Was a bit on the fence with this, but as soon as saw what kind of game, I was “Why the heck not?” So here goes my weekend to playing Abzu. Let’s see what this interesting game holds!
Summer of Gaming Week 5: Parley S. Neely, Game Developer
For a few of the people that I’m doing interviews with, a good chunk of them had developed games for a “100 Great Kids Games” CD that I had the pleasure of using back in 2001. Some I had to do a lot of digging (some were non-existent after all this time,) but one of the folks I was able to get ahold of was Parley S. Neeley, the guy behind a interesting little game called “Lunar BBall.” It turns out he made a small host of other games as well, his programming pursuits an early hobby.
I’m Apparently Going to Be a Wizard Either Way
In the geek/nerd/anime community, there’s a pun that goes around that “if you’re a virgin when you hit 30, you’ll become a wizard.” I fall into that category. However one night I was chatting with an ex-coworker, she mentioned that I was also a “tech wizard” in addition to that. I figured I’d embrace it it was going to happen regardless, and this happened. Now if my monitors would only stand up like that.
Announcement: Dawnstar now on Steam Greenlight
Hello peeps,
Just a quick announcement to let you know that Dawnstar got submitted to Steam Greenlight. I’m approximately about a month to six weeks away from completion of the final product, having just finished coding up to the first “big” mission. There’s approximately four of those left, the ending, the outro, and then a splice that would lead to a next episode.
So please do show your support by voting for Dawnstar to be released on Steam. Despite whatever happens over there, I will be releasing the game on my website and other channels that will allow the game to be distributed on. The link is here:
Dawnstar Visual Novel – Steam Greenlight Trailer
Dawnstar is hitting Steam Greenlight! Great thanks to Chelsea Cook for the trailer voice. Announcement following in a few days.
Summer of Gaming Week 4: William – PetiteGames – Indie Game Developer
I ran across this indie developer after I had picked up his game off of Steam during a sale weekend. The title was called “Midnight”, and I was very attached to the music. It really accompanied the game quite nicely, even the sudden “plunk” of keys when you die.
Artwork courtesy Christina Weinman
Neverthless, William (or PetiteGames) was not too hard to track down to bug him with questions about his games:
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Summer of Gaming Week 3: Steven E. Hugg, Game Developer
One of my most favorite games while growing up was a small shareware game that went by the name of Comet Busters. Having discovered it from my cousin approximately in 2001 off a shareware game CD, I was glued to this game for years until I had gotten ahold of my first AAA game, Halo. This game remained a favorite due to to the multiplayer capability, simplicity and how addictive it was.
Fortunately, Steven Hugg was still around and still does development work. He agreed to tell me about his ventures and let me share them.
Summer of Gaming Week 2: John Hattan, Game Developer – The Code Zone
Next on my list? A guy who made a very addictive puzzle game that was one of the first PC games for me to play; Bulldozer. I actually had to grab an old computer out of storage and fire up the “24 Games Collection” to find out its original creator, a company by the name of “The Code Zone”.
After finding out that they’re very much alive, I was able to get in contact with them and with John Hattan. Turns out, he was the guy who made the whole “24 Games” collection, including Bulldozer. And interesting enough, this was one of the more interesting interviews I’ve done so far.
Power Symbol Projection
While on a random IT job, I flipped off the lights in the server room to call it a day. Lo and behold I saw this wonderful projection of the power symbol off the monitor switch; so I snapped a picture before heading out. Very interesting to look at if anything.
Summer of Gaming Week 1: S.C. Watson, Illustrator
So in my hunt of people to interview and ask questions for the “Summer of Gaming” series, I broadened by horizons. Not only would I just focus on the guys that made my favorite games from the 90’s when I grew up, I’d also poke at some more recent fellows.
This search led me to S.C. Watson, an illustrator and artist for Space Empires V, a game I spent a whole lot of time on before getting a great new computer in 2007. His iconic “painted” portraits of the races always stuck with me, giving a greater “realism” to the game than the previous 3D models. He’s a self-taught artist, doing all sorts of traditional and digital work.
After some hunting I finally found Shane’s portfolio site and contacted him via e-mail. Explaining my intentions and project, he willingly agreed to contribute.
Who Am I?
My name's Janeil.
Welcome to my part of the galaxy.
Moonlight game dev, creative writer, sharing my personal experiences.