How to Install Telepath RPG: Servants of God

Since the release of the AIR build of Telepath RPG: Servants of God, I’ve been getting a lot of questions about how to install the game. This post will stand as the definitive guide to doing just that. This post primarily concerns installation of the game in Windows, but the…

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TSoG Update: AIR build released

I’ve now officially released the first AIR build of Telepath RPG: Servants of God! This version of the game runs on Windows, Mac and Linux alike using a single installer. To install, make sure you have Adobe AIR–it’s free and available right here. Install AIR first–once that’s taken care of,…

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Chicago Comic Con is go!

Hey folks, good news! Sinister Design is going to have a booth at this year’s Chicago Comic Con! The show hours are as follows: Thursday, August 11, 2011:    5pm – 9pm Friday, August 12, 2011:    12 NOON – 8pm Saturday, August 13, 2011:    10am – 7pm Sunday,…

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Using Details to Craft a Coherent Game World

The RPG is an inherently inelegant creature. It is something of a Frankenstein monster, a suite of different gameplay systems stitched together into a shambling chimera. Character creation, simulated markets, item management, navigation, combat, stealth, dialogue, puzzles, class and skill trees–as a developer, it is difficult enough simply to make…

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Gearing up for the next big update

Soon–within the next few weeks–I’m going to release an updated version of Telepath RPG: Servants of God. Starting with that update, the game is going to be distributed exclusively as an AIR installer, meaning that it can be installed and played on any computer that runs Windows, Mac or Linux.…

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12 ways to improve turn-based RPG combat systems

In my last opinion piece, I provoked a certain subsection of the world of RPG enthusiasts by slaughtering a particularly sacred cow: the D&D-style combat system. A surprising number of people wrote in agreeing with me. Predictably, however, others responded in one of two ways: (1) “So you think a…

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The battle system I wish RPGs would stop using

Dungeons and Dragons, son of Chainmail, is the great granddaddy of the modern role-playing game. Its importance cannot be overstated: not only was it revolutionary for its time, it has also directly inspired many of the early computer RPGs on which the genre is now based. Because of D&D’s power…

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The advantages of shattering your game

Sometimes, in order to save something, you have to shatter it. Making Telepath RPG: Servants of God has taught me some hard lessons about the importance of modularity in designing a larger game. I’ve finally reached a point where, in order to finish creating the game, I must break it…

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