The Lost Citadel of Damelyon: A New Fantasy Adventure Novella

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G6NGQ7FS

I've released a new fantasy adventure called "The Lost Citadel of Damelyon", and it's now published on Amazon as an e-book.  I am also working on a physical option which should also be live on Amazon, soon.  The e-book will be free on Amazon starting tomorrow 12/13 and running through Sunday 12/14.

This novella is a self-indulgent love letter to my fantasy adventure campaign setting called Zhune. It was written in the early 1990s and continued to evolve and expand for most of that decade. Since it was written so long ago—and by a much younger version of me—I feel it has a certain earnest and self-assured quality, even as it regurgitates the familiar tropes of the genre.

I based the story on a large binder of notes, maps, and other documents that I recently discovered in my attic (many of those maps are reproduced in it for posterity’s sake and to give some extra flavor to the story).

I had always intended to do something with this fantasy setting, with my most ambitious idea being a full novelization. Upon its discovery, it became the unexpected inspiration for a project to explore the boundaries and capabilities of using artificial intelligence in writing. I understand that can be a potentially controversial topic, and I have no desire to add to the so-called AI slop that many argue has begun to pollute the internet.

The idea I wanted to explore was to use AI as a writing amplifier rather than leaning on it as a source of ideas. I already had the full world-building completed. I was hoping to get some acceleration in the actual writing, which, in the past, has been a very time-consuming and error-prone process for me. Implicit in that is the editing piece, which AI seems to perform nearly flawlessly. I did not rely on the AI for any settings, character arcs, or plot points. I was genuinely impressed by how well it managed to stay on theme and remain consistent in voice and characterization.

NEW Cyberpunk RPG Released: The Prototype

https://semisphere.itch.io/the-prototype

I’m back to blogging after an absurdly long hiatus! I’m excited to announce the release of my old-school cyberpunk role-playing game (RPG), The Prototype. This game is the product of curiosity and an unexpected burst of creativity. I built it using a tool called RPG Maker, which I’ve owned—an older version of—for many years. It’s a fantastic tool because it provides a complete game template, including built-in graphics, sounds, monsters, spells, and more.

However, this abundance of content and the ease of getting started come with a downside. Because the barriers to entry are so low, many mediocre games have been made using RPG Maker’s default assets, creating a bit of a stigma around games built with the tool. I wanted to challenge myself to break away from the default fantasy theme and create something entirely original. Inspired by my recent deep dive into Cyberpunk 2077, I decided to go all-in on the cyberpunk genre.

Bringing my vision to life, though, took time. I initially dabbled with RPG Maker’s latest version, which was quite different from the one I was used to. Without getting too deep into the technical details, doing anything truly impressive in RPG Maker often requires third-party plugins. I had never used them before, so there was a learning curve. While RPG Maker makes game development more accessible by reducing the need for coding, it also imposes constraints on how things can be built. You can’t always just write custom code—you have to work within the RPG Maker “ecosystem.”

After many hours, I managed to implement most of my original vision for the game. Is the story a groundbreaking work of cyberpunk fiction? Definitely not. It’s a game first and foremost, and I took a minimalist approach to storytelling, leaning on the player’s familiarity with the genre’s tropes. That said, the game does offer choices—and multiple endings!

One topic that interests me is the use of generative AI in game development. For better or worse, I relied on AI to generate much of the artwork in The Prototype. The game also features a lot of licensed artwork from some incredibly talented human creators (see the Credits page). As someone with limited artistic ability, I find generative AI to be an invaluable accelerator for creative projects—especially in game development. Given my use of AI, making the game free felt like the obvious choice.

I hope players enjoy The Prototype as much as I enjoyed making it. Thanks for reading!