The MOKKOGRAD Report: August 2025
Hi Friends!
It is still Summer, but it has gotten more rainy.
Gamedev-News
JRPG game test dungeon is pretty far along at this point. It's actually pretty much playable from start to finish, and the only big things that are left are the sprite for the boss fight at the end, some battle backgrounds and some music. I've been thinking about looking for a composer to help me with the latter, but I'm not right now if I want to do this, considering that the idea for me here was to create something playable, quickly.
One of the big problems I have with basically anything videogame related I'm doing, is that I keep thinking that what I have is not good enough. It feels like I'm constantly chasing some strange idea of perceived legitimacy that I frankly cannot reach on my own and with the resources that I have. Completely ignoring the question of whether or not chasing that legitimacy is even something I should be doing in the first place.
On the other hand, I would really like to find other people to collaborate with on this game, so who knows what I'll do.
Regardless of that, I do still enjoy working on this game. Though I'm now very deep in those parts of game development, where a lot of time is spent on just making things for it, instead of thinking about what I want it to be, it's still cool to see those ideas take shape and become real.
Blogpost-Shares
Nothing! There's something called "Blaugust" going on this month, which is supposed to serve as a motivating thing for people to write blogposts, but unfortunately the name gives me sensory issues, so I don't think I'll indulge.
Interesting things I played/watched/read
Neverwinter Nights 2
In a strange coincidence I decided to re-install Neverwinter Nights 2 just a few days before I learned that an "Enhanced Edition" of the game was about to get released.
I played this game a bunch way back when it came out, but I never played through Mask of the Betrayer. I had it, after buying the complete edition off of GOG years ago, but still I didn't play it then either. I did however play the other expansion of that game, "Storm of Zehir" a bunch and I still like how that one does overworld exploration and random encounters. It is also very easy to duplicate items in Storm of Zehir, because you can export and reimport player created characters in there, and those come with their respective inventories.
Anyway, I played through the whole thing, starting with Storm of Zehir (to get myself a nice starting inventory for Neverwinter Nights 2) and it took until the final parts of the original game to not be constantly infuriated by the combat AI and pathfinding.
In general, Neverwinter Nights 2 feels incredibly rudimentary. Every space feels larger than it needs to be (I assume because characters really don't know how to handle tight spaces) and it also controls horribly.
However, making a blorbo is still fun, the crafting system (once you get your head around it) gives you a lot of options and after finally having played it, Mask of the Betrayer is pretty cool. It's definitely the most interesting D&D story I've played through.
Books!
I'm still reading myself through the Earthsea books and having the best time with those. What I really like about LeGuin's writing is how every now and then, her stories have sentences in them that just stop your brain for a second.
The Cartograph Section
Some name changes for Cartograph game, since I started to get ideas about stuff.
From the travel Journal of Escrapan t’Arch, Principal Carer during East Meere's third expedition to the forgotten Lands of Insel.
Year 290 of the Sinking Age
Day 64
Still trying to move east through the woods, but for some reason the expedition can't seem to find a path out. Food is running low.
Day 70
Stumbled over a small coastal village. Managed to replenish our foodstocks with some of the Shellfish they were farming out in the shallow waters. I used to hate clams, but these taste incredible.
Day 78
Back in the woods, it's been raining for a week. Lost Father's Box of gems while trying to ford a river.
Day 80
Followed the trail of a large fire in the distance and found a village hidden deep in the forest. The entire town stood around a large bonefire, burning what looked like bodies of entire trees. Once we introduced ourselves, the expedition was forced to relinquish all wood we had gathered in that forest, for locals insisted on it being possessed by the vengefulness of the lands.
Only upon leaving did I notice that nothing in that town was made out of wood.
Day 82
Four strange looking travelers approached our expedition, saying we had taken too much from the local people and that our presence is unwanted. A fight broke out soon after during which one of the travelers yelled strange words at me.
The expedition managed to dispatch them (thank Meere's for its Reiters), but I feel wrong somehow...
Day 100
An incredible discovery! A Swamp! Not just any Swamp, our Dreamer said that the Earth itself here is thinking. "Something powerful was wounded here and its blood has drenched the land, now all it wants is to punish those who betrayed it."
If we could somehow split the vengefulness from the Swamp, then I believe we have found an incredibly powerful resource.
Day 101
Proposed my idea to the Expedition's First and got permission to take samples for further study. During our extraction, we also found the bodies of several local Animals that recently got swallowed in the red mud of the swamp.
Current Stats:
2 Red Jokers
0 Black Jokers
(the game ends when three jokers of one colour are drawn)
Reputation: -1
Coin: 0
Wares: 0
Wounds: 1 (Disheveled)
Food: 4
1 Landmark Die
1 Biome Die
See you in September!