Radiator Blog

NOVEMBER 3, 2021

The game plays with this a little: there's a treasure door that opens only during the fail state. (A A hostile NPC statue wakes up, which means you can lure it away from the door.) And as the Vestal, she administers the local election, and in this ancient Roman city only the male NPC citizens are allowed to vote.

NPC 130

NPC Fighting Art Dev 130

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 147

NPC Cutscenes Animation Animation 147

Radiator Blog

NOVEMBER 10, 2021

This is similar to my tactics games writeup and Enderal (huge Skyrim mod) writeup where I spoil some interesting game designer / systems design things. I don't discuss much of the game narrative. I assume general game design knowledge but minimal Deathloop-specific knowledge. It would feel terrible.

Fighting 130

Fighting NPC Puzzle AAA 130

Radiator Blog

DECEMBER 12, 2022

The romantic interest Bud is a local ranchhand assigned as a guide. In this situation, the NPC knows what you're here for and he wants it too, even if you kinda hate each other. This dynamic runs counter to most video game romances, where we generally assume the "good end" = sex end = complete soulmates = rare and complex.

Pixel 130

Pixel Film Art Prototyping 130

Radiator Blog

JUNE 30, 2022

"Cruising Labyrinth," Andreas Angelidakis Lindell was responding to a specific social context: the 1980s HIV/AIDS epidemic that utterly devastated the gay male community in New York City, especially the local sex clubs and bathhouses. This points to a general problem with treating sexual moods like immutable video game character classes.

Code 100

Code Education Educational Prototyping 100