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Hi everybody!

I've been keeping at it with the blog posts. I just posted a new one today on our cooking system, but it looks like the previous two I haven't posted here! So here's the most recent stuff all together. :-0

Moving from Concept to Actual Game
Building the Thief Minigame
Building the Cooking System

Another person here who likes tetris-style inventory in general. I agree that it's done well in Subnaughtica. Another good example from recent history would be Dredge. I didn't really enjoy it too much, but I think the inventory system was a good choice given what they were trying to achieve. As SoTK says, I think it depends on the type of game and what you are trying to do.

I'm also a big fan of encumbrance, even in RPGs. I agree that it often feels arbitrary / tacked on, and it seems clear a lot of players don't like it at all given the popularity of mods to remove / massively increase it in games like Skyrim. But people play RPGs for a lot of different reasons. Personally I usually like it when they have survival mechanics as a way to help you feel immersed in the world. Certainly I wouldn't play a Bethesda game without those features modded in quite heavily.

I've added a GUMPS style Ultima inventory system to Innkeep this year, although it's specifically used for handling the stealing side of the game. One of the downsides of that system (think UO, Ultima 7, Ultima 8) was the clutter it created. With items overlapping / hiding other items it could be a real pain to organize what you had. But if you -want- items to hide other items (because you are hunting around for things in somebody elses belongings, for example) then it's pretty neat.  It's also just very tactile. I'd love to see more games bringing back GUMPs. 

Hi all!

I've rebooted my series of dev diaries for youtube.

Now with video editing, and a script. Phoar!

Hope you enjoy it. <3

Hi everybody.

I'm busy beavering away with Innkeep development. If you'd like to get caught up to speed, I've made a few blog posts!

https://innkeepgame.com/end-of-year-developer-update/

https://innkeepgame.com/conversations-and-clues-in-innkeep/

Hello fellow Inn-themed game developer! :-) :-) This looks lovely.

Very fancy looking! I like how you can rotate your view within a square that you're in.

Welcome to Exilian! This looks really cool! I'm reminded of Wing Commander Armada.

Hey all!

I've got some pretty cool news to share. Innkeep has a publisher! They are a new pub set up by industry veterans.

Here's a bit more detail over on steam:

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/925500/view/6807840020993584268

Hi Rob! You sound like a good fit for Exilian! :-)

Hey everyone!

Welp, I'm still working on Innkeep. And I'm happy to say it's finally been covered in Rock Paper Shotgun! :-)

Currently pivoting with some core systems, and I'm looking forward to sharing more soon.

Beautifully written. I feel like I was there too. Thank you for sharing. :-)

I have not been to Italy since I was 20, when I did some olive picking in Abruzzi and visited Rome (fun memory: I was kicked out of the Borghese Gallery for taking photos when I failed to see the no photograph signs).

Speaking of little European states, my sister's husband is from Monaco, and they have been looking at buying their own apartment right on the Italian border. Maybe I'll have my chance to visit again not too long from now. :-)

I gave it a spin last night. Seems like it's coming along nicely. Lovely art. Really nice work on the little icons.

I finished the whole thing the other night, and I quite enjoyed it. At first I thought he was spending rather a lot of time time just talking with Fugal (current owner of Skinwalker Ranch) and his 'team', but in the end I could see his approach worked well for showing what these people are like. The key figures are predominantly fantasists (Bigalow, Fugal), but they also enjoy the grift. They like to think they are doing something extremely special, but on some level know it's all just entertainment. The capacity to hold those two conflicting attitudes in their minds at once is fascinating. One can be both a child and an adult at the same time, in different ways, in different contexts.

The intersection with Mormon theology was fascinating too. Greenstreet's own mormon background certainly turned out to be useful for this insight.

I found a related article on this topic.

I've still only just started watching it (I'll have to split it over a few evenings) but already fascinated to learn that Hal Puthoff was with project STARGATE. A great example for showing that 'the government' is not an all-knowing entity that operates in some purely rational manner. It's huge, messy, and like the general population at large, has its share of cranks. If you know how to say the right things, or get in the right ear, you can (historically at least) get money cleared for staring at goats.

Oh wow. The journalist at the New York Post covering this story (Steven Greenstreet) has released a 3 hour and 50 minute breakdown on youtube.