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My Top Games From E3 2018

In no particular order...

Beyond Good And Evil 2 - One of my favorites from last year. What a cool aesthetic and world. I can’t wait to see some more gameplay. And, the player-made content submissions look neat as heck!

Cyberpunk 2077 - This one’s on everyone’s list, and I’m no exception. CDPR really knows how to impress, and their introduction at the end “hacking into” Microsoft’s conference was perfect.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - The return of tons of favorite characters and maps, and some awesome upgrades to existing systems. A crowd favorite for good reason.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey - This franchise has been making a comeback with Origins, and it seems like Odyssey will only continue that. I’m happy with the direction Ubisoft is taking a lot of their series.

Fallout 76 - While the multiplayer has seen mixed reception from most fans, I’m cautiously optimistic. Letting players run wild together with Fallout 4′s central systems is an awesome concept, and I really hope it plays out well.

Rage 2 - Looks ridiculously fun. What more do I need to say? This is the type of game I want to come home to after a long day at work.

Death Stranding - Wtf is this game? I want it? Why is there a fetus?

Fire Emblem: Three Houses - One of my favorite series. I can’t wait to have it on the Switch.

For Honor - I have mixed feelings about this game, but the core gameplay is loads of fun, and the new Chinese units and classes look like they’ll be fun to play.

Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate - I didn’t think I needed another Monster Hunter game now that World is out. I was wrong. Having Generations on the Switch with updated graphics is a godsend, and I can’t wait to continue playing Monster Hunter on the go.

My Friend Pedro - A hilariously well-executed concept. Looks amazing from a streaming, show off, or speed running perspective, and just a ton of fun all around. 

Nioh 2 - When Dark Souls doesn’t appeal to you, but you’re a giant weeb. I had loads of fun with the first game, so a sequel is much appreciated.

Sea of Thieves DLC - As one of the few people who didn’t overhype this game and who has continued to enjoy it, I’m all for new DLC. Sea of Thieves is a great weekend party game when you’ve got a good group of friends to play with. There’s nothing better, in my opinion.

Wargroove - Been watching this one forever. Advanced Wars was one of my favorite Game Boy Advanced titles of all time, and the Chucklefish aesthetic is adorable on this one. I need it.

The Elder Scrolls VI - WHEN?!

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Sorry that this blog has been dead. The last couple years have been wild, but I’m going to try and get back to updating it.

Hold me to my word. I need to stick with it!

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Here’s the first preview of the new art direction for the game I’m working on. Follow the Retro Rocketeers on Facebook and Twitter for more updates!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RetroRocketeers Twitter: https://twitter.com/RetroRocketeers

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Follow the Retro Rocketeers (the indie game dev team I’m currently working with) on Twitter for screenshots and other updates!!

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We’re looking for students at Indiana University to help us playtest the game we will soon be submitting to the IGF.

Originally called Momoba, this project has been tons of fun to work on, but has taken a completely different turn from our original plan of a mouse-only MOBA. It is now a competitive twin stick shooter with semi-infinite runner and shoot ‘em up mechanics involved. 

As the pilot of a powerful starship, your goal is to travel through a warp speed portal to the final battle of a war. Along the way, you can capture points and defeat enemies to powerup your own ship, or your team’s mothership. However, you’ll have to watch out for the enemy team who is doing the same! At the end, the two teams will go head to head, fighting alongside their motherships in a final death match. Matches are quick (2-5 minutes max) and chaotic in the funnest way possible.

Complete with retro, pixel art graphics and some awesome particle effects on top of that, the game captures all the fun of classic space shooters with our own spin on chaotic, competitive play.

If you’re interested, click the link above to help  us out by being a local playtester. Anyone from the Bloomington, IN area may apply. All you have to do is meet with one of the designers, play a few rounds, and give your feedback!

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Particle System Progress GIFs

It took me way too long to figure out why those particle effects were showing up on the side of the ship instead of coming out the back why they were supposed to.

Finally, though, I got it all figured out and added it to the main build alongside the art designed by our amazing artists.

Still a few little visual glitches, but it’s coming along nicely!

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A nice read by Raph Koster on the differences between free-to-play and subscription models.

Definitely a hot topic in the games I play now (*cough* Guild Wars 2 *cough*) and a favorite of mine to discuss and debate.

That said, people playing for free are subsidized by those who pay — often quite a lot. These people only pay because they really want to, by and large, though of course, like any business, there are many tricks used in order to get people to convert to payers. But overall, a single-digit percentage of users are paying enough so that the average across all users including the free ones works out at something that is profitable.

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Current Project!

So, I guess I might as well start dropping a few hints about my current project.

I don’t really know how much I can and should say, as the actual concept behind it are not mine, but it is a game being developed by myself and a few classmates for IGF.

What I will say is that, from what we’ve done so far, the game is going to be incredibly fast paced, fun, and chaotic. If you loved URF mode in League of Legends, this might be something you’re into.

That’s all I’ll say for now, but expect much more detailed logs this week or next.

Eventually, I’ll be posting about play testing for the game as well, so keep your eyes peeled for that.

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Notes on Game Design

By Margaret Hagan

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The only fitting way to start of this page is to share a link to Raph Koster’s website. His game design work and research has been an inspiration for me as I work for my career, and his book A Theory of Fun for Game Design is the textbook for one of my current classes.

His site is a collection of articles, poems, stories, and the like. If you want some good, short reads about game design, it’s my number one recommendation.