May 2022 Update

Improvised "Hall Update" Thumbnail.

Initially I thought that this Update post would be as short as previous one due to just how basically nothing has been going on lately. I mean, of course there're still horrible events in certain parts of the world that I wish never took place (yes, I'm still too much of a coward to mention anything specific) because of how much pain and suffering it causes to the people around the world. In comparison to that, my struggles and problems doesn't really seem as serious or worthwhile talking about. That just doesn't seem appropriate.

At the same time, I need to get things off my chest from time to time. This is one of the reasons Ilko's Hall exists in the first place. While I wish that the time when I bring in some positive and exciting news to those random strangers who decide to waste their time reading this mess comes sooner than later, today is not that day and I guess I just have to deal with that for now. No matter how overly dramatic it sounds, I don't like that either.

Hidden Treasures of Wolfenstein 3D

Unsung Screenshot. Taken from ModDB.

A week ago we reached an important milestone when in comes to the history of first-person shooters: 30th Anniversary of Wolfenstein 3D. This game may not be an actual first title in its genre or even the franchise, but the third FPS by id Software played a key role in their later achievements. Which is why this classic definitely deserves more credit and popularity than it usually gets, but that's easy to see why a debut of Blazkowicz isn't talked about as much as DOOM and Quake.

Despite the charm that comes with the simplicity of Wolfenstein 3D, generally people rightfully note how this classic didn't break the ground as much as aforementioned future titles did. While I don't view this as a weakness of "grandfather of the first-person shooters", the truth is that there's not much interest in it. I've already talked about the franchise back in January and this time I would like to do something similar to an "article" where I've mentioned certain custom campaigns for Warcraft 3 by talking about some prominent total conversions (or whatever I should call the) for Wolfenstein 3D.

Rumbling About Warcraft's Mobile Arclight

Warcraft Arclight Rumble "Lineup" Cinematic Still. Taken from Blizzard.

With the recent reveal of Warcraft Arclight Rumble, I decided to (yet again) use that opportunity to write an article when I couldn't really settle on specific topic. Another Warcraft "article" every few weeks after my dramatic concussion of "Eternity's End" post and scuffed observation of Shadowlands is ridiculous and somewhat sad, but we all have some issues. Besides, it's about a mobile game and pretty much everyone knows that many gamers tend to dismiss that side of the industry and direct their attention to it solely for a quick joke about disgusting monetization.

Although many concerns and point of criticism regarding mobile games are usually very valid, I'm actually somewhat more tolerable of them. Probably because I played quite a few of them on my phone and tablet back in a day, which offered me a certain perspective on this side of gaming. Obviously I couldn't donate in any of those, so in "crucial points" I had to watch ads, suffer or just stop playing. Either way, I actually have a couple of things to say about Arclight Rumble and not sure about more worthy topic for this week... So yeah.

Late Tribute to Dungeon Siege

Dungeon Siege Promo Screenshot. Taken from MobyGames.

That's going to be an awkward start since I just realized that I missed out on a perfect point for this "article". Dungeon Siege is one of a few games I have in mind for these "scuffed perspective on titles I would like to eventually check out" and I decided to cover it after Abuse and Cannon Fodder series. Even though I was sadly oblivious to the fact that the first game hit its 20th anniversary back in April 5th, that honestly feels like a mistake on my part.

As it was the case with Amiga classic about "hill decoration", my first introduction to unique action role-playing game happened thanks to a YouTube video. This time it was an excellent chapter of Ross's Game Dungeon about the original title and kind of the franchise as a whole. I would like to go in a similar direction, but in smaller scale with derpy execution. If you haven't watch that video, I highly recommend you to do so.

Walking Away From Dragonflight

Dragon Isles Continent Concept Art. Taken from Blizzard.

Well, I made a good call with not throwing around any promises. Kind of. Despite the fact that I was factually done with Shadowlands here, I've acknowledged that I never would be done with Warcraft franchise. At first, I planned to leave all of at the conclusion of Patch 9.2 post, but after some time it became apparent that there're more points to be addressed or reinforced. Do have a proper epilogue to this ordeal or rather "epilogue plus"... You know, it's funny. I'll elaborate on that remark later though.

That doesn't mean I would talk about anything directly related to Shadowlands, Sylvanas book and all of that stuff. I mean, they've clearly recycled all the unnecessarily fancy cutscene fluff from Reforged for two part Judgement and such. Good for you, Blizzard. Seriously, I don't think they reinvented the wheel here. That's not what they would've done here. Either way, without further interruption, let's just get to the remaining points.

April 2022 Update

Improvised "Hall Update" Thumbnail.

This update post should be a pretty short one as Hall pretty much runs in "maintenance mode" right now. While I do have some plans to push my blog forward, I can't get myself to actually follow through the steps that are yet accessible to me. Really, it's just going to be me mostly repeating the same words about the usual stuff. Some might say that it would've been for the best to just skip this month, but I would rather follow such obligation no matter what.

Recognizing "My GameDev" Nudges

PICO-8 Education Edition Extended Release Thumbnail. Taken from Lexaloffle.

It's been a while since I talked about practically "nothing" here outside monthly update posts, so I guess I will use that opportunity to just share something I've started to consistently notice. As I'm sure I've mentioned before, I don't have a clear path in life when it comes to my overall future. No matter how much I try to pick a proper direction of normal productivity, there's nothing I can settle on. However, I tend to often overthink stuff.

As time goes on, I started to notice a certain pattern in my surroundings. The more I think about it, the more I realize that my subconsciousness and/or reality (or whatever you wish to call it) tries to push me towards one specific profession. And that's what I wanna share with you, wandering reader.