INANIMATE Roundup

January 31st, 2011

Common threads this month were games involving space invaders, indirectly controlling a group of characters, and dolls. Some eschewed art altogether, opting for total blackness or the comforts of words when constructing their games, while others had a completely different perspective.

All and all there were 16 games this month:

NegaKon, by Mahdi Bahrami

While you’re trying to reach the star in every level, that will often require a different point of view.

Ripple, by Jenna Fox

Very nice tonal puzzle game. You’ll need Firefox 4 to play it.

Worst Adventure Ever, by Caleb Leak

Wow, a parallel text adventure game with alternative reality elements? Yes please.

Guided by Rockets, by Leo

Kind of like golf with rockets on an alien world.

All My Base, by Barry Atkins

A tactical invaders style game where you control the position of all incoming invaders. Run them into their own shots to kill them.

Explod-o-mover, by Tayron

Move things with timed explosives. I only wish I could increment time at a faster rate than 10ms at a time.

Danse Macabre, by Barry Atkins

Place the bones back in place before they escape.

Wakup, by Alexis Andre
Scream into your microphone to save napping beachgoers from an incoming tsunami.

Serious Immobilities, by Aaron Oldenburg

Looks like a game where the objective is to stay still. Not sure though – it wouldn’t work on my machine. Anyone have a video?

A Harsh Winter, by Rybie

Repel and attract the blahs in order to save them.

The World of Inanimate, by AizenSousuke

Awakening in an immobile world you must use your limited power to escape.

With RPG Elements, by MisfitBYTE

A cheeky platformer with RPG elements.

Deckchair Invaders, by Built by Man

Invaders style game where shots cost you points.

Giant Doll Velcro Technicolour Sticky Show, by Zed

Might be the craziest game name ever. Place sticky notes on dolls and pray they don’t come alive.

Margatroid, by Nameless Fairy

A shooter about dolls that come to life.

Laze the Lizard, by Praveer

Squash flies before the lizard gets to them.

2 Comments | In: Games | tags: Best of the Net, Inanimate | #

Drawing Roundup

December 31st, 2010

It’s the end of the year, so it must be time for the drawing roundup. This month we had 11 entries with a nice assortment of tracing games, physics drawing games, and even a bullet-shooting art game.

Game on:

Shoot-Em-Art, by Troshinsky

Shoot bullets to make art!

Lienzo Fértil, by Fernando Ramallo

Neato elegant indirect drawing game with a number of interacting systems. Strangely enough, the main control involves attracting flies to your cursor.

ARTaSpLoDE!, by David Byers

A fun drawing toy that challenges you to make something before destroying part of it.

Ball Point, by Greg Czerniak

A nice crayon-physics styled game. Draw and erase to get the ball into the cup.

Crap Drawing, by MisfitByte

A Drawn-to-Life inspired platformer. Draw your own character and world then make your way through it.

Composer, by Marcos

A creative music-drawing game. Draw staffs to match the target melody.

Snowboggan, by McFunkyPants

A 1st Person sledding game. Try to hit snowmen while dodging trees.

I and U, by MohammadKad

Make your own mazes in MSPaint or Photoshop, then share with friends!

Hidden Eraser, by Roan Contreras

Draw around until you uncover an invisible eraser. I’d love to see this expanded upon (e.g. the eraser could leave trails that invisibly cuts into what you draw).

Treasure Island, by Suvozit

A retro-style pixel exploration game.

Lights Draw!, by Lamine

Create lights and then trace over them with your mouse.

Happy New Year everyone! New theme coming soon.

3 Comments | In: Games | tags: Best of the Net, Drawing | #

Night & Day Roundup

December 1st, 2010

The Night and Day theme resulted in 22 new games for the month of November, with popular choices involving zombies, werewolves, baguettes, and a time division multiplexed love affair. Enjoy the games, and let the experimenters know what you think!

Lumiere and Nycteris, by Martin Gonzalez

“It is based on a tale from George MacDonald called The Day Boy and the Night Girl.”

Baguette, by Chevreuil

If Fez and Monaco had a 3-day-old baby. Press ‘x’ to do things.

Axis Caeli, by nihilocrat

“A shmup where you fly along a gigantic cylinder and fight enemies on the dark side while collecting ammo and powerups on the obstacle-filled light side.”

Figground, by Marcos

Place pieces of alternating light/dark colors on the board.

Cities of Day and Night, by increpare

Explore a day and night world with four suns.

Sunlight, by increpare

Explore a sunlight soaked house.

Squares vs. Triangles, by suvozit

“Try to get the square guys in triangle’s Castle before they come to your(square). drag to make path for the individual square guy.”

The Day Machine, by Luke Brown

Platformer where your day machine illuminates parts of the level. “Press x to place the day machine and collect all the loot from the city.”

Zombies ate my Tomatoes, by Built by Man

“Battle zombies by night and tend to your plants by day in the worlds first gardening sim set during the zombie apocalypse.”

ALIADA LUNA, by Luis Sopelana

“a game about werewolves and the evil policemen out to get them.” Control the sun and moon to influence werewolfy behavior.

They Come Out At Night, by JWG

Load up on weapons during the day, fight cemetery monsters during the night.

Time warpist, by Tayron

2D platformer where elements in the level change based on day/night cycles.

Haste the Dawn, by Mike Slone

“Dr. Jerkwad has turned the world to endless night. Hack his computers to bring day. Work fast. His minions are hackers, too.”

The Flocking Dead, by Fre

“I made a zombie apocalypse simulator inspired by the Walking Dead.”

Star Cleaner, by Thomas Haaks

“Collect the stars which shine at night. Unfortunately they are also the only light source at night. During the day you can see the level but not the stars.”

SolarCar, by Dan

“Drive a solar-powered car around to collect coins and score points. The car slowly runs out of juice unless you drive into the light.”

Shadow Vampire, by Rob Lockhart

“You play as a vampire trying to stay in the shadows during the daytime, while at night you can run freely.”

Night Vision, by XRA

Incomplete, but a successfully creepy environment.

Untitled, by Yadu Rajiv

“A different kind of shoot’em up”

Sleepy Day, by James

“Collect pillows and follow that scarab!”

Complete Sleep, by James

“Press space to stay Awake!”

Cup A Cube, by Mya

“In this game you have to collect sugar cubes to make your coffee sweet, which will help you to stay awake and complete your game in 7 days.” Unfortunately the download link is not working?

9 Comments | In: Games | | #

Night and Day for November

November 1st, 2010

Recently the Tomorrow Corporation lads traveled out to Mountain View to join in the fun at the  much-lauded TIGJAM: a boozy, sweaty, game jam. Fueled by monstrous amounts of coffee and candy they toiled away night and day, trying to finish their game in less than 4 days.

In honor of their efforts (and perhaps because we’re a bit sleep-deprived and over-sugared), night and day is the theme for November.   You’ll have a full 7 days in a month to make it, so perhaps you’ll be able to avoid long, sleepless nights in favor of game development days.  Or if you find yourself working days and nights make sure you have enough excess Halloween candy, and a strong cup of coffee.

54 Comments | In: Games, Theme | tags: Night and Day, Theme | #

Boys and Girls Roundup

October 31st, 2010

Boys and Girls was a fun theme to mix with Halloween. Perhaps, because of the nature of the month (at least in America), it’s no surprise that we ended up with a bunch of spooky titles. It would have been nice to have some boy games – though many were games made for girls with the hopes that boys would like them as well. In any case, do check out all 18 entries.

Happy Halloween:

A Good Wife, by Allen

Try to please an unloving husband, by doing basic chores. The endings are worth the price of admission alone.

A Game For 2, by Troshinsky

A dance for a couple’s courtship – requires two players. It made me feel something, which I’m told is difficult because I’m a robot.

The Life and Times of Mr. Sneaky, by Darshell

Sneaky,sneaky Cactus-like game. Not sure it really fits the theme, but it’s a fun play.

Down, Left, Right of the Living Dead, by Dan

Zombies have invaded the arcade – Dance your way to victory whilest blasting these undead bastards back to hell!

Baby,U So Fine! by Marcus Montgomery

At the intersection of Button Mashing Street and Chausinism Road.

The Kisser, by Pedro Sousa

Switch between princess and witch to allow frog princes into your castle.

Small World, by Ben

An RPG where you play as a cat – possibly at the end of the world.

Zombies vs. Pony, by Chevreuil

Protect your pony from invading zombies – activate super cat to distract them. Delightfully B-rated.

Just Push the Button, by Mocke

A cute beat matching game.

Ovum, by Gametron Studios

Defend your egg from incoming sperm. Yep.

Feed Mr. Peterson, by Alexander Shen

Cat feeding meets collapse, in this puzzle game.

Halloween Paraspud, by Peter McClory

Walk around collecting treats in this Halloween-themed platformer.

Hell Cave, by Aizen Sousuke

A mouse tracing game featuring the gates of hell.

Fashion Parade, by Built By Man

Dress your gal properly for the occasion.

Word Detective 1, by Charlie Jackson
Guess the 4 letter word to solve the mystery.

Pixel Pals, Love & Heartbreak, by Aaron Yip
Poetry and pixel moving all in a GBA emulator – I’m not sure what’s going on here.

Girls Tower Defense, by James
Place flowers to stop ghouls from attacking you. Simple, but frantic.

Build on Word, by John Meister

A 2-4 player word game based on the Scrabble rules.

6 Comments | In: Games | tags: Best of the Net, Boys and Girls | #

Neverending Roundup

September 30th, 2010

This month we partnered with Baby Castles of NYC to present the Neverending Theme, and while the month has yet to end we’re already seeing a ton of great games. 43 47 and counting so far.

In case you’re just joining us, the winner (or winners) will get their games displayed as an installation at the brand new Babycastles indie game arcade in Times Square, NYC. While it’s still tentative, it sounds like the EGP winners will be shown in about a month’s time. Very exciting stuff!

If you’d like to help fund the new Manhattan location, you can help the fine fellows of Baby Castles at their Kickstarter Page.

Games, games, games:

Loop Raccord, by Troshinsky

Syncronize various video clips to retain the movement between them. Definitely a hard one to get your head around at first, but quickly becomes addictive – especially with all of the retro video clips. From the creator of last month’s game, UFO on Tape.

Nend, by Teijo Mursu

Striking visuals, simple gameplay. Press left and right to switch between rails, double tap in either direction to jump gaps.

Untitled, by Martin Gonzalez

A platforming game where you create platforms to explore in an endless environment that changes the longer you’re in it.

Corruption, by Manuel Van Dyck

An arena shooter that procedurally generates the game based on the text the player enters – not sure what it generates, but it’s fun & well made.

Feedback, by John Meister

Combines platforming & collection elements with the mundaneness of the cubicle life as portrayed by Office Space.

Planet, by Pedro Sousa

Journey endlessly in space, lighting up plants. I’d love to see the plants blossom – otherwise it’s quite soothing.

Pilot Crash Course, by Mocke

Try to get higher and higher while bouncing on goblins and birds. The pixels & chiptunes help the whacky vibe this game exudes. I only wish it was pushed further.

Experimental Motion, by Tyler

A seemingly endless maze game, with the ability to change the direction of gravity. Very surreal.

Asterodyssey, by Gametron Studios

Move the Earth out of the path of oncoming asteroids in this mouse-only arcade game. Good use of sounds & the hand-drawn art is nice.

Tunnels of Many Rooms, by Matthew Evelyn Price

An endless tunnel adventure with changing perspectives – the glowing trail you leave behind makes it easy to tell where you’ve already been.

The Goomba Day, by BBBEEE

An odd ever-repeating version of Super Mario Brothers. Collect coins to purchase, then use different items.

Mines 4 Ever, by PYRONIMOUS

The easiest comparisson here is Minesweep with a Lumines-like time component that you can speed up at will.

Sheep Mayhem, by A-Team

Seems more in keeping with last month’s theme (No Buttons), but an interesting mechanic nonetheless from the students at Republic Polytechnic.

Electronic Love, by Chevreuil

Stay close to the other robot to make it fall in love with you to become the new Romeo!

Firefly Story, by Jeremy Kang

Click on the blue fireflies to progress the story, clicking on the red acts as a penalty. Interesting search and destroy type game.

Muffin Escape, by 2/4 Team Fip

Definitely the trippiest game this month. Escape from a giant muffin. Definitely on the hard side, and the trippy graphics make it pretty hard to tell what’s going on.

Xwing, by Roan Contreras

Swing around your weapon to destroy all incoming blocks. I’d love to see this played with a mouse, but otherwise it’s good fun.

Clock, by Luke O’Connor

Press any button to jump to the opposide of the screen to avoid touching the red lines. The most I managed to avoid was 8.

Cenfinity, by W!TS

An endless shooter on a circle. The trippy aesthetics work pretty well, but it’s a little hard to control.

Beau Saves Video Games, by Beau Severson

Save good video games, while avoiding the rest as the world comes crashing down around you.

Note, by XHUNTERKO

A paddle-based juggling game with chiming noises. Addicting, but doesn’t seem to change over time.

Glaucoma, by Krimelo

Loved the style of the game, but you pretty much just spin your mouse in circles as long as you can. Does it change after 180?

ZpaceHeroez, by HardnHeavy

An epic space battle where you can change sides to fight for the other side, you turncoat.

Galaxy of Terror, by Darshell

A 3rd Person shooter in 3D space. Unfortunately, it resizes your resolution to 640 x 480.

Starfighter Eternal, by Dariuou

Endless shooter with an auto-pilot attract mode. The controls are a bit odd, but interesting – giving the player the ability to speed up or slow down the action.

Stop Moving, Damnit!, by MISFITBYTE

Pop sores as a dermatologist. Interestingly, the game screen moves around gradually – especially if you stab your patient in the eye.

Neon Rain, by Built by Man

Sounds like a Prince song, but it’s actually about running and collecting rainbow colored beams of light while avoiding stars.

Mouseum, by Marcos

An experimental, evolving art title. Multiple players act as an art filter to come up with better and better looking pieces.

etrop, by Kris

A never-ending arena shooter. Use bombs to get rid of your enemies.

Defender, by Kris

Defend the Earth from incoming alien ships. Switch between 3 types of weapons.

The Myth of Sisyphus, by Allen

There’s something about Greeks and endless torture that seems to be appealing to a lot of EGPers. This time it’s in glorious 3D.

Follow, by Sari

Rhythm game meets social commentary.

Infinite Tower, by Rese

Unfortunate controls make it hard to determine if it really is infinite. I had a hard time getting past the first platform, and the positioning of the 1st shooting enemy is too early.

Angel Wish, by Kit Kac

Shoot down meteors, but let shooting stars by. A fine distinction, I know.

Rise and Fall, by Marcus Montgomery

Shoot enemies to transform them into platforms in this endless climbing game. A&D to move, space to jump, enter to shoot.

No Way Back Home, by Joaquim

Avoid strange flying things and collect random objects for points.

Catch of the Season, by Sayangnadia

Click on falling objects to grab them. The mouse could have used a bigger detection radius – some of the smaller objects were much too difficult to catch.

The Last Order, by Aizen Sousuke

An odd name for a never-ending game. Hold keys for as long as possible and try to figure out what’s going on.

Petri Dish, by Local Ghost

Breed the bacteria in the petri dish to get the overall population as large as possible.

Machine, by James

Match colored discs on an assembly line. A bit confusing, this one.

ArtLovr, by Nick Rdzicz

A quick joke game – pong + art game debate. 2 players ingage with the Z,C & left arrow, right arrow keys.

Pinball vs Gravity, by MOM4EVR

Collect all the coins and get to the door to progress in this level-based game.

Town Defender, by Alexander Chernov

Missle command style game, with high scores. Doesn’t work in Firefox.

*UPDATE* NEW ENTRIES

A.D.A.P.T. by AGENT1729

An arena shooter which gives you the option to transform your ship every 30 seconds.

Fragments, by XRA

Head toward the beacon on the path, while avoiding ghosts. Left mouse to walk, right to jump.

Kuroki, by XHUNTERKO

Defend the tree from swarms of demon lords for 100 days.

BROG, by Kseh

Keep the green balls alive by getting close and pressing the space bar.

The games will be judged and scored by the good folks at Baby Castles, and we will be announcing a winner in the upcoming weeks. Best of luck to everyone!

42 Comments | In: Games | tags: Best of the Net, Games, NeverEnding | #