On Saturday, one day after landing in San Francisco, I led some of the first year Comics MFA students on a tour of some of the best local comic shops. Our first stop was Isotope the Comic Book Lounge, followed by Comix Experience, Whatever (helpfully suggested by James at Isotope), and Mission Comics and Art. …
Category: News
Jun 30
GearHead2 v0.630: Moving Right Along
I’ve just uploaded GearHead2 v0.630 to GitHub. This completes the move away from the old repository, and sets the baseline for future development. It’s not a very exciting release, but it does fix some longstanding bugs and add a couple of interface improvements. Check below the fold for the full list of changes.
Jun 28
GearHead on itch.io
I’ve just created a page for GearHead-1 on itch.io. I like that site. I have no idea whether anyone will leave a tip for me there, but at the very least it’s one more place to get out the message that GearHead is still kicking. I’ll probably upload my comics and other games some time …
Jun 27
GH1v1.302: Dawn of Bear Bastard
I’ve just uploaded GearHead 1 v1.302 to GitHub. This release adds the first new content of my recent revisions in the form of two new lancemates. The Fan is a wannabe cavalier; they might not be very good at adventuring yet, but they have a lot of room for growth. Bear Bastard is the leader …
Jun 23
The Problems of GearHead2
So I’ve started playing GearHead2. In certain ways, GH2 is much more advanced than GH1. In other ways, it’s a giant mess. Most of GH2’s problems are the direct result of my not having clear goals. My first intention was for GH2 to encompass the entire GearHead universe, planet by planet. However, instead of deciding …
Jun 22
Fixing up plots
This week I’ve been updating some of the plots from the early days of GearHead development. Many of them have serious problems- they don’t scale difficulty to renown properly, lack email or memos, and deal poorly when the player character goes off-script. The easiest way to update missions, or at least the way that will …
Jun 15
GearHead Caramel Engine Installed
I’ve made a new commit to GearHead Caramel; the low level UI stuff from Dungeon Monkey Eternal has been added as the engine module. The screen is dynamically resizable, just like in the current version of GearHead-1. The next step will be the scenes module. There still isn’t much to get excited about, but I …
Jun 10
Expanding the Blueprints
Engine or Game? One of the eternal debates in amateur gamedev is the distinction between a game and an engine. After making RPGs for twenty years, I’ve come to the conclusion that I do have an engine, it’s just not very engine-y. If you take a look through every game I’ve ever made, you’ll find …
Jun 09
Building a New Foundation
I’ve just submitted my final thesis packet, and have a few weeks to breathe before heading to San Francisco in July for the last part of my MFA program. So, obviously, I’ve been thinking about the new GearHead game. Most of the parts are going to be taken from Dungeon Monkey Eternal, plus some improvements …