NEVERENDING in September

September 1st, 2010

You have seven days out of the month of September to build a game that is “NEVERENDING”. Can you build a game that is infinitely playable, and always crowd pleasing?

There is a special reward this month for the best, most infinite games: The winner (or winners, as selected by the fine folks at Babycastles) will get their games displayed as an installation at the brand new Babycastles indie game arcade in Times Square, NYC at a yet to be determined event toward the end of the year.

Remember, your game will be shown in a loud, busy, public space. People will be walking by, their attention will be split between dozens of distractions. Some tips:

• 1. Look interesting even when not being played. Attract players!
• 2. Be instantly playable, understandable, intuitive. Assume your game will be left in any possible state, and must always be ready for one player to leave, and another player to pick up some time later.
• 3. Avoid a title screen, or any menu system at all. (Like Flow.)
• 4. Use sound, but don’t rely on it for gameplay.

Good luck constructing a NEVERENDING game! See you on the other side.

129 Comments | In: News, Theme | tags: NeverEnding | #

Announcing Tomorrow Corporation

March 8th, 2010

In semi-related EGP news, three of us, Allan Blomquist, Kyle Gabler, and Kyle Gray have been silently toiling away on an actual real game for months now, and while we’re not yet ready to announce it, expect more information to flow from our brand new studio’s brand new website:  Tomorrow Corporation!

11 Comments | In: News | tags: Allan Blomquist, Kyle Gabler, Kyle Gray, Tomorrow Corporation | #

Shoot 1up coming soon to an Xbox near you

December 9th, 2009

Well this is really nice news.  Nathan Fout of Mommy’s Best Games just pointed us to an update on his game for October’s Numbers theme, Shoot 1Up.  Since October he has developed it into a full-fledged shooter, which he will be releasing in January 2010 on Xbox Live Indie Games.

Anyone interested in snagging a free copy of the game can do so by following him on twitter where he’ll be giving away game codes in the near future.

This has been a proud year for everyone here at EGP, first Canabalt becomes a runaway success (har, har) taking the iPhone by storm and now this. Maybe we’ll be fortunate enough to see Broken Brothers or Lose/Lose win at IGF this year like in 2008 when that one game took two awards, and that other one took the grand prize.

Of course with all of these 7-day prototypes becoming the real deal, one has to ask the obvious:

Are there any games you’ve made that you think could make the leap to a full-fledged title?

*UPDATE*

Nathan has been keeping a developer diary on the Shoot 1up prototype.  Probably something worth doing, though I think most of us are too lazy for such introspection.

3 Comments | In: News | tags: All Grown Up | #

Only 3 weeks left for Art Game!

December 9th, 2009

Well, technically it’s 22 days from now.  You lot have until December 31st, 11:59 PM PST to finish it up at which point we’ll round up everyone’s games and get to playing!

At this point we have received 13  submissions:

Secret Uncovered, by Gemedet

An odd game – definitely worth trying.

Color Ride, by Mike Meyer

More a pretty graffiti-style rainbow painting toy than a game.  I want this as a full-screen screen-saver.  Make it happen, Mr. Meyer.

Troll Build, by Ryan JT

Troll Build is a sandbox construction game where the player creates and destroys various types of blocks in order to build a structure.

Jonas Ice Cream Stand, by Made of Tree

An arty tycoon-style game.

Color.art inside…, by Tayron

Paint the world using your keyboard and the microphone… maybe not one to play in a crowded cafe.

Warp Shift, by Jonbro

Still awaiting the game, but the video shows his work in progress.

Ir/rational, by Tom Jubert

In his own words the game is “philosophical puzzler based around an experimental argument formation system, attempting to broach the theme of human rationality itself.”

An Apple a day…Doctor, by J Tremblay

Play as a doctor and find all 7 endings.

Forms, by Will

The basic artistic intention here is to see how different forms of presentation can effect a games gameplay and feel. The game is self reflexive to the medium of games so hopefully any retro gamers can see the style choices.

Gravity, by Lafe

A 10 level platformer in a Mondrian art style dealing with different zones of gravity.

EARTH, by Alexis Andre

A twist on good ‘ol Space Invaders.

Memory, by Aaron

Instructions: click and drag.

Paint Your Way Home, by Maciej Czekala
Haven’t tried this one yet – does anyone know what it’s about?

As a reminder, our fabulous prize is the opportunity to have your game displayed at the FACT museum in good ‘ol Liverpool, England as part of their Space Invaders Exhibit.

37 Comments | In: Games, News | tags: Art Game | #

It’s a fact, the next theme is: ART GAME

November 1st, 2009

Big, big, big news this month! For the next theme we’ve decided to tackle the ever-controversial ART GAME. Although the whole games as art debate typically results in fruitless hand-wringing and much ballyhoo, but the theme itself should provide a nice backdrop to work in.

And speaking of backdrops, we’re pleased to announce that EGP will be partnering with the FACT museum in good old Liverpool England for this auspicious theme as part of their Space Invaders exhibit. Not only will the best entries be displayed on their website, but the best game will be displayed as a game station in the FACT exhibition!

Given the enormity of the theme and the event we’ve decided to extend the deadline to two months, so you’ll have until December 31st, 11:59 PST to submit your game. However, I should note that anyone seriously interested in seeing their work on display should note that the exhibit itself opens on December 17th, so it’s quite possible that an earlier entry may have a better shot – decisions, decisions.

Good luck everybody!

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About FACT

FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology) is the UK’s largest institution for commissioning, exhibiting, promoting and supporting artists’ work and innovation in the fields of film, video, and new media. FACT has commissioned and presented over 250 digital media artworks with artists including Mark Wallinger, Barbara Kruger, Tony Oursler, Pipilotti Rist, Vito Acconci and Isaac Julien, alongside a programme of creative technology research and development, and community-led collaborations work.

About the Exhibit

Running from December 17th to the end of February, the Space Invaders exhibit is focusing exclusively on video game environments and their progression from 2d to 3d to the real world – in particular the mixed up worlds of game space and real space, and the playful confusion between the two.

From minimlist Ataris to the mazes of Pac Man to the detailed cities of Grand Theft Auto, the computer game environment has strived for increasing levels of realism. But what happens when game space and real space are mixed? Going beyond the well-trodden debates about the morality or political messaging of violent videogames, the exhibition revels in the confusion of real space and game space. From re-enactments of computer games in real life, to so-called ‘augmented reality games’, to creative level modifications, the exhibition features artists Blast Theory, Bill Viola, Aram Bartholl, Anita Fontaine, Mark Essen, Julian Oliver, Ludic Society and more, alongside contemporary computer game favorites.

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61 Comments | In: News, Theme | tags: Art Game, Theme | #

New Experimental Game Q&A Tea Time

July 21st, 2009

Kyle Gabler: Three of us here in the experimental castle have decided to try and make an actual real game, maybe for Wii, or PC, or whatever platform it feels good on. Or maybe if it turns out horrible, it won’t go anywhere. But there have been some rumors, so I thought it would be good to clear up some of the speculation, and answer any questions here:

Q: What is the new game?

The game is based on one of my previous experimental games. Tower of Goo became World of Goo, so it’s not Tower of Goo. Tower of Goo. It’s probably best not to speak about it in more detail prematurely in case the game doesn’t evolve as we hope and we need to shoot that baby in the crib. It’s all just a fun experiment at the moment.

Q: Who is making it? Is it 2DBOY? Is it EA?

Nope, 2DBOY isn’t making it. EA also isn’t making it.  It’s nothing very official at all, just the two Kyles (Gabler and Gray) and Allan, who all went to grad school together and have been wanting to make something for a long time.

It is also true we have all worked with EA at some point, where Kyle Gray notably made Henry Hatsworth. And Kyle Gabler and Allan Blomquist worked with 2DBOY alongside Ron Carmel where we made World of Goo. This new adventure is purely a fun, small, experimental project that three experimental friends are making in our spare time.

Q: What is 2DBOY making next?

Ron and I have NOT yet announced the next thing for 2DBOY, as we are shy and afraid to announce prematurely against World of Goo sized expectations, because we might have a Britney sized meltdown.

Q: Will it be big or little?

Our plan is to continue the trend of going shorter, more high quality, with all the fat trimmed. Our hope is that a shorter, just a few-hours-long game where everything is high quality and extraordinary, will be more valuable for players than a 40-80 hour game with lots of filler. I suppose we’ll find out if other people feel the same way!

Post any other questions and I’ll try to answer them here! -Kyle (one of the kyle’s)

37 Comments | In: News | | #