Flyclops

Jul06

Two words: Namestorm and Get-yourself-an-Eric-Smith

Jake and I are so busy making this game we never stop to document our process like we wanted to at the outset. That’s one of the reasons all you indie game developers out there need to find a friend who loves marketing and is diligent with some sort of a content release schedule, be it via your blog, facebook, twitter, or whatever that new Google thing is.

We’re going to sit down with Eric, aka Master Chief, and come up with some sort of schedule for us to release content on as we go through the next 6 weeks of insanity. You need an Eric to make sure you stick to that schedule because otherwise you put it off. You put it off cause you’ve got important work to do and if it doesn’t get done the game doesn’t get done. Gasp! Problem is when your game is done people need to know about it.

So, this is me telling myself that putting content up here IS important, so that the two of you who read this thing can be excited to tell your friends about our awesome new game when it’s time to buy it with your money dollars.

That said, here’s the new concept art for the main character:

Name this 'Rilla!

The thing is, he’s actually a boy, but he’s always breaking things and his mom says he’d be better off livin’ with the apes. So this is how he imagines himself.

Now, what do you think that little boy’s name should be?

Think of this as a contest and the prize is eternal fame and glory. It’s all yours for the taking.

Name this ‘Rilla.

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May18

Happy Mothers Day

We have a belated gift for all you overworked, under-appreciated moms out there. But don’t expect a spa day or a mani/pedi. Or for your loving son to make you dinner so you can rest your aching feet for a bit. This is more of a ballad to your hardships. The only way Flyclops knows how to do it, in the form of a twisted video game.

Parker and I made this in 48 hours (almost) at Philly Game Jam. (Read about it here.) Since we are currently working on a very sweet, wholesome game where nobody gets hurt, and everybody is friends, and baby dolphins hold hands with baby unicorns while singing “We Are the World” at the smiling sun – since that is what we are doing, we decided to exorcise some of our dark, horrible ideas at the game jam.

The game is simple. You are a mother. You are responsible for everyone in the house. Make sure nobody’s bars run down. Click on things. (Hint: there’s something in the medicine cabinet if you are feeling like you just can’t take it any more.) Also, you can’t win. You can only try not lose for as long as possible. Dark. Horrible. Enjoy!

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May11

Introducing our marketing guy. Meet Master Chief.

If you know Jake and I, you know what we’re into. We love making games together. What you may not know is that we have NO CLUE how to market them so people can actually see them, appreciate them, and at some point give us cold hard cash for them. Note: we take warm dollars too.

A few months back we began searching for answers to this ever important problem. “We could work with a publisher! Solved!” What’s that you say? Horror stories all day? Balls. “No big, we’ll just pay a marketing firm, right?” Wrong, we don’t have the capital for that.

If only we knew some internet wizard who could cast a spell and give us a real chance at a future in self publishing our beloved games. Someone who understands marketing, has real experience, and dare I say enjoys doing it. And while we’re fantasizing, how about a great friend who already likes the work we do, is interested in equity, and prefers additional payment in the form of limited edition XBOX 360 games?

Cue Eric Smith. You know those times when you want nothing more than some spaghetti and meatballs, two sporks, and some damn privacy? This is like getting all that AND a cold beer. It’s nothing short of perfection.

Who’s Eric Smith, you say? Seriously? How’d you get to OUR site without knowing?! No seriously, I’m curious, analytics are a mystery to me.

Eric Smith is responsible for Geekadelphia. Eric Smith is Master Chief. Eric Smith is probably somewhere saving a kitten.

Internet marketing is just his day job.

The point is, sometimes you just get lucky. Jake and I got really lucky.

Welcome to the team Eric.

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May10

Philly Game Jam

At one point during the 48-hour haze of the Philly Game Jam, I looked up from my monitor and tried to make sense of what was going on.

First of all, where the hell was I? There was screaming. There were nerds everywhere. A guy in an Assassin’s Creed outfit was walking by with a sword strapped to his back. Hundreds of LAN gamers were yelling terrible, violent things at each other like genetically-created super soldiers gone horribly wrong. Through my ear plugs I could easily hear layers of chip tunes, video game explosions, energy drink cans being crumpled, and some sort of asshole-human bellowing inaudibly but deafeningly into a loudspeaker as he threw CPU fans into a crowd.

The Nerd Apocalypse

This was supposed to be a convention. This was supposed to be a convention center. But it was just a giant concrete room. No lavish booths and state-of-the-art presentation technology. Just dozens of splintering wooden folding tables and hundreds of sleep-deprived, beef-stew-smelling nerds in the midst of a caffeine and adrenaline bender. Social awkwardness stripped away. Freak flags flying high. This was the nerd version of the zombie apocalypse and there wasn’t a normal human left alive. If one would have wandered in, he would’ve been immediately swarmed, his blood drained for its residual caffeine and glucose content and his identity haxor-ed and fenced for Steam credits.

Second of all, what the hell were we doing? It was night 2 of the 48-hour game jam. The monitors of the teams around us showed 3D models of pterodactyls and pixel art aliens. One team was testing their 4-player multiplayer mode. Us? Parker was drawing a mom in a stained bathrobe, smoking, with curlers in her hair. I looked at the method I was coding: public void CrapOutBaby (Mama mama) {}. Other teams were eating cereal with Bawls for milk. We were drinking beer. Other teams were in zombie-go mode from not having slept in 30 hours. We were sleepy from only getting 6 hours of sleep last night. Other teams were 8. We were 2.

Our Protagonist

So, our shame is that we didn’t finish. So close. We went into the jam intending to take it easy. Get a reasonable amount of sleep. Take time to explore and enjoy the event. I think we both felt, after not finishing, that we should have gone for it. I mean, if you’re going to jam, jam.

But in the mean time, we had laughed and learned a lot. Parker churned out a whole twisted world of awesome art, all with a broken right hand. I spent most of the weekend building an action system for Unity inspired by the one in Cocos2D. Also, with a few more hours of work, we will have made a very deranged time management game. The theme of the jam was “mother”. Most teams interpreted this more abstractly, but we literally made a game out of being a mom. A mom in the harshest and cruelest conditions. I would say more, but we are going to post the game here when it is done.

Thanks to Philly IGDA for putting this together.

Jammin on the one

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Apr19

It’s hardly a party if you party too hard

Stupid post titles aside, here’s my PSA after the last 240 hours I’ve endured:

Don’t drink whiskey on an empty stomach. It can result in broken hands.

Don’t believe me? Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury, I give you Exhibit A:

That ain't right.

That’s what my hand looked like before the operation, provided you have x-ray vision, in which case I have a business proposition for you.

The reason I’m sharing this with both of you is to tell you that even when your most important tool is broken, you can’t stop creating.

Be a good human and adapt.

Here’s a current iteration of the robot gorilla that was done post hand smash, pre hand fix:

GOrilla. The capital O was a typo, but I liked it.

By no means final, but definitely hilarious in the context of the prototype. Mostly because he’s not animated and oddly happy about it. There’s definitely life in those eyes. Just look at ‘em.

More concept art is on the way, but it’s actually harder to do post operation because the doctor’s splint and bandage job has rendered my right hand pretty much useless.

Worth it though cause the titanium plate and screws in my 5th metacarpal mean I’m technically bionic and can definitely lead the charge in a post apocalyptic war against the machines by way of smashing them with my robot fist. /runOnSentence

I love you all. Except you, and I think we both know who you are.

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