Dungeons & Dragons Saved My Life

» The CRPG Renaissance, Part 4: …Long Live Dungeons & Dragons! The Digital Antiquarian

In December of 1997, Interplay Entertainment released Descent to Undermountain, the latest licensed Dungeons & Dragons computer game. It’s remembered today, to whatever extent it’s remembered at all, as one of the more infamous turkeys of an era with more than its share of over-hyped and half-baked creations, a fiasco almost on par with Battlecruiser 3000AD or Daikatana. The game was predicated on the dodgy premise that Dungeons & Dragons would make a good fit with the engine from Descent, Interplay’s last world-beating hit — and also a hit that was, rather distressingly for Brian Fargo and his colleagues, more than two years in the past by this point.

The CRPG Project

I’ve been thinking about computer RPGs a lot recently, and trying to play a bunch. There’s a quality that I’ve always loved about especially older computer RPGs: you really felt t…

I Started Programming When I Was 7. I'm 50 Now, and the Thing I Loved Has Changed | James Randall

I still love developing but the shifts that AI have brought are tectonic and are forcing me to re-evaluate my own relationship to building things

Play old games: They're good and good for you

With prices skyrocketing and more and more bad news about contemporary video games every day, here's a suggestion: play old games!

D&D Beyond | Play Your Way With the Official D&D Toolset | Dungeons & Dragons

Play Dungeons & Dragons with digital tools on D&D Beyond: character builder, encounter and campaign management, and Maps VTT for running adventures online or in person.

Dungeon Master's Guide (5.5e)

Excite your imagination with the Dungeon Master’s Guide (5.5e), revised and expanded for fifth edition D&D! Whether you're a new or experienced Dungeon Master, here's everything you need to weave epic tales, build fantastical worlds, and inspire memorable moments for your party to enjoy. Level up your game with a DM screen and 50 character sheets. The Digital edition is only $10 when you choose Digital + Physical.

» The CRPG Renaissance, Part 5: Fallout 2 and Baldur’s Gate The Digital Antiquarian

As we learned in the earlier articles in this series, Interplay celebrated the Christmas of 1997 with two new CRPGs. One of them, the striking post-apocalyptic exercise called Fallout, was greeted with largely rave reviews. The other, of course, was the far less well-received licensed Dungeons & Dragons game called Descent to Undermountain. The company intended to repeat the pattern in 1998, with another Fallout and another Dungeons & Dragons game. This time, however, the public’s reception of the two efforts would be nearly the polar opposite of last time.

I’m learning to code at 56. Here’s an epic beat-down of my critical inner self.

By VM Vaughn I’m 56 years old and learning to code. Why? Because I love it. And I’ve got a knack for it. That doesn’t mean it’s easy. It’s hard. And that’s OK. I love losing myself in an algorithm challenge. I love squeezing in a few extra minutes te...

Programmers: Before you turn 40, get a plan B (2009) | Hacker News

In 25 years there has never been a moment when I wasn't in love with learning the latest cutting edge tech.

What I've Learnt After Making My First Hobby Game

A lot of people (myself included) get into software development because of computer games — as a kid, I was amazed at computer games and always curious about how it was made. However, after finally getting into the industry, most people (myself included) end up not doing game development.

The Age of Early Divinity

If you're the sort of person who reads this blog, you're probably the sort of person who wastes time wondering what we should name the age we are living in,…

» The CRPG Renaissance, Part 2: Might and Magic VI The Digital Antiquarian

From the 1980s until well into the 1990s, the CRPG genre was typically dumped into the same broad bucket as the adventure game by the gaming press. Indeed, as late as the turn of the millennium, Computer Gaming World magazine had an “Adventure/RPG” department, complete with regular columnists whose beat encompassed both genres. Looking back, this lack of distinction might strike us as odd: CRPGs, which are to a greater or lesser extent simulations of an imaginary world with a considerable degree of emergent behavior, are far more procedurally intensive than traditional adventure games and provide a very different experience.

The secret life of a games programmer: I’ve lived my dream and it came up short | Anonymous

‘Passion’ meant working six days a week –16-hour days. I still play games, but having seen the inside of the sausage factory they’ll never be the same again

36 important life and work lessons a top tech executive learned before turning 30

The days are long but the decades are short.

Gaming is not the most important thing in my life

This is what people ask when they find out what I do. I have a stock answer: Super Mario 64. It's probably not my favorite game, but it satisfies people. It's a game they've heard of and that we all can agree was important. It's one of my favorite games, sure, but that's where my love for it ends.