Fuck beans it's been a while since I wrote one of these, so let's have a little chitty chatty hey sweet pea?

Been working on commercial fonts that I have started to work into designs as well as tutor a friend into the process.

Making my own custom fonts is super useful for shirt designs and it is obvious a useful skill for other works I make like games.

It takes a stupid amount of time, but at the same time is a rapid process compared to days of old when letters were individually carved into dry turds.

I've been design shirts again recently because I actually enjoy it a fair bit. Being doing stuff close to video gaming while still staying legal, although that doesn't stop the wank developers throwing their big dick about and getting stuff taken down. I'm veering towards doing my own stuff as well as keeping an eye on printing my own stuff so as to fuck would be arseholes out of the equation.

Going to take a bit of work but needs mustard and all that what what. Run your fat fucking eyes over some of my gear here.

Been working on a little game and I think I've broke its back now so I can free up some time to squeeze in other stuff as well.

Originally I thought I could work on two projects at once, but it turns out the "tiny game" I was going to make needed a fuck load of work to make something worth while - who'd have thunk?

Won't say too much other than it's a niche kind of thing that's not really weird but still niche.

My plan is to make something that is simple to play with a lot of replay value - which turns out is a fucking huge undertaking.

​I'll chat and promote it more nearer its completion.

I've been writing as of late, as I've been getting a bit extra free time. This means I'll spew more shit out of my arse in word form for you dirt bag flies to congregate around and feed on like the shit attracted shit eaters you are (said with love of course).

​At the moment I thought I'd pass comments on topics that catch my beady little eyes, but we'll see what it develops into.

I have been working on a short book this year so need to blow the dust off that and finish the fucker, but more on that when it's done.

The great thing about writing is it takes a fraction of the time to create something interesting, the downside is the world is now largely populated with fucknuts who want everything in video format - so swings and roundabouts.

I've been meaning to make some videos, but in all honesty they take too long and I have other things to do. When I get time I think I'll do more stuff that is exclusive to this site with the occasional thing on YouTube.

​The site is growing in size and traffic, with the opposite being true on YouTube. I also tend to get better engagement on my own website, with better conversions through to things I'm selling.

It would appear a tiny targeted audience is better than a large YouTube audience. In fact viewers on YouTube have become as useful as a flaccid penis in the Playboy mansion.

Going forward I think it makes sense to produce more entertainment through this site to build my portfolio and attract visitors, with the occasional YouTube video.

So the gardening bug bit me this year, a long with the pirate bug the little bastard (actual pirate bug, not me promoting e-theft) and I've been doing that a fair bit.

​Gardening is super fucking awesome but a bit detailed to go into here in a little catch me up

Going to wrap up and tell you I'll try to avoid there being such a big gap in the updates but in reality who the fuck knows - not me.

​Kisses.

Been pretty fooking busy, so completely forgot to put out a noisey in a while, but I'll condense events.

2017 was pretty shit, the whole year I was ill, which ran with the pretty shit feeling I was left with after I scrapped the game I'd been developing for some time. I just thought to myself 'this is super niche, why make things harder for yourself by making a game only you and two other hipsters in the world will want to play'?

So I binned it and started again, which honestly made me want to cry. It's like climbing a mountain, getting half way up just to go back down and start all over again - real soul crushing shit.

On the massive upside, this new game should have more appeal, as it's focused on more fun. I'm doing the art first as opposed to my previous method of programming and using place holder art. This is to spur me on, but holy fuck Batman is there so much fucking drawing to do.

I really want to talk about the game, but it's best left until I have something substantial to show the world - so check back in a couple of years you creep.

My current little game on Steam, Kalzor: 2000, is doing pretty well, but more importantly the information I've gained about selling games is invaluable. I'll be able to use what I've learned going forward with future titles.

The digital painting is still a favourite hobby of mine, I just wished it clicked more. Sometimes I can do really well and get things to look awesome, other times it's like diarrhoea. Still I'm gaining loads from trying new techniques, so hopefully I get to the point I can offer some of my work for sale.

My Wall art is another story, it just clicks. I can get something that doesn't have that digital painted look finished in a reasonable time and with good results. I will have to sit down at some point and do some commercial wall art, to bolster my portfolio. I am however, limited by my computer as to the size of the designs I do, as if they are too large my computer shits a brick.

For quite some time now I've wanted to create my own fonts. I was just really interested how the process works and always wanted to add my own. I currently have two that are workable for my needs and while they are not currently for sale, I may license them at some point. (More on that in a sec).

Currently my shirt designs are doing well and are something I hope to build on in 2018. I really enjoy doing them and they merge together different aspects of the work I do, which is pretty cool for me.

I am trying to promote indie games with my show, Love Indie Games, which I'll try aim to make one a month if I get the time. I know how useless YouTube has become to get eyes on things, as it has imploded under it's own bullshit, so I'm trying to help out other indies where I can - but like I say, time and resources are scarce.

​I can't see myself making videos for YouTube for a long time (if ever), as it's too distracting and as I say useless for me personally.

​But I will no doubt make videos I think will help me out in some way, just most likely hosted here on my own site.

I'm currently teaching myself to write, by setting myself a few projects to do. Once they are up to scratch I'll let the world buy them. They should also give me some new skills and another outlet where I can converge my growing skill set.

Licensing my work is going to become a big factor going into the future. Anyone wanting to display my work will have to pay the fee.

I've tried the free advertising thing and it doesn't work, so in future all of my work will be bolstered under licensing terms.

I have done a few things on the site since the last noisey, so check them out you noisey fucker. I'll try do more stuff for you to run your slinty eyes across in between work, so have a look around you dildo.

Juggling stuff around has been frantic, but fun and now I might have cleared some time for some projects. Firstly, three animations I've made: Couch Potatoes, Love Bug and Egor are available to watch.

They're a bit of fun and I'll create more as we go along, mixed in with some other material. Like the new images section, where I'll share some creations like this comic strip style offering called 'equality of the sexes'. Hopefully they'll cheer up someones' day.

Some of these images will make it over to actual t-shirt designs, which will be expanded on with the things I create, as I really enjoy making them. I will of course be making shirt designs around the games I like, that way fellow fans can enjoy as well.

Speaking of games, you know I have launched Kalzor: 2000, which is available drm free on the site and is also available on Steam. Well I'm working on several other games and seeing which would be a good fit to make.

These will take a long time to create as is the nature of the beast, but updates on game dev related stuff will be found in the games section, so look in there if that's your interest for very infrequent updates.

As for games I'll make content on, I think I'll stick with Skyrim and Fallout 4. Nothing comes close with games I want to make videos on. Again, episodes will most likely be few and far between, but the good news is they'll be free to watch. They'll be a version on YouTube and one here on Roley.co.uk

I'll be making designs around the games to sell on shirts, as well as introducing the creator pass on pages. Basically the creator pass will be viewers way of supporting the work I do and voting at the same time.

I'll add some awesome sauce to each video to make it extra special on the lips and follow it up with an article and some images here on the site as a side order for super fans.

It'll be interesting to see what evolves as time goes on, I have a few things in mind, but I want to see where it takes me.

Between the pittance in adverts and money directly from viewers via merch sales and creator passes, I'm hoping it's financially viable.

The great thing about the creator pass, is it will give those who support my work a direct voice to me, that way it will help me decide what to do next.

So there's all that to check out if you haven't already, I'm still  into posters and I've taken up digital painting which is super time consuming, but awesome at the same time. I'll try fit painting into some of the poster designs to see how it looks, it just takes awhile as it's all pretty new to me.

​Go check all the stuff I've mentioned, I think you should be pretty clued up by now and keep it frosty for upcoming stuff captain - kisses.

People who read this went on to watch:
​

• Vault 111's Untold Story
• Skyrim's 3 Secret Bosses

Steam took the long overdue decision to let customers decide what game they want to buy,​ by introducing Steam Direct. So I thought I'd see if some of my predictions for gaming were correct by entering the world's biggest market for PC gaming.

Now I've been gaming since as early as I can remember, written about the industry and of course you're well aware I've made videos on the subject too. Well now I'm developing my own games, so I think I'm in the best possible position to comment on the subject. I just wanted to cross the i's and dot the t's with this last check.

Turns out my earlier notion on how the gaming world is going is correct, so I can go ahead and take the correct course of action for me.

All in all my game Kalzor: 2000 has done well considering the amount of competition at the time. In a way, I kind of felt sorry for some independent game developers who didn't have my experience or knowledge of the industry. The system is going to chew them up, when really it doesn't have to be that way. 

This is why I've created a new show called ©Love Indie Games, it's because I want these games to find the eyes they deserve. I can't help everyone, but if I can make a small difference to make some people happy, then it'll make me happy.

©Love Indie Games will bring eyeballs to games I've found on my internet travels, while I have a joke about. Nothing too serious.

As for the posters we spoke about last time, I keep making them every now and then. It's something I really enjoy and wish I could spend more time doing. I tried to record the process of me designing one recently, but found it too distracting.

I think I'll showcase them when I do updates or game development style videos. Definitely not a how to style or time-lapse video, probably just a shot of the work with me talking over it.

I'm making room in my schedule to start producing videos again, which I'm looking forward to. The other day I was looking through some of the videos I've made and I was thinking, fuck me I made some underrated stuff. I think going forward I'd be much happier with a smaller supportive audience, rather than making something that appeals to others, but I don't enjoy creating.

That's the beauty of having my own site, I can do the things that work for me. Hopefully I can reach a niche audience who like my sense of humour.

As for the types of video, they will be varied until I find something that clicks. I already have a few things in mind, but I'll leave a bit of leeway 

I used to have fun making some of the videos, the only problems happened when I had to make stuff fit the platform I was on. So the good news is I'll be able to get creating things the way they should be.

I'm looking to create more content and line of products that people enjoy, once I get a few things lined up. This all means that work on my current game will slow down until I get used to the new work load and fitting in real life stuff.

​But as long as I appeal to a more mature clued up audience I think everything will be golden.

So I think that's it sweet cheeks, your all caught up. If there is anything I've missed I'll put it in our next catch up. Kisses.

Things have been a bit hectic recently and I have to be honest, frustration is starting to creep in. Working in the creative industry can often be like that, as working on projects can become long and drawn out, with some never actually seeing the light of day.

Non-physical thing's (like videos, art, software, music etc) the development-to-fulfilment cycle is long and sometimes even impossible to complete without someone other than you, enjoying what you've created. This is the direct opposite of creating something physical, which gives you constant feedback as you make it. And if no fucker other than you ever sees it, at least you like it and can enjoy it.

This outlook can kill a lot of projects, as ultimately you know the support won't be enough. In fact I've canned off quite a few long-form gaming related videos I'd been working on for a long time. The reasons are quite intricate, but it boils down to gaming being in a bad place and me ultimately questioning my return on making any game related content.

But what do you means? How is gaming in a bad place and why would you not get a return?​

Let's be clear gaming is in a bad place, but most people wouldn't know it. Like say you were walking past a lake and suddenly, the pocket of earth containing trapped carbon dioxide under the lake bed was cracked, you wouldn't know what's going on until it was too late.
​
It's a super niche subject which I may touch on in the future, so for now I want to talk about returns.

Quite simply put, I'm doing the things that are worth my time doing. Not just financially, although that is very important, but I mean a sense of fulfilment. The whole point in doing a creative job is taking control of your future and building rich, rewarding experiences for yourself, not just other people.

But this is a catch-47 situation (much worse than catch-22). You can't just knock out a "quick" video, because they don't exist. Even something that takes only a minute or two to watch, may take a week or more to produce. And insultingly enough, people put a low monetary value on a video being less than 5 minutes, as in - not being worth anything, even if they did enjoy it (I know people are fucked up).

So if a compromise ​of my own fulfilment and viewers finding financial value in my work is to be achieved, my videos will have to have a certain level of quality. Which ultimately means they will be few and far between. 

I have come to terms with this and have worked out how to do it. I think about my long term plans and judge how what I'm doing will affect it, trying not to get caught up too much in short term turbulence. I've also learned to use producing physical things to scratch my creation reward itch (so to speak).

It's not a case of being creative versus making physical objects, it's a case of do both - this isn't an 'or' house.

So I'm off-setting the creative fatigue of making things like videos and games, by making real stuff again.

I've started by creating my own posters for myself. This is art I've worked on for various reasons, that has now got the chance to be brought to life. Which I have to say is pretty enjoyable work. I made a poster the other day about a video I was going to do and while I binned the video, I at least got to make a poster from it.

I've got some other things in mind that can hopefully tie in with what I'm doing, but they will take longer to assemble.

Work on my first Steam game(I mean I hope to get it on there) is very slow. Trying to create something that hasn't been done before is a long arduous task, especially when fighting off fatigue.

Early artwork is in place and some basic semblance ​of the gameplay is there, but there is a hell of a long way to go. The weird part is I'm looking forward to it. It's a long road, but like a knackered marathon runner, with blisters on his feet, feeling like he wishes he would die, I know the pain will be worth it when I look back on it - so I've got to finish.

My greatest unknown on the project is the advertising of it. Like where to do it and how long for? I'm sure I'll figure it out as I've got quite some time before that's even an issue anyway.

Oh, I released Kalzor's soundtrack on YouTube so people can listen for free. It's got a retro theme that's in keeping with the game.

It won't be to everyone's tastes, but hopefully it will expose more people to the charming-end of games. If we just save the life of one kid it will be worth it.

​Kisses!

All the posts earlier than this have just been dumped here on the same day, which is why they won't look so purdy. The reason is that they were old posts I made on static pages some time ago(they had no visible dates), rather than a dedicated blog section.

I really can't be arsed making these old posts look any better, but I promise to be a gentler lover in the future. Kisses.

Focus
A lesson that's took many years in the making to learn, but I now realise - is that I need to focus. You could easily put it down to an age thing, you know becoming more reflective of your life and whatnot. But I like to think it's because I'm growing.

Now this all coincides with a video I watched, from one of the indie developers at gaming studio Butterscotch Shenanigan's. It's titled "The Last Game I Make Before I Die", it details Samuel Coster's personal troubles and how he pushed himself on (I'll let the man tell you in his own words, he really gave a fantastic inspirational speech - see the video).

But the take away from it (at least for me) is that you really should focus on the things that matter to you, because you don't know when your last day is. Now this resonated with me because of things I've been going through in my personal life. Not that you should need a sign to take action - but this really is a sign to take action.
I want to quickly touch on health and particular, men's health.

It's something we don't take serious enough, particularly when we're young and we should. Things like depression and anxiety aren't supposed to be experienced by 'men'. Let me tell you now that's horseshit! Men do get depressed and suffer from anxiety, which make it all the more dangerous, as they often don't get help straight away because it's not perceived as 'macho'. Let me tell you what is manly, going to the doctors and taking care of business, no matter how trivial it may seem.

Like I said, I don't want to linger on this too much, but here is an interesting article written by the NHS "Anxiety and depression linked to increased cancer death risk". 
The reason I mention this is you would think that creative industry jobs are safe, especially when compared to something like construction - but they're not. And I've worked in both, so I should know.

In overly simplified terms it's easy to come off the tracks, which has a knock-on affect. But rather than dwell on how you got there I want to cover the solution - focus! (See how it's all tied together? Not bad seeing as I'm half awake and eating cereal as I write this hey?).

To help you understand what I'm talking about, here is a little diagram I made from the video with Sam.
Game Development
Now it's got just 4 sections - unimportant, important, non-urgent and urgent.  You can place all your life's activities, hopes and dreams into this 4 section box. I encourage you to do so, write them in and see where you priorities are and where they should be instead.

I, like Sam, found that things that were important to me, found themselves relegated to the dangerous 'important but non-urgent' zone. It's been a long time coming, like I've said, but I'm re-ordering what's worth my time.
Only Great
As I've decided I only want to do the things that matter to me I've cut YouTube, it's just toxic and worse than that - it's useless. I will occasionally use it to drum up a tiny bit of traffic, but outside of that my time is best spent elsewhere (which turns out to be here, you lucky son of a gun).

​Oh I recently did a Prey Story Recap video, it was a bit tongue in cheek humour but a lot of fun. I didn't animate anything as the window to get a bit of traffic from it is very short. But I did draw every single scene myself and made the music in the background. Hopefully it can make enough cash directing people to the shirts that I can get a copy of Prey 2017 myself.
Since the last little chat we had I developed and released, a small space shooter game called Kalzor: 2000, it's available now using the Humble widget. It's a weirdly addictive game that you sink five or ten minutes in here and there, but adds up to a ton of gameplay time and most importantly it's fun. I developed it because I knew it would be quicker to produce than the current game I'm developing and it taught me a thing or two, which was cool because I always like learning new stuff.

As for my current game (the one I referred to in the last chat we had) I was putting together some art for it, and oh my god does it just seem right. I honestly want to show it to everyone so bad right now, but I'd be shooting myself in the foot revealing anything this early. Needless to say, when I can show it you I will.
The tricky thing I face in going independent is that 'independent' part. I have to weigh off bringing traffic in, and keeping quality up. But as long as I focus on doing what I want to do, everything else should fall into place. Hopefully the people who stumble upon me will see the effort that's gone into everything I do and fall in love with all the work.

As far as site traffic goes it's all good so far. The site is getting indexed and starting to be searched for, also bringing in search term results traffic too. As content grows I may need to do some outreach, but I hope word of mouth will save me the effort (I guy can dream).
Goodies
I've picked some franchises I've always wanted to cover, so I'd thought I'd share some of their names this way you know what to expect. Deep breath: Fallout (1,2,3 and New Vegas), Bioshock (1 and 2) retro games (not naming them, until later), Skyrim (maybe earlier Elder Scrolls if there are any takers), GTA (from 3 to present), Red Dead Redemption (1 and 2). There will be more that I don't want to list at the moment, but you can already see there are a lot of things to be working on and hopefully you recognise somethings you like. So keep checking back in.

​​(I so really want to talk about my game.)

Game Progress
Had some pretty big changes since your last nosey, they could have their own page but I'll overview here in one - so let's catch up.

First off, I switched from developing the previous game you saw (you know the one found here), which wasn't an easy choice as it was pretty advanced for a prototype. But I knew it would have took too long for the work progression I have lined up.

So I've come up a new game, which in theory shouldn't take as long to develop - don't be fooled though, games take fucking forever to do. It's just that hopefully this one takes a little less forever to finish.

The bonus is that as far as I can see no one has made a game like it, so it should have that unique factor people are looking for. It's all very hush hush around here at the moment, but nearer the time I'll release some videos about it (unless it gets canned).
Silence Is Golden, But Your Eyes Still See
I've done away with comments on the YouTube videos for awhile, to test how important they are.

​Now that might sound a little weird, so let me explain. If you haven't made videos and put them on the internet you might think it works like this :-

'You make a video, everyone shares their thoughts on what they saw in an intelligent way and those who disagree with any points you make, do so in a respectful and intelligent manner. Everyone is so grateful for viewing a video for free (but cost you to make) that they watch the adverts that enable it to be viewed for free and leave a like in appreciation. After all that we all remove our monocles and toast to living in such an excellent age where such things can happen, by raising our cups of tea and clinking them against each others.' 

But you could not be more wrong. The world's number one social media platform YouTube, is well - not very social. The vast majority of people watching won't do anything. Not comment, like or share. They are fucking window lickers, not a problem if your only aim is to get eyes for YouTube's adverts. Although even making money with adverts is increasingly becoming difficult with the rise in shit cunts using questionable advert blocking software.

But of the comments you do get the decent ones are, again, vastly outstripped  by garbage. It becomes a full time job ensuring the comments remain healthy. Removing the spammers and shit posters becomes a choir. So what can you do?

Well it's a no brainer, you do what I opened this chat with - you turn off the comments.

I've tested this well in advance and so far there has been a massive benefit to my work. So I can focus on what I enjoy doing and that's making videos.
Ads...Ads Everywhere
As I mentioned, the army of shit cunts denying you the breadcrumbs adverts bring-in is growing, the self-entitled army of children who've never been told no, don't want to support the free videos they watch. And what Veruca Salt wants, Veruca Salt gets.

The solution here is simple - non-skippable ads. Ads that can't be blocked by any software. Obtrusive ads built into the videos.

This way I can piss into the eyes of the Veruca Salt self-entitled brats and make free videos at the same time. A giant horse piss, if you will.

​B-b-b-but it will spoil the viewing experience.......
Premium Service
For those who want a viewing experience not obstructed by ads there is good news. I've installed a premium service, where for a tiny fee, you can watch my unique videos the way they were meant to be watched. It's a win-win for everyone.

You get a better experience than the scrubs and I can move away from the adverts on videos.


I think that's pretty much everything for now, I'll catch up with you next time you nosey bastard.

​Since the last chat we had I've put the 3d game stuff on hold and returned to 2d game development - reason being it will just eat up too much time and money producing things. So as a consequence the game I was working gets tossed on the "no one will ever know you existed" pile, which is becoming a worrying mound I can tell you.

Now though I've got a new working prototype, which you can see in a ridiculous early stage of development. It's the kind of early look under the hood that interests only a handful of people - so lucky you, you spoilt bastard.
So let's chat about what's happening in a way that won't induce vomiting.

​The enemy have a set of states that they can be in, certain checks in the code will change what state they are in - simple.
To start off the enemy a.i has a patrol state where it goes forward unless it meets an obstacle, then it turns left and carries on. It just like them tiny little yellowish organisms you saw when school made you look at a white tray full of pond water and scooped up pond life for "science". I can't remember what the little creatures are called, maybe I can film some in the future so you know what I'm on about.

Anyway beyond patrolling, if the enemy sees you they fire at you, if they have a gun that is. They also pause to reload when the ammo is depleted. If they lose sight of the player they go to his last location and search about for him, then return to patrolling if they didn't find you again. Let's see what else?

Oh right yeah, you should have noticed the player can pick up and shoot (the little boxes with numbers are guns)
weapons as well as throw them at enemies. When the players' gun hits an enemy it knocks them out, causing the enemy to drop their weapon. Which the player can now pick up and use.

Going forward and what will happen is that when a gun is in enemy hands it has infinite ammo, but the player will have a set number of rounds, so will have to make shots count(well this is how it works currently actually).

I hope you noticed the way the gun bounced off the walls as well. As the weapons in the game are irregular shapes they will bounce off a wall differently to something like a ball. So I've put an element of randomness into how the angles are worked out. This means sometimes the player could try to bounce a weapon off a wall to hit an enemy, knocking them out - while other times it might fly back at them.

I think that covers most of the games enemy a.i, other than the things you see in the video. 
​
But what I will be adding, is that firing a gun will get nearby enemies to come to your location. I'm thinking of mixing up action with a hint of stealth, like tiny hint of stealth, teeny tiny bit of stealth in what will be otherwise shooty stabby madness. I'm focusing on the basics and then seeing what works and what doesn't work. I think it will be a super hard game to play, the kind of thing you actually brag about beating.

When I get more time to add some more features I'll update ya sweet pea - kisses.

​Steam sales suck money out of your wallet faster than a £20 hooker can extricate semen out of your overly sensitive testicles with her gummy appendage-pleaser.

Just like your brief encounter (ha briefs, as in under crackers) with gummy Anne, you have to look out for the warning signs, that your not being sweet talked into a rash decision ( ha rash, like stds - boom).

​Are those scabs on her lips part of her thrifty lifestyle, smoking cigs into the filter, only stopping when they burn her skin? Or would putting your old man anywhere near this walking cornflake factory result in your gentiles taking on the "just fucked a hornets nest" look to them?

Now while I wont give you advice on women, I will try to steer you clear in the Steam sales. Because the Steam sales really do have some deals you shouldn't pass up. Use common sense and always wear a rubber while you shop on Steam, taking care to read the Steam user reviews.

​That being said let's crack on with what you should buy, by telling you what I'm looking out for.

Stardew Valley
Stardew Valley ticks all the boxes for your inner megalomaniac. Fish, farm, fuck and even fight - what more could you want?

You basically get a plot of land to turn into a farm, first by getting the land ready and then sowing the seeds of what you want to grow. You can venture out to sell your crops, buy new stuff and even form relationships with the other people in the town.

There are many other activities to do, like mining and fishing, which you'll come across as you journey out to investigate Stardew Valley itself.

More than just a game that's going to waste my time (in a good way), for me personally Stardew Vallley earns brownie points for the fact it was made by one person. The graphics, the programming, the music - everything. As someone who is trying to make my own games, I can understand the hard work and dedication it takes to put the right game together.

Deus Ex Mankind Divided
As if my little chat on Deus Ex Human Revolution hasn't sold you that these games are awesome already, they went and brought out another chance for us to live as Adam Jensen. Seriously, if you haven't read that chat yet - you're a gimp.

I love the way the themes touched on in the Deus Ex games fly over most people's heads like a Frisbee. It's easy to get lost in the Deus Ex Mankind Divided gameplay, graphics or awesome soundtrack, without even discussing the topics covered in the game whatsoever.

But if you want to get the most out of a title like this, you have to submerge yourself into every side mission or room that seems off the beaten track. It's the only real way to build the picture of the entire story on offer.

Fallout 4
If you can look past the fact Fallout 4 is only a Fallout game in name only, then you're golden. If your opinion is Fallout 4 is a good Fallout game, then I fart in your general direction you clueless wonder.

But in all seriousness, if you're looking for a good game you could do a lot worse than Fallout 4 - as long as you don't judge it to previous Fallout game standards.

Wasteland 2
I put Wasteland 2 close to Fallout 4 in the hope some of Wastelands magic rubs off on it. But if you've never heard of Wasteland before, it's basically the game Fallout was based off.

The choices you make in Wasteland 2 actually have impact, from your character build to how to talk to someone all have a bearing on the gameplay. Meaning you can (and must) play through the game several times to get what the game has to fully offer.

While I wouldn't recommend anyone (other than those who want it for nostalgia) buy Wasteland 1. I can tell you buying Wasteland 2 and playing through it multiple times, might coast you through the wait until Wasteland 3 hits the shelves.

Just Cause 3
Just Cause 3 is complained about for being lacking in story and basically being an excuse to blow shit up. Well that sounds perfect to me.

Sometimes I want to play a game that is mindless stupid fun, with the emotional depth of Keanu Reeves. I just don't want to pay full price for that shit.

Steam Sales
The reason I shared this list of games to buy in the Steam sales is I'm looking to buy them myself. The masses of games available and back log I've made by picking up games in the past (but not got round to playing yet), means that the Steam sales are not just a way of saving money. They now act as a reminder that new titles are coming out, when you might otherwise have not heard about them them.

I hope I put you on to buying something you'll enjoy, I'll keep looking to see if anything else catches my eye.