July 2004 Archives

Apparently they had a really good showing in San Diego at Comic-Con last week, and the Web has been all a buzz with talk about the title since then. Publisher O~3 Entertainment—headed by Bill Gardner, former president of Capcom North America—has picked up the title to be released in North America this November, and IGN is reporting the game will be available for both Gamecube and PS2 when it is released.

Alien Hominid was originally conceived and developed in Flash and released on the Newgrounds.com website in August, 2002. Since posting the game on Newgrounds, it has been downloaded over 6 million times! All of the art was created by Dan Paladin (synj), and the code was written by Tom Fulp, the creator of Newgrounds. Together they have joined with The Behemoth, a small group of games industry veterans, to bring their creative and original Alien Hominid to the console games market.

For the console version, the developers have completely re-drawn and re-coded everything from scratch. The sprites are larger, the frame-rate is faster and the explosions are "endless." I'm excited about Alien Hominid, as it is vaguely reminiscent of Viewtiful Joe's 2D side-scrolling cel-shaded style. That is where the similarities end. See for yourself, check out the Flash version in the meantime.

Play Alien Hominid

Og Og Alive is a Shockwave game that I haven't quite figured out yet, but I'm having a good time discovering what it's all about. It's an original concept game that appears to be well produced and looks like it could be quite fun. There are two playable characters, male and female Og Og, chosen when you first start the game. You are then given your first assignment: Og Og hungry, fill stump with food.

The user interface combines the use of arrow keys on the keyboard for movement, and the mouse to pick up items and manage them. The sound design for the game is quite elaborate, with a nice balanced mix of sound effects, animal sounds and music that together create a unique and playful atmosphere.

The design of Og Og Alive is an original concept created by Andy Hook. The game's beautiful and original graphics and animation were all created by Andy, and the programming was done by Immersive Productions, in Australia. Like the award-winning game Chasm, Og Og Alive was produced with the assistance of the ABC-Film Victoria Multimedia Production Accord.

Play Og Og Alive

From GamesIndustry.biz this morning comes news from the UK:

"British electronics retailer Dixons has removed Rockstar's Manhunt title from stores, after newspapers and TV news shows reported allegations that the title had influenced a teenager found guilty of the murder of a younger boy."

The article states that the boy was "obsessed" with the game. And while realizing that this is a sensitive subject for the games industry trying to protect our freedom of expression, I remain steadfast in my belief that these ultra-violent titles are, and will continue to be, getting in the hands of a young impressionable audience that probably shouldn't be exposed to such heinous violence.

On July 8, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released their fourth follow-up report to Congress on the marketing of violent movies, music, and games to children:

• As part of an undercover survey of teens shopping for games, the FTC found that 69 percent of unaccompanied shoppers under 17 were able to buy an M-rated game at a retail outlet.
• The FTC found that ads for M-rated games continue to appear in game enthusiast magazines popular with teens.

Last November I wrote an open letter to Rockstar North about this very topic. I knew that young people would be getting their hands on the game and it remains largely unknown what effects these gruesome games have on a younger audience. I urged Rockstar to use their powers for the good of mankind instead of creating another man hunt. What will it take?

News such as this will not go away as long as the games industry continues to develop violent games like Manhunt. The sad thing is there are those that will publish what ever sells—regardless of the effects it has on society—because the only thing that matters in this capitalist world is the bottom line. Freedom of expression is one thing, but at what price should we have to pay for that freedom? Can anyone really be certain that these violent games have no undesirable influence on our youth? I believe it is proven that it just isn't possible to keep these games out of their hands.

If you have ever seen or played one of these Megatouch coin-op video games before, usually found in bars and restaurants, then you're probably familiar with a game on it called PhotoHunt. The game presents you with two identical appearing photos, placed side by side, with one of the photos having been modified in five (5) locations using an image manipulation program such as Photoshop. The object of the game is to locate the differences between the two photos, playing against the clock, by touching the screen in the locations where the photos differ. As long as you find all five, then you move on to the next set of photos. Your score is calculated based on how quickly you point out the differences plus a bonus for each hint you do not use. You start with 3 hints. If you can't find a difference, you can keep playing by giving up one of your hints. It is a really fun game to play cooperatively, especially in a bar with some friends around.

As luck would have it, I found a Flash version of the game on a website in China, called Differences. The game takes a significant time to load, so give it time and your patience will be rewarded.

Play Differences

Caution: Since reviewing this game in 2004, the authors have changed the content of the images used in the game to some that are potentially NSFW!

Early this morning, Nintendo took the wraps off the final design for their new dual-screen handheld slated for a November 2004 release in the US and Japan. The name for the device was also finalized as the Nintendo DS since the name "evokes the idea of a portable system with dual screens."

I am excited about the new design, as I thought the one Nintendo showed at this year's E3 seemed plain and underwhelming for such an innovative game system. As well, I am also looking forward to the new ideas and interfaces the device will facilitate, as I discussed back in May. Click.

I did a double-take when I first saw this on a French Flash games site. Fighters were the one genre that I had seen very little if anything done in Flash, yet now you can relive those arcade glory days by playing Street Fighter with your friends, on your computer.

Julien Philippe has created a version that allows you to play single player against the computer, or 2-player against a friend using the same keyboard. However, be sure to set your key configuration before you play as I was unable to get any key combination to respond using the default. The game allows you to set keys for light punch, high punch, light kick, high kick, move right, move left, and jump. It's all in there, all the characters and sound. There are a few minor aesthetic problems with it, but nothing that should affect gameplay. The author has available for download a version you can play in full screen, as well as an application that allows you to play with a gamepad controller. It's amazing what people are doing with Flash these days.

Play Street Fighter Flash

Update: Since the author's website is no longer available, we're hosting the game until we can locate where the author may have moved his site to. If there are trademark issues with this game and the original IP owner(s) wish the game taken down, please send an email to the contact address in this site's footer and it will be removed immediately.

Lemmings will fall through a trap door into each level. Your job is to get them safely to the exit by using the Lemming skills at the bottom of the play window. Simply click on a skill icon to use that skill. Some levels stretch beyond the limits of the window, so there will be scroll bars in those circumstances.

The game is a lot of fun since it presents a new puzzle with each level that must be figured out by planning ahead if all the Lemmings are to make it to safety. The author plans to implement 30 levels for each of the 4 increasingly difficult game categories: Fun, Tricky, Taxing and Mayhem; however, there are currently only 10 levels available for each.

The full version of the game uses graphics, sound and music from the original, though the author has not received permission to use them. My guess is you should get a chance to play it in case it disappears into the ether. You can even download the source code for the game (minus, of course, the copyrighted game assets) from the author's site, as well as other goodies. So what are you waiting for?

Play DHTML Lemmings

I stumbled upon this Shockwave demo of a larger standalone game product called Slick Ball, created by a German company named Procontis.

The object of Slick Ball is to roll the ball around the platformed environment, making your way through the maze to the end of the level. Obstacles and puzzles stand in your way, like finding a switch to open a gate that blocks your path. The gameplay is very similar to the classic game of Marble Madness, however Slick Ball's graphics are 3D rendered and photorealistic.

With there being only one playable level to the game, I would have passed on posting it here since I try to highlight only games and gadgets that I feel are exceptional for one reason or another. But when I started up the game and began to move the ball around, my jaw dropped from its excellent Director 3D implementation. I have had some experience writing 3D simulations in Director, so I am aware of some of the problems in creating a game like this.

The game is easy to get started playing, however all of the in-game text is in German. Just remember that "Spiel Starten" means start game. To move the ball, simply use the arrow keys on the keyboard. The X key will change camera views.

Play Slick Ball

The latest of the point-and-click, surreal puzzle adventures to pop onto the Flash game scene is a short little story about a girl who has lost her head... literally. With gameplay very similar to that of Samorost—one of the best examples of a surreal, point-and-click adventure—this game is charming and very enjoyable, the only downside is that it is over way too soon. The game is titled Kao Fu-Sen, which literally translates to "face balloon" (thanks insipid idol!), and it features a few tracks of pleasing music that suit the game well.

Created by Syongo Maruyama. With proper credit now that I finally tracked down the original author.

Play Kao Fu-Sen

Baby Factory is a sick and twisted product from the brilliant mind of Charles Forman, of Setpixel.com. The object of Baby Factory is to bounce the little babies, being jettisoned from the factory, into a giant blender by maneuvering two trampoline-carrying factory workers. The trick is to avoid letting them fall on the ground and go boom, er... I mean splat, as the pace picks up with each level. That's it really, there isn't much more to the gameplay than that. And while it isn't the kind of game that usually gets me excited, what I am crazy about is the technology that Charles has put into the game.

Right from the start—as you can see from the splash screen included here—the graphics look sharp, crisp and clean. He has no doubt either toiled for hours creating all those marvelous tiled graphics, or he borrowed them from places like here, here, here, and here. Regardless of how they were acquired, they look amazing in this Shockwave implementation. Tile-based graphics, if done right, can make your games shine like a Mario world.

Also, his use of graphic transitions, particle effects and parallax scrolling techniques are all very well executed. For example: the liquid blood dripping down the screen when the game starts, and when you lose; the in-game fog and smoke engines; and the blender shaking between levels. These are not easy effects to implement, but they all add much to the overall presentation when done right.

Such a very simple game to design, and so much sophisticated technology incorporated into it. That's what I'm excited about here, not babyshakes. Click.

Update: Charles has taken offline most of the games files he had on his SetPixel website. There were many things on his site to learn from as game developers, in addition to his excellent games. His research into collision detection for Marble Madness type games was especially helpful. He's presently working with various types of media in South Korea, and with any luck, he will return to games soon and make his files available once again.

Here is another one for the Classic games section: Battleships. Played just like the old plastic game of Battleship that used red and white pegs to record hits and misses, except this Flash version does all the hard work for you. First position your fleet on the board, then all you have to do is click on a square to fire torpedoes. The animation and sounds are simple yet effective and the entire presentation is nicely done. For now it's single player only against the computer AI, but this game would rock if you could play against human opponents. Created by Franklin Winters, of Holland.

Play Battleships

Best Game award winner at the Flash Forward Festival in San Francisco this year, Chasm is a point-and-click adventure game that stands head-and-shoulders above the rest of the pack.

Created by Transience from Australia, Chasm contains top-notch production values that rivals many commercial products—the only downside to the game is that it plays like a very short story. However, a story it has indeed. Chasm is engaging for about an hour or so while you solve the problem of Chasmton after something happens to the town's water supply, and you—not surprisingly—are designated the one to fix it.

The game consists of a couple of rather intricate contraption-like puzzles that are reminiscent of what you might find in a Legend of Zelda dungeon. The animation is excellent with colors and cell shaded graphics that resemble a Warner Bros. Loony-Toons cartoon. The soundtrack also complements the production and is on par with the standards set with the rest of the game. Highly recommended.

Play Chasm

This set of Flash driving drills comes from pepere.org in France, created by Flash programmer JP. The stylish graphics reminded me of one of those motor vehicle safety manuals they used to pass out in school. Maybe they are coordination tests for driver permits? Oh, that's just plain silly. Anyways, each game requires you to steer your way to the objective using the arrow keys on the keyboard (right, left, forward, reverse) and the space bar for the handbrake.

• The first game has you parallel parking your vehicle at the curb of a street between two other cars. It's a race against the clock, and fender benders count against you. You may think this one looks easy, but in fact it's harder than it looks. Play Handbrake Pepere.
• The next one has you driving on ice around a small track. Again, against the clock but don't run off the road, that also counts against you. Play Circuit Under the Snow.
• The third game puts you in charge of parking your trailer in a nice spot in the shade. Be careful not to cut the wheel too far. Play Pepere and His Trailer.
• And the fourth one puts you in a boat where you steer with the rudder to navigate around marked buoys in the water. Play Boat and the Buoys.

All four games feature realistic physics in each of the different environments, and when finished you get to see a complete replay of your performance—the latter is probably the games' most redeeming quality, especially if you have a couple of people gathered around.

All of the games are short and simple to pick up and play. However, as noted before, these drills are not easy. The difficulty is due to the backwards thinking required when parking, backing up, or steering a boat: To move left, turn the wheel (or rudder) to the right. You get the picture.

Based on some characters and plot elements of Isaac Asimov's short story collection from 1950, Will Smith's latest movie "I, Robot" is out now in theatres. And to promote it, 20th Century Fox has created an impressive Flash movie site to play with. In it I found this series of games related to the content in the movie. Lots of animation and motion graphic eye candy going on in there. I hope the movie is as entertaining as the website was. Domo arigatoo, Mr. Roboto. Click.

Also known as Table Tennis, this Shockwave game is from the folks that bring you the websites Mini-Clip and Shockplay. The game plays exactly like any ordinary game of Ping Pong, with you playing against one of three selectable computer players. The AI is a formidable opponent—either that or I'm a lousy one—therefore you will have to be alert and play quite well to beat it. As far as gameplay mechanics are concerned, controlling the paddle is as easy as moving the mouse around and you'll find yourself putting some extreme spin on the ball early on in your game. The ball physics react realistically, if not a bit on the extreme side, but overall this game is a fine implementation of a classic Ping Pong game.

Play Ping Pong

And if Ping Pong is your thing, there's a very good Japanese movie called Ping Pong that you might like to see. A group of students, from our Beginning Japanese class, got together to watch it following our final exam a couple of weeks ago. This well-made movie is about a high school table tennis club that competes in various tournaments, and it tells the story of two very gifted young athletes who grew up as friends. It's a heart-warming, feel-good movie that I highly recommend.

Play Ping Pong

The prolific and gifted Ferry Halim has yet another wonderful new game out... Wake-Up Calls. Added to the multitudinous other gorgeous games on his Orisinal site, this game plays like a Disney animated short. Think Fantasia and Tchaikovsky's Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies and you won't be far from the Flash magic Ferry serves up in this game: Chrysalides turn to butterflies when zapped by your little magic dew drops as you fall through the branches of a very, very tall tree. You just gotta release 'em all! I missed only 4. How many can you dew?

Play Wake-Up Calls

From Italy comes the website Naive.it with beautiful grapics and Flash games that are very similar in look and feel to Ferry Halim's Orisinal games. Naive's latest game is Equilibrium in which you must balance your unicycle on a tightrope using the mouse. Then, while balancing, use the tightrope as a slingshot to jump in the air and catch the orbs that float by. The artwork is beautiful, the soundtrack is soothing, and the gameplay mechanics make this game a lot of fun.

Play Equilibrium

This evening my mother wanted to go to the store to buy a newspaper so she could kick back and relax while doing the Jumble, a scrambled word game that has been in publication since 1954. Instead of running off to the store, I ran upstairs and Googled a site that had Jumbles for mom to play. What I found was Jumble.com with a play-online section that features daily Jumbles, with a new one added every day. This version of the classic puzzler, Jumble, adds a timer, scoring, and even a hint feature if you really get stumped. Word puzzles are a good way to keep your mind sharp, and to give your fingers a break from all those button-mashing games.

Play Jumble

While speaking of classics, Puyo Pop is based on a game concept that has appeared in no less than 120 games across all video game systems. Originally conceived by Japanese developer Compile under the name Puyo Puyo, its origin dates back to 1989. Probably inspired by Russian Alex Pajitnov's famous Tetris game, Puyo Puyo is similar to Tetris with its falling multi-colored "puyos". Puyos drop in pairs that the player can rotate in the same way that Tetris blocks are manipulated. The object is to group 4 puyos of the same color together to "pop" them from the screen. What makes this game deceptively more difficult than Tetris is that puyos break apart when landing on other puyos, thereby creating rich variation and dimension to the strategy game.

Sega just released a new Puyo Pop game for the PS2 and XBox in February (Japan), and a US Gamecube version of the game is slated for release on July 20th. To promote their console games, Sega has posted this Flash version of Puyo Pop on the official Puyo Pop website.

Play Puyo Pop

If you love playing games as much as I do, and if you love classic games especially—from the Atari 2600, NES, Sega Genesis, Nintendo 64, etc.—then you might want to take a look at the latest issue of Classic Gamer magazine, available absolutely free as a downloadable PDF file. The editors have done a fine job of putting together another enjoyable magazine packed with articles, screenshots, editorial comment and history about games, new and old. Click.

For anyone who enjoys games and has ideas about creating their own, a great place to start is a development environment like Macromedia Flash or Director where you can quickly get something moving around on the screen with a minimum of effort. With this approach you can focus on making the game fun to play rather than having to worry about building an infrastructure first. And there are a lot of good books out there to get you started.

I've been spending a lot of time lately reading a book—by Flash and games guru Jobe Makar—called "Flash MX 2004 Game Design Demystified." The book is an excellent source for anyone interested in designing and building games in any environment. Jobe discusses highly relevant game development topics such as: trigonometry, vectors, basic physics, collision detection and reaction, tile-based worlds, isometric worlds, level editors, artificial intelligence, game graphics, sound, and even some multiplayer game issues. He presents it all in language that is easily understood and that requires no prior knowledge or background with the material. The book contains a CD-ROM with many Actionscript (2.0) code examples that are used throughout the book. There are even files included with expanded concepts covered in the book for more advanced readers, and to keep the pace moving along. It is an excellent resource for anyone just getting started designing and writing games, as well as for those looking to build games using the Flash MX 2004 environment. Highly recommended. Click.

"Dr Sol the medecin showman and Dr Bodelia the queen of the scalpel decide to transform the patient Muscle Mike into one of their assistant on a clinical challenge. Be ready, for the fight!"

There is a help section with a tutorial on what to do in case you were like me, jaw-dropped and dumb-founded. Seeing is believing, and this is one wacked-out, mad-crazy game from the outer limits. Ooh-la-la.

Play Yamago crazy

It is amazing what Scott Schiller of Calgary can do with a little JavaScript and DHTML.

His personal site, Schillmania!, is an impressive mix of web design, funky scripting, detailed interfaces, mixed-media presentations and utilities all centering around client-side technology. But what I'm most excited about is Scott's implementation of the arcade game: Arkanoid. Not only has he re-created it with all original levels, he has also implemented an awesome level editor with which you can create your own levels and save them for others to play.

The interface is slick and simple, and yet looks more like an application program running than code in a browser window. His excellent use of sound enhances the experience without being overbearing. So, do check out his work, whether you're into games, design, or client-side programming.

Play DHTML Arkanoid!

Tontie deserves its own entry—and this way I can also add it to the "Recommended" section in the side bar. Posted a while back with the magnificient Grow game by Eyezmaze, Tontie is simply one of the most accessible, fun-to-play and challenging Flash games I've seen. Anyone with a numeric keypad can play: Just follow the on-screen instructions for each level by pressing the corresponding keys when directed. Each level adds more complexity and variety, so be alert as you play. Wonderful. Simple. Cute.

Play Tontie

Update: A new version of Tontie has been released.

From Patrick Smith of VectorPark comes this incredibly mesmerizing Flash game of physics and balance. Levers is also an excellent example of a composition that balances art with technology.

Since part of the game is in the discovery, I won't say much more than that. I found myself in a peaceful state of being as I played due to the effective use of sound effects that serve to enhance the experience. The physics implementation in this game is especially amazing.

Play Levers

If you have ever seen any of these before, you will be happy to know Jennifer Shiman of Angry Alien has just released the fourth in her re-enactment series: “Alien in 30 Seconds (and Re-enacted by Bunnies).” Each one is only 30 seconds long—obviously—so you can't help but watch them all. Jennifer captures the essence of each film and delivers it in a short little Flash movie using her own animation. Nicely done, creative and hilarious. Too bad she had to remove the humming of the original themes of the Exorcist and the Shining in her original creations due to legal reasons (I thought parodies were fair use?). Oh well, check them out before she has to cut them up even more. Click.

From his MINDistortion web site in Austria, Manuel Fallmann has created this well-made Flash game that will keep you busy for a while.

Bubbles is a clever and addictive arcade game in which the objective is to collect bubbles to score points while avoiding spikes that can burst your own bubble. The problem is that the more bubbles you collect, the larger your bubble becomes, which makes navigation a bit trickier. A grooving soundtrack and numerous power-ups make this game a lot of fun.

Manuel has infused the game with these special power-ups and effects: bullet-time, invincibility, bouncy, bubbles-only, speed, and druggie. Engaging physics and a funky soundtrack make this game highly enjoyable, if at least for an occasional diversion.

Play Bubbles

The Asylum: Psychiatric Clinic for Abused Cuddly Toys, that's the extended name of this very odd Flash game. And the gameplay is just as strange: through various therapeutic methods, attempt to lead the cuddly toy patients to resolve their traumatic past experiences. The game has very humorous moments, and some very adorable characters. It's a remarkable achievement at combining narrative with interactive gameplay. The game just may give you goosebumps and perhaps even make you cry.

If you have ever wondered if someone would ever make a game for therapists, it's time to stop wondering.

Play The Asylum

Lite-Brite was a technological wonder when it was first released back in 1967 by the Hasbro toy company. Images were created by poking the colored pegs through the black paper on the screen, which made the pegs appear to illuminate from the light housed in the case. The screen resolution wasn't too good, but hey... it was 1967! And now, thanks to the magic of JavaScript, you can play Lite-Brite on your computer. May the wonders of technology never cease.

Update: Unfortunately, Lite-Brite browser fun can no longer be had due to trademark infringement with the Hasbro corp. Previously tagged as: browser, creativity, flash, free, game, linux, mac, pointandclick, rating-g, remake, simpleidea, webtoy, windows

Cube Bugs ist ein Knobelspiel das süchtig macht, which when translated means "Cube Bugs is a strategy game that is very addictive." And I would have to agree. It's a very simple game to begin playing, you don't even need to read German. Simply enter your name (for the high scores list) then click the New Game button and away you go. Roll the mouse over groups of similar bugs (2 or more) and click to remove them from the board. Try to leave as few bugs on the board when there are no more groups to click, as the number you leave is reduced from your credits before moving to the next level. You only have just 100 credits to start with. The graphics are very cute and the interface is quite nice as well.

Play Cube Bugs

If you like Cube Bugs and want a greater challenge, there's a platinum version with even more bugs.

Play Cube Bugs Platinum

Stef Passigatti of Switzerland created this game back in 1999, but I just stumbled upon it recently. He also has a few other games on his .kleentec website that you might like to check out. This well-crafted Flash game is a simple shmup that is fast and furious, as well as addictive. He's done a nice job with implementing power-ups, bonus multipliers, smooth animation particle effects, and a high score list, too. So, if you like shmups, you're gonna love SpaceFighta.

Play SpaceFighta

A game that's more difficult than it might seem, this one is based on clicking sequentially numbered circles to clear each level. The oval buttons to the right are ordered in increasing level of difficulty: easy, medium, hard. They correspond to the number of circles you must click within the time limit to clear a level. For example, when the game begins, click on the circle with 1, then 2, then 3... not too difficult, eh? You try it.

Play Japanese counting game