Dev Links: Airlock

Some of today’s Developer Links focus on RPGs, such as a discussion of RPG genres, and a look at prospective JRPGS of 2013.

focus on RPGs, such as a discussion of RPG genres, and a look at prospective JRPGS of 2013. There are more general matters covered too, though, like the problems with achievements, and what developers can use instead.

Beta FAQ and Official Closed Beta Contests(The Behemoth Developer Blog)“It’s been about a week since we announcedthe Beta Registration Formfor the upcoming BattleBlock Theater Beta. We’ve collected a few questions from the community and put together a Frequently Asked Questions PDF just for you!”

Mapping: Descent(Natural Selection 2)“Over the past week or so, our attenae have detected an increased interest in maps. Mo’ maps. Where are the maps? UWE, make new maps. Why is UWE not making new maps? Etc. Luckily, we are! Cory and his dedicated crew of environment / concept artists and mappers are spending long hours working on new official maps. Here are some glimpses of a few:…”

2013 Looks Like a Good Year for the JRPG(Zeboyd Games)“JRPG fans don’t look like they’ll be hurting for new games to play in 2013 however. On the home consoles, we’ve got Ni no Kuni coming out tomorrow with Tales of Xillia (which from what I’ve heard is one of the best Tales games to date), and Final Fantasy XIII-3 later this year. Also, Pandora’s Tower (Wii) & Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (WiiU/3DS) for the Action/Adventure/RPG lovers.”

Lostcast 28: IndieHub Game Run(Lost Decade Games)“ Lostcast is the Lost Decade Games podcast, where we talk about running our independent HTML5 game company. New to the show? Get your feet wet with our most popular episodes HTML5, The Bad Partsor Quite an Impact.”

Focusing Creativity: RPG Genres(Gamasutra)“Designer Jordane Thiboust, who deeply investigated the RPG genre while in preproduction for a next generation title, shares his hard won insight — mainly, that mix and match genre-bending isn’t the best way to deliver a polished core experience.”

The Biggest Secret of Driftmoon!(Instant Kingdom)“The biggest secret of Driftmoon is that it’s actually 3D! I bet you thought that it was purely a top-down game, right? Maybe you thought that it would be impossible to turn the camera, even a tiny fraction? Actually that was completely true a week ago, when we suddenly started wondering how the game would look from a more angled viewpoint, and in a mad coding frenzy got to work.”

An Alternative to Achievements(Gamasutra)“Designer Keith Burgun examines the concept of achievements, looking at how they’re used, how they might be used in the future, and how they might even change totally — for the better.”

Little Inferno & Plato’s Allegory of the Cave(Plot Is Gameplay’s Bitch)“I played Little Infernojust before Christmas. Like othersI found the simplicity of the gameplay a little underwhelming compared with the ingenious developments of previous Kyle Gabler offering, World of Goo; unlike some others I found real depth to the game’s fiction. This post is about that.”