Clysm Interview

This is an interview of Clysm (author of Seiklus), conducted by Eden B for this blog. All three of us are members of Eo. I edited it and am posting it for her.


EB: what's some games that you've been playing lately (if any)?

Clysm: I played Portal and Half-Life 2 a couple weeks ago. It's pretty unusual for me to play FPS games, though. Other than Metroid Prime, I haven't played any since Doom many years ago. I've also been playing the Aquaria demo.

EB: What do you think of the storytelling in HL2?

Clysm: I thought it was very effective the way the narrative was generally a seamless part of the game.

EB: Although, Valve's sort of dug themselves into a hole, producing only FPSes.

Clysm: I would like to see games of other types with the quality of HL2. Maybe they'll try something different eventually.

EB: I don't play FPSes, they make me feel sick. How was Portal?

Clysm: It was very clever, both the design and the writing. They made it fun just to walk around and play with things, which is a good quality in a video game.

EB: For surely. The concept of "play" seems to be lacking in most games. Although, in Aquaria it's quite fun to just swim around.

Clysm: Yes, I haven't played a lot of that game, but it seems as if it has that, too.

EB: Is there a story to your new game? You've said it's a "rescue game", but is it as minimalist as Seiklus?

Clysm: Yes, it will have quite a bit more story than Seiklus. I haven't decided exactly how much yet, and I still have to make a few final decisions about which way I will take the story.

EB: How're you planning to communicate that? The story, that is.

Clysm: There will be actual text. Probably in the form of journal entries. But it will not be necessary to read any of it to play the game.

EB: Uh oh, text. are you sure gamers are going to be able to handle this "text" business?

Clysm: Well, there are a lot of things about this game that may or may not be well-received by those who happen to try it out. I'm really not sure how it will turn out, overall. It might turn out to be one of those games that's more fun to work on than to play, such as the little life simulators I made.

EB: What sort of features are you talking about there?

Clysm: Well, most of the things I'm talking about are kind of secret. :) I mean, I want the game to have the quality I mentioned, that you don't really know what to expect.

EB: "What is a video game? A miserable little pile of secrets!"

Clysm: But I realize that in saying that I'm probably making it sound like something more interesting than it really is.

EB: Heh. In screenshots that you posted on your rarely updated Eo blog, the graphical style had an odd 3D-ish look to it in parts.

Clysm: Well, the look wasn't really finalized, and it will probably change unless I get too lazy.

EB: Haha. What'd you think of Knytt, a game that was partially inspired by Seiklus?

Clysm: I liked Knytt, but never finished the game. I was pretty impressed with Knytt Stories, however, and I played through all of Nifflas's levels and several by other people.

EB: What was better about Knytt Stories?

Clysm: Maybe I just have a short attention span. I guess I found the atmosphere more varied, and I liked the music.

EB: What music are you listening to these days anyway?

Clysm: A lot of darkwave and chiptunes, mostly.

EB: Darkwave?

Clysm: That's a term I learned a few years ago that seems to include a lot of what I like. Some of my favorite music groups include Deine Lakaien, VNV Nation, and others that are sort of in the same general category as Depeche Mode. It's a pretty big category, though.

EB: Ahh, that sort of thing. Do you support Ron Paul :p?

Clysm: I don't know enough about him to answer that, really. I haven't started deciding who I might vote for, other than things I happen to read.

EB: Well, I know Rinku likes him (which is why I put that question there).

Clysm: I'm not registered as a member of any political party, or even as an independent. I do vote, though.

EB: have you had a chance to look at this years IGF finalists?

Clysm: I tried The Zoo Race and Aquaria, and there are others that interest me. Oh, you said finalists. Yes, I looked over the list.

EB: Zoo Race should've won everything!

Clysm: I would have given it some sort of special award.

EB: It's nice to see more arty games like The Path getting in as well.

Clysm: That's one I haven't looked at.

EB: It certainly looks interesting. Why do you like Mr. Kubus' games? (Note to readers: Mr. Kubus is the somewhat infamous creator of the Johnny games.)

Clysm: I guess because they are different from everyone else's games. I don't really know. I guess he's someone who realizes that you can do whatever you want when you create independent games. They don't have to look or play like any other games, and it doesn't even matter whether anyone likes them.

Arthur Lee Interview

An interview with Arthur 'Mr. Podunkian' Lee, developer of The Underside.


Hi Arthur, let's begin with an introduction of yourself.

Okay, I'm a college student. I use pretty much entirely Multimedia Fusion and GraphicsGale for most my games, but recently I've gotten into some sound design with old toys and homemade electronics. And I made Punishment 1, 2, and Flywrench. But before that I made Wally, Bool, and Booloid.

I'm just kidding, let me get serious here.

Hi, I'm Arthur "Mr. Podunkian" Lee, I'm a college student and I guess I've been making video games for 13 years now, and that's more than half of my entire life, which makes me either an expert in making video games or a big fat nerd.

Are you trying to interview me so you can ask me to show you a picture of a project I'm working on because if you are lemme tell you, you're going to find yourself in a world of disappointment!

You caught me red-handed. Actually, I'm just trying to make sure that The Underside isn't abandoned.


What games have you made so far? I mean, just name the games that you want people to Google for. I know about your past projects, but unfortunately some people think you've only done The Underside. Oh wait, can I use the words 'Cave Story rip-off' excessively in this interview? Or just sparingly?

Yes, preface every question with it!

Haha... can I end each question with the same words as well?

I'm trying to think of what I've made that's still online, but there's really nothing that I've done that's still online.

Metal Gear Santa, The Serious Sam spoof...

Well, I think my first big project was a game called Super Fun Dungeon Run, which featured a little fellow running through and an endless dungeon full of traps. Since then I've made Operation: Human Shield 2 (and I guess by extension, Operation: Sitting Duck 1), Circy 1-3, Novabrain's Grand Adventure, Merry Gear Solid, Serious-Sam-I-Am, and I guess this little game called The Underside.


In which year do you think you will finish development on The Underside? Will there be another demo before that?

See, I used to tell people that The Underside would be finished sometime between Team Fortress 2 and Duke Nukem: Forever, and now that Team Fortress 2 has been released I'm basically in deep trouble. I really have no idea when it'll be done, there's still a whole lot of the game I've gotta do. As for another demo, I've been thinking about it, but I'm sort of against putting out too much media, because it's kind of like vanilla ice cream. If you have vanilla ice cream every once in awhile, it's basically a no-pants party in your mouth. But if you have vanilla ice cream too often, you're going to get sick of it. The same thing applies to other flavors of ice cream too. My game is ice cream.


Okay, how much of it is done?

I just finished the second "boss", but I use the term really loosely, because he doesn't really fight back at all. It's kind of hard to explain, but he's actually an inside-joke/cameo sort of a thing.


What do you think of Pixel's comment about The Underside?

I was really surprised and flattered -- I had no idea he'd played, much less heard about my game. Though I'm worried a bit that he had to give up in the beginning because the game was too hard. And this is the fellow who made the 'Hell' level. I've created a monster.


Is Derek Yu still one of your favorite indie game developers after the recent debacle? Since you've mentioned his name in a list somewhere...

I'll answer your question with a question of my own: Remember that one time. That one time you put a link to my forums on that one post with a picture of Buddy murdering some puppies. Remember how you removed that link? Remember how you thought no one noticed? Well guess what, buddy. Someone did.

That's not really a question though.

But yeah, Derek Yu is still one of my favorite indie developers. I felt that the post I made was long overdue, but he apologized, and I still think his artwork is amazing, so it doesn't really affect my opinion of him.


Have you tried out the Aquaria demo yet?

I bought it the HOUR it came out. I threw money in his general direction. Thirty digital cyberbucks.


Your opinions about Aquaria then. Or what you've played of it so far.

I figured it would be my way of burying the hatchet. To pay him. I paid him as a way of saying "sorry." It's the best, most sincere sort of a "sorry."

Well, if you want me to be COMPLETELY HONEST,...

Yes, complete honesty please. I mean, he has your money anyway. He probably could care less about what you say.

Hrrmmmm, I was a little bit underwhelmed. You have to realize I grew up basically idolizing Derek Yu's pixel art style, starting with the original Trigger Happy, which I found on some AOL boards (heh, heh, AOL) a long long time ago, and I can't help but feel that the skeletal animation system they've got in the game makes the game look a little stiff and lifeless compared to his other stuff.

And the whole "gesture-based-everything-can-be-controlled-with-a-mouse" seems more like an unnecessary gimmick than anything that really contributes to the overall experience. But besides that I'm enjoying the atmosphere and story.

I have a feeling that this is going to be a long interview.

END TRANSMISSION. Haha, dats all i gosta say.

Really... I was hoping for more.

Hahaha. Basically those are my only gripes. The skeletal animation system is really really underwhelming. And the controls are affffffffffff

I think I should leave it at that, I don't want people thinking I'm an asshole.

Haha, okay. Well I'm sure you can't change the minds of those who already think you are.

I've played just past the first boss, so my opinion on the game might be a little biased.


Do you plan on joining IGF with The Underside anytime in the near future? Derek Yu and Joakim Sandberg (who is also in your list of favorite indie developers) have already gone down that route... and did you ever consider joining this year?

It's something I want to do in the future, but probably not with The Underside. The IGF is always full of really unique and interesting games, and well, let's just say I don't think it's the right place for a game as traditional as The Underside.


What do you think of Noitu Love 2? It's basically a 2D platformer, and since it made it into the IGF finals, I'm confident that The Underside has a good chance of doing the same.

I think Noitu Love has a unique control scheme, and an interesting art style, which sort of puts it past "just another 2D platformer." The Underside is not so much a reinvention of anything as it is just the synthesis of a lot of good ideas. It's like a casserole of video games. It's also ice cream. I've got food on my mind.


How much did you receive in donations so far? Messhof only got $25...

Only $25? Son, you could practically buy a copy of Aquaria with that kind of money.

Well, Mesrhof's mom only gave him $20 to buy Aquaria, but Derek increased the price to $30. BUMMER.

Actually, I think I've gotten $25 in donations too. Maybe $25 is some sort of a lucky number.

Who donated, by the way? you should ask them for more money...

Give me more money.

...since you have their email address and stuff. Are you going to make a small game this Christmas?

I was planning on it but then I realized I have too many unfinished projects going on.

Such as? surely you mean, 'the project'...

This one's never going to be finished. I'm also working on a fake Spectrum game called "Let's Get Willy" with a good fellow named Duncan 'LikeRock' Roberts and a game involving a clock. A time travelling clock. It travels through time. I can't tell you what the clock is called but I can tell you that it starts with a Z and it rhymes with Zybourne, and that the clock is called the Zybourne clock.

Any hints?

Yeah, it's called 'the Zybourne Clock'.

Tease...

What I was gonna say about The Underside was that it's been tough working on it because my musician hasn't been doing any work for me lately, so I've been having to write my own music which as you're well aware by now can be kind of disasterous (route 66, the cacophony that is the main theme, etc.). It's because I just punch my keyboard and hope that pleasant sounds come out.

Worked for Messhof.

I think the hardest part about writing The Underside is that I'm really trying to go for a kid-friendly, RATED E FOR EVERYONE script, which means I can't be too dirty with it. But at the same time it really helps the script as a whole because it lets me tackle sort of awful subject matter with a happy, ironic tone. Like a man who's face is too wide and has been stuck in his house for years.


Okay we all know your favorite indie games of all time (Cave Story is definitely not in that list), but have you played anything recently that you felt was spectacular?

Flywrench probably. It's really simple, short, but not too short, and really funny in a dry sort of a way too. There's this other game called 'Pasi the Pumpkin Worm', but I don't think anyone has the depth of mind required to fully appreciate it.


Is there anything you want to say or repeat to the people who said The Underside is a Cave Story rip-off?

Basically that I love them, that I care for them. That I hope they never change. I wish for their very best, and that they succeed in every aspect of their lives.

No, I mean, really....

fffffffff

Dave Gilbert Interview

An interview with Dave Gilbert of Wadjet Eye Games, creator of the Blackwell series and The Shivah.


Hi Dave, let's begin with an introduction of yourself, and what you do.

Sure thing. My name is Dave, and I'm an indie game developer from New York City. I started writing freeware games back in 2001 and in June of 2006 I decided to give the commercial thing a whirl. A year and a half later, I'm still making them.


What are you currently working on at the moment?

At the moment I'm working on the 3rd game in the Blackwell series, entitled "The Blackwell Convergence". It's a return to the present day, meaning you'll see Rosangela again instead of Lauren.

Any side projects? Or are you currently fully committed on Convergence until it's completed? Is there a rough release date already for the third chapter in the Blackwell series?

There are a few other things I am working on, although they are more "cool ideas in the back of my head" than anything else. I am aiming for around February of next year for Convergence, although it's a verrry rough estimate. The game was already designed and plotted out when Unbound was done, so there will be a significantly smaller wait this time around.

February does sound optimistic, knowing your attention to detail...

The majority of the work always happens in the last month. It is a bit optimistic, but the deadline gives us something to shoot for. We might be late, but without some kind of guideline it would never get done.

Although I did say February was "rough". I haven't actually announced a deadline yet! That was the first lesson I learned from Legacy, heh.




You had mentioned that there would be five games in the Blackwell series. Is that still true? Do you have an ending written for it already, as a closure? And will there be another game featuring Lauren as the main playable character? If not, is she going to make an appearance in any of the upcoming chapters?

The "five games" thing is a bit of a guideline for myself. There are five main backstory/plotpoints that I want to hit, and so I've wrapped each one in its own game to make them all digestable. Sometimes we might take sidetrips, like we did with Unbound (which was originally supposed to be part of Convergence and doesn't count as part of the "main five"), so in the end there might be more than five.

I do have an ending in mind, yes, and I know what will happen along the way. There might be sidetrips if I get a neat idea or somesuch, but for the most part I'll be sticking to the path I've laid out.

As for Lauren, she'll always be an ever-present figure, whether she's the main character of the game or not. She was a major part of both Joey and Rosa's lives (or death, in the case of Joey) and continues to effect them. She might return in a game, or in some other fashion, but she might not.

And yes, I'm being vague on purpose.


Since Blackwell Legacy is selling well on several casual game portals, can we expect to see Unbound taking the same distribution path?

Haha. Legacy is only on two portals for now (and about to go on a third), and the game has done very well. So well, that they are willing to take Unbound as well. You'll see it on iWin and Playfirst. No deal has been signed with Big Fish yet. Playfirst even wanted to try selling Shivah, which came as a pleasant surprise!


You price your games according to content, which is understandable. What we'd like to know is, how much should we expect to pay for Convergence? Or is this undecided yet?

As of right now, I'm pricing it at the same level as Legacy. I.e. $14.99. Things might change by the time it comes out, but that's what I'm aiming for.




Are you going to make a game in a different genre during the production of the entire Blackwell series? Or perhaps I should just ask... when is Shivah 2 coming out?

More than likely! I get the feeling that I'll get a bit burnt out on Blackwell eventually, and I'll need to take a break and do something else just to refresh. I know that if I ever do that, I'll always return to Blackwell eventually. I've been plotting this story out for four years and don't plan on giving it up.

As for Rabbi Stone, I want to bring him back, definitely. I spoke last year about doing a sequel before doing the second Blackwell game, and I never ended up doing it. To be honest, I was only going to do it because of the public demand for it and not because I had anything really stellar in mind. So, I'm glad I never made it.

Over the last year I've been thinking about Rabbi Stone in the back of my head, and I've come up with a very nice story arc that I think people will like. But I know that if I DO bring him back, I'll want to do it right. So for the last several months I've been talking to venture capitalists and investors and People With Money to see if anyone wants to give me a few dozen grand for the cause.

The original Shivah really springboarded this whole Wadjet Eye thing, so I figure if there's any IP that can attract potential investors, it would be Rabbi Stone. Of course if that never pans out I'll probably bring him back anyway.


Will you be retaining the same development team from Legacy and Convergence for the fourth and fifth game? Since your plan includes five games in the Blackwell universe.

The dev team changes, depending on the team members. Ian Schaephler did both the sprites and portraits for Legacy, but he's got a very busy fulltime job now and doesn't have the time. So he's just doing the portraits this time. I've got another sprite artist to mimic his sprite style and we go on from there. So the team might change.




Tell us a little about your experience working with Erin. Will you be working with her again on another Blackwell game? And how has the response been for Unbound?

Working with Erin was awesome. She was enthusiastic from the beginning, and didn't mind that I made the game a bit longer than originally planned. We'd both be in coffee shops on wifi connections, chatting over MSN like we were in the same office. It was a great way to work.

She was ideal for Unbound because the budget was very small and she was willing to work within that micro budget. She's got that "busy college kid" thing to deal with these days, so I don't think we'll be collaborating anytime soon. Although I'd love to, since she was a lot of fun to work with.

The reaction to Unbound has been really positive! I was worried how people would react to the change in visual style, as well as a total change of player character. Would they be upset that it was Lauren and not Rosa? Or worse, what if they played Unbound and decided they liked Lauren better! Turns out my fears were unjustified since people generally like both characters.

Nobody minded the simpler graphics, although people did miss the character portraits, which won't disappear again.

I didn't mind the character portraits not being there.

That was the only major complaint about the game, it seemed.

Doesn't seem to be much difference, to be honest..

I thought so too! I do think, despite the simpler graphics, that Unbound is one of the best titles - gameplay wise - that I've ever made. Legacy was too bogged down by narrative and didn't have much gameplay. I learned so much from that game, and Unbound became MUCH more balanced as a result.


Will Convergence improve upon Legacy and Unbound in any way?

I learn lessons from each game, and I try to incorporate them into the next one. The "switching characters" thing will definitely remain, and the dialogs will be quite a bit shorter (although there will be more of them).

Also, the one thing I learned from Legacy is Rosa herself. I wanted to establish Rosa as being kind of a social misfit, and I succeeded but you didn't really learn anything about her aside from "I am scared and nervous." Rosa's a very intellectual and analytical person, and I'm going to focus more on those qualities in the next installment.

She'll still be a social misfit, but the focus won't be on that so much.




Who do you like better? Rosa or Lauren? Who do your fans liked better? And did you base these two characters on actual people?

That's a tough question. Some people say that Rosa feels more real and that Lauren feels more like a stereotype, and some say the exact opposite! Personally, I found Lauren more fun to write since her and Joey have a pre-established relationship and I could just launch right into their banter. The Rosa/Joey relationship is more complicated, since they are in the process of getting to know each other.

But to be honest, I like them both for different reasons! They aren't based on anyone specific, although they are both very "New York" types of characters.


How much of Convergence is already done? Which year do you think the last game will be out, or are you planning to milk it till it's dry?

I'd say about 40% of the coding is programmed, and almost every character is designed (albeit not animated) and almost every background is outlined. (albeit not colored in!)

I can't really answer the second part of the question. I'm guessing we'll be following Rosa and Joey around for a few more years at least.


Where do you see yourself in five or ten years' time? Still working on 2D adventure games? Or trying to finish the Blackwell series?

A very good question! I do want to try out other genres eventually. I love RPG games, and even plotted one out a few years ago. If I ever get the budget, time, and (heaven forbid) the staff to make it, rest assured I'll try!

The fact that people really like my work - and enable me to pay my mortgage every month - makes me feel very happy. It's a weird life sometimes, but I feel very lucky that I am able to do this.


It could be a long ride for some of your fans. Are you really going to finish the Blackwell series, even when you're rich and retired? Or are you secretly working on the final game, so that when you finally call it quits, you can just release it?

It won't take that long to finish. Right now, things are slow because I am spending a LOT of time doing the business development and such.

And doing interviews...

haha. yes! It's your fault!

Eventually, I hope to be able to afford hiring people to do that stuff for me, so I can create these games a bit faster. Although, from what I understand, one game a year isn't a bad turnover rate.


Alright, last question. Can you leak something from Convergence?

Yes. Here is Rosa's new look. (pictured right)

Messhof Interview

An interview with Messhof (Mark Essen), creator of the Punishment series and Flywrench.


Hi Messhof. Let's begin with an introduction of yourself, your tools of trade, and the creations you've released unto an unsuspecting world..

Alright. I'm a college student. I use pretty much entirely Game Maker and MSPaint for most of my games, but recently I've gotten into some sound design with old toys and homemade electronics. And I made Punishment 1, 2, and Flywrench. But before that I made Wally, Bool, and Booloid.


Old toys?

Like old toy guitars from goodwill. I just rewire them so they output to quarter inch cables then run them through pedals or software filters I design. You can get some pretty crazy stuff just by running through their demo songs in different ways. This is something I've been doing with friends though, I don't want to take all the credit for that.


Okay, I've got to ask. How did you get the idea to make games as sadistic as the Punishment series?

Well with Punishment 1 it actually started as a classroom assignment with this experimental class. I'd taken a few classes with the professor, and then he came up with this 300 level weird game design class. So me and some friends jumped at it. There were some other good projects that came out of other groups.


Everyone is talking about Flywrench at the moment, especially about the credits. Was it an original idea to implement it that way? And what's the backstory behind the, er... story?

I guess I've just been watching too much science fiction. I project for this science fiction class every week, so I'm just sitting up in that booth for three hours with my computer usually, and it just seeps in. They always have pretty funny credits. Maybe that's where I got that.


Flywrench was a love it or hate it experience for most. Were you actually expecting this sort of reaction? And were you pleased with the overall response?

I was definitely expecting that with the music, and overall yeah, that's been the case with all of my games. And I am pleased!


What can we expect from you next? What's coming up?

Next you'll probably see Flywrench 2.0 actually. I've been working on that pretty hard.. for three days or whatever.


How is that different from it's prequel? Any major changes? Storyline? Do you have a rough release date for it?

I don't want to promise too much, but I think multiplayer will be a big part. There's also a cool gravity system I'm working with where you orbit planets as you go through obstacles. There's a lot more obstacles, but the game will still move fast. Faster, hopefully. I'd say it will be done around Christmas, maybe a week or two after. And the story will expand on the first.


Tell us a bit about the multiplayer feature. Actually, why not just explain it in detail.

Well I don't know if you know about this Game Maker project Reflect Games...

Yes, I do.

Well I'd like to get in on that.

I'm not too fond of online gaming, so hopefully you would work extensively on the single player campaign as well.

I plan on doing that. Multiplayer will be mostly a test of skills, but I can see a community coming out of it. Another big feature is the level editor, which is a big part of the online aspect too.


How much have you received from donations? Why do you think most people who play freeware games never donate?

I've made $25 off donations, 20 of which was from my mom. I don't think they work really, but it's not really obtrusive to ask, so why not.


You make weird games, and cactus is a big fan of your stuff. So who's better, you or cactus?

Haha... I'm a pretty big fan of cactus. It would be cool to work together sometime. But yeah, for the most part we don't really make the same kind of games.


Name some of your favorite games from cactus.

I know nothing about shmups. Well I do appreciate Clean Asia and his new lo res one that's hard to spell. But I'm terrible at Clean Asia, and I haven't played the other one yet. But I played Arms today, and that was awesome. Brave Karma Warriors also looked interesting.


Will you be changing development tools anytime in the near future?

If they port GM to C++ next year like they say they will, I can see myself sticking with it. Even if I switch to something else, I'd probably at least prototype in GM. But I don't know any other languages.


How long have you been using GM?

Probably 6 years or so.


How many games have you released in that period? Are you planning to make a career out of developing games? (freeware or otherwise)

I think I'll keep making them. If it turns out to be a career, then I'll just go with it I think. Uh... I've released a bunch of games. I used to have them on my website, but I've since taken a lot down that embarrass me.


Which of your released games do you consider your best work so far?

Well the ones on messhof.com, so Wally, Bool, Booloid, Punishment 1, 2, Flywrench.

Favorite son? You have to throw the rest into the river for the crocs to feed.

I guess Flywrench then, he's so young and cute.

He is noisy though. (apparently)

meh. I'm suprised people don't complain more about the Punishment 2 soundtrack.



How long did you take to develop Flywrench? And how did the idea for the game came about?

Had the initial concept back in high school, in GM 5.3. But then I recoded and redrew everything in the past two or three weeks.


Do you think you can still improve after releasing something like Flywrench? Besides a sequel, of course.

Haha, yeah I hope so. I definitely have other ideas, like this plane game.



When will that be released?

That one has been in production for almost as long as Flywrench. After Flywrench 2.0. It might be a little while after that actually. I have a remake of Crystal Quest I have nearly done, so that will probably come between them.

No kidding...

Yeah it's pretty much exactly the same game, painstakingly recalled from memory. And an emulator my brother had for a while. I feel like I should contact the guys that made it first though. I don't think they ever really made much off it.



What are your thoughts about this heated discussion?

Haha yeah I had a fun time reading that. But I don't know why a lot of those guys play indie games.

They're saying you had ripped a game called Dotstream.

Haven't played it. What is similar?

Just the style really. Try watching the YouTube gameplay videos of Dotstream.

Ok. Well they are colored lines. It's not an original concept. I'm watching the video now, but I don't see a color aspect.

No one called Flywrench a Cave Story rip-off yet, so you're safe.

Haha, yeah. Man, Dotstream looks like the dullest game ever conceived.

Caravel Games Interview

A lengthy interview with Erik Hermansen of Caravel Games, the industry veteran who gave us the DROD series - recently featured on Kotaku's Five Indie Picks. He is also currently working on Frogs and Mice, an exclusive game for InstantAction set to be released early next year.


Let's begin with a little introduction of yourself, and some background info on Caravel Games as well. (for those who are not familiar with DROD - though however unlikely that is)


Alright, so I'm a guy that has made computer games for fun since I was 13. And then at one point I thought I'd try selling them. It more or less worked.

DROD was the game I made that was what I wished someone else would make so I could play it. And after I got it out to the world, I found out that there were a smallish number of people that really, really loved it. I think because they have brains like mine.


How long has the DROD series been around? I've first heard about it from The Underdogs, and that site is long gone but Caravel Games is still here!


Well, it gets really boring to explain the various ways you might determine how long it's been around. But I will say that I started designing early versions of it around 1992. And the first commercial version of it was... (leaving briefly to look it up) 1997. That was the version I published with Webfoot Technologies. Now we publish it all ourself.


Who originally worked on the first DROD? If I remember correctly you started out with just one partner..

Well, there was just me and a guy named Lucas Swineford to begin with. Lucas made a bunch of levels for DROD, and I did most everything else. A guy named Lars K Aasbrenn wrote the music. Then as years went by, there've been maybe a dozen core contributors and several tens of people doing things like beta testing and voice acting.

I honestly have a hard time explaining how DROD got made. It's really like a number of games in a series like Sims. "DROD" is more like a franchise name.

Haha ok, no problems at `ll. I can sort of understand, I mean there is at least fifteen years of history anyway. :)

Let me lock you in a room for four hours and bore you to death. THEN YOU WILL UNDERSTAND. Tie you to a wooden wheelchair and show you powerpoint slides.



Where do you think your fans heard about DROD from? I would say The Underdogs mainly, but that's because I'm uninformed.. plus it was at a time when internet marketing was practically unheard of, and games are only promoted by word of mouth.


Underdogs was a big one (thanks Sarinee!). And there's some obscure little budget CD that Webfoot got DROD onto a long while back that apparently was a big deal. But mainly they trickle in from different sources. And word of mouth is still really the biggest way people learn about it.

We send out press releases sure, but people are getting their friends hooked on it and posting on forums. It used to be you threw a game up on a bunch of download sites and that was all the marketing you needed.


Has that changed? Are you spending on marketing DROD: The City Beneath?


Yeah, we are gearing up to do a lot more marketing in a more intelligent way. For instance, your name is going to go into a database and a little note is going to be put there that says we had this interview. And later on you're gonna get spammed! No, not spammed, respectfully contacted about other opportunities. :) NO SPAM.

Seriously, I've got this long-time fan Matt Cramp, working on the marketing side on a regular basis and we are taking it very seriously. We don't want to offload our marketing work to other companies or publishers.


I'm not going to ask about the number of emails in your mailing address, but how about an active forum members count? Just to find out an indication of the rabid fan base Caravel Games' have.


Last time I checked it was something like 500 active members (logged in at some point in the last 3 months). About 1 in 3 people that buy our games also sign up for the accompanying online service too. It's not huge numbers, but it's a solid base of players that you can do things with.


What do you think happened to the owner of The Underdogs? She sort of disappeared, or maybe lost interest in the whole thing..

I don't know what Sarinee is up to these days. I know that she's very talented and capable, and I think of her site as a great gift. People get busy, their interests change. The remarkable thing is that she has done so much on the site over such a long period.

Five years in operation perhaps? I mean The Underdogs, before it went inactive.

Well, the cool thing about Underdogs is that the policy was not the typical abandonware ethic of putting any old crap up you could get away with. Underdogs really did care about what the authors and copyrightholders wanted. It wasn't a big screw job to people making games. It was respectful of creative work.


How many people do you think have completed every single DROD release?

Not me, I can tell you that. I finished King Dugan's Dungeon, but not the last two. It's frigging hard! But I'd guess that the number is less than a hundred. Or maybe low hundreds.

Well, I find myself resorting to using the online solutions very often.

Yeah, the DROD design attracts these supergeniur MENSA types that are used to solving really tough problems. And there's one camp that pulls the puzzles off into that supergenius territory. The other camp asks for easier puzzles, but is maybe underrepresented.

Too hard for a lot of people. That's why I'm starting over with the new game. Frogs and Mice.





Frogs and Mice (F&M) will be on GarageGames' InstantAction right? When will that be playable? Last I heard it was "early next year".


Well, it's up to us (Caravel) and it's up to them. But I would guess around April of 2008. Yeah, I am pushing for a tight schedule on this one to make GarageGames happy, but the honest answer always has to be "we don't know". Of course, when does a game studio ever know, other than the month before release?

And yeah, it will go on InstantAction exclusively. Which is different for us. We have stayed away from exclusive deals. But in this case we are keeping "DROD" games selling from our website, and then retheming DROD to be different so it can appear exclusively on InstantAction. So F&M is like little mice and frogs fighting each other. And DROD is about Beethro Budkin, a weird trollish guy chopping up roaches. But it is the same DROD style of gameplay.


Will F&M be playable using any internet browser? Details about InstantAction are sketchy at best, and since you're working with GarageGames, perhaps you can tell us a little about their new game delivery platform, and how it's any different from other flash game portals.


Sorry man, they might send nasty lawyers after me. I basically am limited to saying things off their press releases. They are way frigging serious about nondisclosure. I had Jeff Tunnel repeating it to me for a solid ten minutes on my last visit.


Haha, alright. Best to avoid that legal mine field. :) So Frogs and Mice is essentially DROD then? With new sprites and backgrounds, but the same addictive puzzle elements - or is there something new that we might see done differently in this InstantAction exclusive. I mean, do we play the mice or the frog? And do they carry huge swords? It's kinda hard to imagine a Caravel Games' release without Beethro..


Well, I won't comment on the InstantAction part and how it affects the game, but I would say that Frogs and Mice will be different from DROD in the following ways:

* Different and better graphics. I've got an artist sitting behind me drawing up cute little animals and nice animated sprites. She's been working on this solid for months. We're going to make the screen more interesting to look at.

* The game will be oriented for the casual newcomer. Not stupid casual like "I won't play this game unless I can match colors together". This is for people that are willing to try a new kind of game as long as they can figure it out in the first 15 minutes.

* There will be new game elements not seen in DROD before. We have an interesting "stealth" mode of play that hasn't been seen in DROD games before.

That's the main stuff. I don't want to blind you with bullet points.


Frogs and Mice - completely free to play? Will there be a story? How about voiceovers?


I'm assuming there will be a shareware demo + registered portion. I'm not clear on the InstantAction payment model at this point. Yes, there will be limited story, but we want to keep the emphasis on puzzles for this game. There will be less story than what we had in DROD: The City Beneath.

Voiceovers? Possibly. The problem is that since dialogue is sparser, it can be a little jarring to have characters talking suddenly amidst relative silence. We're going to play with it a bit to see what works.


How large is Frogs and Mice in terms of content? Compared to DROD: The City Beneath (or any of it's predecessors).


I think Frogs and Mice will play through faster than DROD: The City Beneath simply because it will be much easier. But the room count will be similar with a huge world to explore. And we'll include the level editor so people can publish their own level collections.


Playing time?


To get through the core levels were aiming at 20-30 hours. After that there will be a LOT of replayabity from level editing, challenges, finding secrets, and high score competition. I expect the same "career" effect we have for DROD. People play the same damned game for years.


Will you be posting more screenshots or trailers for Frogs and Mice? We've only seen small bits of it; some sprites and a couple of backgrounds (see gallery and animations) - so all our impressions are based on superimposing those images onto gameplay elements which we're familiar with from DROD.

Sure, but we're not in a hurry to post screenshots since the cosmetic elements of the game are probably getting put in last. We've prioritized development to get level design and new game elements done first. So it will be months before the F&M screenshots start popping up. You have the FIRST interview related to Frogs and Mice. Feel proud?

Feeling very privileged haha. Okay one last question: do you have a screenshot or any material from Frogs and Mice to share with your loyal DROD fans?

Yeah, yeah, I'll dig something up for you. But this will delay development, you understand? If the game gets behind schedule, it's your fault.

Alright... better not then heh. I was thinking about asking how Frogs and Mice got it's name, and your inspiration behind it.

Dude, I already dropped so much new material on you. But let's see... Well, I will tell you that one of the characters you play is female, but as far as I can tell, there is no discernable way to know this from playing the game. So you can play Bread Nibbler (male) or Slice Snatcher (female). But they are both tiny little mice on the screen, so you just have to know that one is male and the other is female. See, a real bona-fide secret for you!

Er... is that for print?

Yeah, you can have that little gem. I'm a generous guy.

Thanks!

(Erik was also kind enough to send over two images after the chat. One is a direct screenshot from Frogs and Mice, while the other will be used for the title screen; both WIP of course.)

Derek Yu Interview

Let's begin with an introduction of yourself. (is this really necessary?!)


My name's Derek Yu. *waves* I'm the editor-in-chief at TIGSource, one of the developers behind Aquaria, and I'm obsessed with a certain part of my body that I can't talk about in front of the children.


Aquaria is set for a release next Friday (7th of December, 2007). I'm assuming that it's finished and ready for the world - how does it feel to have finally completed this massive project?


It feels pretty darn good, although I have to admit, I'm so tired I'm not sure I'm fully appreciating it. Alec and I are really happy with the game, though.


You knew this was coming. Why $30? Why?!!!


Yeah, I saw people discussing it! $20 seems to be the midpoint for indie games, and we just felt that with all the content that we put into the game, $30 was pretty reasonable. It includes a full level editor, as well.


Is the full version really 200 MB? How much hard disk space is Aquaria going to take up after installation? Can we play the game using some ancient graphics card we dusted out from the basement/attic?


Yeah, the full version will be around 200 megs. Most of that is graphics! I don't know if an ancient graphics card is going to cut it... Maybe if it's ancient and cursed with the power of demons.


How many people do you think have played the game so far (before it's actual release)? When Aquaria released, what do you feel the response to the game would be? Receptive? Harsh? Split between love and hate? Accusations of 'Cave-Story' rip-off?


Hahaha. I think a good number of people have played it, if you include GDC... 50, maybe? Not sure. Everyone who's played it has really enjoyed it, so I'm hoping most people will... or at least see the value in it, even if it's not necessarily "for them."


Since there's roughly fifty people who have seen the game, can you share what some of their responses are?


I really enjoyed watching people play at GDC. The best was when we stood away from our booth. I think people felt more comfortable then to just let themselves go, and we'd have people just swimming around for long periods of time, getting lost in it. That was a pretty early build, too.

Russ Carroll has a more recent build of the game (I hope he thinks it's okay if I mention him), and I heard he said it was "freakin' great!"


How long is the demo? Can we expect at least close to 25% of the actual game? Or will the demo contain content that would be different from the full version?


The demo has the first part of the game, and no, it's probably more like 10%... but it's still quite a bit of game to get through. Demo saves will be compatible with the full version - nothing's changed. I've played through that part a lot - I think it'll give people a good impression of the game.


How long is the full game then?


It depends a lot on how much time you spend exploring, but... I'd say an average of 20 hours to play through the full game. That's a pretty rough estimate, though.


Any chances of seeing Aquaria on BFG or Reflexive?


No, you probably will not see Aquaria on a casual portal. ;)


Why the name Aquaria? I don't remember you stating the reason for picking it in any of the past interviews before.. though I might had recalled this wrongly.

Aquaria started as a prototype of Alec's, and it was already called Aquaria at the time! I don't know where it came from, exactly, although I imagine it just sounded right to him. Let me go ask him, actually. Hold on...

I was supposed to interview him actually. He said something like next week.

Okay lol..

So you're saying that the name Aquaria wasn't picked by you then. What would you have named it otherwise?

Ah, I'm not sure... I really like the name, so I probably wouldn't have changed it.



Are you ever going to make freeware games again? I mean, Aquaria is going to sell like hot cakes, so it wouldn't be much of a surprise if you decide to sell all of your future games. And how about Raigan's idea of DoomRL on the DS with your tileset?


I'd love to do some freeware again. And yeah, Kornel (the DoomRL creator) and I have been working on and off for awhile on various projects, including DoomRL. Some day you're going to see a graphical version of that beast, I promise.


What is the next project from Bit Blot? Hopefully you'll let your real fans hear the juicy details first, and not some big game site with journalists who are unfamiliar with Cave Story..

Oh shit... well, I already mentioned this to Kotaku, but...

Haha that's a slap to indie games..

Haha yeah, I'm just kidding. We're going to remake Hard Time, the MDickie game.

Not really... I can't give a straight answer for this one. We have a few interesting ideas cooking, but we're not sure which one is going to be next!

Konjak Interview

An interview with the creator of the Noitu Love series and Chalk.


Let's begin with an introduction of yourself.


My name's Joakim Sandberg and I make games, and I love it. My notable games are Noitu Love and Chalk, and my current project is Noitu Love 2! Yet it's not that much like Noitu 1, I'd say, more of a continuation on that universe.


Has any publishers approached you about publishing your games on handhelds? There was a lot of demand for Chalk to appear on the DS when it was first released.


Yes, there was. Several of them. But I am very weary about it; I want to know I'm not selling off something I loved to create. I am still in talks about a property, but they only see production possibly starting in a sort of far future, which is a little annoying. Nothing is signed yet though. Another big publisher contacted me too but they sort of... stopped getting back to me.

Hopefully this current one comes through. I just wish it was sooner that I'd know for sure.


So are you sort of saying 'publishers, please contact me about publishing Chalk on the DS!'?


I'd rather see Chalk on the Wii. More potential. And I have many ideas.


Homebrew are popular these days - are you willing to consider if a programmer decides to come onboard and port Chalk for the DS or Wii?


If the programmer is willing to dedicate to it that much. I'd rather know the person first, and I know that if I was a programmer and a game maker working on my own time I wouldn't want to spend it completely on someone else's idea. You'd do that in the industry, but free time is more precious.


How does Noitu Love 2 plays exactly? From early indications, it seems that it's not a conventional platformer. Will it have huge boss battles like the one from the last stage of Noitu Love 1?


Well, I won't give away the bosses, but the one in the video is quite huge, is it not? Although it doesn't reach above skyscrapers. I still have bosses to think of as well, but with the new screen you know all of two bosses! The hammer one is a miniboss though.

The game actually does play a bit different, though it might be hard to spot! It's a beat-em-up but as such you would need to be close to enemies. I wanted to retain fighting but have it really fast as well, and make it a lot easier. So you use a crosshair to click to enemies (and other things you'll encounter) to speed directly to them and start punching. That's the basics of it, then there are simple gesture moves and a shield you can place wherever you want.

Hopefully people won't find it an unnecessary feature. Personally I am hoping it gives a fast pace to a forgiving game, which has been my goal.


What's the current development status of Noitu Love 2? Is it anywhere near completion? Do you have plans to sell this sequel or will you be releasing it as freeware?

I have finished over half of the game, at least, but that's in terms of raw content, like the amount of levels. When they're done I would want to finetune and add extras. I can only hope to have it done in three months, but I am not overly confident. The game will be free though. I'd rather reach out to as many as possible with this.


So you'll be releasing the game as freeware when it's done? No preview demos or such?


I don't like making demos. Or even talking about in-production games because I get this weird pressure on me.


Since you're in IGF, anything you'd like to say to sweet-talk the judges?


You're all very pretty.


Let's say you're done with Noitu Love 2. Will you be taking a short break from development? If not, then what can we expect next from you?


Noitu Love 3 - Beyond the BEYOND!! Well, no.

I have an idea already that I want to make. It would be more in the action adventure genre, I believe. I'm hoping it will be quite an original experience. And no, I don't think I could take a break from making games.


Assuming you have lots of money to make whatever game you want. What will you make then?


I am very secretive about my ideas (at least to most people), and I really do have a dream game, but I don't want to talk about it. It would definitely be 3D.


Who do you think will make it into the IGF finals?


Fez. I don't see all the originality from it. It has original visuals but it hasn't shown much in ways of replacing just hiding stuff behind bushes in a non-rotating games. It's mostly visuals THAT I'VE SEEN so far, but I'm hoping it could bring something new to us all. I assume Clean Asia! will be there somewhere, though I haven't played it.


What are your thoughts about the 'Cave Story rip-off' controversy?


About The Underside, it's sort of a shame he wanted it to look like it does, but I'm sure it will be great fun when it's done. It's hard to make non-linear or pseudo-non-linear games yourself as it is and if he finishes, good for him. I just hope he doesn't quit because of people's attacks on his art choices.


Hope you had a screenshot prepared for us; 'cause it's sort of customary for this series of interviews! Describe it if necessary.

'Noitu Love 2 stars Xoda Rap, a girl not unlike Noitu.'

Metanet Interview

Raigan and Mare of Metanet Software are the latest perpetrators to be interrogated in this criminal investigation series - The Law of Physics, Don't Break it Folks. (mugshot by Edmund McMillen)


First things first - an introduction of yourselves.

R: Hi, I'm Raigan.

M: and I'm Mare. We're both amazing people.

R: Also, I will take over typing since Mare hates my weird ergo-keyboard.

We're in Toronto, it's snowing finally. Our hobbies include: playing video games. And reading video game blogs and manuals.


Since N is making an appearance on a couple of consoles and handheld platforms, can you give us a summary of what's coming on where?


One version of N+ will be out for Xbox360 Live Arcade, we worked very closely with the developer Nick (in Vancouver) and did all the levels, it is definitely exactly how we would have wanted it to be: pretty much N, on Xbox.


Will you be posting a couple of preview videos for N+?


We have a video, but we aren't allowed to post it until Microsoft says its okay. The handheld versions are a totally different project, possibly we should have chosen different names.. and they're not done yet - the XBLA one is done, it's just going through final certification.


Will there ever be a proper sequel to N? With blood and stuff.


Well, maybe. So far, a lot of the stuff we wanted to do in N but ran out of time for is making its way into Robotology anyway.. and there IS blood! (in N)


Sorry, I meant slashing enemy ninjas, decapitation..


Nope - that sounds like a different game. maybe involving pirates.. One thing is that it's apparently really hard to write a platformer AI that will properly run around and chase you..


So technically, is Robotology a sequel to N then?


It's a sequel in the same sense that a music groups second album could be seen as a sequel to their first. So, not really.. it just doesn't seem like it counts.


Will it have enemies? I should probably say the ones with smart AI or something..


It will have enemies. We have a plan for the AI, but it remains to be seen just how smart they'll be. However, they WILL be robots..


There's a myth being spread around, one that states indie game developers who made it big time drive big cars. Let's kill this notion by finding out if you've changed cars since you've formed Metanet..


I don't even have a license. Mare does drive, but has no car.. we've tried zipcars though.


Zipcars? whuzzat?


It's like shared rental cars sort of.. also, we haven't yet made it big - so far we actually haven't made any money at all.. so, provided N+ sells, THEN we might get a car! If we do get one, it will be one of these.


Did you lose money then? And how much?


No, but we do web programming contracts to subsidize game development. This year we're up $500, the past two years we posted a loss of a few hundred. So, we're 'even'.


ok, what are your thoughts about the indie scene - since both of you are not only actively involved, you keep yourselves informed as well.


Part of being informed is simply our tendency to slack by obsessively reading blogs..


..and doing interviews, I'm sure. Those bloody journalists.


meh, we can spare time. Sometimes it's nice to do interviews because they get you to actually think about things beyond making games. One thing about being 'involved' in the community is just that we really like indie games, the only reason we started making games was that we liked so many freeware games, they were sort of taunting us into making one.

There are just a lot of good indie games around, it's fun to find out about them. Also, now that we've finally made a game, it's good to keep up on what other people are doing.


Since both of you are judging IGF - what have you guys played? What do you think of this year's crop? Anything you want to see do a clean sweep at the finals?


Last year, Raigan spent all of October doing nothing but playing IGF games.. I think 80 or 90 were judged. This year.. one sec, we'll check the folder.

This year is tough because there are no big 'stand outs' but many 'very good' games.. for instance: Gish 2, World of Goo, Cortex Command, Clean Asia, and Crayon Physics. Also, Raigan played DROD and Polychromatic Funk Monkey WAYY too long.


Tried out DROD: The City Beneath yet? Can you believe they use the same scam?

What scam?

The one where when you attempt to exit the game, and their bloody salesman will try and convince you to buy DROD.

Yeah, that is in our feedback already. PCFM pops open the author's website.. but the game's free anyway, Still, annoying.

Very. I dont know why they never put an impossible puzzle in, and post the solution on their website.

Sumo is noteworthy in that it's very similar to the gamejam "waiting for godot" game, and also last year's entry "press the spacebar 2000".. you can't tell if they're extremely clever satire of the current state of gaming, some sort of mockery or statement about the IGF, or just really boring. Rigs of Rods is awesome, but it's also not really a game...


Any upcoming indie games you're excited about? Name a couple of developers who you'd pay serious money for, just to have them release another game.

Metanet for sure.

Haha, right. That's by default!

Pixel. We'd say Chronic Logic or Jon (Everyday Shooter), but we know they're both already making new games, so we'll keep our money. ;)

R: I would LOVE to see DoomRL on DS, with Derek Yu's tileset.


What do you think of the idea, buying Pixel (Cave Story) a DS? I thought the money should be given to him instead to spend as he likes.

Pixel's Japanese though, right? Doesn't it rain DSes there? We were just there for the first time in September, it's a different culture with regards to tips and stuff, I don't know if donations would be well received.

He was quite against the idea at first, but you know these Cave Story fans. 'Cave Story rip-off!'

You mean The Underside?

Yeah, The Underside. And every other platformer made after Cave Story. Seriously, La-Mulana is better. ok, kidding about that haha..

The thing about that is, remember when there were dozens of 'Doom rip-offs'? Now there aren't any, there are just lots of FPSs.

I dont know why indie game developers bother making 3d FPSs. There are always a hundred of them in IGF every year. The schools are teaching these kids the wrong thing.

Are there? Narbacular Drop was worth it! Well, it's easier probably since the problems are all solved, so you can schedule/etc properly.

haha... well... Narbacular Drop isn't technically a first-person shooter.

Really? Why not? There's no shooting?

No killing. And no shooting, Just lanching portals into thin air.

That's an interesting idea, a non-lethal FPS. No wait, you totally shoot them out of the end of a gun. They even call it a gun in the song!

But that's to appeal to the FPS crowd, we all know that.

Well, it does work as a metaphor. I guess you could be a magician who summons portals out of thin air..


Any other IGF games which piqued your interest?


um, other IGF games.. Hammerfall is a lot like 'Rag Doll Kung Fu' in that it seems like a super-fun concept, but in practise it leads to repetitive stress injuries. Clean Asia should really win something, but sadly it probably won't since it's really hard and looks weird.

oh, Jon (Queasy Games) brought his PS3 over the day - PixelJunk Racers is AMAZING. Just the concept of taking a super-simple game, and making a bunch of minigames using the one game as a template, changing some small rules.. totally cool.


Last question, the customary one. Screenshots? Or a picture of something cool.

Yes, hold on a sec.. I need to find it.. just one sec..

Take your time. As long as it's juicy I'll wait forever for it. ;)

It's good, we were cleaning out the office and we found papers from when we were making N. It's our initial design doc!

Alex May Interview

An interview with haowan, creator of TIGSource's B-Game winning entry - Cottage of Doom.


Let's begin with a little introduction of yourself.


Haha, ok. I'm Alex, I'm 29 and I've been into developing games since I was given a Vic 20 along time ago. Uh, what else? I'm from the UK, I nearly failed my degree because I was programming an asteroids game, and I recently had my wife cut off my dreadlocks (that she put in).


How does it feel to win TIGSource's inaugural competition? Considering that they were many old hats like cactus and Petri Purho who had participated as well.

Ah, if only I had won the inaugural competition - alas, I don't think I'm sexy enough. Winning the competition (B-Game) was awesome, though as I said at the time, it was the run up to the deadline and seeing what other people were doing that was the most fun. cactus didn't enter. :D

Er... what was the inaugural compo again?

Sexiest gamer :D

Haha that doesnt count!

:D:D

But yeah, it was an honour. Close run thing too!

Who was it again? John something, he didn't think it was an honour, and deserted his judging post.

lol, yeah Romero. Guy leaves a stink behind him though, off the record.

I didnt know you entered the sexiest gamer compo..

I didn't!

No wonder you didnt have any chances of winning that one. But cactus did enter the B-Game compo with Mondo Medicals I thought.

Oh yeah. shit. Was thinking of 3DP maybe.

What's the word after inaugural... I've got to change that question.

Just put latest. :D Or change it to inaugrual game development competition.

We're barely past the first question, and it's turning out to be a complete mess already.

It's fun!


ok second question. Since you clearly forgotten about Mondo Medicals, who did you consider serious competition in the TIGSource B-Game Compo?

:-O

No looking at the list!

The vast majority of the entries were really funny, and loads of them were fun, so it was hard to say what people would go for. In the end I considered the entries according to my own criteria for entering the competition. The ones I thought might win were Gunlimb and Transparentor. I also loved Weisser Punkt, Poizoned Mind and Betasuppe.


Seriously, when are you going to make your own web site and post up at least two of your recent games? I'm sure you've already had hosting offers by practically everyone in the indie scene.


Ah, I'll get round to it :) I have to come up with a site name. :D Besides, COD is available at SourceForge, being open source, and you're kindly hosting Generic Slash!


If TIGSource is holding a new competition today, will you be participating in it again? Or are you going to merely consider it?


I might enter, and I have an idea if there's going to be a demakes competition, but the B-Game competition actually killed another project I was working on because I was distracted, so I have to seriously think about whether I want to be sidetracked again.


Let's say that TIGSource allows the winner of the B-Game contest to choose a theme for the next competition - according to you, what would that be?


I love the idea of a demakes competition, and I think that a large percentage of indie gamers like retro styles so that would probably get some folks to join up. There's also talk of a Giant Naked Man competition, which I fully support as long as it also contains Long Cats. (or caterpillars as they're otherwise known)


Don't you think that Derek should have rewarded you with a free copy of Aquaria as the prize?


Haha, I don't think Aquaria fits the B-game theme! But I'm really looking forward to it. It looks like it will be great fun to play with a tablet or on a tablet PC.


TIGSource, GameTunnel or Independent Gaming as your ultimate source for indie games? You only get to choose one, plus Derek and Russell will be reading your answer!

Why, Independent Gaming of course! I don't visit Game Tunnel, though that's not a reflection on the site - I just never got round to putting it on my toolbar. TIGSource I see as more of an opinion site than a site for raw news.

Much appreciated, but you're not going to get your free copy of Aquaria from Derek now!

Chalk up one more pre-order for that game, then. :D


So far, you've made games for competitions, so are you actually waiting for a new compo to pique your interest before you start working on one?


No, I'm not waiting. I was always developing games, but I get distracted easily. It just happens that competitions are short, so those games get finished. Feedback for Cottage Of Doom was quite good, so I've decided to make a full game based on the idea.


We're impatient. When is that going to be released?

It'll be ages. Months. There's a lot of work to do, I'm planning on doing it practically all myself, and I'm crap at setting my own deadlines. You may never see it!


Name a couple of your favorite indie games and developers. And what have you've been playing recently?

Some of my favourite indie games: Dwarf Fortress; Warning Forever; Cave Story; Armadillo Run; Bridge Construction Set; Space Tripper; Immortal Defense. I also have a lot of respect for developers who make prototype games - people like jph at Iteration Games, cactus and Kenta Cho.

I've recently been playing... Mario Galaxy, Halo 3, Endless Ocean, Dwarf Fortress, The Witcher, and the demo of Eschalon Book 1.

Space Tripper? And don't you think that the walk speed in Eschalon is a tad (a lot) slow?

Yeah, it's a trudge. I don't mind that too much, as it's a very traditional RPG, but more developers should think about how they represent things. Space Tripper was Pompom's first game.

Oh, that Space Tripper... right.

I still consider it to be their best work.


A screenshot from whatever you are currently working on. Make it tasty!


Deadrock currently looks like this:



I just finished writing a line segment vs. grid routine. Fun times!

Kairos Interview

An interview with Kairos, the developer of Varia and Kairuga.


Let's begin with a short introduction about yourself, for readers who are unfamiliar with your works.


I'm a 16 year old teen who likes to play shmups and also make them. I only make releases like once a year due to school and whatnot. My two releases include the shmups Kairuga and Varia, both have the glowy vector sort of feel to them.


How did you start off with game development, and since when? A bit of history would be great, considering that GM users are getting younger and younger every day and they need all the help and pointers they could get.


I started doing real work back in the end of 2005. I used to play all the quality games made in GM and wonder how someone could make that in this program; I started experimenting and learning by example for the most part, and then finally made a real game and released Kairuga during the summer of 2006. The one thing I would recommend to kids who want to develop games is that it is no easy task to create a good game that appeals well. They should remember that the hardest part of development is finishing the game itself.


How does it feel to win the latest Shmup-Dev Competition? It's quite an achievement, considering that past winners and runner-ups have joined the same compo as well.

It feels great, really. I didn't expect that I'd win, considering I originally joined the competition not for the sake of winning, but just for fun. Some encouragement from a few respected people and a bit of thought and it just ended up like that.

And who exactly are you referring to as the 'few respected people'?

Cactus, Bill of the2bears, and some close friends of mine.


Are you planning to participate in the next Shmup-Dev compo?


Possibly. Depending on time issues (which is usually the problem that plagues my game development.)


If you hadn't won, who did you think would win? And which entries are your favorites?


I was expecting Linley to win, Garden of Colored Lights was very unique and appealing. My favorites included GoCL, Akuchizoku and Kamiha.


Name some of your favorite GM releases by other developers.


Clean Asia, The Cleaner, the Jumper series, and Immortal Defense. There are probably more but those are the more recent ones I've played.


Alright, the juicy stuff. Are you working on anything right now? The online RTS? What's the status of that project? And when can we expect another release from you?


I am currently developing the engine for the online RTS, though little has been finished at this point. Currently I'm in the stage of thinking up the design and gameplay part, and you can probably expect a release of that next year sometime. I might release one or two smaller games before that happens, though.



After your Shmup-Dev competition win, and considering the fact that Varia is sitting pretty at the No. 1 spot on the YoYoGames web site, understandably some GM users will probably drop out of the YoYoGames Winter Competition if they knew you were participating. So to get a final word from you - will you be making a game for the YoYoGames Winter compo?


Unfortunately, no. It would've been a great deal of fun and I was actually planning to at one point, but unfortunately that building I go to five times a week gives me too much stuff to do.


What kind of setup do you have at home? Next-gen consoles? Have you ever considered working in the games industry, perhaps making games for Xbox 360 or PS3?


Actually, I don't own any next-gen consoles. Basically the computer provides me with all my entertainment. I'm planning to get into the games industry at some point in time, so yea, making games for the PC or consoles sounds very appealing.


Do you see yourself using GM for the next five years?


I definitely see myself using GM past that period of time. It's such a great tool to simply churn out stuff or do fast prototyping in - I'll continue to use it till who knows when.


What do you think of the current GM scene, and also indie games in general?


I see that there are plenty of talented GM users that can prove to people that the program is not just some toy - there are lots of games that push the limits of it, some games even selling for a decent amount of money. As for indie games, I think that the public should be playing them as much as commercial games are being played. You can't just not play Cave Story, for instance.


Name a couple of your favorite shmups, commercial, console releases or otherwise.


Raiden 2, Ikaruga, R-Type series, Gradius series, G-Darius, Radiant Silvergun, rRootage, Warning Forever, just to name a few.


And a screenshot from one of your upcoming projects?


The online RTS game will probably be using real sprites this time around, but here's an early screenshot of progress:

Jonathan Mak Interview

A quick ten-minute interview with the developer of Everyday Shooter, and a couple of other cool games.


How has the reception for PSN's Everyday Shooter (ES) been, and what's next for Queasy Games? More collaborative efforts with Santa Monica Studios? And will there be any releases from you next year?


Well, there's a substantial amount of press and most of the comments seem positive, so I guess it's been ok? As for what's next for Queasy Games, well, I have a rule where I keep my next project under wraps until it's almost done. If I don't, then I never end up finishing it. It's a rule my friend and I made up when we were kids writing code. We'd always talk about what cool new feature was going to be in our game/app but then we'd never do it. Finally, we decided only to tell each other if we can show each other. It's a great motivator. Release next year? Dunno!


In a recent interview, you mentioned that you were planning on making more freeware games. Can we expect a new one in the near future?


Let's just say I DO want to make a freeware game, but there's just so little time. :( But if I do, it probably won't be a big affair like Gate 88.


Can we expect more Everyday Shooter? New levels, sequels, a trilogy perhaps?


Well, at this moment, I'm much more interested in working on new material.


Any thoughts about the indie game scene you'd like to share with us? Or about any games in general?


What's everyone talking about? I thought PixelJunk Racers was great! Umm.. Do I lose street cred if I liked Heavenly Sword? Haha.. I thought the demo was horrible though.

Clean Asia was insane! In good ways (style), in bad ways (totally way too hard!)... although I think I'd have an easier time playing on a computer instead of TV, but it doesn't work on my computer.

I still really need to go through all your archives and play all those games... I fell so far behind with ES work, and now with work on the new game. I still haven't played Cave Story! Argh! I feel like I should be shot or something.

Umm... what else? I was on the weekly top ten for Gran Tourismo HD concept awhile back! I was so proud, I looked at the leaderboard and thought 'man, I'm going to be famous!'


Checked out this year's IGF yet? Anything that interests you? If you're asked to judge, will you consider it?


I don't think I'd have the time to judge all those entries, and who am I to judge anyway? There's a lot, cra... oh wait, about the last question BRAID, WHEN THE #)(%@ is it coming out!??? Anyway, Crayon Physics looks hawt.. I saw the video of him playing it on a Tablet PC.. geez I'm jealous on so many levels.

Clean Asia was one I mentioned earlier. Fez was insane, but they have to put guns in it, and lots of babes. Fish is going to hate me for that. I did play Battleships Forever. That game... man, I needed a roll of toilet paper next to me while playing it. It's like, a teenage boy's wet dream..

What's PixelJunk Racers and Undertow doing in the IGF? They're both published! Although that's something I've wondered. Like.. when my next game is ready, should I submit to IGF? What if during the course of judging, there's a deal? I guess it's not too late to pull out at that point right? Wait.. HYPERBOL!?!? That already won!! What? What? They want more now? C'mon! Professor Fizzwizzle too? Putt Nutz! Well, whatever.

I wonder why Dishwasher Samurai wasn't in here. That game looks like murder, I can't wait to play it. For the longest time I've been hoping that someone would just make a no nonsense hack and slash. Something like that Legend of Shadow game by Darthlupi... no bullshit puzzles or jumping. Just give me a murderous weapon and let me go to town. Is that too much to ask for? That first sequence was awesome I loved it.


If you're a millionaire, would you make a kick-ass ninja game then? If not, what else?


Well, I'd like to but frankly I don't know how. :-/ But let's say that I do sometimes have fantasies spending a million bucks making a big budget game haha.. there'll definitely be a lot of models involved. The real life ones I mean. Because y'know, when you're rollin' in it... I don't know where i'm going with this -


How did it feel to win practically everything in IGF earlier this year? How does it feel to lose to Aquaria in the grand prize category? Not counting that both of you did well to secure deals of course.


Well, I don't think I won practically everything haha. How'd it feel to lose to Aquaria? IT SUCKED!! I wanted 20 big ones!! But those two guys are hot so it's okay. I'm not sure how much I deserved that design award though. But whatever. Free money! Btw, when's Aquaria coming out?

Dunno... soon, maybe 3-5 weeks. Probably Christmas.

Seriously? On PC? Or XBLA?

They're trying to overtake Braid as the longest indie game in development. PC definitely, then Mac.

Haha.. looking over this IGF list is kinda depressing because it looks like there's a lot of really awesome games..


Who do you want to win the IGF this year? Regardless of whether they'd actually enter or not.


Oh geez, that's not something I can answer... I mean, I really dislike the competition aspect of IGF.. I'd rather it be more like a festival where folks just come out and show off their cool warez... but then again the competition aspect attracts more people I guess?

But yea, I'd just rather a whole bunch of them win so that everyone gets a better chance of landing a deal or making some cash... that way there's more chance that these awesome people will make even more games.

Graham Goring Interview

A quick ten-minute interview with the creator of Wizball.


Any info you'd like to share about yourself as an introduction?


Ooh, I think I've whored my thoughts enough all over the internet that anyone with a passing familiarity with remakes or indie games will have heard of "that Graham arsehole", so there's really nothing to say.


How has the response to your Wizball remake been so far? Any favorite comments or feedbacks?


It's been really good, yes. Me and Smila have been very pleased with the response, although there were a few bugs and issues which needed sorting out shortly after release. The Mac version should be out soon, too. The nicest response was seeing my old arch nemesis Weibo De Wit saying he thought it was great, which was really big of him.


Is this really your last remake then? Weren't you working on the Starquake remake as well? Kitty Hawk next? Describe a bit about that last game for those who know nothing about it.


I have to finish the graphics for Starquake, yes. So ta' for reminding me about that. :P And yes, it's Kitty Hawk next with Gary Lucken on excellent pixelling duties and co-design. It'll be a top-down shooter but rather than bullet-hell it'll have a similar design philosophy to R-Type where it's all about the intricate level design than the patterns of bullets.


When are you releasing your next project/remake? Which of the above will come first?


No idea, I mean Starquake'll probably escape my gravitational pull first as it's as good as done from Richard's point of view, but I imagine Kitty Hawk will take quite a while as I've not even totally figured out how I'm programming it yet.


Last couple of indie games/remakes you've really enjoyed? The ones you hated vehemently for wasting your time on downloading and trying out?


Ah, the juicy stuff! Well, stuff I've really enjoyed is doing some beta testing on Aquaria which is a cracking game and full to bursting-point with loveliness. I also downloaded Space Barnacle, which completely passed me by but which looks great so I'm looking forward to playing it. I've not really played anything I hated that much, lately, but that's probably down to doing a lot of mainstream gaming and also not *having* to play anything because I've been too busy with Wizball to do another arsecast.


The status of Arsecast - you knew this was coming haha..


I wanna' do some catch-up shows to cover stuff which has happened in the last million months, but as for a monthly thing, I don't really have the passion for it. I still enjoy writing, but I really started to hate having to write about stuff which I simply didn't care about one way or another. While it's true there are some excellent games and some awful games, the vast majority exist in this grey area of "meh" which makes them a real chore to write about. So basically nothing until I get really annoyed, I expect.


Any indie games/remakes you're looking forward to? Your thoughts on this year's IGF? Who do you think will end up as finalists?


Noitu Love 2 because Konjak's crafted an amazing arcade-style beat 'em up with some really inventive stuff in there and his trademarked brilliant boss battles. As for whether he'll end up on the finalists list, I don't know. I'm not sure of the makeup of the judges this year so I don't know what they lean towards but I suspect anything as wonderfully arcade-like as Noitu Love 2 will have a hard time placing well, despite being excellent. This year it really seems like everyone and their dog has entered, though, after Aquaria doing so well last year. I suspect the judges are having a hell of a problem with signal to noise.


Thoughts about the current indie games/remakes scene? Anything you're unhappy about, or any changes you'd like to see?


I'm not sure it's my place to comment. There are plenty of interesting games in the works but I have to admit not paying as close an interest as I usually do. Obviously I read your site and TIGs daily to see what's shaking, but I think I'm a little out of touch. You can blame Half Life 2: Orange Box and Super Mario Galaxy for that. All that said, I'm really liking the continued embracing of indie games by mainstream console manufacturers and hope that trend continues. A mainstream bedroom coder resurgence is well overdue.


The last couple of indie games/remakes you've played? Your favorite developer/game of the moment? Any indie game developers who you would pay money for, just to have them release one game?


Lets see, last remake I played was Exile which while not terribly Exiley was a really nice blast from the past. Graphically a little inconsistent, but then that itself reminded me of games like Terminus and Tantalus, which I have fond memories of. Favourite developer... Ooh. I'd really like to see some more in-depth stuff from Pixeljam just because Gamma Bros was cracking and I want to see something of a similarly weighty size. And who would I throw money at... I know! Robert Lupinek! I'd like to see more stuff from him but I guess his day job is precluding that at the moment.


We bloody miss the arsecast. Shame a couple of indie games/remakes for us, for old times' sake.


tbh, it's just the usual core of people whn are in it purely for the fame and money instead of to make something great. But I can't think of any recent examples as I've made a point to avoid their excrement.


How about a screenshot from one of your upcoming releases? Make it finger-licking good!


I don't have any screenshots really. I mean there are shots of Starquake out there and it's not really changed since they were taken and there are mockups of Kitty Hawk on Gary's Army Of Trolls website but otherwise it's all notes and doodles on notepads.