Category Sandbox

How to create a custom Minecraft modpack, free of charge

Step 1:

Go to curse forge, click on “Get desktop” on top row. Download the version that’s best for your computer.

Step 2

Find out which version of minecraft that either:

  • You have
  • Works better on your computer
  • has the most mods that you enjoy

You can do this by looking at the left of the “play” button when you log in to play minecraft.

Step 3

Click on the box that says minecraft. Once you do, it will appear on the left bar as the dirt icon.

Next, click “create custom profile”

Step 4

Name your modpack and set the base settings!

Choose your preferred version. Some versions will have more or less mods than others, so your pickings may be limited if you choose later versions.

Click the button that says Forge.

Step 5

Click “Add more content”,...

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Domino Sandbox

Let’s do a simple game today!

It is as it says in the title: A solo-player domino line physics game where you just set up what you want and push it back down.

The Colors (which are customizable) that it comes with are eye pleasing, and warm. I love the music for this game! It really fits the relax and play vibe.

Overall, it looks to be simple and effective.

The link is here.

from the Steam Page
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How to Create Factions: Part 1

Starting with…

The World ready!

The easiest way to determine factions would be to simply split them by location, or world history.

Then, the conflict could revolve around gaining or maintaining territory, and that could include groups being pushed out of their original territories and then trying to take them back.

You can also split it by the each of the area’s history, using previous conflicts to shape the factions, i.e. political ones.

The Characters ready!

Build your factions around your characters’ core beliefs.

What do your characters care about? What is their worldview? What about the opposite?

With a focus on the characters, the creation of the factions can become integral to your OC’s story...

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How to Create Factions: Part 2

Video Games have long graduated from simple fights between good and evil. Games are now tied with intricacies and multiple sides, each believing that they are the ones that are correct.

The question now becomes “How do I put that into my game?”. As with my other articles, there are multiple ways to go about this!

It is best to begin at the beginning!

I want to start with the factions…

The Question to ask here is “Why are there factions in the first place?”

Usally a group splits over an arguement; as creator, you decide what kind of disagreement causes the breakup.

What do people believe in enough that their goals and ideals split? Is it something simpler, like a land disagreement or a family squabble? Are the factions gunning for power, splitting politically? Are the fa...

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Castle Flipper

Castle Flipper is a Building and Decorating Simulator for medieval castles!

This game isn’t just castles, either: it also includes the surrounding land, and  sheds, barns, huts, houses, mansions, palaces and even pirate ships!

This game takes place in the 16th and 17th centuries, so in addition to the usual Medieval buildings, you will also find some Baroque and Renaissance elements that add variety to the gameplay and give you more options for interior decoration.

To be released May 27, 2021 on Steam, Castle flipper looks to be a fun simulator, including both rampant destruction and detailed creation.

It has lovingly rendered wooden details, and goes from the basics of building (frames and pillars) to the furniture and placement of decorative elements like suits of armor a...

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Basic Map making – the absolute minimum

As a DM, you lead your fellow players in the adventure of a lifetime! And you can’t do that without a setting for your adventurers to traverse!

There a Few ways to do this, like always!

Base it off of a real-life location

You can simply pick a point on the globe and lift the terrain and cities wholesale. This way, you can point your focus towards the plot and characters of your campaign.

    • Pros:
  • Makes your life easier
  • Can use history for flavor
    • Cons:
  • Expectations of Culture and mannerisms that come with a person’s knowledge
  • There will be history here, and the players might expect use of it

Create your own from scratch

Use map generators or craft a map from your own imagination to craft the most individualized map

    • Pros:
  • You can have whatever you want wherever you’d like
  • Create...
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Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator

With an art style taken straight out of middle-aged engravings, this game is a fun twist on the recipe-style order games that litter both the mobile market and early 2000’s PC games.

In it you can create your own recipes, help the town, and interact with the customers going through your shop.

The game offers customization of your shop and an art style that immerses you entirely in your role as town alchemist.

The demo is free to play on Steam

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How to Build a Big Bad Villain

There are a few ways to create the ultimate evil for your DnD (or other media) game!

The Standard

Choose from the prototypes of any popular mass media for the skeleton to build your villain off of!

The common tropes in media range from Evil boss to Mass-murdering maniac. The general tropes for a simple villain include a sad backstory, a tendency for murder, and a longing to take over the world by violent means.

The way to impart your generic villain’s actions is to really expand on the scope of their evil deeds. Don’t just mention the widespread destruction, but show it and its aftereffects. Have the village that your players were going to head to be torn apart, have the most trusted villagers mention their hatred of the Big Bad, and how the villain affected them and their livelihoods.

The...

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Rail Route: The Train Dispatcher Simulator Game

Early Access on June 23

Hypnotizing with it’s elegant minimalism, the spray of numbers and times across the screen a soothing balm to the organized mind. It’s the base form of a puzzle game, meant to challenge you and engage you, driving you to do better than yourself, to improve times, and techniques, and flourish in one of the most classic forms of transportation: the Train on the Rail Road.

The Game engages with that base videogame urge to watch numbers go up, to streamline your new ability to the best of your power.

Upgrade your trains and railways, solve the puzzles given, and even build your own Railways. Edit and Automate your maps to create the smoothest ride anyone’s ever seen in Rail Route: Train Dispatcher Simulator.

An example screenshot from the Game’s Steam page

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Setting the Stage: How to prep for your first DnD session

Your Stuff

Ready by session One:

Basic World building: Major locations and the breadcrumbs that will lead your players there.

Some starter quest for your players to introduce them to the world or situations you want them to face. This will also serve as a way to help your players figure out the beginnings of where they want to take their characters.

Your Players

Ready by session One:

Character sheets– These can be done as a group (as a “session 0”), or individually with the DM

Backstory– Informed by the world, they can intersect with those of other characters. It might be good to remind your players that the backstory is essentially a “Prologue” to the campaign.

Your Vibes

Ready by session One:

Prospective playlist for encounters: the specifics of which will be up to you...

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