September 22, 2015

The Boston Festival of Indie Games took place last week here (in Boston… err, actually Cambridge).  It’s an annual event where a bunch of developers show off their games at booths… and thousands of people come by to see them.  It’s nice, low-key, and a lot of fun.

This was my third time showing off a game at the event, and I brought The Electric Shocktopus.

And when I say I brought him… I *really* mean I brought him.

Thanks to my artistic and resourceful wife, my booth was decked out with a larger-than-life-size Shocktopus.  From what I heard, the giant octopus cut-out was like a beacon at the festival, visible no matter where you stood.

Though, I suppose where I was standing I couldn’t see him.

As always, I had a wonderful time showing off the game, and it was really well-received.  Over the course of the 8-hour event, dozens of people stopped to play, and many more simply watched.  I was showing off a demo-version of the game with just ten levels… though a few people got a bit more involved than that.  One person got into the Feel Bad Friday levels and was playing through 4A4C…

Suffice it to say, since he was new to the game, he didn’t beat the level.  But he made it much further than I expected (all the way to those crates you need to burn through, for the record).

And a few other players took to the Level Editor like Shocktopi to water.  Here’s Sea Star Reef, a level that a player made over the weekend:

[The Electric Shocktopus-“Sea Star Reef”-eNqr1jGkAOoAsRkeaKqjg1UNpTpN8UJ8OrEAPEqNTYlVTCicdHCGH1YX4eKQocLYBMElz Z0IXZZ44KiuwaeLnFjGnohopYpsWK1DIjAyR0fkqjXBA/HrxJQlHtHCHLy+ppqFeB0zDE zGF46Eg3ZUx1DUQYUcOJhNrFYqUdKJjgWiaqU0EKsWALmm47s=]

So I emerged from this year’s Boston FIG having shown my game off to a bunch of new players, having gotten some valuable feedback, and with a giant Shocktopus cutout.  Which is standing on my desk.  Looming… looming.

-Andy

September 18, 2015

Now you may want to cover your eyes for this week’s Feel Bad Friday… it’s pretty offensive.  That’s right, I’m playing through YS Display by A Random Player.  And it is scandalous.  See what I’m talking about by watching the video on YouTube.

Also, along the way I show off a couple new features of Version 0.7, which is still under development.  There’s some neat science tools (voltmeters and such), and some useful level-design tools (moving tiles that you’ve placed ftw!).

Click here to watch on YouTube

It’s another case of A Random Player making a level that leaves me scratching my head.  Was it made through trial-and-error?  Was it planned out completely before a single tile was placed?  Was a computer program used in the creation of this?  Inquiring minds want to know!

As always, thanks for sharing this level with us, A Random Player.  For anyone who wants to play this scandalous level yourself, you can find the code here.

-Andy