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The Rise, Fall and Future of Lore: Why Recent Indie Games Failed and How to Fix Them

Editorials
lore based games cr yurika corporation

Lore and worldbuilding have the power to ignite passion in players and fuel an immersive experience. At their best, lore-driven games create a sense of mystery and discovery that motivate players to explore each part of the world. However, some recent games have exploited lore and ambiguity primarily as a marketing tactic, rather than using it to enhance gameplay or build meaning. This phenomenon highlights the need for more balanced, player-centered design. When developers commit to transparency and ethical practices, lore can be used to strengthen community trust and craft impactful stories. But that depends on valuing immersion and artistry over profits alone. We’ll dive into the history of lore focused games, what happened and where to go from here. This is all inclusive of the entire indie scene, even if there’s a heavy emphasis on mascot horror. It makes the best example and we’ll avoid referencing mascot horror to…

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Who Are Inarius and Lilith and What is Sanctuary (No Game Spoilers)

Guides

Players can be quite confused at who Inarius and Lilith when they have almost no exposure to either of them before Diablo IV’s launch. Inarius is a rogue angel and Lilith is a rogue demon who created Sanctuary as a means to escape the Eternal Conflict between angels and demons over the Worldstone (the focus of Diablo II). They birthed the nephalem which eventually over time became humanity. That’s everything. We have a ton of technical lore history below, but if you’re just curious who they are that’s about the best summary I think you can have. When they introduce themselves in the game as the mother and father of Sanctuary, they’re not lying. There’s a lot more technical info on the situation than that, but we first need to talk about what came about to cause them to create Sanctuary. We’ll then go into a mixed bag of topics…

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Limited Inventory in SIGNALIS is Paradoxical Yet Intentional

Editorials
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SIGNALIS only allows for six inventory spaces and many players do not like the concept at all. So much so the developers have responded noting that they’re working on iterating on some kind of change that doesn’t remove the spirit of the gameplay but alleviates some of the player concerns. For me, I find the entire debate fascinating. The issue stems from the way that the game presents the inventory as sort of a puzzle challenge, akin to games likes Resident Evil. It forces the player into a set playstyle, something modern gamers aren’t very appreciative of, where you will always optimize your run by not bringing ammo and only carrying one weapon. That gives you five inventory slots for all other items. Yet, players who play the game on Easy or Normal will likely want to play aggressively and in doing so will want different weapon options, lots of…

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SIGNALIS – The Story & Ending Explained

Guides
signalis

SIGNALIS is sort of an enigma of a game. It’s a great recapture of the feeling of the “5th generation” era of gaming and is actually a lot of fun. While its considered a survival-horror game, its more akin to an action-stealth game like Metal Gear Solid and less like Resident Evil per se. However, it has a very interesting, wild and convoluted story that needs a bit of explanation. Another thing to note is a three person team worked on this game. I touch a bit on this in my article about meetings at video game studios, but a lot of the game is clearly intentional from a development standpoint. Which is why SIGNALIS feels so buttoned up. SIGNALIS Is an Analog Horror Simulator That’s it, that’s as simple as it is. Everything in the game is built around a dream like experience of that 5th generation era of…

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Avoiding Popular Online Video Game Scams

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Over the years automation has taken a powerful hold on online social commentary and allows fraudsters to launch their attacks and scams at scales never seen before. While you’re online, you’re going to want to think of your personal and financial safety when you engage in any monetary transaction. The thing is, it’s very easy to blur the lines between what’s a monetary transaction online and what’s a simple click of a button. Fraudsters use this and launch complicated attacks via bots and other methods to target online users in a variety of categories. Scammers are going try everything they can to separate you from your possessions (virtual and real). Today we’re going to delve into the nuances of scams in the world of video games and MMOs, however the best place to start with the topic is the US Government’s “How to Avoid a Scam” article produced by the…

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How to Get Players Invested into your DnD or Table Top RPG Campaign

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wood luck business game

You can make an analogy that a game of Dungeons and Dragons or Vampire the Masquerade or any table top RPG is actually like a 4v1 game like Dead by Daylight except it can be more or less players depending on your group. This asymmetrical dance has the dungeon master as the one responsible for keeping everyone’s attention and guiding the events of the game while the players fight against their machinations in a world they’ve either created or borrowed from a wealth of wonderful artists. There’s so much information out there on the many ways to craft stories and many stories to borrow from that are engaging and today we’re not talking about the specific stories; we’re talking about getting the players invested into the story. That starts with a few things. Ignore Popular Advice I usually love popular advice for many reasons; if it works for enough people…

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Inscryption’s Story Explained + Kaycee’s Mod

Guides
inscryption hero

The story of Inscription, the video game, can be confusing while playing through the game. We break it down into each of its elements and explain the entire story of Inscryption, what’s going on in the cabin and beyond. To get started, let’s just note that massive spoilers are ahead! Be sure you’re ready for spoilers as we dive deep into the game and explain almost everything, including some of the subplots. We do not go deep into the ARG elements though. Daniel Mullin Games (sort of a multiverse) have an ongoing ARG involving GameFuna since Pony Island and beyond. We only will focus on the in-game content here, although you can find the ending of the ARG below as well. Who is Doing What You’re playing as someone who is reviewing the camera footage recorded by Luke Carder. Who this is, is not known and isn’t relevant to the…

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Five Nights at Freddy’s Security Breach Tips and All Endings Guide & Walkthrough

Guides
map bot

Five Nights at Freddy’s Security Breach is the first 3D action survival horror game in the FNAF series. You take on the role of Gregory who wakes up inside of Glamrock Freddy in a Pizzaplex that is in a state of chaos. We’ve compiled some tips below to help you survive the night along with how to obtain the game’s various endings. The biggest tip of all is to understand that the game is linear but not completely linear. Areas are gated past passes that are only given out at certain times and in certain areas. However, how you upgrade Freddy and how you proceed can be completely up to you. You can see your available missions anytime on the watch. Scott Cawthon retired which means that the series is moving on now with him taking a less hands on approach. However, it’s very clear in Security Breach that Steel…

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Where Are Dune Video Games At?

Editorials
dunepartone

Dune is such a good book, at least book one. It’s so good and it’s rife with political intrigue and a world that, as someone who is creative, is just jealous to read it. It deprives me of the ability to come up with most of the ideas on my own. Removing ranged weapons with personal shields is just such a fun way to completely upend sci-fi combat. Woah, upend combat? That’s…. sounding like something that would be a really good game. You’ve got massive political intrigue, tons of lore, places to visit and a combat system that’s very unique. So, where the games at? Oh not looking for something that’s not sci-fi to play, try give FFXIV a try. It’s more fantasy based and way less focused on spicepunk like Dune. The Games that Exist The following Dune games exist and you’ll see something troubling very quickly: Game NameYearGenreSystemsDune1992Adventure…

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Is Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack Worth It?

Editorials
nintendo switch expansion pass worth it

The answer is a resounding: of course, it’s up to you to answer is Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack worth it. It’s an objective answer because there’s a few things in play with the question: do you play Animal Crossing or not? If you do, then it’s obviously very much worth it. If you don’t, then well… we dive deeper into that below. Prices validated as of 2023. Since this is a personal decision, let’s start with facts before we share opinion: Price The price boils down to the below: Nintendo Switch OnlineExpansion Pack1 Month: $3.993 Month: $7.9912 Month: $19.99Family (12 Months, 8 Accounts): $34.9912 Months: $49.99$30 increaseFamily Membership (12 Months, 8 Accounts): $79.99$40 increaseComparison between Nintendo Switch Online and the Expansion Pack Features Nintendo Switch OnlineExpansion PackOnline PlayNES & Super NES Game LibraryCloud Game SavesSmartphone AppVoice in Multiplayer (via App)Special Offers (free items in some games)Ability to purchase…

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