Even though I usually end up focused on one project at the time, it’s never the only one that is brewing in my head. I’ve mentioned before I usually have several projects going, in different stages of (de)composition, as this is my way of escaping the dreaded writer’s block. If one project feels tiresome or boring at the time, I can always jump into another one and get my writing momentum back. (more…)
Inquisitor is a game developed by a Czech studio, Cinemax Games. This game sat in my GoG library, insignificant and forgotten, until I got a real craving for some good old-style RPG and I decided to give it a go. (more…)
Guild of Dungeoneering was one of those indie games I’ve never heard about until it popped in my GOG suggestions, and I always hesitated to get it. The sketch-like graphics had their unique appeal, but the game play itself didn’t seem to offer enough engaging. As you can guess, I got it during one of the sales, when I accidentally watched a trailer video for the game which featured a fun song to match the not-so-serious interface. The game promised building my own dungeon and letting an adventurer in on what seemed like a digitalized version of early Dungeons&Dragons dungeon crawls. (more…)
Almost every advice out there tell aspiring writers they should read a lot. But the key is not really devouring as many books as possible, but making the reading into a lesson: studying plots, characterization, even the style. There’s much more to reading as a writer than it is to reading as a book lover, and even though writers mostly enjoy reading as much as any other bookworm, aside from entertainment, good story, and food for thought, we have other reasons to read too. (more…)
There’s a moment in a gaming writer’s life when she doesn’t want complex storyline, character depth or non-linear game play. Instead, she wants the sheer joy of mowing through the endless hordes of monsters to remind her of the misspent youth when she lost days and night playing Diablo and Diablo 2. At such moment she thinks of Diablo 3 buried somewhere at the bottom of the box with her game discs and before she even considers digging it out, she remembers that the third installment of the third series failed at the most important aspect: being addictive. (more…)
I played Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura when it first came out in 2001. I waited for the game only because three of its developers were the people involved in Fallout 2 which I loved, and Arcanum promised a similar game-play, rich story and turn-based combat. I still remember the doubtful thoughts when I’ve learned that Arcanum would not transfer me to a post-apocalyptic world, but instead invite me to the world of fantasy. What interesting and fresh could there be about fantasy in the games mostly dominated back then by Dungeons & Dragons cliches?
Oh, how little I knew. The game had charmed me, and now, after fifteen years, when I came back to the game, it’s still the same. (more…)
The life of short films tend to be as long as they are: they flash into existence, and then disappear in the daily stream of the new information, events, and videos. Some get into the limelight when they become viral or are lucky enough to be among the Academy or other award nominees, while others fade even though they deserve attention too, some of the masterpieces of animation, storytelling or evoking emotions.
I’m not on top of every new release, I don’t follow every news, and I’m more likely to stumble upon interesting titles on random websites, forums, or via friends’ recommendations, so I’m sure I’ve missed a lot of interesting projects. Others I’ve forgotten or they simply didn’t strike the right chord to make it to the list below.
But I dare to call the 5 short films I mention here as my favorite ones. I come back to them every once a while, and they not only show the best what this form has to offer, but also spark my writer’s imagination and inspire me to create new stories. (more…)
I first learned of Divinity: Original Sin when it was released, but I’ve been playing another game at that time, and I wasn’t keen on spending money on something that I didn’t know much about. Then the positive reviews poured in, and my gaming friends started mentioning it more and more often, so I added it to my wishlist, but of course, I had plenty of other games to play… But in the end I craved for some old-style cRPG, so the game got its chance. And I tell you, it didn’t waste it for sure. (more…)
This War of Mine’s release had been loud enough even for me to hear about it in my little corner of the Internet. The early reviews had nothing but praises for the innovative idea, mature approach to an uneasy topic, and emotional impact it has on players.
I eyed the game once or twice, but I had other things to play and I didn’t get the game until most of the hype already died out. (There was a sale… Don’t blame me!) (more…)
After my struggles in January and February, I hoped March to be a better writing time for me. Of course, I knew that settling in a new country, learning things, filling (and filing) in paperwork, and many other things would keep me occupied, but with the most stress out of the way, I had high hopes for catching up with everything.
Lesson learned: don’t have high hopes. (more…)