Radiator Blog

MAY 19, 2023

Before The Green Moon (on Itch and Steam ) is a post-apocalyptic indie Harvest Moon / Stardew Valley / Animal Crossing inspired farm life sim about scraping by, in a decaying rural truckstop town with bored depressed locals you gradually befriend (or ignore). But the game doesn't tutorialize this or dispatch an NPC to spell it out.

NPC 59

NPC Cutscenes Animation Animation 59

Radiator Blog

OCTOBER 13, 2022

This isn't a big apocalyptic video game betrayal cutscene where a villain reveals himself and destroys a castle, instead it's a smaller deeper betrayal that instantly brought me back to being a teenager. Gradually all these advancements and upgrades add up to a NPC-driven town that can maintain and feed itself automatically.

Indy 52

Indy Film Games Point and Click 52

Radiator Blog

MAY 5, 2021

It's probably not worth the hassle for a solo indie. Whenever an NPC is about to dump backstory and exposition on you, they'll ask you to take a seat. This is a convenient diegetic way of locking the player in-place for a cutscene, while also priming the player for an extended cutscene. Sit and listen.

Open World 52

Open World NPC Cutscenes Terrain 52

Radiator Blog

NOVEMBER 10, 2021

NOT telekinesis, only works on NPCs / PvP) Havoc (temporary shield / damage buff), very useful for people who keep dying (i.e. me) or PvP buff but conceptually rather boring Aether (cloak + invisible to laser sensors, attacks cancel it, can be upgraded to only consume mana while moving). It would feel terrible.

Fighting 52

Fighting NPC Puzzle AI 52