Today, with great pleasure, I present to you yet another game that began as an electric spark in the brain of 16x16.org's own, Mr. Nenad, and ended as a notable part of the future's gaming history :)
"Rescue: The Beagles" is a side scrolling platformer that relies on procedurally generated content to deliver some great gameplay.
You can see a screenshot of the game in my site's header. Yes, that's you parachuting down, ready to kick some pharmaceutical ass and save the poor doggies. Have I already mentioned that you use owls to attack the enemies? Excellent.
It was made for TIG Source procedural generation game competition and, so far, people seem to like it.
For example, LaughingCrow reviews the game on Lithium Leaf and mentions that one of the more enjoyable moments of the game was the first appearance of the enemy known as Vivisector, because when he enters the screen, he says "Doggieeeess..." in a creepy voice. I'm particularly proud of that, for that is my voice. Ha.
I've also created the sound effects and half the soundtrack. The credit for the other half goes to Rich Vreeland who composes awesome, very enjoyable (sometimes even addictive) C64- and ZX Spectrum-inspired music. Check for more on RichVreeland.com.
All the sound effects (except the enemy voices, naturally) and music were created using the incredible "Unknown 64" C64 synth by Odo Synths - do check it out, please - it's pure fun :D
I've tried to do my best with limited time and I hope it sounds decent, at least :)
One more year and I'll have my diploma. I'll be free to do whatever I want with it, even burn it if I feel like it. Not that I plan to do that. Although, I have considered the option.
Unfortunately, that would just piss some people off — my parents, for example. But the thing is - I don't really need a diploma. I have knowledge. And I got that knowledge by reading, working, messing around with computers, with software, by learning from other people on and off the net — by doing stuff in real-world situations. And it seems like I need a diploma from some third-grade "school" to prove it. I don't. I don't plan to work for anyone but myself. But... You never know what kind of shitty old chocolate you may find in that box, so you better be carrying guns. Or a diploma. Get it if you can. Knowledge is power, especially if it's certified. Nerd power.
A comforting thought: life sucks even if you're a billionaire.
Mr. Nenad "16x16" Jalsovec ".org" of Counterclockwise fame is one of the few sad, little people who have applied for some public ass-kicking in the beginning of 2008. And paid a small entrance fee for it. I'm, of course, talking about the IGF - Independent Gaming Festival, and this very paragraph's first sentence is what people refer to as sarcasm. It's that kind of a day today, so please bear with me.
While Nenad is crunching the numbers code, I'm learning how to fart working on the sound effects and music, but it's all still very messy at the moment. The game is addictively playable and very kick-assy old-school in a way and it's gonna be universally awesome. This is, of course, a hyperbolic statement - but truthful, nevertheless. You'll get a chance to play it yourself in a couple weeks, anyway.
No new music from me. I've had no inspiration lately. I hope this year will go by and be forgotten as fast as the new "Bionic woman" will should be.
Love, peace, beer, no kids.
I've got a 2 month old kitten with me. I named him Dexter. Quite appropriately, I must say, as it's a flesh-eating killer cat. I've got worse scars on me than Amy Winehouse had after she got in a fight with her own husband last month (or maybe it was back in September?). But I like him. I freaking love this allovermycables-peeing little piece of fur. But I'm sadly aware of the fact that I'll have to find him a new home soon. I'm one of those ever-worrying freak-people. Unfortunately. Fingers crossed for a great new home for little Dexter? Yes, please :)
Also: I've played Half-life 2 Episode 2 and I liked it a lot. I'm going to play Portal over the weekend, it looks promising. I still have Minerva to finish (very cool).
Have a great weekend, y'all.
It’s taken them a while (3 months), but the Retro Remakes crew has finally managed to go through all the submitted games and tell us what they think. To be honest, I’ve expected CCW to win, or at least find its way into the top 3, but it seems that the accessibility has decided that fourth place is…the place to be. I’m just a little bit disappointed, even after playing the games that won, but those are some great remakes - congratulations to the authors. I’m well aware that I’m being subjective, but I really can’t do anything about it :)
I won’t speak in Nenad’s name, but I do believe he’d agree that the fourth place rocks, the ‘best sound’ award is something we both can be proud of, people love the game and I’m glad I was given the opportunity to be involved in a part of its creation. We won, wooohoooo! :D
Alright.
I’ve watched the 11th episode of “Heroes” just a couple of hours ago, I love that show. After “Buffy” and “Angel” had ended, I was in a dead zone for a while, looking for some great new show(s) to watch. First, I stumbled upon “Battlestar Galactica” after a friend had recommended it — whoa, I was hooked instantly and I still am. Then there were “Joan of Arcadia” and “My name is Earl“, for example, and “Lost“, which had me going for a while, but come on… Now I’m anxiously waiting for January 1st (or 22nd, says Wikipedia), 2007 so I can continue watching “Heroes”. Cliffhangers are something you gotta love and hate at the same time, especially if they’re as great as this one at the end of “Fallout” (11th episode of “Heroes”) was. And this Friday, BSG will leave us with cliffhanger too (most probably), and it’s coming back on January 21st.
Got any shows to recommend? Please, don’t be afraid and fire away at the comments, I need something good to watch until January :)
BTW, Masi Oka, the actor who plays Hiro Nakamura on Heroes — please check his biography on IMDB, the guy is incredible! Respect ;)
