There’s something timeless about Command & Conquer.
The mix of fast-paced #strategy, iconic sound design, and that unmistakable visual style hooked me from the start.
It’s not just #nostalgia, C&C still plays like a charm. Every match feels like a miniature war #story, and the rhythm of base building, rushing, and countering never gets old.
The series shaped how I see real-time strategy games. It’s a #classic for a reason.
Stars Reach doesn’t look like you remember
I've been remiss in posting updates on Stars Reach here. I mean, the Kickstarter finished back in March (late pledges still accepted)! Today, though, I want to brag about our awesome AI and proc gen driven worlds.
Over the last few releases, we have been rolling out yet
https://www.raphkoster.com/2025/06/20/stars-reach-doesnt-look-like-you-remember/
One week of Stars Reach Kickstarter
Wow, it has been an intense six days.
We launched on Tuesday, which feels like an eternity ago. It's a mad scramble to get everything done, make sure you have all the content ready, to answer the huge inflow of questions, find all the spots where you weren't quite clear enough... but you just sur
https://www.raphkoster.com/2025/03/03/one-week-of-stars-reach-kickstarter/
STARS REACH Kickstarter funded in 1 hour
I can't tell you how much of a rollercoaster yesterday was. We hoped to see a strong Kickstarter but reaching our goal is less than one hour is just amazing, and a real expression of support from the community. Thank you all so much. (You can check out the Kickstarter here!)
We're not stopping here. As I write
https://www.raphkoster.com/2025/02/26/stars-reach-kickstarter-funded-in-1-hour/
Noch einen Test für morgen erstellen und anschließend den Feierabend mit dem #RocketBeans #GameTalk ausklingen lassen:
https://youtu.be/KwT51ln7cRw?si=cbHtr2YrWKgDNwya
Mein #GuiltyPleasure dienstagabends ...
STARS REACH Kickstarter is live now
Today we are launching the Kickstarter for Stars Reach.
Why a Kickstarter? Well, the funding climate is rough. But we have seen that players love what we are making.
So we want to prove to the industry that people want a modern sandbox. An alternate world that feels alive, not like a static cardboard set. A game where different sorts of playstyles come
https://www.raphkoster.com/2025/02/25/stars-reach-kickstarter-is-live-now/
Should I buy #DinoCrisis 1 and 2 on #GOG?
I find #ResidentEvil too #horror-heavy, but I've heard that #DinoCrisis has more #survival and #action elements.
Is it worth it for a #retro #gaming experience? How do these classics hold up today?
Would love to hear your thoughts! 
Im neusten #GAMETALK besprechen @polygonien und @jh das wenig bekannte «#JadeCocoon: Story Of The Tamamayu» aus dem Hause Genki:
https://GameTalk.FM/JadeCocoon/
Wer von euch hat dieses #JRPG 1999 auf der #PlayStation 1 gespielt? 
Old movement stuff for STARS REACH
When it comes to interim stages of game dev, I am a bit of a packrat. I have paper maps from when I was doing Ultima Online, and UI sketches for Star Wars Galaxies... of course, for my current thing, Stars Reach, I have a whole pile of images and videos going back to the very earliest d
https://www.raphkoster.com/2024/08/28/old-movement-stuff-for-stars-reach/
The first players land in Stars Reach
GIF courtesy of hooby, showing sunrise on the test map
This past weekend was a huge milestone for us -- the very first regular players landed on an alien world in Stars Reach and ran around and had some fun!
This was a pre-alpha test aimed mostly at testing our login systems, infrastruc
https://www.raphkoster.com/2024/08/21/the-first-players-land-in-stars-reach/
The neverending griefing discussion
I've been doing MMOs and online worlds a long time. And that means that I've written and said a lot of things on the Internet over the years, about designing them.
One of the funny things about reactions to the various vision blogs for Stars Reach is the number of people who have
https://www.raphkoster.com/2024/08/07/the-neverending-griefing-discussion/
Using a vision exercise to define what Stars Reach is about
Long-time blog readers may recall that I have posted about my standard "vision exercise" before. It's a simple four question exercise you can use to think through what your game is about:
What is the game system about?
What is the ga
https://www.raphkoster.com/2024/07/31/using-a-vision-exercise-to-define-what-stars-reach-is-about/
SR Pillars three: the vibe!
The third post in the series on the game pillars for Stars Reach is up. This one is all about the vibe of the world, and the thematic goals for the game... and how those things then reflect into the game mechanics.
Stars Reach is a game about hope and optimism. The real world is grimdark enough. We want to cap
https://www.raphkoster.com/2024/07/24/sr-pillars-three-the-vibe/
SR Pillars Part 2: Easy Surface, Much Depth
Yup, another week so I wrote another long post about the design pillars we are using for designing Stars Reach. (If you missed last week's, it's here, and I expanded on it on the blog here.)
This week, it's all about the second set:
The Ease of Nintendo Meets the Depth
https://www.raphkoster.com/2024/07/18/sr-pillars-part-2-easy-surface-much-depth/
Stars Reach Pillars
I have written a blog post about the core pillars of Stars Reach over on the SR website.
We have three big pillars, each of which decomposes down into a series of goals -- three each -- and then those provide a host of more specific design rules or guidelines that the game has to follow. It's core to how we manage a
Wishlist STARS REACH and its living world
Over the years, I've tried many ways of making living worlds. This video here explains how we are doing it on Stars Reach. Which you can now wishlist on Steam.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeY4ERLhNjc
The Living Wor
https://www.raphkoster.com/2024/07/03/wishlist-stars-reach-and-its-living-world/
Announcing Stars Reach
It's been years of work, and we are far from done, but I am super happy to finally reveal what I have been working on at Playable Worlds: Stars Reach.
This is the game I have wanted to make for nearly thirty years. It is the spiritual sequel to Ultima Online and to Star Wars Galaxies. It
https://www.raphkoster.com/2024/06/28/announcing-stars-reach/
GDC talk: Revisiting Fun
My GDC 2024 talk Revisiting Fun: 20 Years of a Theory of Fun is now posted here.
Once again, I had a lot of fun drawing cartoon heads of lots of people who feature in the talk.
The talk really is a direct sequel to the one from a decade ago, Ten Years Later. Unlike last time, there is no updated edition just yet, though I was asked by lots of
https://www.raphkoster.com/2024/03/28/gdc-talk-revisiting-fun/
Im 170. #GAMETALK besprechen Dodo vom Durchgespielt-#Podcast und @jh das 2004 erschienene «#Warhammer40k: Dawn of War»:
https://GameTalk.FM/WarhammerDawnOfWar/
Das gelungene #RTS #Game aus dem Hause Relic Entertainment hat aber durchaus Schwächen…
Mit #SeaOfStars besprechen @binaryscroll, @lazerpunch, @moep0r und @jh im #GAMETALK das angeblich beste #IndieGame 2023 und das vielleicht charmanteste #JRPG der jüngeren Zeit:
https://GameTalk.FM/SeaOfStars/
Kann dieses #Rollenspiel tatsächlich an seine grossen Vorbilder anknüpfen?
