Today was technically day two of the Game Developer's Conference, but for me it felt like day one. I spent most of yesterday getting my badge and my bearings, and took most of the morning wandering the halls of the Moscone Center to make damned sure I wouldn't get lost later on in the week. So today was the first day I got the chance to see games, and it's strange to think that even though the convention floor isn't even open I've already seen almost a dozen games.
So here is a list of what games caught my eye in the last two days. Keep a few things in mind as you go through this list: first, I've been meeting with mostly small developers and not every game I saw was an RPG. Each of the following, RPG or not, appealed to me in some was as an RPG gamer, and so I thought worth mentioning:
* Ridemakerz: This free-to-play MMO for tween boys loves Z's almost as much as they love cars. Think Build-a-Bear meets Neopets on the race track, and you'd be pretty close. This game is in closed beta at the moment, so I'll be covering it more next week.
* Majesty 2: A medieval RTS with some pretty novel advancements, including battling monsters in the environment, and a quest system where the player gives the NPCs quests for a change. Super cool.
* Elven Legacy: This war/tactics game uses a magical elven empire as its setting. You play as elves fighting for survival as they seek to root out the dangers that threaten to destroy their way of life. The heroes in this game intrigue me, since they gain experience and level as they fight, and the strategic use of abilities in combat reminds me a lot of grouping in MMOs.
* Wizards 101: I have a new free-to-play love, and its name is Wizards 101. The free-to-play designed for 8-year olds, this is a Yu-gi-oh card game wrapped inside a Harry Potter RPG. And yes, before you ask, it's fun. Damn fun. Like download the game now fun.
* Dragon Age: Origins: I can't say anything yet about my second chance to see the game except that damn, this is f$*%ing amazing. Make sure to check back with us on Monday for the juicy details.
