Month: March 2022

Scratching That Itch: RISK SYSTEM

On March 23, 2022

This is the one hundred fifteenth entry in the Scratching That Itch series, wherein I randomly select and write about one of the 1741 games and game-related things included in the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality. The Bundle raised $8,149,829.66 split evenly between the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and Community Bail Fund, but don’t worry if you missed it. There are plenty of ways you can help support the vital cause of racial justice; try here for a start. This particular post is also an honorary entry in the Keeping Score series about games and their soundtracks. Lastly, as always, you may click on images to view larger versions.

A new random selection from the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality is on an approach vector, absorbing energy by flying really close to the blog’s defense systems. It’s RISK SYSTEM, by RISK SYSTEM (AKA Newt Industries), and its tagline in the bundle reads:

High speed kinetic action. Danger is the best offense!

“The best offense” is my middle name.

Another Expedition Into Qud

By Waltorious

On March 16, 2022

In Uncategorized

You may read my earlier posts about Caves of Qud here. As always, you may click on images to view larger versions.

I last wrote about Caves of Qud almost two years ago. But I’ve been following the weekly updates for this excellent far-future roguelike about scavenging ancient sci-fi technology the whole time. There have been some big ones. A whole new segment of the main storyline was added, centered on the Tomb of the Eaters, where the ancient rulers of Earth and the stars beyond are interred. A large swath of the southeastern jungle has been replaced by a vast lake, hosting a new area known as the Palladium Reef on its eastern edge. This even includes a new friendly settlement known as the Yd Freehold. Then there are some big mechanical changes: the option to ease up the punishing permadeath mechanics by playing in RPG mode, where the game is checkpointed at towns, or even Wander mode, where no experience points are awarded for combat and most factions start out neutral to the player.

All of that was tempting, but not quite enough to lure me back, since I knew that once I started playing it would devour my free time. No, what finally convinced me to dive in again was the announcement that the early game areas of Red Rock and the Rust Wells had finally been redesigned. Many new characters meet their deaths in these relatively uninteresting caves, meaning players may never see the much, much cooler stuff to come farther along the storyline. A redesign hopefully meant the early quests were brought up to par with the rest of the game. I decided to find out.

Scratching That Itch: Glitch Brushes: Maze & Organic Textures

By Waltorious

On March 13, 2022

In Uncategorized

This is the one hundred fourteenth entry in the Scratching That Itch series, wherein I randomly select and write about one of the 1741 games and game-related things included in the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality. The Bundle raised $8,149,829.66 split evenly between the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and Community Bail Fund, but don’t worry if you missed it. There are plenty of ways you can help support the vital cause of racial justice; try here for a start. Lastly, as always, you may click on images to view larger versions.

Our next random selection from the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality is smearing glitchy patterns everywhere. It’s Glitch Brushes: Maze & Organic Textures, by Dataerase, and its tagline in the bundle reads:

once again you can digitally paint with power of glitch!

If you are excited for a videogame about painting with glitches, I’m afraid I must disappoint you. This one is, like the last entry, a pack of assets rather than a game. This time, it’s a set of digital brushes for making digital art. With glitches.

Scratching That Itch: Transitions – Godot Asset

By Waltorious

On March 13, 2022

In Uncategorized

This is the one hundred thirteenth entry in the Scratching That Itch series, wherein I randomly select and write about one of the 1741 games and game-related things included in the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality. The Bundle raised $8,149,829.66 split evenly between the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and Community Bail Fund, but don’t worry if you missed it. There are plenty of ways you can help support the vital cause of racial justice; try here for a start. Lastly, as always, you may click on images to view larger versions.

Another random selection from the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality has appeared via a slick crossfade. It’s Transitions – Godot Asset by César León, and its tagline in the bundle reads:

Shaders and scene to make transitions between two scenes in Godot

No more smash cuts, people. It’s time to get fancy with scene transitions!

Scratching That Itch: Catch The Devil

By Waltorious

On March 8, 2022

In Uncategorized

This is the one hundred twelfth entry in the Scratching That Itch series, wherein I randomly select and write about one of the 1741 games and game-related things included in the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality. The Bundle raised $8,149,829.66 split evenly between the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and Community Bail Fund, but don’t worry if you missed it. There are plenty of ways you can help support the vital cause of racial justice; try here for a start. Lastly, as always, you may click on images to view larger versions.

This next random selection from the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality heralds the end of the age of humans. It’s Catch The Devil, by Sage LaTorra, and its tagline in the bundle reads:

A Tabletop Game Of Fear In The Late Anthropocene

The “late Anthropocene”, in case you are wondering, refers to the end of the (proposed) geological age in which human activity is the dominant influence on the world’s ecosystem, or as Catch The Devil puts it, “the last sputtering coughs of the human age.” Sage LaTorra seems to have a more pessimistic view of this than I, because Catch The Devil is not set in some distant future, but in our current world, right now.

Scratching That Itch: Wordsum Blitz

By Waltorious

On March 1, 2022

In Uncategorized

This is the one hundred eleventh entry in the Scratching That Itch series, wherein I randomly select and write about one of the 1741 games and game-related things included in the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality. The Bundle raised $8,149,829.66 split evenly between the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and Community Bail Fund, but don’t worry if you missed it. There are plenty of ways you can help support the vital cause of racial justice; try here for a start. Lastly, as always, you may click on images to view larger versions.

Our next random selection from the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality is attempting to drown us with the alphabet. It’s Wordsum Blitz, by Pixelshot Games, and its tagline in the bundle reads:

Tetris with words

I admire this succinct tagline, but I can actually imagine many different ways that could work. Fortunately for you, reader, I’ve played Wordsum Blitz and will tell you how it actually works, below.