Sientir's Blog

In this episode of Religion for Games, I discuss how to change a religion once you've created it. (Hint: Human nature is heavily involved!)

My work on Astral Collision continues, as I begin creating unique skills for the various classes, preparing the world map for music and more enemy encounter regions, and fill out the Sage class.

I felt with the previous episode that I hadn't discussed deities in as much detail as the subject deserves, so I've inserted this more thorough discussion into this Religion for Games series.

In this video, I give an important update about what'll be happening going forward with content on my YouTube channel. There's some important adjustments that'll happen here as a result. For one thing, the videos I'll be uploading there (sans the Stream VOD experiment) will be getting individual posts, rather than group posts, not unlike the Geekdom of God videos from a while ago. Speaking of Geekdom of God, I'm planning on continuing that as an article series here, on this blog. So those will be showing up irregularly in the days to come.

The Saturday video continues my Religion for Games series. In it, I discuss the many aspects to consider when creating a religion for a game (or other worldbuilding endeavor, really). In the Sunday video, I continue to work on Astral Collision, to the shock of hopefully nobody. I'm slowly getting initial playable stuff pulled together, which is exciting! Direct video links: Building Your Religion—Creating a Religion For Games from Scratch - https://youtu.be/j-db3cLchOk Making Astral Collision (An RPG Maker MV Project) Part 7 - https://youtu.be/DPt7lf4pnqE

This week concluded the introduction portion of the game, judging by the credit sequence I got in the middle of the week. And thus, the real game begins! I'm definitely enjoying the atmosphere of this game. It's one of the more grounded games I've played, due to a combination of historical setting and overall tone. The main character is just a guy, living in a politically complicated landscape, trying to figure out how best to live. That makes for a pleasant departure from the often "special, saving the world" type of hero story that we see so often in games. It's actually kinda similar to what I love about the start of Guild Wars: Prophecies, now that I think about it... Direct video links: Sneaking out of Talmberg—Kingdom Come Deliverance First Playthrough Ep. 6 - https://youtu.be/DV-YVrNWsNM Fending off Bandits on the way to Skalitz—Kingdom Come Deliverance First Playthrough Ep. 7 - https://youtu.be/ukpVQY89kbs The Real Game Begins!—Kingdom Come Del...

On Saturday, I continued my Religion for Games series by breaking down some of the mechanics that are currently in use. I find these mechanics to be very simple and shallow, but understanding why and what they do is a useful foundation for the parts to follow. Then on Sunday, I continue working on Astral Collision. However, I've decided to try a new technique, where instead of recording me working, I instead work then record a summary. This produces a shorter episode that's hopefully more approachable. Let me know what you think! Direct video links: Miracles, Faith, and Gods—The Mechanics of Religion (Religion for Games Series) - https://youtu.be/o2wsK3PoqDQ Making Astral Collision (An RPG Maker MV Project) Part 6 - https://youtu.be/Fi3rbetuUIc

Like I mentioned on Friday, I've decided to start playing a new game this week. Specifically, I've decided to finally start playing Kingdom Come Deliverance, a historical first-person RPG set in Bohemia at the start of the 15th century (1403, specifically). It's been pretty interesting thus far. The game also provides a pretty extensive codex with lots of historical information, so be prepared for some reading! Direct video links: I'll help Father after I finish reading!—Kingdom Come Deliverance First Playthrough Ep. 1 - https://youtu.be/AMTmyDd21vA Errand Boy—Kingdom Come Deliverance First Playthrough Ep. 2 - https://youtu.be/F2eRrNwIEww I think the dance might be cancelled...—Kingdom Come Deliverance First Playthrough Ep. 3 - https://youtu.be/M3sFJ5DUwSk Bedtime Story—Kingdom Come Deliverance First Playthrough Ep. 4 - https://youtu.be/zARtkU6s5lI Avoiding Conflict—Kingdom Come Deliverance First Playthrough Ep. 5 - https://youtu.be/CjXZZy26tcg

This Saturday, I introduced a new series where I talk about creating religions for games. I decided to start by making the case for why this matters. (Spoilers: There's a lot of untapped potential!) Then on Sunday, I continued working on Astral Collision! This really shouldn't be surprising at this point...the game's got a long ways to go before it is complete! Direct video links: Introduction to Religion for Games—Why does it matter? - https://youtu.be/1b7aTYdLH7U Making Astral Collision (An RPG Maker MV Project) Part 5 - https://youtu.be/SaJy_XkuRMg

I spent this week working my way up Taejin's Tower, only to be confronted by a rather frustrating boss fight. I spend most of the Friday episode analyzing the game's design, before very narrowly coming to the decision to take a hiatus from the game. There's a lot of combat in these episodes, as that's what's emphasized at this point in time with this game. Direct video links: Analyzing Mechanics while climbing Taejin's Tower—Final Fantasy XIII First Playthrough Ep. 51 - https://youtu.be/qMk5VfKrCE4 More Taejin's Tower Missions—Final Fantasy XIII First Playthrough Ep. 52 - https://youtu.be/ttXdc-vJibY To the top of Taejin's Tower!—Final Fantasy XIII First Playthrough Ep. 53 - https://youtu.be/34OGrYG5u1E Dahaka Roadblocka—Final Fantasy XIII First Playthrough Ep. 54 - https://youtu.be/b554k7YrKgQ Why I'm taking a break from Final Fantasy XIII—Final Fantasy XIII First Playthrough Ep. 55 - https://youtu.be/YJLE5cZTBQg