Out and About – EightBitBlonde

After 4 busy days, PAX West 2019 has drawn to a close and after a full weekend of picking up controllers, demoing builds, chatting with passionate developers and actively avoiding the PAX pox: I’m ready to round up my favorite video game finds from the weekend.

Here are 10 different projects that stood out to me on the show floor, ranging from dog-themed dating simulators to creative takes on dungeon-crawling adventures.

Project Witchstone (Spearhead Games)

Isometric RPGs have been having a renaissance over the past few years, and while many strive to capture the best parts of tabletop gaming, they sometimes fall short in terms of achieving the player freedom found in tabletop games. That’s the gap that Project Witchstone is trying to bridge, with their robust AI “game master” approach to NPCs, skill checks and investment in player agency. With no overarching questline to embark on, players are free to integrate themselves into factions, frame the local blacksmith for murder or forge onward of their own volition.

Continue reading “My 10 Favorite Games @ PAX West 2019” →

My husband and I went on an overnight trip this weekend to Kenosha, Wisconsin. It was a special trip for us as its the first time we’ve been able to travel since getting married but, more importantly, it was our first ever visit to a renaissance faire.

Bright and early on Saturday morning, amid the pouring rain and mud, we made our way to the Bristol Renaissance Faire. (After a pit stop for rain-appropriate shoes.)

20180901_132837 — (via Alicia Alexandra)

As corny as it sounds, stepping through the gates of Bristol feels like stepping through to another world. I’ve always imagined renaissance faires as migratory events, “tents in a field” sort of deal and some of them may be like that, but Bristol completely surprised me. It’s an entire city. A living, breathing, permanent construction with storybook-like architecture, landscaping, winding paths, and water features. We spent a lot of time marveling at the sheer “realness” of everything around us.

Continue reading “A Day in the 16th Century @ Bristol Renaissance Faire” →