After about 5 years or so of development, I’m announcing and committing to a (tentative) release date of Monday, May 3, 2021 for my indie game “True King,” tentatively for Windows PC.
Why announce the date now after so long? Why not release it sooner as intended? The reasons are more complicated than I expected…
… I might need to change the subtitle to my game.
About a year ago, I posted about an attempt to run a gaming event in Michigan. It was canceled at the last minute, but it’s trying again this year as “GLGX” (Great Lakes Game Expo) on February 18 – 21, 2021. And it’s online only, so it won’t be canceled! Nothing stops the Internet!
GLGX Event Logo. Post it everywhere!
The title of this blog post might be the most click-bait-y one I’ve ever written.
My friends know I’m old-fashioned, and don’t like where trends in general have gone in my industry. I don’t like “software-as-a-service,” where a user has to pay a monthly subscription regardless to how frequently the thing was used that month, forcing updates when the user least wants it, and creating a never-ending job of growing complexity to the developer. I don’t like my things being put in the “cloud” to access anywhere, where anyone could access it anywhere, and where there isn’t a tangible, single place where it’s stored and secure.
But I admit “cloud-gaming” is most certainly the future, and that it has benefits. I think it’ll take over, not because of those benefits, but because of the way games are today.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve come to appreciate the value of story in games from a different perspective.
I’m not writing this blog post to argue what aspect of a game is more important. Of course, gameplay is what makes a game a game, even though many game experiences don’t have gameplay at all, and even though the measurement of “fun” is still debated among critics. My games focus on visual design first, for that’s the first thing most people see in screenshots and video, and if a game doesn’t look good or unique, then really, what’s the point of making it for pubic release against a sea of millions of other games? Music is the most elemental way to create emotional ties and memories, and can make a game more accessible when designed the right way. And story gives the player context, and gives them reason to press forward, to play for just a few minutes longer.
But these are common observations from a player’s perspective. What about from a developer’s perspective?
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So something happened around March 2020 that required me to work from home. So I took a nap for the last 5 months, and just woke up now. Let’s check the news to see what I missed.
… oh God.
