MKSchmidt

I'm okay with the virtual one :)

It's definitely not what I had in mind, but it's also an interesting and different way to think about the concept. How to maintain a locations essence while updating it's physical parameters ... good question!

Are the Kingsfield games playable anywhere right now? I think they were PS1?

And if so, are they as hard as the Dark Souls games? I have trouble with those, even though I think they are pretty cool.

That sounds great!

True, I am familiar with a lot of Zelda games, but the maps seems to change from one to the next quite a bit. I pretty much stopped playing after Twilight Princess though.

I'm surprised this kind of thing isn't more common, or maybe just that I have not encountered it more often.

Nice, interesting! I have not played them yet.

Do you have know any games that revisit the same locations through multiple installments? What are your favorites?

I guess this happened to some degree with the Ultima games. Visiting and revisiting Britannia in Ultima IV, V and later installments could be seen as a similar kind of set up.

The sense of recognition was a key in the lore building. The Zone was no longer just the setting for a game, but it was a "real" place ... or more real than I expected it to be. The location became as or more important than the gameplay to me in many ways.

But it did not take long for me to realize that was a bad take. Being able to revisit familiar places offered something really unique, that I could not really put my finger on.

I could on one hand see people complain that they just reused all the environment art. This was one of my first thoughts when I played Clear Sky way back when...

One of the things I love about STALKER 2, and the series in general, is being able to revisit locations from the original game. In a way, the locations become characters in the story, and acquire a legendary aspect. Here is the abandoned train depot which usually serves as a bandit hideout...

It's also tough going from monochromatic to color. There is a whole other dimension to think about.

It's not hardware authentic in any way, just a color palette.

Thanks! Yes it is the CGA mode 5 palette. Surprisingly versatile if you ask me.

I don't normally advocate going this hard with the realism, but STALKER is its own thing. The realism is always in service of the atmosphere, and that is what I really love about the games.

😅

A new STALKER 2 screenshot for fun...
#ScreenshotSaturday

I'm glad you said that. There are some things that are just mindlessly hostile, but many of the more prominent creatures can be allied with, if you find the means.

The tent is literally a game changer :)

No worries! Remember "Schmidt" is basically "Smith" in German :)

Cyclopean: The Great Abyss on Steam Cyclopean: The Great Abyss is a small scale, mechanics driven CRPG/Roguelike in a retro, monochromatic style, that takes place in the underworld of H.P. Lovecraft's Dreamlands.

Thanks! I'm hoping to have a small demo of Cyclopean II: The Dreamlands ready for Next Fest later this month. But you can play the original - Cyclopean: The Great Abyss - right now (it also has a free demo).

store.steampowered.com/app/2958790/...

No, just two different Schmidts who happen to share an interest in game dev.

Thanks Jake! It means a lot coming from you.

Yes, you can use the direction keys (WASD) to navigate menus and SPACE to as the mouse-click. It it a bit clunky though.

Voonith - large, aggressive amphibians - are chasing me and scaring all the zebras. Eventually I had to intercede in one of their battles, as I felt responsible for the whole mess.
#ScreenshotSaturday #CRPG #Zebras

I would love to hear any thoughts you have about it, if you ever felt like sharing. Wondering if you are playing the standard game or in roguelike-mode?

I have added this new feature of showing enemies up close during encounters. But I forgot to make their regular sprite invisible, so it looks like there are two Voonith here, instead of just one. It scared me for a moment because I thought they were multiplying!
#ScreenshotSaturday #CRPG #GameDev

I will acknowledge that this was not my genre of choice back then. So I am not entirely familiar, but the disaster films since something like 2012 seem to have really solidified the formula.