More Games for Everyone

Over the past couple of years, I’ve taken part in a number of game jams and contests. It’s one of the best ways to generate ideas and try out new game mechanics. Sometimes these short experimental games turn into a significant long-term project. The Ultimate Celebration started out as a project for the 2011 Global Game Jam. Of course, for every success that comes out of a game jam, there are a number of games that never really go anywhere.

And now, you can experience those games for yourself. They aren’t as polished as my other games, but there’s still quite a bit of fun to be had with them.

Enjoy!

On another note, I will be at the Game Developers Conference next week. This is the first year I’ve been able to go, so I’m looking forward to it quite a bit. I’ll be sure to make more posts about my experience there soon.

2012 Global Game Jam – Navigating Nirvana

The 2012 Global Game Jam is over, and I can finally sleep. Somehow, in all the chaos, my team was able to complete a game – Navigating Nirvana. The game is about a cosmic cycle of reincarnation, as were quite a few other games from the local Rochester Jam site. Not surprising, considering that the theme was the Ouroboros, a symbol of the cycle of life, death and rebirth.

In Navigating Nirvana, the shrines you visit during each life determine what you come back as in the next. If you visit few shrines, you come back as a lowly frog, but if you visit many, you can come back as a tiger or eagle. The more powerful forms are able to visit more shrines, and eventually, you can visit the final shrine, at the top of the temple, and achieve inner peace. For a game developed in 48 hours, you can have a lot of fun with it.

I won’t be sleeping this weekend…

Because the 2012 Global Game Jam is underway. I’ll be working on creating a game, from beginning to end, in only 48 hours. Thousands of other people from countries all over the world are doing the same. It’s always a ton of fun for crazy people like me, and everyone benefits from having hundred of new games to try out on Monday.

The Jam is especially significant for me, since it’s where I started work on The Ultimate Celebration last year. It won a contest sponsored by Gamesauce, so I decided to continue work on it, with the help of a talented musician. Today, I consider it to be one of the best games I’ve worked on. Hopefully, I’ll make something just as cool at this year’s Jam. Of course, it could also be a complete train wreck. Either way, I’ll post what I create on this blog.

Welcome to Digital Dessert

The site is still a bit empty, but I’ll be adding a whole lot more in the next few weeks. Here, you’ll be able to download all the games I’ve created. I’ll also try to regularly post information on my works-in-progress and my thoughts on game design in general. Stay tuned!