Interview with Polystyrene Man – By Obelisk
January 4, 2008 at 4:12 | In Interviews | 1 CommentTags: Jay, Plaxis, poly, polystyrene man, Vachon, vim
Jay, more commonly known as Polystyrene Man, is a good friend of mine. He is also probably my favorite Game Maker user, and has brought us instant classics like A Day in the Life of Bob, Plaxis, Absolute Zero, Xochitl, and more recently vim. Being the fountain of inspiration and brilliance that he is, I decided to ask him a few questions.
Zane: So, what exactly got you into creating games? You say you’ve never owned a console.
Jay: It’s true that I’ve never owned a console, but I’ve always had a PC. When I was younger, I enjoyed playing games such as Roller Coaster Tycoon and The Sims. I wouldn’t say that these influenced my decision to begin game making, though- mainly, I was bored with playing my PC games and wanted to see if I could make something better. So Game Maker served as a challenge and a creative outlet.
Zane: What inspires you artistically? Any artists in particular?
Jay: I love all things abstract and experimental. My favorite artists are Salvador Dalí and M.C. Escher. I also draw a great deal of inspiration from music; bands such as Radiohead, Pink Floyd, My Bloody Valentine, and The Helio Sequence have a large influence on my games. It’s hard for me to explain exactly why that is, but I try to reflect the complexity of their music into my games. Music is very much a visual experience for me, and sometimes when I listen to a song I enjoy, I find myself coming up with ideas for games.
Zane: Did your former chemical habit have any influence on your creations?
Jay: If you experiment with drugs, any of your creative pursuits are bound to be influenced. Games such as vim, Farmer Fred’s Psychedelic Garden, and Another Day in the Life of Bob have all been influenced by my experimentation. I wouldn’t call it a necessary part of game making, and I don’t suggest that anyone begin taking drugs, but we all draw inspiration from various points. That’s just one of them.
Zane: You describe vim as your perspective of humans. What exactly does that mean to you?
Jay: I’m an incredibly cynical person with a bleak outlook on human life. I also hold the belief that all people should be free to do whatever they want (that includes, for instance, doing drugs, polluting the atmosphere, eating animals). Without a doubt, the animals in vim are symbolic of humans: Behind all of our social constructs and abstract country borders, we’re all just selfish individuals whose purpose in life is to eat, drink, and reproduce. At least, those are the primal instincts. It’s survival of the fittest when you get right down to it; I hope to convey that in vim.
Zane: How long does it usually take for you to complete a game?
Jay: It depends on whether or not I have Internet access when I’m working on my game. My first four games (A Day in the Life of Bob, Gyroscope, Absolute Zero, and Miner!) were all finished within a couple of months, because I didn’t have Internet access at that time (well, I did, but I was on dial-up). Since I got broadband, it’s taken me a lot longer to make games. vim was on-and-off for over a year, “Bob 2″ is still in the works after more than two years, Farmer Fred’s Psychedelic Garden is on hold for an undetermined amount of time… the list goes on. The Internet is a terrible distraction for me. When I want to get serious work done, I take my projects to my laptop and remove the wireless card.
Zane: Could you tell us anything about Farmer Fred’s Psychedelic Garden? How’s it progressing?
Jay: I haven’t made any progress in months, but I looked at the source recently and the code is actually relatively neat, so it would be easy for me to pick it up again. I don’t want to say that I’ve cancelled the project, because it’s a beautiful game and I would hate to see it lost.
Zane: Will Another Day in the Life of Bob ever see the light of day?
Jay: I’d rather play Another Day in the Life of Bob than make it. Maybe that’s what’s slowing me down so much- I have a ton of ideas for the game, but I can’t must the energy to add them. It’s slow going because I actually don’t enjoy making the game. I have a feeling that completing “Bob 2″ will kill my enthusiasm for game making, and will likely end up being my last hurrah.
Zane: Any advice for other game makers?
Jay: Do the newbies a favor and release your editables. That’s how I learned how to code- by editing other people’s games. I’ve released the source to all of my games, and I’ve had absolutely no trouble.
Zane: Any final words?
Jay: Keep your eyes on the stars, spread your wings and fly! You can do it if you really put your mind to it! Don’t let those bumps in the road get you down!
Protoganda: Strings – Reviewed by REZ
December 4, 2007 at 4:8 | In Reviews | 6 CommentsTags: bull hell, cactus, protoganda, shooter, strings
I love playing Cactus’ arcade games. Not just because I know it’ll be fun and addictive like any other good arcade game, but because I never know what to expect. Cactus’ style shifts a bit, and can only be defined in randomness. Take Insect Invade 2 for example, a game where you play as a gun toting, naked mad man fighting monsterous bug creatures. Thankfully, this game is nothing like that, in fact, you could consider it another shift in style. The central idea of Protoganda: Strings is pretty simple, but the execution of that idea is complex and in-depth (for a GM game at least). From graphics to gameplay, Protoganda has an ‘in your face’ attitude you won’t be forgetting anytime soon.
Before I start, I want you guys to get familiar with the term ‘bullet hell.’ I’ll be saying it a lot in this review, so go google it or something. The gameplay is what really holds Protoganda altogether for me. The general side-scrolling shooter formula stays pretty much the same, but it sways just enough from the basic shooter to make for a compelling bullet hell game. Its mostly the tiny differences that make up for the minorly generic cliches. Both you and your enemy have weak spots that must be hit to cause damage, a much welcomed change to the traditional side scrolling game. You might’ve notice I said “your enemy.” Thats exactly what it sounds like. One on one battles. Battles with large Metal Gearish things constantly shooting, all lined up for you to take them on. The game itself is like a massive Boss Rush feature with plenty of opitions, you can fight them in order or randomize a bit.
Either way, you’ll be playing for hours non-stop if you’re good. This game is all about time, not lives. You could go through some pretty nasty take downs and still keep playing. For a bullet hell game, its more fun than it is dishearting. Which makes it an original experience. In all honesty, I don’t think this game would’ve worked with more enemies on screen. Another FAIRLY original (and I say fairy because its not 100% original and its not 100% over used) aspect about this game, is that you can choose between two modes, “absorb” and “shield.” Shield makes the game play like a normal side scroller, forcing you to dodge what you can while pushing bullets away (a la Neo, Maxtrix Reloaded) with a Z+X bullet deflect command. The Z+X bullet deflect is quite useful but takes time to master. Making it a helpful feature without taking away from the game’s challege. The Absorb mode allows you to switch between colors, so that if you’re confronted by a blue bullet with the color blue selected, you won’t be damaged. This is a good mode if you’re a fast, bug eyed junkie who’s quick on his feet. All in all, the gameplay is sheer shoot’em up fun with a few new things added into the mix. Plus, its got more replay value then any other GM game out there.
The graphics are breathe-taking, and some what awe-inspiring considering the fact that they were made in GM. Imagine the shapes from the famous rail shooter, Rez and the glowing whimsy of Geometry Wars. Then add the designs of a Metal Gear, and you get Protoganda’s graphical style. Another thing I loved about this game was the enemies’ Russian names. Obviously poking fun at everyone’s favorite flavor of Communist propaganda (get it? get it? the title could be a blend of the words propaganda and prototype, how creative!).
In conclusion, this game has the perfect balance of fun, challege, eye popping graphics, and techno music.
http://gmc.yoyogames.com/index.php?showtopic=335557
The Curse of Kaumaha – Reviewed by Fabio
December 3, 2007 at 3:11 | In Reviews | Leave a CommentTags: curse of kaumaha, game fortress, kaumaha
The Curse of Kaumaha has been a long-time GM favorite of mine and many others. The game itself just blurts out perfection and professionalism. The game takes place on an island somewhere in the Pacific ocean, overtaken by a curse. Your objective is to free spirits to break the curse of Kaumaha. Curse of Kaumaha took the platformer and put a few twists on it, along with some classic platforming elements.
The gameplay itself is a unique twist compared to most platformers. Instead of getting right into it, you must jump into torches that shoot out embers that will destroy your enemies and free their souls. There is action, but it’s set at a mellow pace. Now, the gameplay is not for everyone, might I add. Most, like myself, will become indulged in the game, playing for long periods of time, while others will quit after the tutorial. The thing is, I actually took the time to finish the entire game; something I rarely do with GM games. The gameplay works generally like this: Go through each level, and free enough spirits to move on. However, there is much more than that. There is a golden mask hidden in every level in which you can collect. It’s little extras like this that make you want to play more. The game can be challenging, though. This can throw some players off, but it’s what makes the game worthwhile.
The graphics are simply amazing; they look professional, pleasing to the eye, and everything meshes together wonderfully. The variety is amazing, with colorful, eye-catching level design to menacing enemies. There are few GM games that can stack up to Curse of Kaumaha’s beautiful artistry. Nothing is overdone, and every level you feel you’ve seen something new.
The game is also packed with extra features including mini-games, options, unlockables, trophies, and more. Few GM games will have you coming back after the first run-through, but Curse of Kaumaha is an exception. Every GM game should take after Curse of Kaumaha with options like these. The score is also great. It all fits the game well, but it can become repetitive after a while. Each sound and song goes together with the entire theme. Nothing feels out of place.
The cons of the game? Well, as I stated above, it can be repetitive or too hard for some. There are SOME MINOR bugs, although you will rarely catch one. And that’s about it. The game itself screams perfection. A true GM masterpiece.
The Curse of Kaumaha
Size: 5.3 MB
By: Game Fortress
Completed Game
5 out of 5.
Q&A with REZ – by Fabio
December 1, 2007 at 1:5 | In Interviews | 4 CommentsTags: RATF, REZ, REZ 2, REZ and the Forgotten, REZ: Havoc's End, RHE
Q: To start this off, a question I ask everyone: What inspires you to make a game?
A: Mostly tiny stuff. I connect things pretty weirdly in my mind. For instance, I based some of REZ II’s plot off of what I heard about the Bastille.
Q: Another question that I ask everyone: How do you start with a project?
A: Graphics. Its the game’s character and if I can’t define it, I’ll pitty myself throughout the process of making the game.
Q: What does the REZ series as a whole mean to you, in terms of self-accomplishment and sentimental value?
I’m not quite sure. I’m a bit disturbed by this whole following I got on 64Digits. People really seem to enjoy seeing the REZ character and that only makes the games’ overall value even greater to me. To answer your question, it means a lot. There’s always a fan for something, and I’m just glad to have a few.
Q: Any exclusive information you can give us about the highly anticipated new REZ game?
A: REZ is going to mature. I’m already limiting my pallet to darker colors. REZ won’t be a rookie Hood in this installment either, he’ll have a few new tricks up sleeve. He’ll need ‘em too, he’s gonna fight a war without many allies. I can’t tell you much more.
Q: Can you tell us the base for the new game?
A: REZ will be locked up in a massive prison for the murders of 42 villagers (something that would make sense if you beat REZ I) along with Loch, the immortal vampire, when Bloodlings, a demon-like race of soldiers, come to save REZ for unknown reasons.
Q: What are some of your other hobbies?
A: As expected, I love to draw and sketch. As a matter of fact, REZ sort of sprouted from an old childhood comic. Besides that, my other hobbies include: reading graphic novels (mostly batman, but we’ll save that talk for another time), writing some of my short stories, and brainstorming in general. I guess if you could consider thinking a hobby, it’d be up on my list pretty high. I plan out movie scenes in my head.
Q: Any advice for other game makers?
A: I realize everybody feels unmotivated and uncreative at times, the trick is to have at least 3 projects and take month long breaks on them. It strangely worked for me. I suppose that’s the best advice anyone could give. Do what works for you.
Q: Now, the question everyone’s been waiting for… paper or plastic? More seriously, any last words?
A: To solve the problem of not knowing where REZ I left off, I’m going to release REZ: Havoc’s End with more saves for all the little good boys and girls. Who knows, if you’re lucky, there might even be a twinkie in your stocking.
Q&A with Kenon – by Fabio
December 1, 2007 at 1:12 | In Interviews | 3 CommentsTags: kenon, platformed
Q: What inspired you to start making games?
A. That’s an easy one. Since I’ve been young, I’ve been a real fan of video games. People claim I’ve been playing them since I was 3. Also, when I was 10, I had ready access to a computer. It’s only natural of me to want to make my own games if I had been playing them for 7+ years.
Q: How do you start work on a project?
A. My process is quite wierd. First, I get a basic idea out of thin air, no idea why it came to me. Next, I elaborate on that idea by walking around in a circle outside for about an hour. No idea why that either, but it gives me a bunch of ideas. Then I work on the engine or sprites.
Q: So, you’ve been working on Platformed, a very popular title among 64Digits. What are you working on now as far as Platformed goes?
A. The last thing I was working on for PLatformed (Yesterday) was an animation of an enemy sprite. Right now, I have basic sprites done for the demo, so I’m working on animations.
Q: Any exclusive news you can give our GM Edge readers today?
A. I really don’t have much I would like to disclose, other than you can expect a demo soon from me. And no, it’s gonna be wildly different from demos in the past.
Q: What are your other interests?
A. I am very interested in mathematics, which fits well with the fact I am great at it. I also take interest in playing warcraft, drinking caffeinated beverages, and polishing my 1..2..3..4..5..6..7..8 medals for academic excellence.
Q: Care to explain your view on Platformed Wars?
A. I am a fan of having these, as it pushes me to refine and actually work on PLatformed. Since I have recently updated my knowledge of GML with Primitives and Surfaces, I hope to be much better than REZ 2 graphically.
Q: What are your expectations for your longtime project?
A. PLatformed has always had high expectations in my head. If everything goes as planned, it should be insanely amazing, kinda like a modern age seleikus. I don’t know if I spelt that right.
Q: Any last shout-outs?
A. Yes. Sadly, readers, I don’t think I’ll say ZOMG PLATFORMED DELAY until PLatformed 2: Rise of the Crysallis. (Yes, I have a name for PLatformed 2 already.)
The Demon Within – Reviewed by Juju
November 27, 2007 at 27:9 | In Reviews | Leave a CommentTags: gmc, KingDiz, Knight, The Demon Within
KingDiz is an experienced user of Game Maker; his talents really show through in his updated game – The Demon Within. Based upon earlier incarnations of the “Knight Man” series he created, this game brings a hefty lump of style and fun game play together to give a satisfying romp. Forget this game if you’re on Vista – version 1.01c is non-compatible.
Presentation throughout this extensive game is of the highest standard. A good game has a decent manual that details everything that the game will ask you to do, possibly whetting your appetite for features further into the game. The manual in this case hands all the information you need and teases you with Demonic Powers, in a very pretty and professional package. A tutorial is also included in-game for the lazy. After reading the well-developed opening story, unfortunately presented as just text, the main menu hits you and lays bare the intention of the author – the suspend your disbelief. Furthermore, the HUD, often neglected by game creators, is elegantly obvious to use. Everything is easy to read, rarely getting the way of the action on-screen.
Boy, is there action. Every screen has several enemies, the majority of which take a certain tactic to remove. Some just require a good bashing with your sword, others need you to hang back and nail them with your magic ball. Some swamp you, some charge, some blatantly camp. Every room has a challenge. However, as the game progresses, it becomes abundantly clear that the AI isn’t going to vary a great deal. Does the AI in Pacman change? No – This is partially what makes The Demon Within so addictive! There is permanently an abundance of enemies to blast away, hacking them into pieces (which, by the way, fly across the floor spurting blood) and frying them with your awesome powers. The game never hesitates to challenge you, but ends up with you firmly on top with a grin on your face. Fantastic.
As you’re wandering through this magical and intriguing land, you notice the sheer amount of environmental detail and graphical mastery KingDiz can produce. Boxes exist to smash, bushes to slice up, bits and bobs to break all over the place. In this respect it reminds me of The Elder Scrolls, surely never a bad thing. The graphics work seamlessly throughout, with nothing looking out of place, all maintaining the simple, clear 16-bit era style graphics. I’ve loved retro games because they go back to basics, working on what makes the game fun and a joy to play, The Demon Within is no exception. What is a disappointment, however, is the limited range of animations. Cendah, your little avatar in the gigantic world, has some lovely animation. Your enemies don’t – They simply run towards you and poke you with their swords or what have you. Another limitation is the 4 directions each sprite exhibits. Spriting is hard work but making that extra effort is important for the final effect.
How the game looks is one thing but how it sounds is arguably just as important. The soundtrack doesn’t let you down, with stylish opening tune and largely individual tracks for each area and each chapter. The fact that the music is MIDI is annoying, but the game is already rather large and sacrifices have to be made. I would point out that removing the 1.2 megabyte manual, as lovely as it is, from the game package might be a prudent move to either reduce download size or to add higher quality music. Sounds are very good but not as frequent as I’d like, with noises for attacking, taking damage and so on but not walking – I’d love to hear the crunch of the snow beneath my feet, or the ominous echo as I creep through a dungeon. This would add extra atmosphere to add to the constant surprises and changes in game dynamic as the game progresses.
Some annoying factors include the resolution change and the presence of the standard dialog box. There is no excuse for the latter and the former can be adjusted easily with a box in the corner of the screen that switches between 800×600 full screen and standard windowed mode. The number of checkpoints is surprisingly low, I’d prefer them to be more frequent, but I do understand that a game that has permanent rooms is tricky to create save files for.
Despite a chunky 6.5 megabyte file size, this game is a worthwhile download. The presentation as a whole is magnificent, every room dripping with detail, and the game play is on par with even modern 3D slack-and-hack adventures. The music and sound is of a very high standard, but can be improved further with a few tweaks. Unfortunately, a few minor problems mar the experience that stop The Demon Within achieving top marks.
9/10
Knight Man III: The Demon Within can be found at http://www.kingdiz.se/km3full.zip
Come along to the topic and tell KingDiz what you think: http://gmc.yoyogames.com/index.php?showtopic=332898
Forest Planet – Reviewed by Jabberwock
November 27, 2007 at 27:12 | In Reviews | Leave a CommentTags: bears, forest planet, shaneheres, strategy
http://www.thepoppenkast.com/file.php?game=FOREST%20PLANET
For the most part, real time strategy games in GM are not much to get excited over. FOREST PLANET, by ShaneHeres, is an exception. It’s quirky, polished, and fun, if not that complicated.
The concept of the game is essentially this: in the future, humans have taken all the bears off of Earth and put them on a forested planet. You control a tribe of bears (the type is up to you, though I suggest the Pandas) that is at war with other bears for no real reason. And you like it. However, there is a problem: the planet is somehow not orbiting the sun, and is slowly flying further and further into space. Thus, you must keep your bears warm while warring with other bears.
In terms of mechanics, it’s a rather atypical game; it’s missing most of the aspects of ordinary strategy gameplay. All in all, it rather resembles the GM classic Medieval Clash, except that its view is overhead instead of from the side, and there are some nuances that are different. The basic concept, however, is the same – gather resources with “workers”, who simply leave your little cave until they run into the nearest tree, and then come back, then attack the enemy cave – or defend your own – with assorted units. To win the game, you must deplete the health of the enemy’s home cave completely. It’s more strategic than it sounds, especially because of the addition of new elements, like Heroes (super-powerful bears), waypoints, and the aforementioned necessity of keeping your units warm by building fires.
The sound is nice – a lot of bear grunts and such stuff. It’s rather humourous at times, and is a nice touch, but expendable. The graphics are fantastic; they have a cartoony, yet well-developed and detailed style. They’ve also got a touch of humour to them. On top of all this, they’re well-animated, and there are a lot of subtle touches – the way the trees sway in the wind and become transparent when you move your mouse over them, for example. All in all, it’s a very aesthetically appealing game.
Conclusion: FOREST PLANET is a game with more depth and strategy to it than is first evident, and even though its replay value isn’t stellar, it should keep you occupied for a while – not only is the gameplay enjoyable and challenging, but there are multiple AI types, and you can customize your bears. How cool is that?
Teleka Preview: Q&A with Obel Isk – by REZ
November 25, 2007 at 25:8 | In Interviews, Previews | 4 CommentsTags: asterisk, bubz, obelisk, teleka, zane
Above: Main characters (left to right) Obel and BUBZ in the stylish look of Teleka
On 64Digits, there are 4 fairly popular games that steal the show. Among these are Platformed and Teleka. Today, I (Clay) talk to 64Digits celebrity, Obel Isk (Zane), about his highly intisipated project, Teleka.
CLAY: What was your original inspiration for Teleka and when did you begin forming the game itself?
ZANE: My original inspiration for Teleka? If it’s gameplay you’re wondering about, I got most of my ideas from one of the older Zelda games. Teleka started out as just a simple minigame called DodgeBubble. You were in a room full of floating bombs coming after you, and you could destroy them by tricking them into ramming into one another. I wanted to give it a story, and it kinda snowballed from there. I started that about two and a half years ago.
CLAY: I see. So Teleka has some major history behind it. What sort of ideas came from this snowball effect?
ZANE: Hehe, snowball effect. I love that phrase. As I said, it started out as just that little top-down shooter. But then I had some crazy ideas. I thought it would be cool if your character could create cyclones that you control. I eventually got bored of the whole minigame scene, so I decided to make it into an adventure game. I dropped the top-down perspective, and placed a little emphasis on exploration. I gave it some worlds to explore and some characters to interact with. I also invented some new items, such as that throwing star among others.
CLAY: I think we’ve all seen the concept art on 64D. How well is that style transferring to a GM game, and what’d it take to achieve that look?
ZANE: I’m not sure if one can even call that concept art. That’s actually how the graphics look in-game. Though I must admit, it looks a little odd. Pre-rendered 3D graphics on a 2D plane might seem a little awkward. With today’s standards, especially in console gaming, most games are presented in realtime 3D. But then again. If you’ve ever played the first Oddworld game, you can probably notice how the game is completely two-dimensional, but the graphics are prerendered. Perhaps Teleka can carry on its legacy? Anyway, achieving the right look was a pain in the ass from the start. I’ve restarted Teleka about six times, three of them due to graphical changes. But I’m finally satisfied with the look now, and this will be the final thing.
CLAY: I understand Teleka features everything from cuddly robots to space age geckos. Can you give us some background on the story?
ZANE: BAHAHA! CUDDLY! Heh, you crack me up sometimes. The geckos are the cuddly ones, trust me. BUBZ will massacre you and your entire city if he’s willing to. Anyway, the main plot is just the typical bad-guy-looking-for-something fiasco, but there are also a few subplots. BUBZ is banished and sent on an impossible mission, Obel is sent with him, and Aster is protecting BUBZ and Obel while trying to hide something the Dystopia is looking for. I would say more, but I would probably get carried away.
CLAY: What kind of gameplay can I expect? What word (i.e. genre) best describes it?
ZANE: I hate sounding like a broken record, but it’s a Zelda-ish adventure game.
CLAY: Sounds like you got a long road ahead of you. Simple question, are you receiving any help on this game?
ZANE: Occasionally. At school I discuss my ideas with my friend Asterisk. He helps me loads with concept and music. There’s also Kenon, who I often consult for ideas. Oh yeah, and Andes. He helps me with all kinds of ideas, such as bosses and items. Serprex and a few others have also helped me with development.
CLAY: Anything special about the game’s score?
ZANE: There are a few things. The song “Invader from Inside” was composed way back for the first incarnation of Teleka, but eventually I decided to remake it for the game’s new feel. The song will be used for a very “heated” part of the story. If you haven’t heard the song, just ask me and I’ll let you have a listen. Also, in the song “Dystopia Incarnation,” which will probably be used for kind of a trashed city scene, you can hear background vocals near the end. It’s me speaking, but the sound is heavily manipulated.
CLAY: Sounds like you’re really paying attention to all aspects of the game. Well, thats all for now. Any final thoughts?
ZANE: Yes, I know I’m a little late, but I would like to thank Al Gore for his work and congratulate him for the Nobel Prize he won recently. Manbearpig is at large, and he must be stopped!
REZ: Havoc’s End – Reviewed by Obel Isk
November 24, 2007 at 24:7 | In Reviews | 1 CommentTags: adventure, clay, havoc, havocs end, REZ
In a world of easy game creation, lack of creativity rules all. But one game dares to be different…
Alright, enough of that. I’ll just get this out of the way right now: REZ: Havoc’s End feels lifeless at times. The enemies are essentially the same but with different sprites, and you only have one simple shooting attack. Not to mention the lack of animation. *phew* Since that’s out of my system, I’ll start reviewing what is quite possibly among the best GM games in existence.
By the way, Havoc’s main character, REZ, is also a pseudonym of the game’s creator. To avoid any confusion, I will be calling the creator Clay and the character REZ.
The gameplay is the same as the first REZ game, but with a little added to it. Usually, you have to collect a certain amount of coins in the area before you can move on. There are also some more objectives, such as collecting rubies or decimating a horde of goblins. My only real complaint is the difficulty at certain points. You aren’t given many save points, and some of the bosses are difficult to tackle (especially Loch, who has you by your balls). It can be tedious, but a great experience nevertheless.
Clay has always had an interesting spriting style. They are shaped a bit oddly, but his shading style is instantly recognizable. And this masterpiece is no different. However, the character design is a little awkward. REZ looks fatter than usual, Loch looks like the Penguin, and the fairies have almost triangular figures. Also, as mentioned earlier, there is no animation, but that is forgivable. Clay’s graphics, though flawed, have always been among the greatest in GM.
Now onto music. Like its predecessor (REZ and the Forgotten), this game steals borrows its score from various movies and sites. The selection is great, and fitting for RHE’s atmosphere. If you aren’t too fond of the fact that the music isn’t original, don’t fret. I have this strange notion that it may be different in future installments.
And now for Havoc’s story. It’s set in a colonial America during a series of witch hunts. The conservatives witch hunters are heavily interested in killing off a race of two-souled mages known as the Hoods. REZ and his uncle Nod…er…Nor are training one day, but the night before, REZ had a strange vision of himself burning down a village (sound familiar, RATF players?). After training, he sets off to find the wich hunter who killed his parents. Meanwhile, an odd merchant named Loch has arrived. The story has something of a plot twist later on.
Overall, this is one of my favorite GM games. Not because I’m biased and know the creator, but because it has the atmosphere absent in many games. Havoc is lacking in a few areas, but it was made by an 8th grader. If he’s not a prodigy now, give Clay two more years and he will be.
DOWNLOAD RHE AT TNET/REZ
Yum Yum – Reviewed by Fabio
November 16, 2007 at 16:10 | In Reviews | Leave a CommentTags: arcade, derby, red, yum yum
Few games in the GM world can go past the plain platformer or top-down shooter and make itself stand out from the crowd. Yum Yum by Derby does just that. What is the point of Yum Yum? You play as the last White Yum Yum. Other creatures want Yum Yum dead. You must simply survive in the world as a Yum Yum. Yum Yum is a top-down shooting game with a bit more to it. The entire game screams ambiance similar to games like LocoRoco for the PSP. The graphics, music, and gameplay flows smoothly together.
Arcade play at it’s finest.
The graphics are simple shades of red with some other colors, with no outline. Everything fits together and nothing clashes. The sound is great too, with an almost constant change of tracks, all of which fit with the entire feel of the game. The idea of Yum Yum is launching your head at enemies to destroy them. It seems simple, but the new enemies and bosses keep it all fresh. The arcade style of the game keeps you coming back for more. The default control scheme may be hard to handle, but you can change it to a much simpler setting.
The well-presented menu.
It is a short game, though. But a good short. A short like, you want more, you want another taste. That’s what keeps you coming back to play. It’s definitely challenging at first, but once you get the hang of everything the game gets a lot more fun. Online arcade play is another great feature. You can chat and more.
It’s also a small game; there isn’t much in it. The simple game itself, but not much more. But, there isn’t too little to dislike it. It almost seems like there isn’t enough for it’s own good. The originality of the game is unmatched, and it’s all presented well. Although there isn’t much in the game, there was obviously a lot of work put into it, not too much, and not too little. One great experience that meshes together wonderfully.
Yum Yum
Size: 7.0 MB
By: Derby
Completed Game
4.5 out of 5.
Blog at WordPress.com. | Theme: Pool by Borja Fernandez.
Entries and comments feeds.
