(To my loyal readers: I’ve been kind of keeping a low profile recently because I had something in the works and now I can finally talk about it!)
Hi there! I’m Anthony Salter, and I’m the new developer for Sword of Fargoal 2. I’m incredibly excited to be on this project and if you look around the site you’ll be able to see why – Fargoal is just the kind of game I enjoy.
My first encounter with Fargoal was at a friend’s house back in the…I’m going to say late 80’s. See, I didn’t have a Commodore 64 of my own, so every once in a while I’d go spend the night with my friend Dennis and we would stay up all night playing games on his. That’s where I first encountered Sword of Fargoal, and though I didn’t have long to play it, I enjoyed it – especially the sound effects.
But when you’ve only played a game for two hours 25 years ago it might not stick in your memory so much. So I completely forgot about it…until the CRPG Addict started playing it. His writeup of the game was excellent, and that’s where I found out about the Kickstarter for Sword of Fargoal 2. It had already passed at that point so I couldn’t contribute.
And that’s where things stayed until a few weeks ago, when a friend of mine named Ido Yehieli mentioned that Sword of Fargoal 2 needed a programmer. I’d been wanting to get back into game development so he recommended I email Paul Pridham, the current programmer.
So I did, and I had a perfectly pleasant exchange with him. And eventually he recommended a phone conversation with the project leader, Jeff McCord.
Wait. Jeff McCord. Why did that name sound familiar?
That’s when I realized I was going to be on the phone with the creator of the original Sword of Fargoal. He hadn’t sold the license or farmed the game out; this was his show.
So, after an initial phone interview (in which I may have fanboid just a bit) and a series of follow-up email back-and-forths, here I am.
I think Sword of Fargoal 2 is a great game already and I hope that I can improve and polish it and get it into shape for its initial release. And after that…who knows?
So, that’s the current deal! To any new readers: I’m glad you’re here, and I’d be honored if you stick around. I talk about game development, review games sometimes and run a (semi)-weekly gaming trivia contest called NAME THAT GAME!
Congratulations man! That sounds like a great opportunity. Are you keeping your day job?
I had a Commodore 64 and I wanted Sword of Fargoal really badly but I never could find it. In the 80s it was hard to find computer games. 🙁
Congratulations and good luck. a sa new reader who recently found your blog, I am glad fro you.
How will this news affect the development of Planitia?
As someone who is also evry interested in the “making of” of games i would like to ask wwhataht you think are the best “making of” of games you have watched?
First off, I am super happy to have a new version of the game to play! I like where you’re going with the different attributes each class has now.
Was honestly hoping to see a little more info on whats been going on with Fargoal development than we’ve been getting. Reading about the process of developing Roguelikes really interests me, and Fargoal is my favorite! Would really love to hear how things have been coming along with the game!
Hope all is well!