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new Quake map: The Close And Holy Darkness

Radiator Blog

Within broader game design culture, the theme also invokes an awkward aspect of cultural appropriation and reduction. On the other hand, why shouldn't our fantasy settings involve Mesoamerican and Andean influences? The textures are fine! It echoes colonizer arguments about "savages" who "need" to be conquered.

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Would “Sword Art Online” Be a Bad VR Game?

Rampant Games

Thanks to a crazy head engineer with a god complex, ten thousand players are now playing an ultra-realistic fantasy game in a virtual world with real-world stakes. So author Reki Kawahara drew on his familiarity with the games of the day and their systems to create what he thought would be a super-cool virtual reality game.

Art 52
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Secrets in Videogames

Keith Burgun

As I’ve gone through the Final Fantasy series recently , it’s notable that the games used to have secrets, and now, they pretty much don’t anymore. Somewhere in the late 90s, and certainly by the mid 2000s, it was decided that secrets are bad and games shouldn’t have them. They are findable.

Fantasy 52
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The three most important qualities in an RPG

Keith Burgun

So what we end up with, over time, is a “tradition”, or traditions within a blanket term like “RPG” There are so-called “ARPGs” like Diablo, JRPGs like Final Fantasy, CRPGs like Ultima, tactical RPGs like Fire Emblem, and so on. Over the years, I have loved games in all of these categories.

Fantasy 52
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The Lost Ark Has Found its Way

Deconstructor of Fun

When we talk about MMO, many may relegate this game category to “old-school” or “niche.” Only MMO like World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy 14 are still generally recognized by western gamers. Weapon and armor design in Lost Ark is often extremely exaggerated and luxurious. The rough cutscene). The grand scene).

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Design review of Redfall by Arkane Studios Austin

Radiator Blog

In this sense, playing a 75% finished game is more useful than playing a 100% finished game. So this post will focus on my read of the general game design and player experience. The player never quite experiences these ideas in the game itself. Similarly, you can see where the core game design wanted to hit.

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Why I’m bailing on Yakuza: Like a Dragon

Keith Burgun

I would have played it sooner, but I was on this huge Final Fantasy kick (which is still ongoing, to be honest). This might have some very light spoilers, but… honestly, one of my main criticisms is that there isn’t much to spoil in this game, at least not in the 27 or so hours that I played. Wish me luck.

Writing 52