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The Old News (1997-2009)
2009.11.02
Game Arts Guild's first Wave Gadget
In testing the Squawk RPG Book we have developed over the last year, we made a game-related Wave Gadget called "RPG Dice". You can install it in wave using your puzzle-piece icon and this URL:
http://gameartsguild.com/seth/rpgdice.xml
This tool recognizes 3 operators: + (addition), - (subtraction) and d (die roll). You can leave out the number of dice when rolling one die (d10 = 1d10 (9)) and you can leave out the type of dice when rolling d6 (5d = 5d6 (16))
Please spread the word about RPG Dice, it's the best dice application we know of for Wave.
2008.11.10
Zombie Uprising 20XX
Mapes strikes again: there is a new stand-alone Zombie game based on the Quake 1 / Open Quartz engine. (The author of this game also played a role in the indie film "Zombie Hicks 2.") The website for this project is http://www.gameartsguild.com/zombiexx/
2008.08.14
OLPC for Grown Ups
Has the One Lap Top Per Child project got you singing I don't want to grow up? If so, there is great news: Quanta is planning to sell a commercial version of the OLPC for poor people of legal drinking age in industrialized countries (like me.) However, this is not the only cheap alternative that the OLPC has inspired: ASUS has already developed a $200 laptop also with the digital divide beyond school age children in mind.
But who's going to develop games for this new hardware market? (Note: these low-cost machines mostly run on Linux.)
2008.03.06
Elonex One, iPod SDK
The first $200 laptop has gone on the market to the general population. It's from England, runs Linux, and is by Elonex, and is called "One":
http://www.elonexone.co.uk/
Also, if you haven't heard the iPhone/iPod Touch SDK is due out any time now.
2008.02.06
New Toys
Some of the new technology we've been so exited about over the last year has started to fall into our hands:
1) The Serpent Lord finally got his XO Laptop (OLPC) last week. It has inspired him with some interesting game design ideas. We are using all 3 of it's USB ports to make it adult/USA friendly.
2)Today I finally got one of my recycled heaps (the only kind of computer I own) to run gOS (the Mac-flavored Ubuntu that is the OS found on the CloudBooks.) It's been a pleasant surprise indeed.
Also, if you didn't catch this elsewhere on this news forum, the "unofficial spawn of the GP2X" is called the "Pandora":
http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS7004794073.html
2008.01.30
Childsplay
Childsplay is a pygame-based gaming platform that runs in Linux. Here are the reasons why [BFGalbraith] was impressed by this:
1) It automatically installed on my low-end Ubuntu machines from the Synaptic Package Manager. Each individual game in Childsplay is installed as a "module." Each module so far has installed directly from Synaptic as well. (Someone actually made a pong-like game for Childsplay.)
2) When it installed, it appeared instantly on my Applications desktop menu (a new catagory called "education" -> "childsplay." I easily pasted a shortcut to my desktop to run Childsplay..)
3) The games captivated my 2 year old and 5 year old for a long time, and they still want to play the games often. The games make good use of resources, getting a maximum amount of game play out of a minimum amount of animation & graphics. (However, Childsplay doesn't leave you thinking "hey, where's the graphics?" The graphics and sounds are used very effectively.)
I wonder if games for older audiences will be able to achieve all of the above in the future.
2008.01.22
in-browser IRC
If you use http://ircatwork.com for important communication in your day-to-day life (like I do,) then there is some important news: ircatwork.com has joined up with a project called Mibbit -
http://mibbit.blogspot.com/2008/01/ircatwork-is-now-part-of-mibbitcom.html
These kind of free services are helpful for those who want to log into #FGA on Freenode to interact with the Free Game Arts community live, without having to install chat software like Pidgin (formerly known as "GAIM".)
2007.10.17
F200 vs. XO Giving
The next generation of the GP2X is the GP2X F200. It's pretty much a GP2X with a touch screen.
Also, if you didn't know yet, there are two related fun facts about the OLPC:
1) It transforms into a device not-entirely-unlike the GP2X (it has platform style controls built into the screen-part of the computer, and that skreen swivels around the keyboard so that it can be a tablet... tablet + gamer contolls = portable game platform.)
2) You can get an OLPC for $400 at this website: http://www.xogiving.org/
2007.10.09
Free Gamer Forums
This is not news to Free Game Arts regulars, but everyone else might be interested in knowing that the Free Gamer Forums have been up and running for a while, and cover content not-entirely-unlike what our Free Game Arts forums cover. Though it's not clear what the relationship between the Free Gamer Forums and the Free Game Arts will be in the future, the added contribution to the greater open-source game-community is appreciated.
2007.09.10
3D Printing
Desktop Factory expects to release their first low cost 3D printers
for $5000, and according to Popular Science they expect the price to
go down to $1000 in a few years:
http://www.desktopfactory.com/
IMHO this would be a new application for "free game art": 3D computer models used to make parts for non-computer games.
2007.08.06
id software developments
id Software has changed the names of their game engines. The Quake, Quake II and Quake III engines are now called "id Tech 1", "id Tech 2" and "id Tech 3". The Doom 3 engine is now "id Tech 4". This should be help people who want to use these libraries for the features they have without being stuck with the stigma sometimes attached to "retro" games.
John Carmack describes the new id Tech 5 engine: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvuTtrkVtns
Aside from big, pretty environments with lots of the detail, the new engine is designed for multiple artists to work on the same game level at the same time. This should help artists make all that detailed content more quickly. Apparently they are also working hard to ensure that the new engine will run equally well on Windows, Mac, XBox 360 and PS3.
Teaser for the new id Tech 5 engine game called Rage: http://youtube.com/watch?v=6ffoj6oY3ug
It's a new first person shooter, but it differs from id Software's earlier Quake/Doom/Wolfenstein in a few big ways:
They are toning down the gore a little to get a Teen rating.
The game is set in a post-apocalyptic setting like Mad Max.
Racing cars will be a major component of the action.
It also sounds like they are moving toward more of an adventure game with exploring and a garage of customizable vehicles.
On the side, id has started an experimental project to create a version of Quake 3: Arena that runs in your web browser called Quake Zero. Instead of selling the game, Quake Zero will be supported by ads. If this works out mabye we will see a browser-based GPL 3D engine in a few years, and there is already free content for the id Tech 3 engine. (Also consider that there is still no 3D plugin for the web that dominates in the way that Flash dominates 2D graphics.)
If you've been living in a bomb shelter like myself, you probably also didn't know that id Software has been getting into cel phone games with Doom RPG and a more traditional fantasy RPG called Orcs & Elves. A sequel and Nintendo DS versions of Orcs & Elves are in the works.
2007.05.16
Web Collective Incorporates
BFGalbraith worked with the "Web Collective" when they were just forming, helping to organize their worker cooperative. A year later they have incorporated, probably proving BFGalbraith's hypothesis (about "using dialogue to start worker cooperatives.")
http://ericmagnuson.com/
(Some Game Arts Guild members have worked with the Web Collective professionally in the past, though not as Game Arts Guild representatives.
2007.04.19
Indrema / TuxBox realized
The GP2X is a open-source gaming console (comparable to a Game Boy or Play Station Portable.) There is a lot of potential with this product for open source game development.
2007.04.10
Pygame RPG Dragon Hunter
http://www.pygame.org/projects/22/184/?release_id=712
Dragon Hunter is a simple RPG similar to Dragon Warrior/Dragon Quest I.
2007.03.19
Pygame RTS
There is a very-simple real-time strategy game done in Pygame called "Snowballz." This might be a good place to start for someone interested in developing an open-source RTS. Also Snowballz is a fun little game to play in it's own right.
2006.12.23
Hack and Slash II
The rumors are true: we have been working on another computer game. So far it is 100% Pygame, and has a strong focus on using Mano a Mano in real time, having a small download file size & multiple players per computer. IF (and only IF) you are into Pygame you can try out our latest release of "Hack and Slash 2D," though we are still in the concept-development stage of making this game.
Feedback Wanted
2006.11.03
Please give us your feed back on the Squawk RPG on this forum. Specifically we would like to know A) what would you like to see us do next with the Squawk RPG project, and B) how likely you are to tell or not tell your friends about the Squawk RPG, and why? Please post this feedback on the appropriate thread at www.RPG.net.
2006.10.26
Squawk Glossary
We have been busy over the last few months working on the Learn to Play section, the Worlds section, and even on a Squawk Glossary that has many
details that we previously haven't had time to elaborate on over the last several years. There is more Squawk material that we have not yet added to the Glossary.
2006.08.22
MaM Gear
Various Mano a Mano collector's items are now available through the Squawk Store (again by way of CafePress.)
2006.08.21
MaM 2006 Handbook
The "Mano a Mano Role-Playing System Handbook 2006" is now available through the Squawk Store (by way of CafePress.) This is the first version of the handbook that is meant to be used by players (the last version of the handbook was a documentation of what our system had been like historically.) The contents of the book can be found for free online here.
2006.08.18
MaM moves to wiki.RPG.net
We have officially moved Mano a Mano from www.wikirpg.com to wiki.rpg.net. (www.RPG.net is an exellent resource for people playing or GMing traditional RPGs.) Thank you Peter Gerdes of www.wikirpg.com for the years of support while we rapidly improved Mano a Mano through the use of your wiki site.
2006.08.17
Squawk RPG Update
This website has been updated to the Mano a Mano 2006 rules. (While we were at it, we made a template for the popular yet mysterious Titans.) We have also started working on a Mano a Mano 2006 handbook for the Squawk store.
2006.08.16
Microsoft Sells Out
For those tired of the "first person shooter" tutorials bragged about on the cover of the latest Linux magazine, one company has come up with an idea about how to diversify the gaming industry.
2006.07.31
New Rules Soon
There is a new Mano a Mano v.2006 in the works at wikirpg.com. We there will be more news on this soon once we have the Squawk RPG ready to work with the new rules.
2006.06.24
Game Arts Guild
The "team formerly known as Galbraith Games" is now officially called the "Game Arts Guild." We've been looking to change the name of the team for a long time now, and we decided on this name a few months ago. We don't have new logos etc. yet for the new name.
2006.05.31
BFGalbraith's Symposium
BFGalbraith is just about done with his Master's Thesis, and will be giving his public symposium on "how to start worker cooperatives" on June 7th, 2006, at 1:30 PM in room 205 of the Antioch University Seattle Campus.
2006.04.24
FreeDroid RPG
The FreeDroid RPG is an open source action RPG (Diablo-style,) written in C and Python. Download the Linux version or download the windows version.
2006.03.30
Multiplayer GalaxyMage
The new version of Galaxy Mage (0.3.0) has multiplayer action. They are starting to use more unique artwork now, and are looking for artists to help with the project.
2006.02.28
Blender "Open Quartz"
The Serpent Lord has been developing an Open
Quartz
for Blender. Though the players can not kill each other yet, it supports up to four players on one computer. This first person shooter is based off the original Quake-engine Open Quartz.
2006.01.28
Galaxy Mage
Galaxy Mage is a turn-based strategy RPG that is open source, and available for Windows, Mac and Linux. It's all coded in Python. It's nice to see an open source computer RPG get this far along in development - very fun stuff.