Tea Times Two with Thomas Lionblood

Man, I've been wanting to post a thing or two on my blog for a week now, and I just haven't had the time or motivation. I've either been busy with holiday stuff or sick, but as long as I'm here typing, let's just see what I can do to dump out all my thoughts RIGHT NOW! 

Let's start with the Wizard Tea. Bazaar Sniping, a thing that's been in the game since the beginning, is now (from what I hear) a thing of the past. I haven't tried bazaar sniping since I was actively working on crafting.  We always used it to transfer metal scraps and random reagents back and forth between me and Bailey.

I remember asking Professor Greyrose about it once waaaaay back and she noted that it wasn't an intended thing for players to do, but because everyone liked it, they just kept it in the game.

Fast forward to today, players several years ago realized that Empower treasure cards were a stable drop in the game economy that could be traded back and forth in exchange for other things. Think of it like a player invented monetizing system.  In Everquest, they have Krono (which happens to be company controlled and monetized btw -- KingsIsle, if you're reading, look into it . . . I'm pretty sure you could monetize trading with something similar -- players would hate it and call you money-grubbing, but they do that anyway). In Wizard101, they have Empower Treasure Cards.

Anyway, they finally fixed the sniping bug and as expected, people went nuts.

At first I didn't even remember the Empower Treasure Card facet of Bazaar sniping, but @Karlicai broke it down for me.

WHEW! Man, everything KingsIsle was trying to avoid with allowing player trading in the first place was circumvented by players in a super ingenious way. By allowing this to exist for 16 years, players created a discord channel for trading and a whole sub-economy using Bazaar sniping as a method to trade valuable items and bank gold. People going to do people things I suppose.

One of the major problems to the above method is the presence of bots in the bazaar. It defeats the whole system. You want to trade something with someone and bam, a bot snipes before you can snipe. The new system they implemented was that after you deposit an item in the bazaar, there's now a time delay and you can't predictably snipe anymore. In fact, players are saying the new system favors bots now.  Whoops. Not the best fix.

A lot of players seem pretty upset by this, and I get it. KingsIsle will work it out somehow. I have faith. Ultimately, they're trying to avoid gold sellers and spammers in zone chat. If you've played any other MMO, you'll know what they are. They're annoying.

So there you go.  That's the T in Wizard101 lately.

We used to track time in Community Management by what the recent drama was. We seem to be in the Post-Hawkules/Sparck-tell-all and entering into the season of bazaar-sniping-fix. All in all, still not as glorious as the age of Glowing Mushroom Exploit. 

AAAANNNNYYWWWAAYYYY . . . I finished all my quests for the Selenopolis trees and got my new cool blade.

Woot!

Also spent a bunch of Crowns trying to get the full outfit from the new Christmas pack. It's not a bad pack, I might actually stitch this new robe on to my outfit.  The Krampus banner is pretty great as well.

I like that Krampus banner!

I didn't keep going to see if I could get the new mount. It's a little weird and I already have far too many mounts to even think about wanting a new one. Still debating about this new pet. I kinda like it.

Smelly Gracie seems neat, but nothing will ever top my precious Lady Dexter.

Anyway, hope you all are enjoying Wizard101 and the holidays. I need to find some time to log on and finish up a few more of the quests in Selenopolis and hopefully convince my wife to play again. I WILL FINISH KARAMELLE!

Happy Dueling!

December 2024 Zone of the Month -- Karamelle City

Hey all! I thought I'd try to bring back a time-honored tradition as I discussed in a post last month and do another Zone of the Month!  

To those ends, I made a list of the 256 zones in Wizard101 and used a random number generator to let randomness do what it does best to choose our zone.  The random zone of the month this month is none other than an idea that was first birthed from a flight of fancy from the old Professor Greyrose on this very blog.  Thus, the rumors of Candyland began back in 2009 and finally became a reality with the World of Karamelle in 2020.

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Name: Karamelle City

Location: Karamelle -- Karamelle City is the main hub of the world Karamelle and is the location all players will enter upon taking the spiral door to that world. You'll wander through Karamelle City often as you weave your way through this world's story.

A wonderful world of sweets and treats!

Description: As described on Wizard101's Karamelle World webpage: "Karamelle is a world of smiles, of Gumdrop Forests and Licorice Trees, of Chocolate Mines and Soda Lakes. Happy villages stretch from Karamelle City to Gutenstadt and everyone, everywhere, is always singing and whistling while they work." Of course, as you travel on, you begin to understand that happiness in Karamelle really is just skin deep.

Spilled Ice Cream in Karamelle City, complete with a trail of ants leading to it.

Cost: When you purchase Karamelle City, you'll also receive the zones of Von Trap Estate and Rock Candy Mountains for the price of 2295 Crowns.

Zeke Item: In Karamelle, Zeke has you hunting down Lemonheads. In Karamelle City, you can find the zone's Lemonhead right inside the gateway leading to Rock Candy Mountain. The Lemonhead is quite easy to see to the side of a bench there.

Someone dropped a lemonhead next to the bench here.

Chests: There are no chests or silver chests in this zone for players to collect, which is too bad since there are plenty of places to hide them. 

Secrets: The biggest secrets of Karamelle City come from Nana herself and her factory! You should go talk to the Grandnana in her office. While you're there, make sure to inspect her desk, you might just find a free Dinette Set housing item waiting for you there!

Is stealing dinnerware behind Nana's back a crime in Karamelle City?

Reagents: There are no reagents in this zone for players to collect. You'll have to head in a bit deeper in the world to find the Pretzel Sticks you may be hunting for.

Fishing: Despite having a wonderful, bubbling Soda Stream, no fish can be found in Karamelle City. I take it as a hope for things to come! Just imagine fishing up some Swedish Fish, Caram-eels, or a Tetra-misu. Lots to hope for the future!

Teleporters: While there aren't any teleporters to get you around within Karamelle City itself, there is a Nanavator to help you traverse the different worlds within Karamelle, like, Sweetzburg, Nibbleheim, Gutenstadt, Black Licorice Forest, Candy Corn Farm, and Gobblerton.

Just take the Nanavator to where you need to go!

What’s the 4-1-1? When you arrive in Karamelle City, you've been sent there by Ione as the Arcanum Liason. Maulworf Von Trap is your inside informant on Cabal activities and a summit happening there at the request of The Great Old One. 

Upon arriving in Karamelle City you quickly find the problem of Sweet things gone sour and must dispose of evil gummy bears. It's a plot to be more fully explored later in Karamelle City.

Not the Xtra Limes bear!

At the summit of The Great Old One, you are asked to join the cabal by the Great Old One himself. As you're about to shake his hand, the great old one falls into a giant hole, or rather, a cavity. Sour candy is causing all kinds of problems! Perhaps Nana herself will have answers about what's going on with the candy gone wild?

Who’s that Boss?  There are a few Bosses in Karamelle City, but the most notable one is the one you fight at the end of Karamelle. If you follow the world's story line to the end, you'll find yourself facing off against The Aberrant Paradox, which just happens to be . . . YOU. Looking for a strategy on how to fight the big bad, The Final Bastion has all the info you need.

Don’t miss this Side Quest! After you've completed the main quest titled "Candy Crushing," make sure you talk to the Good Will Ambassador to take the Quest "Good Will Stunting" and the follow-on quest "My Stars and Gobblers!"  It's worth it just to get a look at Professor Plump in the Nana Corporation Lobby.

Professor Plump I presume!

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If only I had the power to discount this zone for you all!  Hope you enjoyed reading about this month's zone of the month.

Happy Dueling!

Tea Time with Thomas Lionblood

I had a Wizard101 dream a couple nights ago. Actually, scratch that, it was a KingsIsle dream. 

So in this dream, I was back at KingsIsle and had just returned and got a new job there. For some reason it was very somber and someone told me just to go grab a laptop and sitdown somewhere. I grabbed one and chose a pit desk that was empty with no desk partners around it, and a guy behind me smiled and said "Hello, Tom." Sadly I didn't recognize the person, but they recognized me. 

In my dream, I then started walking around, and the Marketing section took up two full rows of desks in the pit and they were at a 45-degree angle to the rest of the office. It was super glitzy and suddenly looked like the best department in the office. I went over to Mythdust's office and she had a couple people in there. She came out and had gigantic 80's hair and looked like she had a mega-makeover. She said we should go to lunch to talk. Even with all the glitz, in the dream it felt more nonplussed to me. Which is weird, I mean Mythdust with giant hair and wearing an acid-washed levi jacket should be hilarious.

Anyway, while dreamwalking through the office I eventually passed Leah Ruben's old office, and it was shut tight. Other offices along the way had new unrecognizable faces in them that I didn't know.  Gone was the old guard, and I couldn't even see my old buddies there. Where's Jeff Toney? And then I woke up . . .

It left me feeling very weird. Like home but not home and very humbled for some reason. Dream Interpreter AI thinks I'm trying to gain either some familiarity or realize some personal growth. /shrug

Anyway, because of that dream, of course, I had to actually log on Wizard101 in real life. But before I talk about that, YO, Wizard101 has a lot going on lately. It's kind of a weird vibe. Are y'all up on the Tea?

Firstly, there was a whole Hawkules/Sparck controversy that rocked its way through the community.  I woke up a couple weeks ago wondering why my notifications were going off with people telling me they missed me, so I crafted up a quick response telling people it was good to be missed and how hard the job is, kinda giving props to those still working there. Then that tweet started getting a lot of likes and I knew something must be up.  And wow, yeah, The now ex-Pirate101 Community Manager (who goes by Hawkules) did a tell-all / burning bridges thread. 

*turns off computer, walks away and waits for dust to settle a bit*

Oh yeah, and GET THIS, Pirate101 did an update with some super unfortunate timing. Pirate101 update you say?! yeah, I know . . . crazy they're still getting updates, but BAM. The new update is a promotion quest for none other than the Hawkules companion. Timing for the win. Hawkules the CM gets canned and Hawkules the companion in game gets a promotion. You can't make this stuff up.

It's the worst. When stuff like this happened when I was a CM, it always felt like a kick to the gut, so I feel for my old co-worker buddies who are still at KingsIsle. Raises Diet Coke in solidarity. Hang in there, KingsIsle peeps! I trust your judgment!

Ok now that we're done with Tea time, there's a whole new thing going on where Krokotopia got a revamp and there's this new Selenopolis zone.  I don't fully know what's going on there yet, but it really seems to be all about this new Magic Weaving feature and throwing down a tutorial on how the whole Gambit system works for these new spell cards.

I took it to Twitter to get reactions on how people liked the new feature and got a range of responses. I loved the responses.

Jose kind of nailed the feeling I had after I had been through about 2/3rds of the tutorial.  I mean, it made sense, but when they started to try and break down the Roshambo, I was cringing a bit. 

Next comment I loved came from Timid.

Yup . . . probably not worth it just yet for a high-level player, but for someone who might have just finished Dragonspyre, I don't know . . . could be kind of cool to have these new spells at that level. The new spells do seem more PVP-focused or perhaps situational to a boss fight.

Xander hit the nail on the head for me on this one.

And that's where I ended up after a couple hours of play with the new update.  I spent a lot of time going from tree to tree to tree trying to decide what I want my new magic weaving class to be and when I finally arrived at what I wanted to do (Balance for the extra blade), it gave me a new quest to complete a ton of badges.  

I mean, overall, I love making badges more important, but turning them into quest requirements is a little weird though. 

It was hard choosing my new magic weaving class. The original plan with Thomas Lionblood was that he would be a Death/Myth caster, and as much fun as it would have been casting the Bleh the Impaler spell, I just didn't really feel going down that path would net me much in the long run.

More like Meh the Impaler . . .

The Death/Fire spells also looked super amazing as did the Death/Storm spells, but in the end, I don't know . . . kind of just felt like Balance would be better for me, which is fine, I already went down the Balance line a long time ago after having a glut of spell points. PLUS, the poet-tree spouting poetry was by far the best choice for me eventually. 

She's my soul mate

So, there you have it. I spent some more time in Wizard101/Pirate101 and worked a little on the new content.

Always interested in hearing your thoughts! Feel free to share with me.

Happy Dueling!  

Bouncing up the Leaderboards in Bounce Arcade

I was browsing Facebook the other day when an old KingsIsle friend of mine (Erik McKinney) announced that the new company he was working for had just released a new VR game called Bounce Arcade. Erik was the environment artist for the game, so I jumped on the opportunity to purchase it and give it a spin.

Easy there cowpoke, it's time for some Gunpowerder Gulch!

Honestly, my loyalties to Erik aside, it's a pretty fun game, and I love the concept behind it. Basically, you as the player are the paddles sitting in the pinball machine hole, and you need to block the ball from going through. Just keep smacking that ball and don't let it get past you.

That's the basics, but like most pinball machines, there's more to the game loop than just that. Just like in regular pinball, certain targets and objectives are scattered throughout the field in front of you. They'll be highlighted in yellow to give you an indication that you need to target it. After hitting them, a secondary objective lights up, leading to a big event.  In regular pinball, that's usually a multiball situation.

Cannons are lit and it's time to go for a minigame star!

To simulate "tilting" the table, you can bend a ball in the direction of targets and even activate a power-up to suck a ball into your paddles and redirect it at a target. Unlike regular pinball, however, what tends to open up in Bounce Arcade is a minigame! 

Bending a ball toward the town bell

For example, in the Gunslinger game after, hitting the targets to charge up the town hall's meter, all the cannons will point toward the bell above the town hall and the doors to the town hall will open to reveal an icon. Hit all the cannons and the game will pause as you play whatever mini-game is associated with the icon on the town hall doors.  In a couple of those instances, your paddles will turn into guns and you'll participate in a shoot out ala the game police trainer (shooting the bad guys, avoiding the town citizens) or hit the dynamite barrels before they touch the ground . . . stuff like that.

Shooting barrels out of the sky

Once you win a mini-game, you'll earn a star for the level.  What happens when you fill all the stars?!?! Man, I don't know yet!!!  I'm getting close though.  I managed to get 3 of 4 stars on the gunslinger level and set a pretty decent score though. I'm definitely getting better at the game with each play.

The only complaint I've heard from around the Discord channels is that there isn't enough content, which to be honest is really hard to reach when making a $20 game, from personal experience. On the other hand, I love the potential they've created for this game, and I hope it does well enough that it will become a lovable DLC beast similar to Walkabout Minigolf.

. . . And to me, that's what you need to look at for VR games at that price point. Walkabout is such a good model for games like this, in fact, if I were a Designer for Velan I'd push to mirror more of the good things in that game that make it feel like there's more bang for the buck.  Let's take a look at that.

1- Each level of Walkabout Minigolf has an easy and a hard mode. Bounce should do this as well.  One time while playing Bounce, my controllers bugged out and my paddles no longer extended out in front of me in space, instead they were stuck nearer to my hands. It made me jump around and stand up really exercising to hit the ball. Although it was a bug, it's a rather easy way to make a hard mode for the game. 

2- Account rewards from hidden minigames make Walkabout pretty genius. In the easy mode, you collect balls that you can use while you play.  I really think you could do the same thing with the pinball in Bounce. You play the game with an ordinary-looking ball that ignites with an effect once in a while.  Just change the look of this ball as a reward for doing a hidden objective on the easy mode.  For hard mode in Walkabout, you have a fox hunt minigame.  When you complete the fox hunt, you earn a new golf club.  Again, I'm using paddles that look the same in every level . . . what if I could earn special "gunslinger" paddles (perhaps the edge looks like a rope lasso?) by hitting a certain point threshold in a hard mode of the Gunslinger map. It'd be great!

I will say that if you are prone to seasickness or don't have your VR legs yet, this is a really good starter game. You can play it just by looking in one direction. It's basically a 180 game instead of 360. 

I may highlight individual boards here on the blog in the future, but I've played enough of Bounce Arcade that it felt like I needed to give it a shout-out. It's a great game with a lot of potential. (Also, Erik is amazing and you should check out his cool environmental artwork)

Happy Dueling!

From Match-3 to Cathulhu: Roland Kie’s Vision for Roguematch

Hello, Readers of the Friendly Necromancer blog! I have a special treat for you today. I've asked Game Designer Roland Kie from Starstruck Games, makers of Roguematch: The Extraplaner Invasion, if he'd be willing to sit down and answer a few questions for us in an interview format. 

I've talked about Roguematch a few times here on the blog and after making it into the credits for the game with a special thank-you, it's only fair that I return the favor. Roland highly deserves a spot here on the sidebar of the blog as a VIP! 

Read on for more insights into Roland's special kind of awesomeness. 

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Q: So Roland, why don't you take a second to introduce yourself to those who may not know you! Let us know how you found yourself in this state of life and why you're doing what you're doing. 

A: Hi! I'm Roland Kie, born and bred in Singapore! Games have always been a major part of my life, and when I got a chance to work at EA as localisation QA 20 years ago, I joined the games industry and never looked back! I eventually made my way to become a game designer, co-founded Inzen Studios, focusing on mobile games, and then subsequently left and found Starstruck Games.

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Q: Let's talk for a moment about Starstruck Games. Where is Starstruck Games based, and how do you feel that location has or hasn't influenced your approach to development and marketing?

A: We are based in sunny Singapore! For us, I think it's been a fairly good spot for development. For example, Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo do make it fairly straightforward to get Devkits here, so that was a blessing! Marketing wise, it's been a challenge, as always, because we don't use a publisher, so we have to look for marketing companies in the different regions, or try to approach social media influencers ourselves!

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Q: What inspired you to take the leap into indie game development, especially with the risks involved? 

A: There's this deep...yearning? Want? To create something that somebody would love to consume and appreciate, the way I've appreciated the games I've played throughout my life. 

I don't think the freedom to do so would be easily available in a bigger company. Games have been such a deep part of my journey that making them feels like the natural direction of my life. The risks are 100% definitely (Still) there, but this is really one of those things where, if I don't try the darndest for it, it would be something I would regret later on.

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Q: Could you walk us through your team’s workflow—are roles more defined, or do you collaborate on multiple aspects of the game? Are there certain fingerprints in Roguematch that you could identify as yours or Jesmond's or Yi Chuin's?

A: Chuinny is our Artist, Jesmond is the Coder and I'm the Game Designer. That's the very basics of it. We discuss and bounce ideas off each other all the time though. 

The character design is definitely in Chuinny's style, that's the most visual 'fingerprint' we can see. She really does the cutest stuff. UI/UX is a good mix of the three of us, but eventually Chuinny finds the best look. I come up with the narrative and features but always bounce them off Jesmond and Chuinny. I also did the music, but also with their input on whether it sounds appropriate. We balance each other out quite a lot!

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Q: As a fellow game designer, I’m curious: what design principles do you hold closest, especially when blending genres like match-3 and roguelike?

A: This is a tough one! Personally, I feel like I need to have a narrative to the games we make. 

For Roguematch though... In some ways, I have to adhere to the limits that Match 3 and Roguelikes bring to the table. I kept shifting focus between many principles, but ultimately kept going back to, and having difficulty in, designing the best tutorial because these are two disparate genres merged into one. We still don't feel it's good enough! It's too long, it's too short, we should break it up into different stages, there's so many mechanics because it's two genres, etc.

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Q: Do you or your team have a particular fondness for both roguelike and match-3 games, or did Roguematch come together more organically from different ideas?

A: I have a reasonable fondness for Match 3. It started with Bejewelled, and it went on to the many iterations of games like Candy Crush and Puzzle Quest and Gardenscapes and so many in between I forget them. Oh Angry Birds, Harry Potter, and Stranger Things just rushed through my mind. 

I do not play Roguelikes like Angband and Dwarf Fortress, but I did play the Mystery Dungeons like Torneko's Quest, and a bit of Chocobo Dungeon, I can't remember if I've played Shiren it was so long ago, and a few years back, Dragonfangz and Crown Trick. 

Roguematch did not come from just appreciating both genres. Roguematch came together from the years noticing that out there, games are tagged as 'Match 3 Roguelikes' or 'Match 3 RPGs', and they were in a sense, but not truly combined in the way I imagined it. I always felt that the next step for a Match 3 RPG is...what Roguematch is. Where Match 3 is real to the characters in the game. Where Match3 players can put their skills to test in a more 'real' situation. Where Roguelike players are playing a turn-based, grid-based RPG with Match 3 for real.

We also want to push Match 3 further into a space where the mechanics of it aren't viewed as 'casual'. There have been other Match 3 RPGs that have managed to do it in some ways, like the Puzzle Quests 1, 2, 3 and Marvel Puzzle Quest, which is more of a Match 3 deckbuilder, and many of the games that you've covered and talked about a few years back. What we wanted was for the Match 3 aspect of it to be way more involved within the game itself.

Our serendipitous discovery of your hunt for Match 3 Dungeon games also gave us a super boost in motivation during early development :D

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Q: What design or gameplay element of Roguematch are you the proudest of, and why?

A: We're proud that we even managed to find a playable balance between Match 3 and Turn-based Dungeon Crawling! 

We didn't have any references so it was a lot of trying to see how it could work. We had so many iterations of it. We ended up with this one because we realised that if we wanted to introduce this sub-genre, we had to make it more palatable for players, so it's the simpler version of what we thought it could be.

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Q: How do you incorporate player feedback into Roguematch's development, and were there specific changes you made based on that feedback? Where does most of your feedback come from? 

A: We have friends playtesting the game, which is useful for deeper-level game design issues. We went to some cons, like Tokyo Gameshow, Busan Indie Connect, and Gamescom Asia SG, and observed players playing, which is useful for silently observing beginner player issues. We listen to everyone and then we sit down and discuss what makes sense and what doesn't. 

Specific changes from player feedback? Quite a lot, some were additions, like multiple ways of shifting the pieces when using controls. We added a different color scheme for the color blind. We shortened the number of rooms to reach each level's boss. We shortened, then lengthened, then shortened the tutorial based on player feedback (or frustration).

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Q: How did the team approach the fusion of match-3 mechanics with turn-based gameplay? Was it challenging to keep it balanced and accessible for different types of players?

A: It was extremely challenging. We were facing two demographics of players that did not necessarily have any skill overlap, or skill transfer from one genre to the other. What we did attempt to figure out were the common motivations for playing these types of games. One of them was the 'tactics' aspect of both games. In both genres, you try to be efficient with your turns to get the optimal outcome. 

For the short version of this, In match 3, this could be solving one of the parts of the board, in a roguelike, it would be, defeating one enemy. The next step from that would be how to find ways to clear more of the board, or how to clear more enemies at one go. So the (not exactly) parallel tools for this are the special pieces in Match 3 and Magic/Skills in Mystery Dungeons.

Match 3 players are usually presented with one board to 'solve' in a number of turns. Dungeon crawlers, however, are often one large level with interconnecting rooms that you can freely travel around, and where monsters can chase you from one room to the next.

We decided to stick to one room at a time for Roguematch so that it would be easier to learn and play. We tried to find ways to reward players for clearing a room, and that came in the form of getting items, and later on, gaining Exp to level up.

During player testing, we would find an experienced match 3 player doing really well, defeating enemies further away...until one enemy reached them, and then they'd be just running away. Experienced Roguelike players with no Match 3 experience maybe could kite a bit, but without relying more on available matches, they would miss opportunities to defeat enemies and get overwhelmed. Fortunately we came across a few players who played both genres, and they were quite good and played it so naturally, and liked it. We also had players who were better at one genre than the other, but halfway through playtesting, had an 'Aha' moment, and then played through all the way to the boss. So on that end, we knew on average that the game was balanced and generally well received as long players stuck around to learn a bit of both genres.

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Q: Tell me more about the dynamic music in Roguematch—how each stage’s soundtrack shifts with elemental themes. What inspired this feature?

A: We started out that way because in each level, you could have rooms associated with one elemental plane, and a different one the next, so the music just faded in and out according to the room you were in. Also, the combining of music in the mixed elemental planes just 'made sense'. If you listen to the Cryo-Volcanic rooms, they're a mix of the music from the Ice rooms and from the Lava rooms, which in themselves are a mix of music from the four main planes. For example, the Elemental plane of Lava is associated with the elemental planes of Fire (Where we use more heavy Brass Instruments) and Earth (Where we use more percussions). Ice would have music from Water + Air. 

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Q: Sonya the “nekomancer” is such a unique character! Can you share more about her creation and the idea of her quest for the Nekonomicon?

A: We knew we had to have a Cat, Dog and Rabbit BFF adventuring party. So if there was a Cat, it absolutely (100000%) had to be a Nekomancer. If there was a Nekomancer, the Nekonomicon had to be involved. If the Nekonomicon was involved, Cathulhu had to be involved. If Cathulhu was involved, the other Meowter Gods, Elder Nyans/Elder Wans also had to be involved. If they were antagonists or protagonists, who would be their counterparts? And so on and so forth!

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Q: What were some of the most challenging technical aspects of Roguematch’s development? How did you approach them?

A: The Match 3 system was challenging. Characters interact with it in so many ways, walk into it and you switch places with it. Or maybe you have the item that makes you consume it. Or maybe you're the same color and you match with it! Then, matching them makes them disappear, or turn into new pieces, or explode, or stop time. Put in a new feature on the Roguelike side and something on the Match 3 side goes haywire. Honestly we could only approach it with hard work and time. Aka Brute Force. (Thank you Jesmond).

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Q: Is there a dream project you’d love to work on with unlimited resources, or are there aspects of Roguematch you’d expand on?

A: Yes. It's Zelda related. And now that BOTW and TOTK have come out it made me think that it is even more possible now. But we're not Nintendo! So that's a pipe dream. (Wait, unlimited resources means we can buy Nintendo, yes?). There are others! But it has to do with past games we've worked on before.

Jesmond and I often have fun thinking of working on a fighting game. As for Roguematch, yes for sure. Though that largely depends on how the gaming community as a whole accepts diegetic Match 3 Roguelikes as something that they could learn to play.

~~

Q: What lessons from Roguematch’s development do you plan to apply to future games? 

A: Don't try to create new sub-genres unless you have plenty of resources. Especially one where half of it looks casual, and the other half looks hardcore. 

~~

Q: What’s next for you and Starstruck Games? Any exciting plans for new projects or updates to Roguematch? 

A: Roguematch is our Final Fantasy. We won't have the resources to carry on if we cannot get the world to see and try Roguematch. 

~~

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer a few questions for my readers. As someone who loves this style of gameplay and mashup, I'm extremely excited to see it happen and executed in such a fantastic way. You've done an amazing job and made a game you can be proud of! 

In a way you might say I am star-struck by Starstruck! Keep up the excellent work and thank you for your passion with Game Design, Match 3, and just being a downright great person. I wish you nothing but the best and success in all your endeavors. 

Happy Dueling!

AW: Off the Grid with Ingrid and To and Fro with Frodi

Ok, Team. It's time for another update on Asgard’s Wrath because, DANG, some super cool stuff happened. Basically I’ve finished the first hero’s story (Ingrid) and moved on to the second (Frodi). Obviously, I'm still in love with the game so far, and it's just getting better and better.

The big bad of Ingrid's story

Wrapping up Ingrid’s journey led to a pretty epic boss fight -- one that I honestly wasn't expecting to be so cool. I love it when you get surprised by something awesome like this. Tyr basically taunts the heck out of Ingrid and starts destroying her hometown. Eventually, you make your way up to a giant arena and there you are in a mythic showdown between Tyr and, not Ingrid, but you in God form. He came out with fireballs, flailing maces of death, all armored up with serious grudges. My job? Counter his fireballs by shooting them out of the sky, knocking off his armor pieces, and then hitting him with an arrow to the heart so I could pull him close on a light rope. Once in range, you punch him out boxer style. After you do that sequence three times (three is always the magic number), he's left knocked down long enough for Ingrid to get in there and stab out his left eye. Truly an epic moment you can't get in any other VR game than Asgard's Wrath!

Time to gain an eye patch, Tyr!

With Ingrid’s adventure wrapped up, I’ve now started with the second hero, Mr. Frodi, the blind priest. He’s a caster-type character wielding a staff, which adds a whole new dynamic to combat. Frodi’s staff can cast energy bolts, which you can direct in looping paths. He also has this spirit orb, which you can use to refill with extra charges since his staff has limited power. 

Unlocking Frodi also meant unlocking my next animal companion: a minotaur! Now, just to be sure you understand, these animal companions in Asgard's Wrath aren’t exactly powerhouses—they’re more like sidekicks for fun and to help with puzzles rather than front-line fighters. That said, if you toss them a rage potion, they’ll go beast mode for a bit. By the way, it's super satisfying to throw stuff like that to your companion: potions, food, and whatnot. It’s great watching them catch and use it or throw it back. Anyway, the whole deal with the minotaur is that it can push large blocks out of the way to open up those blocked areas.

No need to bow, my dude . . . let's go wreck stuff!

All in all, Asgard's Wrath is doing a great job of keeping things awesome, and I’m excited to see where Frodi’s journey goes next. More updates to come!

Happy Dueling!

Breaking Through Bridges and (Almost) Breaking Bulbs in Asgard’s Wrath

I'm so happy I was able to play Asgard's Wrath again this weekend!  Jumping back in to play this game again was difficult for me for some reason.  I don't know if VR just felt too athletic an experience right now or if I was just too into Diablo, Brawl Stars, and all that other stuff I've been playing. I don't want to say I've been lazy with it, just haven't really been heavily wanting to play this game when I sit down . . . more like . . . lemme just veg out. 

That all said, I’ve made some progress in Asgard’s Wrath over the weekend! I’ve officially unlocked Astrid as a companion, which has added a whole new dynamic to the game. She's an Eagle Valkyrie with some solid ranged attacks. There’s something about her that feels cool. So far, she’s been essential not just for story but also for helping me navigate the game’s many puzzles.

EAGLE POWA!

And let me tell you, these puzzles are part of what make Asgard’s Wrath so satisfying. I do hope they get a bit more difficult as I go on here. Case in point: the recent God Puzzle challenge I encountered, the solution was pretty simple. I just had to grab a few pieces and assemble a broken bridge to allow my avatar to get across. Easy. If it's anything like my experience in AW2, it'll get much more complex later in the game.

Easy, make a bridge from two pieces. Got it.

The next puzzle I encountered however was more involved and brought Astrid into the mix. This time, I needed to lower a bridge to retrieve a handle, which was essential to get me ready for the upcoming fight with Tyr’s bruiser. The trick here was using Astrid's wind wings to blow a windmill that adjusted the wooden stops on either side of the bridge. The puzzle demanded some patience at first because I wasn't understanding what my eyes were seeing. I had to pay close attention to the stops on the right and left sides as the bridge lowered, making sure it hit just the right angle. After a bit of trial and error, the bridge finally lined up, and I got what I needed. It’s these kinds of puzzles, sprinkled throughout the gameplay, that make the world feel interactive and alive.

Lower a bridge . . . seemed easy enough at first.

Speaking of the Tyr’s Bruiser, that mini-boss fight was no joke. He’s one of those Etins who doesn’t give you much breathing room, and timing is everything. After blowing up the meteor above his head while he was summoning it a few times, it was game over and the game actually asked me to rip his two heads off, which was incredibly satisfying. Ripping the heads off an ettin wasn't on my dance card this weekend, but I'm so glad it happened.

Add another defeated enemy to the codex!

Overall I'd say my biggest hurdle to returning to play Asgard's Wrath again is simply parrying. After taking a break from the game, my timing was completely off, and I could feel it in every swing. Each missed parry is a reminder that this game’s combat demands a bit more precision than just sword wagging on an enemy. I’m slowly shaking off the rust, but getting that timing back has been a challenge all its own. 

Of course, the bruiser wasn’t the only danger I faced this weekend. In the heat of battle, I managed to pull off some accidental real-world damage to my finger—thanks to my current VR setup. Right now, my playspace has its own hazards: the most worrisome being a ceiling fan with exposed bulbs. I’m genuinely surprised I haven’t shattered a bulb by now. If I don’t swap out this fan for a regular light fixture soon, there’s bound to be an incident, especially since games like Asgard’s Wrath require some serious arm-swinging action.

Bandaid please!

In short, Asgard’s Wrath continues to keep me hooked with its thoughtful puzzles, intense battles, and a world that feels surprisingly immersive. Astrid’s arrival has marked a new phase in the adventure, adding a bit of guidance and grounding to the otherwise chaotic Norse world I’m navigating. Here’s hoping that next time, I’ll nail those parries without needing a Band-Aid in real life!

Happy Dueling!

Of Content Mills and Zones of the Month in Wizard101

I've been waxing a bit reminiscent lately about all my time and energy spent working on Wizard101. There are a few good stories in me from those days, and I'll have to write them out someday. Today, however, I'm thinking a lot about the Zone of the Month feature I instituted. 

I'm really fond of list projects like this that choose a random "thing" and expound on it a bit. It feels like there's a natural sense of surprise and collection to them that all feels good to me.

A couple examples of this here on my blog are how I used to do a pet of the day feature for Wizard101 or how I made a collection of wizard101 player mini-interviews and turned it into a card game. I LOVE IT! It's such an easy content mill for blogging.

Ahh, the Death Cyclops pet!

At Kingsisle I instituted (and it's still going on) the Puppet Pirates "of the month" comics with Jeff Toney where every month you have a new comic that fans caption. I instituted the Rogue's Gallery spotlights "of the month" that highlighted NPCs in Pirate101. Again, it's just a great content mill format that fans track and appreciate so much. 

When I was knee-deep in Wizard101 community management, I set my sights on bringing that content mill to the newsletter with something that seemed endless to me: all the freaking zones in Wizard101. There's a bajillion of them. You'll never run out of them! Even better, we still had access to the original zone-level designers, and I felt like it would be great to partner with them and pick their brains. 

When I was concepting the article, I asked my old coworker Natalie Akilian about how we handle zone pricing, and when I found out we could sneak in price changes with weekly maintenance, I sold our Marketing Manager on it and we were golden. I got approval to discount that zone to go along with the article and with the help of Natalie, we made it happen.

So there it was and my randomness led me to close my eyes and point to a list of zones and BAM, in the December 2017 Wizard101 Newsletter, I was gathering info on the Celestia Science Center, talking with the writers and designers, using the flycam to take screenshots, reading quest text, coordinating zone pricing, and working with the marketing web designer to make it happen.

The flycam let me get great shots like this one!

It went over surprisingly . . . quiet . . . at first. I think people were a bit confused, but eventually, the masses seemed to approve and the discount was actually what made people appreciate it the most. There typically weren't any discounts on zones for Crowns-only non-subscribers, so picking up a random zone on a discount was actually pretty welcome and unique. 

I kept that feature going strong each month up until my transition out of Marketing into Design in August 2018. So in the end I helped coordinate these:

• July 2018--Zone of the Month: Zanadu Sewers 
• June 2018--Zone of the Month: Pegasus Place 
• May 2018--Zone of the Month: The Wild 
• April 2018--Zone of the Month: The Crystal Grove 
• March 2018--Zone of the Month: Crescent Beach 
• February 2018--Zone of the Month: Savarstaad Pass 
• January 2018--Zone of the Month: Chamber of Fire 
• December 2017--Zone of the Month: Celestia Science Center

What's pretty great to see is that the Community Manager and Marketing Team kept that going well beyond what I started, which is impressive. 

• February 2020--Zone of the Month: Chronoverge
• January 2020--none 
• December 2019--none 
• November 2019--Zone of the Month: Aggrobah 
• October 2019--none 
• September 2019--Zone of the Month: Throne Room of Fire 
• August 2019--Zone of the Month: Jade Palace 
• July 2019--Zone of the Month: Regent's Square 
• June 2019--Zone of the Month: Sunken City 
• May 2019--Zone of the Month: Firecat Alley 
• April 2019--Zone of the Month: Pigswick Academy 
• March 2019--Zone of the Month: The Oasis 
• February 2019--Zone of the Month: Urville Station 
• January 2019--none 
• December 2018--Zone of the Month: Northeast Aero Plains 
• November 2018--Zone of the Month: Aeriel Shores 
• October 2018--Zone of the Month: Pet Pavillion (again) 
• September 2018--Zone of the Month: Pet Pavillion 
• August 2018--Zone of the Month: Wizard City Commons  

Good on 'em! I'm glad they kept it going as long as they did.

Seeing all this is making me wonder now, hmm. I wonder what it would be like if I brought this back on my personal blog? Obviously I couldn't direct zone discounts anymore, but it might be fun to let randomness once again direct a zone of the month. It certainly would get me back in the game and playing around more often!

I don't know ... I guess, don't be surprised if you see it pop up again here on TFN!

Happy Dueling!

Brawl Stars' Update -- From Scary Tales to Angels and Demons

In my last post, I was all about Count Pengula. Since then, things have only gotten better. Not only did I reach the end of the Brawl Pass with a few days left to spare, but the game kept the treats coming right up until the very end.

Dripping with Looty Goodness!

One of the biggest wins this Brawl-O-Ween has been my luck with those Halloween-themed loot boxes, Dead Boxes. They gave everyone 10 free Dead Boxes, and that made for some super looty goodness. I scored BOTH Cordelius and Moe! I would have been overjoyed with just one brawler, but TWO?! So good. And as if that wasn’t enough, the boxes coughed up a ton of Brawler Credits, which gave me just what I needed to unlock Chester and start unlocking Draco.

Mushroom boy!

And here’s another Halloween bonus: I earned Vamprimo, Primo’s vampire-themed skin, in one of the dead boxes too! The Halloween skins have been on point, and my collection just keeps growing.

Free skin?! I'll take it!

The biggest question still haunts Brawl Stars like a lingering ghost from Halloween: the mysterious “don’t tap” star. When I last wrote, it looked like a dark, Necronomicon-style book wrapped in chains. Now, the mystery has deepened. The book’s look has changed, morphing into a more traditional Brawl Stars-style book hiding behind shattered glass. The ominous chains are gone, and in their place is a single button that reads, “Turn Back.” Looming over it all is the title, “Angels vs. Demons—The End is Near.”

Is this the Angel version of the book?!

It feels like Brawl Stars is setting up something huge for the Angels and Demons event, tying it all back to that spooky star that’s had everyone curious. Could it be something game-changing? New lore? A surprise challenge? Whatever it is, the mystery is building up, and I’m here for it.

On the leveling front, I’m happy to report that Squeak is now fully upgraded! Next on the list for leveling are Primo, Bull, and Angelo. I’ve unlocked the hypercharges for each of them, so now it’s just a matter of gathering enough gold to max out their skills. Fingers crossed I can stay focused on that goal without getting distracted by the next shiny thing. That’s the genius of Brawl Stars, though—there’s always something new to chase after. Supercell knows exactly how to keep us coming back, which is probably why the game is thriving. According to an article on Pocket Gamer, 2024 might even be the game’s best financial year yet. In the first four months of this year alone, Brawl Stars generated more revenue than it did in all of 2023. That’s some impressive growth!

The Angels and Demons event is just kicking off, and it’s already off to a good start with a new Brawler named Juju available in the shop. Based on the past season, I’m guessing the new event will drop a whole lineup of celestial and infernal skins. If the Halloween event is any indicator, I’d bet we’re in for some good rewards and maybe a few surprises, especially if they tie in with that mysterious star.

Looks pretty cool! I'm sure I'll hate fighting against her.

Meanwhile, the Brawl Stars Championship 2024 is underway! I just tuned in recently, and although there’s no chance of me winning that exclusive Hypercharge, you can still catch today’s final matches and join the action at event.brawlstars.com. They’re offering rewards for voting on match winners, choosing MVPs, and even just watching the event live. The championship has added a whole new layer to this season of Brawl Stars, and it’s cool to see the game’s community come together for these final matches.

Imagine being on that stage!

This has been one of my favorite Brawl-O-Ween events so far, filled with surprises, incredible pulls, and that eerie star mystery that’s still dangling. As Brawl-O-Ween draws to a close, I’m ready to dive headfirst into Angels and Demons, waiting to see what awaits on the other side of that shattered glass.

Whether the “Turn Back” button is a warning or an invitation…we’ll find out soon enough.

Happy Dueling!

Cartwheeling through Halloween -- Diablo IV's Meat or Treat

Wassup Ghouls and Boys! Just hopping back in to give you all a progress update on my journey through the Vessel of Hatred expansion, especially as I journey into the new Halloween “Meat or Treat” event. Dylan and I managed to snag some rewards from it, though we didn’t spend too much time online—really we came to score the free Halloween loot and then jumped into the Infernal Hordes event.

Free spooky horse!

We ran the Infernal Hordes event when our Spiritborn were younger, but we discovered the Infernal Hordes had a bit of extra magic to them because I finally got the boots I was hunting for and completed my “infinite evade” eagle build! I wrote about this build in my last post, Cartwheeling Past the End of D4's Expansion, and now, thanks to a timely gear drop, the build is going great! We were playing on Torment 1, so honestly, it wasn’t the most challenging battle of all time, but hey, it’s fun to roll with my homie.

I’ve heard some rumors floating around about the effectiveness of Torment difficulty levels, with people saying that higher Torments don’t seem to yield better gear. While I haven’t completely confirmed this yet and it's probably hearsay, it’s enough to have me wondering if sticking with the lower difficulties might be the way to go for a bit.

Explosions, stuff, and things!

On a fun side note, I actually stumbled upon a Mythic Unique while trading Obols: the Nesekem, The Herald glaive. Ended up salvaging and reforging it, but no dice—it didn’t produce anything that fit my current build better. It would’ve been cool to keep as a collector’s item, but since it doesn’t really gel with any strong builds, I had to let it go. It’s all part of the Mythic Unique chase, though, right?

So, that’s where I’m at for now. The Halloween event’s been a treat (no tricks… so far), and as always, the search for the perfect gear rolls on.

Driving that Tren to the End of Dreams

My recent move had me hooking up my Playstation 4 again and remembering all the good times I had playing Dreams. Naturally, the next thing I did was to set up my PSVR and put in that CD so I could revisit my old creations. What happened was a bittersweet trip down memory lane because while checking out my worlds, I stumbled upon Tren, a recently released, delightful little puzzle game tucked within Dreams. 

Tren immediately captured my attention with its toy train charm and super chill puzzle mechanics. However, this joy feels a little tinged with a sense of loss. Media Molecule has scaled back support for Dreams, and for the time being, there’s no PSVR2 compatibility on the horizon—a clear signal that this chapter is closing. The Dream of Dreams is still here, but it's a shadow of what it used to be, and only time will tell until the nightmare of its sunset is inevitable.

To be honest, the addition of Tren to Dreams is pretty puzzling in and of itself. It's a fully fleshed-out game within a game making it truly a hidden flatscreen gem inside a VR creation engine. I mean, I guess it isn't as puzzling when you figure Tren is built by THEE John Beech. He's such a cool developer. I loved reading his bio and to think that this, from a former construction worker turned creative director, is all because he was amazing at making Little Big Planet levels back in the day.

Maybe they were thinking that by adding this game people would see that Dreams isn't just a VR game builder but a flat-screen game builder as well? or maybe it was just getting this game out there before the end was here? Maybe it was just too good not to release? I'm really not sure, but if you own Dreams, you should check out Tren. It's pretty amazing.

Gushing in charm

In the end, Dreams was never just a game; it was a toolkit that unlocked creativity for everyday players. Media Molecule designed Dreams as a creative platform for ideas where players could build anything, from games to art. There were a lot of problems with the platform by its very nature: it took more effort and technical understanding than the average player might expect, and achieving real creative freedom meant a steep learning curve. Nonetheless, those who mastered the toolkit produced a bunch of cool stuff. If it ever fully dies, it'll leave a gap in the creative VR gaming landscape that’ll be hard to replace. I don't know if we'll ever get a VR creativity platform quite like it.

I guess what I love most about it is that Dreams’s inclusion of VR wasn’t just a side feature; it was integral to the game's vision. At the time, Dreams was one of the few platforms enabling users to build VR content without traditional game development skills. Unfortunately, VR development is costly, and without widespread headset adoption, the platform always had a niche, but very cool, community with no way for its potential whales to keep it afloat like they do with MMOs.

I suppose Dreams faced another particularly high hurdle since it's also a platform that needs constant updates, moderation, and support for the community. It really feels like for VR developers, breaking even is difficult when the target audience remains relatively small compared to traditional gaming.

Enter 2023 . . . Sony’s PSVR2 didn't warmly hug backwards compatibility with PSVR1, and that was probably the beginning of the end. 

I feel like current creative VR platforms have something to offer but lack that accessible, playful approach that Dreams championed. The spirit of Little Big Planet lived on in this game, and that's part of what made it fun. Sure, platforms like Rec Room and VRChat allow creative expression but really lean heavily toward building social spaces rather than in-depth game creation. For advanced creators, VR-supported engines like Unity and Unreal offer immense power, but they’re beyond reach for most casual users. A lot of people seem to be gravitating to other platforms like Resonite, but  . . . I don't know . . . it feels like Dreams held a unique spot, bridging the gap between professional tools and hands-on play while always oozing with charm.

Dreams will leave its legacy as a trailblazer in user-generated VR content. Its maintenance mode is a reminder that even the most ambitious projects face challenges in balancing creativity with commercial viability. For now, those who cared can look back at our creations, hold to the worlds we built, and hope that one day, another platform will allow us to pick up where we left off. Until then, the memories, the charm of Tren, and the spirit of Dreams live on.

Happy Dueling!

Clutch Putting a Synthwave 8-bit Lair

Picking up where I left off after Mars Gardens, I had to dive headfirst into Walkabout Minigolf’s latest 8-bit Lair course. After playing through it, I can confidently say this course is an absolute blast, with tons of reimagined 80's retro flair. 

Welcome to Vectorland!

The 8-bit Lair is set in a retro corporate hideout where you arrive to work your way through three floors, or levels as it were, eventually putting your way right into the digital heart of the villain’s lair. 

On the first floor, you meet your digitized boss and start in an office setting where things are in total chaos. Picture Breakout-styled cubes as obstacles, mixed with classic office vibes—think desk clutter, paperwork, and cubicles, all arranged for you to putt around and through. One hole is even, as your evil boss (Vincent Vector) puts it, your new prison/cubicle. 

Putting around floor one of VectorTech

Next, you reach the floor that really won me over: the arcade. This isn’t just any arcade, either. It’s loaded with everything from a disco floor to a few fully functional arcade machines! The machines might only use simple joystick commands that are a little tricky with VR controllers, but hey, it works! I loved the detail here, like the top-down sports car racer game. Overall it’s like stepping into an 80s fever dream, complete with collecting coins while putting for those hole-in-ones.

Every corporation, evil or not, needs a level of their offices dedicated to 80's arcades

On the third level, you get hints about the evil boss’s grand plan: creating a digital world for him to control and converting real-world objects into digital cubes. I'm pretty sure if you ever watched Tron as a kid, you'll be having the same I-see-what's-going-on-here reaction that I did. Anyway, the lab has that kind of slap-stick sci-fi flick vibe, where really you're just being set up for the showdown in the final digital world section of the course.

Vector's off-limits lab on floor 3

Because, yes, the last quarter of the course throws you into an 80’s Synthwave digital landscape, bringing that classic Tron vibe to life. The graphics are all retro-futuristic, the music is a play on Axel F, and it's like stepping into an 8-bit world where you end up putting right into the heart of the evil boss himself! In classic boss-fight style, you blow him up, and hopefully, come away with a solid score.

He even looks like a Recognizer from Tron

One of my favorite parts of this game mode, as per usual, is collecting the hidden balls. The balls you find are all 80s-styled, and it’s awesome seeing them added to my collection alongside those from other courses. On the hard part of the course, you will also get a fun fox hunt to acquire a new digitized golf club. I had to look up clue 13 to be honest . . . and that makes me mad. I was so close to finding that clue on my own, but just didn't think to look down. Ahh well.

nice club!

Also, as per usual, the course is more fun to play with friends, and yesterday I was able to join my buddies from the RuffTalk VR channel in a round through the easy course. We spent our time searching for the hidden balls and talking each other through the details we spotted around the course. And I’d love to say my VR headset didn’t try to sabotage me this time, but…well, it did. My attached battery just couldn’t keep up with the battery drain, so I was crashing out right at the end, which could have cost me my first-place win! Guess I’ve gotta keep my headset better charged for these pop-up game nights.

For the win!

All in all, the 8-bit Lair is a must-play if you’re a fan of Walkabout Minigolf. From the unique floor themes to the arcade and virtual world scenes, it’s packed with great touches and loads of nostalgic charm. Plus, I’m just glad to post about it on time, not “$4 short and a month late” for once. I’ll definitely be jumping back in for another round soon.

Happy Dueling!