ask yourself if you really want to go through all that again, or try something new. The focus of those types of games is more the journey and story than the skill of the player, like an immersive movie. But how many of us watch the same movie over and over?

Game Replay Value (part 3)

Another key factor in game replay value is variation. Some video game developers think that randomly generated environments will provide that, but often, this backfires because it prevents the gamer from developing specific skills. Variation that inspires replay is the kind that is the result of the gamer's choices and actions, such as in a game of chess. If the game feels that there are near infinite variations for the outcome of every action, it is very likely that gamers will continue to play the game because the experience differs every time. Real-time strategy (RTS) games like Starcraft are legendary and have even become popular e-sports because of the immense amount of variation possible with each game. First-person shooters (FPS) like Call of Duty or Destiny are also extremely successful, and these games involve a tremendous amount of player-inspired variation.