eXplorminate | Explore First, Ask Questions Later
“What’s over this hill?” That question — simple, instinctive, irresistible — is where everything begins. I often go hiking, map and compass in hand, starting at Point A and figuring out how to get to Point B. Done right, off the beaten path, it unlocks great vistas and a genuine sense of escape. I consider […]
Episode #22: Multiplayer vs Single-Player Design Conflicts in Strategy Gaming
Ben, Drexy, DasTactic, and LucidTactics all sit down to discuss how the single-player and multiplayer aspects of strategy games affect the design of said games and how balance isn’t always a good thing.
Interstellar Space: Genesis – An eXposition
(Editor’s Note: Yes, eXplorminate is back to writing. We won’t be as prolific as before, but we’re still going to produce written content. Our eXposition series is a series of op-ed writings that allow our community to write about anything they’re interested in. Delta_V reboots eXplorminate with his thoughts here) Interstellar Space: Genesis (IS:G) is […]
Best "Starter" 4X Games
Rob here! I see this question asked a lot on the 4X Gaming subreddit and I’ll occasionally get asked myself, “what’s the best 4X game for someone new to the genre?” and it’s about time we really sat down and thought about it. It’s honestly a hard question to answer, as most 4X games are […]
Lost in Space: The State of 4X Games Among the Stars
If you were to ask me to name my favorite fantasy-themed 4X game, I’d enthusiastically respond with Age of Wonders III. If you were to ask about my favorite “civilization” game, I’d tell you that the highwater mark remains Alpha Centauri, a game still eminently playable today. My favorite grand-strategy-ish game would be, unequivocally, Total […]
This Thing Called Strategy: An eXposition
For the past few years, a question has been haunting my dreams: What is strategy? A narrower follow up question is: What makes a compelling strategy game? One reason this question has been bothering me, particularly in terms of 4X or Civilization-style games, is that so often the gameplay does not feel like what strategy […]
Theme: An Exposition
When talking about theme in video games, it’s a struggle just to settle on a definition. In pop-culture, theme can describe the style of decorations used for a party, the sub-genre for a movie, how all the furniture in a room has the same accents, and occasionally people will use theme in the LIT 101 […]
Monday Modness – Warlock 2: Renaissance mod
Chumley – Warlock 2 – Renaissance Mod Have you ever played a game and felt like the developers just didn’t go far enough? Sure you have! Warlock 2 was one such title. At release, it felt like little more than an update to the original title. Despite the added content that soon followed, it still […]
Monday Modness – Galactic Civilizations III and Friends
Welcome back, dear reader. Here we are with another fantastic modder, Naselus, who took a Galactic Civilizations III and put his own spin on it. His mod, the Insane Abundant Balance Mod, increases GalCiv3’s playability on larger maps. We’ll also talk about his mods for several other games from Stardock and Paradox Interactive. So, let’s […]
The Rights and Wrongs of Digital Rights Management (DRM): An eXposition
Yesterday morning, I tried to sit down and (finally) record the first episode of my Let’s Play series for Anno 2070. I’ll be the first to admit I’ve been procrastinating on this project. I’ve got tons of excuses, some of them even good ones, but in the end it comes down to the fact that […]