Its been just over a year since I last typed anything on this site...it has been a busy year.

FortressCraft released last April and it has been a monumental success, more so than any of us imagined it would be. Thanks to anyone out there that bought the game and is enjoying it, your support is most appreciated.

FortressCraft gets its 9th content patch update within a week or so, adding a few new game modes and plenty of needed bug fixes and graphical tweaks. Its been a long road getting it to where it is today, but it is shaping up to be a better game more and more. We should see a release date for OnLive soon.

In other news I began drawing some assets for a few side project games I would still like to work on - Dark Star Soldiers (very similar to the epic game SideArms from the 16 bit era) and another game that will be similar to Pixel Junk Monsters. I plan to bring both to the Xbox 360 Indie channel someday in the future, but for now I do not have a programmer to make these happen. If anyone is interested in either project, please let me know.

Ive also started my own LLC - DMPDesign. The worst lesson I have taken from starting my own business is just how terribly taxed small business owners are. I thought it may help me save money on my taxes with business expenses, but in the long run it has just been a terrible hassle and huge expense. Oh well, hind sight is 20/20 as they say. Moving on...

Fortresscraft released this morning and its already seeing a ton of downloads and has appeared at the top of the 'top rated' list.

If all goes well the design for chapter 1.5 is already underway.

Find out more at www.fortresscraft.com

Working on some graphics for the good folks over at Projectorgames to help them get FortressCraft released by March.

Fans of Minecraft be on the lookout for updates on this game and feel free to visit the official site at www.fortresscraft.com to see the development and get updates via facebook and twitter.

462 sound effects, 746 graphic files, 23,272 lines of code, 143 days and 10 hard-working people later produce 886 megabytes of awesome...

All that will be available within the next week or so for only 280 XBox credits ($3 U.S.)

Steam Heroes offers many hours of fun, multiple gaming modes and player ranking.

Hopefully we will be able to get a review of the game on gamespot, but in the meantime you can find out more information about this game at www.tiamatgames.com/steamheroes.htm

Check the XBox Indie Games section soon for this great new title!

My first xbox 360 indie game will be up for sale later this month, it is a spin off of the puzzle quest/bejeweled gaming style that will stage the first adventure for the 3 steam heroes.

A steampunk inspired world will pit the player against 12 different bosses each requiring their own strategies to be beaten. The game will sell for 80c ($1) and I am building a website for it here: http://www.tiamatgames.com/steamheroes.htm

A trial version will be available as well as a PC version in the works.

Let me know what you think.

As anyone who is reading my posts knows, I run a site for the Sword of Moonlight toolset that From Software put out back in 2000.

It just so happens that toolset included an updated version of the original King's Field that was available only in Japanese. Thanks to John Osborne's translation project of the original PS1 game, I have retranslated the Sword of Moonlight version and will post it on my website www.swordofmoonlight.com later today for free download, totally in english. This download is for a Windows executable game and does not require Sword of Moonlight, or any other program to be installed on your computer.

Hopefully it will give King's Field fans something fun to play.

Enjoy.

Finally finished my Sword of Moonlight game called Kings Field: Dark Destiny....fans of the original series should be happy to play a prequel to the original KF1 release in the US. Follow the journey of Necron as he discovers the secrets of his power and the magic of the island.

You can check out the new game at www.swordofmoonlight.com/DD.htm

Let me know what you think.

Recently it has come to my attention that I just cannot continue working at my current place of employment. Its a combination of two very speedy trains coliding really. Coming from one direction is the train, speeding down the tracks, that being here at work is killing me. Not a day goes by where I don't feel unchallenged, under appreciated, uninspired and frankly, under paid. Its a decent job for a guy who didn't finish his college education, but all in all I can do much better than this.

While contemplating this lack of interest and enthusiasm about my job I have had the opportunity of seeing several folks which I greatly admired, pick themselves up and literally move on to greater things. Moving on to jobs they will enjoy, even starting their own business...with literally nothing to their name and everything to lose. Its been an inspiration to see people move on, and then tell me how great it was that they left this place and pursued something they love doing.

Something I love doing....thats the second train. It left the station probably when I was just a child, playing Atari 2600 with my brother. it gained momentum as we enjoyed arcade game classics like mario bros, altered beast and golden axe. Getting our first NES system and having great games like super mario bros, metroid, castlevania. The genesis, the super nes, the playstation, the portables along the way, all have added steam to what is without a doubt my favorite hobby in life. Video games.

As some people know last year I started creating a 'King's Field' sequel using sword of moonlight, simply as a hobby to pass the time. But the experience has been full of learning. Learning what game development is like, learning that I might just be capable of doing this for real...for a living. Learning that I may not have to be stuck in this boring job the rest of my life putting up with terrible games that uninspired people are producing these days.

The trains collided about 3 weeks ago...and the direction of my life has been derailed. My friend brought up the idea of working on xbox games, to get a start in the industry and actually produce some games that we want to play ( they are sadly few and far between these days). Not one week later did I get in contact with someone who is actually producing games for the xbox, and he has set me in the right direction to get things done.

So my friend and I have the ideas, the desire, and likely the talent. Now all we need is the drive to see it through, and it is coming. I received my xbox yesterday, and I haven't hooked it up yet...I am waiting for the weekend, getting myself psyched up for the idea that when I plug this thing in, I am going to start working on our first game. So stay tuned, good things are coming.

began in the 80's, though most of usknew them when they released their first U.S. playstation title, King's Field, nearly a decade later. Since the release of that legendary game, From Software has built up a moderate fan base, creating niche games for the hardcore RPG gamer as well as some successful first person shooter games.

For fans of their games, the reasons are many on why their games fill our libraries, and why, even many years later, we still dust off the old games they made and play through them for the nostalgia. To this day, their older games are still being discovered by new fans, and actively discussed by members of various forums and community groups. For some reason, their games seem ageless.

Certainly when I use that term, I do not mean to say that the graphics don't become outdated, or that the depth of some of their older titles lacked what they could accomplish today with high definition and large capacity blue ray discs. What I mean to say is that the concepts, ideas and overall game structure give the typical From Software title a large amount of replay value, and without a doubt, a high amount of nostalgia.

Many who read this will notice that many of my game reviews are From Software titles, ranging from the original King's Field (japan) to the most recent Demon's Souls which is currently picking up speed in the states. I am not going to divulge a whole lot of information on the individual titles here (that is what the reviews themselves are for) but I just wanted to write about the software company in general to see if it sparked any interest in readers.

I also wanted to note that I am nearing completion of my own addition to the world of King's Field. I have been working on a game using From Software's tool "Sword of Moonlight' and it should be nearing completion by June. If you like, feel free to stop by my site www.swordofmoonlight.com to learn more about this tool and the games the fan community have been working on to let everyone enjoy!