I’ve been seeing a lot of failed indie RPG crowdfunding campaigns lately. It’s hardly a new phenomenon, though, and it’s not unique to RPGs: last September, Kickstarter reported that less than 1 in 4 video game campaigns were funded successfully over the preceding months. Personally, I think that stinks–so I’m writing this article in an [...]

Indie Games Blog editor Michael Rose has written an op-ed over on Gamasutra explaining why he “won’t be backing Kickstarters anymore.” His reason: he has experienced his first true case of “Kickstarter remorse” over backing The Banner Saga. He writes: Essentially, what has happened is that the team [Stoic Studio] decided to build this free-to-play [...]

I post this here mostly because I think it’s an interesting exploration of two different approaches taken by two indie strategy RPGs. A relevant snippet: This difference in focus has knock-on effects that resonate down to even the smallest choices in the mechanics each game features. For instance: Wesnoth uses a zone of control mechanic [...]

Another year, another bunch of great indie RPGs to check out. We’ll be back tomorrow with something interesting! Until then…

Last night was election night, which means that it was a pretty late night for me. Luckily, I still managed to finish up a pretty massive article I’d been working on concerning the uses and abuses of randomization as a way to create unpredictability in turn-based RPG combat systems. Here is a snippet: A cunning [...]

Hello, gentle readers! Yesterday, I released a brand new (and quite long) article about the evolution (and design implications) of skill-based character creation systems in RPGs. A snippet: To revisit the computer analogy from earlier: it is easy to find a good Apple computer because it only comes in a few configurations, and it is [...]

This is a guest perspective by Greg Lobanov about the new Steam game approval process “Greenlight.” Valve’s press release, posted yesterday, states: “Steam Greenlight allows developers and publishers to post information and media about their game in an effort to convince the Community that the game should be released on Steam. Greenlight piggybacks on Steam [...]

So, it turns out there’s some guy named Craig Stern running his mouth over on Sinister Design about how to define the phrase “indie game.” You guys don’t care about indie games, right? Of course not! That’s why you’re here, on www.BigBudgetAAARPGs.com. Here’s a snippet of the piece: We define words for practical reasons: to [...]

Brian Abbott, perhaps best known as the titular brainy gamer behind Brainy Gamer, has posted an opinion piece on what makes jRPGs special. A good JRPG (any well-designed RPG, for that matter) envelops a player in a unified ecosystem that weaves together rules, mechanics, and storytelling such that each informs the other in the player’s [...]

An indie RPG walks into a bar. “We don’t serve indie RPGs here,” says the bartender. “Why not?” asks the RPG. The bartender says, “You always bring a mob.”   An indie RPG walks into a bar. “We don’t serve indie RPGs here,” says the bartender. “Why not?” asks the RPG. “Look,” shrugs the bartender, [...]