Games Updates - Dec 2015

Oh wow, it has been a while since I updated, huh?

So lets see, what have I been working on this fine year?

Joe and I were contracted to do the art on a game, "Spellblast" which will hopefully go into Steam Early Access here soon. It's a hybrid edutainment/SHMUP game where players fight off gruesome aliens while collection letters and forming words to progress. Pretty interesting concept and its been hectic making the art, but it's been a blast!

The player fights the majestic space norwhalicorn in Spellblast

Ont top of that, we've been chipping away at a few projects in our spare time including "Root Canal" and "Wreckin' Ball".

"Root Canal" is nearly completed and will be an in-browser game for all to enjoy for free. Gameplay, it's similar to games like "Flappy Bird" and "Jetpack Joyride" and can be played with a single button. Hopefully once I get less-lazy, I'll finish it off and upload it to a few online arcades and maybe Facebook. Check back every so often and I'll be sure to let you know where you can play it when it's live.

Here we see the dentist using a water-pick

And then "Wreckin' Ball" is a basic sports game that is in very early pre-alpha (ie. not really feature complete playable yet, but we got somethin'). It'll be a multiplayer focused, 2.5D, violent, quick/casual game that has the potential for more competitive play-styles that we're sure will be a hit with players.

While I don't have a screenshot I'm willing to share at this time, I'll give you all a small taste in the form of a concept...

WOO! SPORTS!

But yeah, that's whats in the works that I can share. "Corruption Kings" is still being worked on, but its taken a back-seat to other, more beneficial projects that came up. 

All in all, we've got a few games in the air at any given time.

I'll update more when we've got more to share.

Until next time,

Dave

Back to the land of the living... with gifts!!

Wow, it's been a while...

I've spent some time away from my blog (and even making games) for a little bit now and I just wanted to let anyone whose out there know I'm not dead. Close, but that's part of the reason I was away.

See, some of you know I have a bad heart. This bad heart keeps me from being an athlete or astronaut or even a dentist. It does let me go to the front of the line at airports and theme parks, but I'm not a fan of travel or roller-coasters, so its kind of a moot point. 

A couple months ago, I started to get worse. The ejection fraction for my heart started to get lower, I started bloating, and lost nearly all my energy through-out the day. Doctors wouldn't directly say it was heart failure, but it was a term that was used. I ended up getting some new meds and things were starting to look up until a few weeks ago.

I started to get fairly severe abdominal pains and heaviness in my chest. Long story short; I got a blood clot that ended up in my spleen and killing half of it. Most people can live just fine without a spleen, but I kinda need mine. 

So yeah, been in and out of the hospital for the past month or 2 pretty regularly and it was only recently that the whole clot issue happened, meaning I have tons of new meds, a struggling immune system, and some pretty devastating pain that I have to deal with for a bit.

But game making must go on!

And in the spirit of continuing on, I've made a little sprite sheet to share with folks who are looking to get into developing games or maybe are vets but aren't that paint-ily inclines; either way, they might be looking for some pixel'd doods and here they are!

Now I know they aren't perfect or even spaced out properly, but they should be a good cast of characters to help make some fun games!

Right-click; Save-as
If someone is trying to charge for the sheet, tell them they're dumb.

Now get out there and make some fun games and enjoy life! Its too short to not do what you love.

Until next time,

Dave

More Marvel Characters! - Cable

Hey there! So I'm just sharing another illustration I did for you guys!

This time, it's the time traveling, psychic super-mutant from the Marvel Universe; Cable.

I drew him a bit more slight in proportion than his usual Liefeld-esque build of 6'8" and 350lbs, but I still like the way he turned out.

Anywho, hope you guys like it and if you have any suggestions or requests for my next drawing, leave a comment and I'll see what I can do!

Until next time,
Dave

Dave Plays: How to Survive - Episode 1

Hey there everyone!

So, I finally buckled and starting something I've been wanting to do for a while; a lets play series!

I picked to start with the zombie, action-adventure, role-playing game "How to Survive" by 505 Games.

With Diablo-esque perspective, weapon and armor crafting, character leveling, and survival elements, this game has it all.

The graphics aren't great, but who cares?! It's a fun game!

Anyway, check out my video below and give it a like! (And go easy on me; it's my first time...)

I sound like a fuckin' mid-afternoon radio DJ on the least popular station, but I'm having fun with it!

If you want to check out the game, you can buy it on Steam for $15; which is a great deal for a game that in my opinion will net you at least one play through by yourself and maybe one with a friend.

Welp, let me know what you think in the comments down below if you like the video, want to see more, maybe suggest a different game to play, or you could just hassle me to finally make a tutorial video that I promised like 2 years ago....

Until next time,

-Dave

Blog Update - The Revengening...

Hey internet!

So in case you didn't know, I just finished getting an expensive, little piece of paper that says I know how to do what I do.

That's right, I finally got my bachelors degree and now it's time for me to either continue perusing indie games with my fellow classmates and look for work with some other folks.

Woo! Book learnin'!

From big, booming studios with tons of people all the way to small, 2 or 3 person projects, I'm going to try to do whatever I can in order to make my dream a reality. (Granted, I still need a day job unless one of you fine people wants to pay me to concept, make character models, texture, design, voice act; you know, whatever...)

So yeah, if you or someone you know needs a guy like me on a project, let them know I'm willing to take on whatever I can!

Got an idea for a game?! BOOM! Concepts and art and models all over the place!

Now with more beards!

Got a game idea that is... shall we say, less accepted by the social norm? BOOM! I'll help with that, too! Whose going to stop me!? You? (Well you'll be able to stop me from working on your project, I'll give you that...)

Bethesda, gimme a call and we'll make this...

Anyway, now that I ranted for a bit, I'm gonna say sorry for not writing a blog post sooner. I've been nearly busy the last few weeks buttoning up some projects, looking for non-game-related work, watching pre-rendered footage being called game-play during E3 coverage online, and the whole graduating thing.

Don't worry, more oddly comforting doodles in MS Paint are coming this way soon! Woot.

Until next time,

-Dave

(Soon will be tomorrow by the way...)

 

Pocket Prison: Kim Jong Un - download!

Oh hey, wanna copy of Pocket Prison: Kim Jong Un?

Windows Download!

So yeah, download and enjoy!

Until next time,
-Dave

Pocket Prison: Kim Jong Un

Hey there internets, haven't talked to you in a bit!

Wanna know why?

Me and the guys have been working on some games and stuff, one of which is a digital pet/prison game where you have to care for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un!

(Start Screen! Woot!)

I know what you might be saying. "Isn't that in bad taste?" or "Aren't you afraid of back-lash?"

Well, maybe yes, maybe no.

Now, we don't want to offend anyone and certainly aren't trying to stir up any trouble, but we do want to bring some awareness to the treatment of prisoners around he world; not just North Korea, but everywhere.

Mostly, we just want to spark some conversation about some world issues.

If the game is well received, we intend to create other versions with a wide array of world leaders.

Pocket Prison: Kim Jong Un will be first released on PC and if Apple lets us, we'll be releasing on iPhone, iPad, and iPod devices soon!

That's some exciting stuff, huh?

Screen shots and other goodies will be coming within the next couple of days!

Until next time,
-Dave
(Lemme know what you think!)

Super Monster Dance Party! - Release Tomorrow!

Hey everyone!

Sorry for being absent for a little bit, but that's because me and the team have been working hard on our games, including Super Monster Dance Party which comes out tomorrow, April 30th!

We've got the game buttoned up and ready to go! All we have to do is put it down for long enough to upload it to the Google Store!

Keep a look out for it in your Android phone's Google store and do us a solid and give it a shot!
It's only $0.99!

Until next time,
-Dave
(Sleep is something that should happen soon...)

Super Monster Dance Party - it's coming...

It's official, our game is in the final stretch!

Super Monster Dance Party is coming!

Here are some screen shots from our programmer Jake Vermillion's blog featuring actual game-play screen shots! WOO!

Flo-Bros wrecking things up with mad fresh beats, yo!

Selectin' dem levels like it ain't no thang!

So are you as pumped up as I am?!

...

No? Well, you should be! We got DJ SynthR (Matthew Le Blanc) providing the awesome music for our game! This guy is phenomenal so go check out his web site!

 Now, there are still some kinks to work out, but we're right on schedule for an April 30th release!

Our little team worked our collective butts off for this little game and got it turned out in under 3 months, so I just want to go on the record saying that I'm very proud of the Pixel Jargon team. They all go above and beyond in all our endeavors, always find a way to get something done, and never even thought of quitting. 

If you want more news on Pixel Jargon and Super Monster Dance Party as it happens, check out our Facebook and Twitter accounts. 

-Pixel Jargon (Facebook)  (Twitter)

-SMDP (Facebook)  (Twitter)

But seriously, you really should click those and like and follow us, cause that's what cool kids do...

Until next time,

-Dave

(Fuck yeah.)