While researching for a new gaming project (yeah, like I don’t have enough on my plate) I ran across a nice little gem called Adventure Creation Kit. While being a far cry from Enterbrain’s RPG Maker series in terms of building RPGs it’s not really the point of this game creation utility. It’s not really geared to build jRPGs like RPG Maker but instead it’s intentionally designed to build games in the tradition of the classic Ultima series, more specifically Ultima 4 and 5.

Granted it’s been around for a couple years or more and I may have even stumbled across it before. But something this time struck a chord with me. Perhaps its been that desire of late to see more games from this era. I do so miss the simplicity of RPGs of the time and IMHO were more fun to play. I remember playing the Ultima series days on end with little to no sleep and barely leaving the room for food and drink. All the while being on a 3-way call with two other friends questing at the same time and sharing finds and clues. This was LONG LONG before the day where MMORPGs like WoW and Everquest were consuming the lives of its players.

I’ll be downloading this when I get home this evening and tinkering with it over the weekend as time permits. I may start building Ultima Obscura or Skara Brae with it. Heck, if I like it enough I may actually build Elendaria with it – afterall Elendaria WAS originally inspired by Ultima 5 during its original conception and would be nice to come full circle.

As some of my friends and family already know, I’m hoping to get my hands on an Android phone soon (if all goes well by the end of the year, if not then for my normally scheduled upgrade in 2010). In particular I’ve been eyeballing the HTC Droid ERIS (aka HTC Hero) which, while not sporting a physical keyboard or flash for its 5mp camera, is just a much better all around phone than the Motorola Droid (yes I realize the Droid is running Android 2.0 while the ERIS is still on 1.5 – but what they won’t mention at Verizon is that Android 2.0 will be available for ERIS come January 2010).

Anyways I’m looking at getting some hands on Java and Android development going and putting some new tech skills under my belt. Mobile Apps are the new hotness right now but I still refuse to get on the iPhone bandwagon. I much prefer the openess of Android.

So with that in mind I’ve been looking for some fun starter apps to build and ran across this page while searching for mobile horror games (always good to check potential competition). Yes the page is all iPhone stuff but it was enough inspiration to get the gears turning. Now I’m hoping to turn out some fun apps for the haunt community. I have a buddy of mine who does iPhone App development so who knows maybe even some ports in the future as well.

13 Devilish Halloween iPhone Apps, Wallpapers & Ringtones