Some venting about recent sleep issues - likely a result of persistent life situation issues - and thoughts about my current game dev project, Dreamons, some old GBC Legend of Zelda games, and the Netflix adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender. READ MORE
Some rather brief (ha) thoughts about Super Mario Bros. Wonder, the Super Mario RPG Remake, Final Fantasy VIII, and a new video-generating AI called Sora. Those things are all related, right?? READ MORE
Another diary entry of sorts about my stumbling steps into the real world. I wish I'd been employed in my teens and twenties, so I wasn't such a poisonous pest of an alien now. READ MORE
Star Ocean: The Second Story was one of the many games I had for the original Playstation during my childhood. It's probably one of the first RPGs I ever played, and was likely a huge influence for what I did with my own RPGs, especially MARDEK. I just finished the recently-released remake, so here's an exhausting excess of spoiler-filled thoughts about that! READ MORE
I've spent another week working on this side project thing (which I still haven't decided on a title for), which has got me thinking a lot about what aspects of turn-based battles are actually fun and which are just going through the motions! READ MORE
I've spent this week waiting for feedback for the Atonal Dreams Alpha... or rather, that feels like an excuse to shirk work more than anything, as I find the mere thought of the next big steps - or the alternative severe life changes if this won't work out - so distressing. I should try to play a game for the first time in ages to destress and reinspire myself, but I've been struggling to decide which one! READ MORE
I set up my new PC at long last, I'm still working on story decisions - including some fast/dream travel 'flowerbeds' - and it's a shame people aren't more receptive to - or even aware of - my post-MARDEK work! READ MORE
In case you don't already know, Chrono Cross is a PS1 game that's a sequel (kind of) to the SNES classic Chrono Trigger, which just got a re-release/remaster on the Switch. I just played about an hour of it, and wanted to write out some thoughts, mainly about the battle system. The remaster also includes a short text-based prequel (again, kind of) called Radical Dreamers, which I played and also want to write out some thoughts about! READ MORE
I'm still going! Potion levels! Uncertainty about how to transition between the nightmare intro and Sprouting Isle, and how the world map should work! Chrono Cross remaster! READ MORE
I did a lot this week! I made two new monsters, came up with an idea - mementomes - that solves some uncertainties, and improved the Lore section! READ MORE
I mostly finished the intro I was working on, but it's not what I want it to be! I've come up with some revisions though which should make for a better world and story... READ MORE
A long one this week! I've been thinking I should trim out some vestigial features to focus more on the monster-skills mechanic, plus some replies to things people said in comments on last week's post (since I can't reply to them all individually!). READ MORE
Another productive week! I'm almost at the point where I can update the game for a new test run; I just need to tidy up a few bugs and things now. I have some questions related to MARDEK and games dev in general that I'd like to hear your thoughts about this time! READ MORE
A bunch of stuff got in the way this week, but I'm probably ready to start the alpha test phase of Atonal Dreams. Here's what I need to do next week to get to that point. READ MORE
I've been trying to sort out the whole Divine Dreams + Belief + Atonal Dreams story in a way that makes sense to me! I've also come up with some symbols for important concepts during the planning process. READ MORE
I'm really close now to the point where I can release a playable demo of Atonal Dreams... which should be exciting, but I've had a lot of days recently - today included - where I struggle to get to work due to worries about the waning interest in this blog and - presumably by extension - the game. READ MORE
I'm depressed and unmotivated. Again!! However, it's interesting seeing how much actually has changed for the better since another miserable post 3 months ago... READ MORE
I'm doing research into how to make money from indie games! Here's a loooong look (a big chunk of which is quotes) at a couple of postmortems which help shed light on where money can come from, and how similar indie devs' stories often are. READ MORE
I've been looking into setting up a Discord server, and dusting off my old Patreon account, finally, in preparation for MARDEK's Steam release tomorrow! READ MORE
The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of changing Divine Dreams' protagonist from the old Mardek to a new character, a golden-hearted 'devil' called Dayvha... READ MORE
Here's another post about my continuing journey into the unfamiliar territory I need to explore if I'm to make anything of this games thing! In this one, I mainly talk about stuff from the comments on the last post. READ MORE
My site went down, again! Very annoying!! It's back now (obviously), but I don't even know if the issue is fixed, so I still need to do some work there. MARDEK's waiting on review, but that's taking time too! READ MORE
There are still some things to sort out, but here's some progress on getting MARDEK on Steam (and a bit of a rant). (Update: Everything's done now!) READ MORE
I've finished preparing the OST and old notes, which took longer than expected! I have some questions about how players are used to accessing non-game files for their Steam purchases though... READ MORE
The idea of changing some numbers (such as item drop rates) in the Steam release of MARDEK has inspired a few comments on the previous post, but let's compile all the suggestions and come to specific decisions together. READ MORE
I'm adding MARDEK to Steam, finally! Gasp! There are a ton of forms and things to fill out though, so I'd appreciate your thoughts about some things! READ MORE
I'm devoting this week to setting up the old MARDEK games for Steam, though there are some frustrating hurdles. Here's me rambling about what I've got after doing several hours of research today, for catharsis as much as anything! READ MORE
This week, I've made the cave tileset more organic, added following allies and some changes to the combat mechanics, and I've been designing miasmon (which is what the monsters are called in this)! Also, a bit about my favourite Pokemon designs from all eight generations. READ MORE
I'm at the point in development now where the initial burst of enthusiasm has likely run its course, so productivity should be more gradual from now on. Most of the major features exist in some basic form, and my main goal now is assembling them into a working demo. READ MORE
Here's a brief review of what I achieved in January, a bit more about field mechanics, a model for Deugan, the conversation system, and some stuff about character progression (and menus). READ MORE
This week, I want to talk about what I'm doing with the music in Divine Dreams (the MARDEK Reimagining)! Here's the music for the fantasy intro, with the same piece from MARDEK for comparison. READ MORE
I've done quite a bit on the MARDEK Reimagining this past week! This time, I'll be talking about the title I've decided on, and a basic battle system I've planned and got working! READ MORE
I've done a whole bunch of work on the MARDEK Remake this past week! I've been more focused on it than I have been on anything in a while, and I'm excited about it too! I've planned and drawn concept art of the major protagonists, and I'll post about them individually in the near future; now seems like a bad time though, what with jolly Chrimbo and all. READ MORE
I played MARDEK recently, and it was much better than I expected! I'm now a fan of the series again! Here's how my new feelings about it have influenced what I want to do with a remake. READ MORE
I've spent the past couple of days working on this MARDEK Re-Release. I've got everything working now; all I need to do is make some minor tweaks, test it (which'll take ages...), then it'll be ready (though I can't say when it'll actually be released because of how long the Steam release process is). READ MORE
It seems I'm able to make executables of my old games! Gasp! This means they'll be more accessible even without Flash. I've made a list of all the old games that I feel might be worth 're-releasing', some more finished than others. I might even 'remaster' them a little bit, fixing some little details and removing no-longer-relevant stuff (eg sponsor branding). This means I might also be able to release the original MARDEK chapters on Steam, unaltered. (EDIT: I've added a poll to gauge which ones have any interest, so then I can know where to focus first.) READ MORE
Here's some revised concept stuff for my planned next game, Belief, in which a protagonist vaguely based on Mardek's mother is inseminated by an alien based on Rohoph. Fun for the whole family! READ MORE
I'm working on getting to the point with Belief where I can show a video of the gameplay. I'm not at that point yet, but here's what I've done so far. I'm wondering whether it might be best to make it a standalone game (rather than three chapters) at first, without connections to MARDEK, to see whether people are receptive to that before locking myself into something I might not finish, but there are still a lot of decisions to be made. READ MORE
I spent a couple of days building a battle system mockup for a potential MARDEK reimagining... though there are many issues and uncertainties with it from a mechanical and conceptual perspective. Should I be returning to MARDEK at all? To what degree? There's a lot to work through. READ MORE
I played MARDEK yesterday, for the first time in years... and Taming Dreams, as well. I recorded the full gameplay of the chapter 1 sections (the fantasy sequence, the hometown, then the woods and meeting Rohoph) as looooong videos, and it's interesting comparing them directly. You've got time to watch 4 hours of video, right?? READ MORE
This talk of MARDEK is definitely sparking an active discussion! I want to address a few of the comments on the previous post, clarifying what I had in mind with some of the changes I described. Also some rambling about whether seeing this as a reimagining rather than a remaster might be the wisest way to go about it. READ MORE
Well! I'm surprised by the amount of interest the previous post got, and so quickly too. There seem to be a lot of good reasons to remaster MARDEK, and now really does seem to be the best time to do that. I'm very reluctant to change nothing though. Here are some thoughts about how I intend to try to tackle this. READ MORE
I need to work on Sindrel Song, I need to upload my old games to my websites again, and I have plans for something MARDEK-related as well that I need to find the time to properly focus on. And I'm tired, still. Here's a vague plan for where I'm going from here. READ MORE
Some cathartic venting about fatigue, lack of motivation, mental barriers, Alora Fane, and MARDEK 4. And this thing from Sindrel Song, obviously. READ MORE
I feel terrible still, but here's some disjointed rambling about my upcoming radiotherapy, the previous post's comments, Toby Fox, and ideas for a game I might make about a consciousness researcher exploring the afterlife. READ MORE
After doing a whole lot of reflecting about the creative journey that I've been on over the years (which I briefly summarise here), I'm planning to return to Taming Dreams, but as a regularly-updating story told through 3D conversations rather than as a game. READ MORE
I've spent the last few days writing a long, long post where I go over my old art, music, and games, originally as an attempt to explain why I won't be making MARDEK IV, but I've been getting carried away. I'm wondering if it would be of any interest to anyone. READ MORE
As a break from the usual self-pitying melodrama, I'd like to write about the creative project I'm currently working on, which I've been intending to do for ages. READ MORE
I feel the drive to do something creative, and I've been playing around with ideas recently... But the fear of criticism really gets in the way of producing anything, especially since I want to use art as a way of coping with and communicating my psychological struggles, which has hardly been met with eager excitement in the past. READ MORE
Rediscovering things we liked when younger can be a pleasant thing, and it's nice to check back on them and see they're still alive with new content. I've been told by many people that my MARDEK games were a pleasant part of their childhoods, so it's a shame I never finished them. READ MORE
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