At the first glance I enjoyed the game’s professional use of different technology. Although it’s a Flash game, it’s elements include live action characters composited onto a 3d background much like in the old adventure games such as Phantasmagoria. It’s really nice to see such style so many years later with today’s technology and yes, it looks damn good. Much like in Phoenix Wright series (more on that later) you click your way through hot spots until you find certain clues which either raise your Esteem level, trigger other events or simply let you go to the next place. Leaving a scene means that you’ve done everything in it and that you don’t have to come back. That makes things a lot easier and it’s a system I personally prefer. Certain hot spots will trigger mini games in which you have to click and drag your mouse through a given shape, much like in Trauma Center or Dark Cut. It’s also one of the hardest and sadly most annoying parts of the game. Not only you have to be really precise, but the given time is brutally short so these mini games become near impossible towards the end of the game. There are of course other types of mini games too. By failing in some mini games, you don’t get the Esteem which you need to rank up. I haven’t found any other point of the Esteem bar except that it gives replay value to the game since you lose chances of building the bar further and thus not getting ranked up. In a certain mini game, failure changes the course of the storyline a bit which is always a good plus and makes you wonder what happens if you succeed.

It’s safe to say that the game is influenced by Phoenix Wright on the DS but done in a realistic way. Especially since you have to gather evidence and correctly present it to John Fielding at the end like in the court. I personally haven’t succeeded so instead of getting a game over, I got an alternate ending. In my second playthrough I encountered a couple of bugs which actually didn’t let me finish the game. Still, it’s a really amazingly done game from Channel 4 and is definitely worth playing.

- Luka M.,
C404.net

There’s not too much to say about the game since it’s basically a game based on Marble Madness from the 80’s. There are a couple of things worth mentioning and being looked forward to. Really nice, clean and modern graphics, new levels that don’t have anything to do with the original version of the game, high difficulty, different variations of obstacles (ways you have to unlock, electricity, moving platforms…) and of course a high score and a timer which you can’t go without. Especially in a game like this where it’s all about the time and the score. I am already seeing speed runs of this on YouTube since the same happen with Marble Madness. I’ve played through the first couple of levels vs. Marble Madness’ six levels and the game wasn’t as difficult as the original although some people are still annoyed by it’s current difficulty, which is a good thing. I am faithful to the original so I like it that way. You really need skill to grasp the physics of the ball/marble so I have to admit, non gamers will have a hard time playing it.
The graphics are a big plus and there are some cute details like stars which spawn as you accelate at a faster speed in a very subtle yet noticable way. If you’re a fan of Marble Madness or not, this is one of the games to look forward to. Here’s to hoping it will have as twice as much levels as I played through. Coming out whenever it’s coming out.

ps. There might be some competition going on with this game when it comes out but maybe it’s just me.

- Luka M.,
C404.net

Hello faithful readers!

It’s been a while since I’ve been able to write anything on here, but that’s not without reason: I have been working on a semi-secret project that is sure to please a lot of Flash developers. While working on this project, I found myself taking a good look at the modern flash scene and trying to figure out where it’s all headed.

Many reputable sources have written articles on the Flash game scene in the past year, including IGN and Edge Magazine. These articles have talked about how the scene is booming and how easy it is to break in to. What they don’t talk about is how difficult it is to STAY in.

I come from the old school. When I broke in to the industry, Flash games were not at the high level of quality you see today. Programmers did all their own art, sound effects were uncompressed and minimal, music was very rare, and typically illegally sampled from copywritten material.

Yet, there was a certain magic about them. People were taking a new technology and constantly pushing it in both technical and expressive manners.

This was the golden age of Flash games, where everyone simply did it because they loved doing it.

Nobody thought it would be a big business back then, but we all did our best to make the coolest stuff possible anyway.

Around this time, the online advertising industry was starting to recover from the dot-com crash of the late 90’s, and people were looking for places to advertise.

This was the start of Flash games becoming a real industry, although nobody recognized it as such at the time.

By 2003, the Flash scene was a bountiful place for independent developers. We made our games, and we ran our web sites. People came from all over to see our individual work, and we made a lot of ad revenue. Enough for most of us to quit our day-jobs and work on Flash full-time.

Back then, if you made a good game, it would get placed on the front page at Newgrounds.com (the most popular flash site of the time). With the number of developers being much smaller than it is now, these games would often sit on the front page, sometimes for weeks, getting massive amounts of plays from casual users too lazy to click beyond the pretty icons they saw. This massive exposure generated massive traffic kickbacks, and as a result, massive revenue spikes.

Needless to say, the bar kept getting raised as people fought for that coveted slot of exposure.
Like all good things, the ad boom came to an end and slowly leveled off. We didn’t care, even with the decline in ad rates, they still paid pretty well and we got by as long as we kept making good games.

The ad agencies became so saturated with gaming sites that they pretty much slammed their doors to anyone not already on-board. It was now nearly impossible to break into independent Flash as a career.

In just a few short years, we found ourselves grown up and out-dated. There was a new generation of developers. Kids tinkering with Flash in high school or college, learning how to make games and having a good time. It was like a natural resource… pure, unrefined talent just waiting to be tapped.

While many of the old pioneers clung to their precious sites and ad revenues, this new generation was all about making stuff for fun, just like we used to be. And they wanted their work to be seen.

In no time, Newgrounds was getting several new games a day and the front page was updated more and more frequently. The coveted slots were harder to get, and if you DID get one, they didn’t last very long at all. The traffic on our sites began to dwindle, and soon, our incomes were becoming tight.

At the same time, new sites started popping up with promises of developer empowerment through sponsorships. While you couldn’t make as much money from a sponsorship as you potentially could from advertising, you could make a decent living as long as you didn’t have a lot of bills and expenses. The money was a sure thing.

This was the perfect time for the new generation to thrive. Many of these developers still lived at home, and could rapidly make games for $500-$2000 a pop without any hardship. Sponsorships also gave us old-guys a way to supplement our dwindling ad revenues and kept us doing what we loved.

It looked like a new renaissance was upon us as the bar was being raised higher and higher by many people. It also turned out to be a curse. While many strived to push Flash farther and farther, most were simply producing large quantities of mini games and over-glorified tech demos.

Self-publishers got buried by massive quantities of Armor Games and Crazy Monkey Games logos, and more and more sponsorship sites were popping up every day. This was amplified by contests that had developers plastering sponsor logos in their work without any sponsorship, simply the CHANCE to win a few grand if your game was the best out in the pile.

My own website was making a mere 25% what it once had, and all i could do was bust my ass to get a new game done every month or two and hope a sponsorship would be enough to cover my bills. Many of my peers were in the same situation, some even abandoning their sites for the stability of an unsatisfying day job.

The fact I am still around tells you I’ve managed to get by, but my work suffered for it. Corners were cut, ambitious projects were sidelined in order to get quantity puzzle games out the door, and so on and so fourth.

Meanwhile, site traffic continued to drop because the sponsors got the lions share of the kickback traffic and the game’s lowered quality gave them shorter shelf lives on most sites.
Then I discovered a new option: Mochiads.

Mochiads accepted me into their private beta and I decided to do a little experiment. The Generic Defense Game project was my first stab at challenging the status quo, and it was a huge success (which you can real all about here).

Now I was making money from other sites hosting my game. This single game was supplementing my site revenue. An additional sponsorship from Kongregate was the icing on the cake!

It looked like Mochiads would be the answer to the sponsorship monster that was crushing so many creative people.

But the mass amount of games being published on a daily basis proved to be too much, and Generic Defense Game quickly got buried and started getting minimal views. Without the sustained views, the Mochiads could no longer make up the difference.

Another new option popping up was revenue sharing sites, like Kongregate and GameGum. These sites would give you a cut of any ad revenue your game earned. These programs were appealing, but also proved ineffective once a game was buried by the flood of new submissions always pouring in.
I would still need to rapidly produce mediocre content in order to stay afloat. And so I did, and have been doing so until I stumbled on to the work of one Adam Schroeder.

Adam had been working with Flash for several years, but had just recently decided to give Flash games a try after getting involved on the Kongregate Forums. He built a really basic game called Asteroids Revenge, which he hoped Kongregate may sponsor. The game wasn’t up to the standards of the time, and so Adam gave Mochiads a try. He found the same result as I did… the revenue wasn’t sustainable for very long and his game was soon buried.

Adam was still unfamiliar with how people were making money for their work, so he did something crazy. HE ASKED AROUND!

Long story short (click the link above if you want the long story), Adam discovered that by merely talking with several sites and being patient, you could get better sponsorships. By listening to feedback and putting in extra work, you could even get GREAT sponsorships.

Adam didn’t stop there. He talked to many other sites about their outlooks on the business and actually published his findings.

When I first read his stories on FlashGameSponsorship.com, I was immediately drawn to the information provided by Ezone (creators of Sling) and Flipline Studios (creators of Papa Louie), and saw mention of the Holy Grail: Non-Exclusive Licensing!

These guys were doing it right. Making stuff that was high-quality fun and self publishing without any sponsors. They were talking to the right people and getting their games out on the blog-o-sphere, thus bringing the players to THEM (getting banner ad exposure as well as Mochiad views). And as if that wasn’t enough, they were also selling non-exclusive copies of their games to other high-quality sites and making far more than anyone was making with lump-sum sponsorships.

After reading this collection of information I was also impressed by Kongregate’s Premium Sponsorship program, which is really more like advanced funding for game development than a traditional sponsorship. You get a very large sum of money, typically enough for a person to live on for a year, to develop a high-quality game of your own design. The program is based on royalties. The more the game is played, the more royalties you get. The initial funding is merely an advance on these royalties, meaning you get a small cut of the game’s initial profits, but end up with the majority cut once the term of the advance is fulfilled.

With these great methods for serious developers to utilize, more and more people are turning their heads. Many venture capitol sites like Kongregate are popping up ready to fund developers or buy licensed content to power their business models.

While it’s easy to be drawn to these sites, I am seeing a trend of cookie-cutter gaming sites trying to cash in on this movement. Who knows how long the landscape will last, but for now… this is where the opportunities will lie.

Adam is currently working with his partner, Chris, on a new site, which gives developers a place to show their pre-published work and get the best sponsorship possible via auction, with additional potential for multiple, non-exclusive deals for high-quality games. The site is still in development, but I’ll definitely give it a plug when it’s up!

Meanwhile, the place that originally kicked off the industry, Newgrounds.com, continues to grow as well. Soon, it will empower developers who want to break free from the system, and keep them unshackled.

How do I know this? It’s a secret…..

For all the people who don’t know the background story; Paladin is a 5 part movie which was in the works since 2004 and finished in 2007. In the end, the author published a DVD and is now making a game.

The first reaction on running the game was absolutely positive. So much work was put into this and in such a small amount of time that the author deserves a proper praise for that. The interface is clearly inspired by Blizzard’s Diablo which can be mistaken as to saying it’s a ripoff but it’s more of a fan art and the author’s love for medieval fantasy style.

At first, as I walked around I thought I’d see a beat ‘em up system in Dad ‘n Me style but it’s actually an RPG style of gameplay where you get to click like crazy to attack enemies and do some minor combos. I was dissapointed for a bit to see a lack of variety in what’s it’s supposed to be a hack ‘n slash game with RPG elements. In the tutorial, I learned that there’s a jump attack and a kick which allows you to kick enemies onto the floor and give yourself more time for other zombies. Not only that, but it’s a whole new world of fighting out there since it allows you to deal with multiple enemies in a different manner. It becomes a bit repetative for now because all I did was going forward and clicking my way through the levels but the game should feature different levels and different gameplay so it’ll make up for that.

Besides fighting, there are also spells. I haven’t really got around those because the game itself is still in early stages. The only one I got to test is the shield which wasn’t all that fun since it’s just for defending yourself.

Since it’s a hack ‘n slash game with RPG elements, you’re bound to see some kind of stats! By killing all the enemies, you get experience points and as you get experience points, your level grows and thus, you can raise your strength, stamina and such. This is already a big addition to an already huge game. By huge, I mean both in quality and quantity.
Like it’s not enough, the game features voiceovers and fully animated cutscenes.

Being impressed by amazing detail of graphics and then slighty dissapointed by combat, I am definitely looking forward to playing this with all new levels and combat features, especially spells.

Based on author’s words, Paladin the game should be coming out in December 2007.

Making a game? Send an email to webmaster[at]c404.net for a possible preview article on this website.

- Luka M.,
C404.net

Host, by Caulder Bradford (aka RiftMaster, aka Bubbles) and Edmund McMillen (aka That Gish Dude) presents us with a platform/brawler game in the vein of Super Smash Bros.

Let’s start with the art:

Your characters are essentially blobs of flesh possessed by a host organism and protected by a skull. Each player can customize their skull by giving it different features like horns, markings and hair, and a variety of teeth. Aside from a few interchangeable parts, however, each character is essentially the same.

The level art is very basic and minimal, which makes it very easy to separate the players from the landscape, and the landscapes are nice and moody.

The setup interfaces are fairly pretty as well, if a little confusing at first. You start with with a grid of holes you can drop your host organism into to join existing games, or you can create a new game by popping it into a big sphincter. Once you are in the setup screen you have more holes that seemingly have no purpose. In actuality, these are how you pick which level you will be playing in.

You can look at any part of this game and just know it’s been drawn by Edmund.

The music in the game is nothing short of amazing. The well composed title and menu songs just add to the twisted appearance of the game, and the in-battle music is very atmospheric and not distracting in any way.

The sound effects aren’t anything fancy, but are very fitting for all the beating and squishing and squirting that goes on in the game. Everything just comes together perfectly to keep the game as grotesque as possible.

Of course, at the end of the day, no multiplayer game is worth a damn without quality gameplay.

The gameplay in host is very simple. You roll… you jump… you skull-punch… and if you’re feeling lucky, you may even fire a maggot or 2.

The premise of the game WAS to be a simple beat-em up game that people can just hop into and play, and I think to that extent it has succeeded indefinitely.

That said, there are a few factors that hampered my enjoyment of the game. Getting in to a game without a ‘room exists’ or ‘room is full’ error is a bit of a pain, especially since I just wanna get in as fast as possible and beat some heads.

Of course, when I do get in, the beating of the heads is not so simple. To win a round, you need to rack up 3 kills. This would be a very fun prospect, except for 3 things.

1) When you punch an enemy, a lot of times you hit where they were a few milliseconds ago, and by the time the punch animation is done, they have skipped just enough out of the way you miss.

2) Since they are now behind you, you want to turn around… but unless the animation has played all the way through and you are not touching the attack button, you can’t turn around, and it makes you feel like you have lost control of your character, and thus your connection to the game.

3) Falling too far kills you… so if you happen to have got stuck in the “I can’t turn” situation and you are on a high branch, you immediately may want to jump to safety…. and if you miss the next branch… you die.

I don’t really mind dying in these kinds of games… but when a simple death also takes down your kills, it just frustrates the shit out of you and takes a lot of the fun away form the game.

If you somehow manage to choke down your frustration ling enough and land a kill, you get to eat your victim’s heart, and your organism increases in size. I have yet to see what the full growth does, and so far it doesn’t seem to make you much stronger… but it’s still pretty neat to just… eat people’s hearts after beating them down.

If you get lucky enough to actually win a game, the victory screen lets you, and you alone, roll around and taunt the other players. Every multiplayer game needs this feature…. especially the ones I am good at!

On thing Host excels at is keeping players in sync. I know from personal experience, keeping a fast, multi-user game (especially one made in flash) in sync is a real challenge. The Flash player never runs the same speed on any 2 browsers, let along on any 2 computers, and network latency is always an obstacle. And yet, even the laggiest players still sync up respectably.

I can’t say I really enjoyed this game very much when I just hopped in and played… but I was lucky enough to be involved with a lot of the beta testing, and it was extremely fun to play with actual friends. With so many people playing now, however, it’s hard to get your buddies into one room.

If you like games that let you beat on random strangers, I have no doubt you will love Host. For the rest of you…. try it anyway…. OR ELSE!

Keep on readin’ to see the full walkthrough…

Level 1:

After you talk to Max, run over to the tuck. Pull 2 or 3 boxes out and set them in the middle of the ramp. Use this stack to jump on top of the truck and collect the bonus bottle. After you get the bottle, jump down, avoiding the bat.

Grab one of the boxes from the ramp and throw it to the left. Grab another box and do the same. Run over to where the 2 boxes landed and keep throwing the 2 of them left until you can stack them up on the far platform.

When the bat is out of your way, or you have hit it with a box, clumb the stacked boxes and jump to grab the ladder. Get the key from the top and throw it to the right. Climb down the ladder so you can see the bat and easily avoid it, then run over to the key and take it to the door.

Level 2:
After Max shuts the hell up, run to the left, hopping over the first pit. Grab the red scaffold and just run left and jump the next pit, the falling kegs will bounce harmlessly off the scaffold.

Climb the far ladder and hit the switch at the to to turn off the keg chute. Grab the key and set it on the edge of the upper platform. Jump on the key and you will be able to jump from there to get the bonus bottle without falling in the pit below.

Climb back up the ladder and grab they key. This time drop straight down from the edge so you don’t land in the pit. Jump the 2 pits as you get the key to the door.

Level 3:

This is the first boss fight. First, wait for the molty to reach the right side of the conveyor belt. When the moly hits the end it will turn around and you can climb up with a few seconds to spare. Quickly grab one of the falling crates near the ladder and wait for another to drop. Set your box on the new one and jump up. From your new perch, you should be able to jump and get the bonus bottle.

A new molty will soon drop down from the ceiling near the left side of the conveyor, so keep to the right until you can see the molty. You can either climb down the ladder and wait for him to turn around, or jump over him when he lands between each hop. Either way, when you are clear of the molty, grab a crate and run down the conveyor. Before reaching the end, throw the box and it should hit Alkie Kong.

Repeat this 3 times and Alkie Kong will retreat, taking the secret brew-co brewing recipes with him.

Level 4:

After talking to Max (for the last time thankfully), you will need to run to the left and grab a crate. Run half way up the stairs on the left, then turn around. Jump and throw the box onto the big wooden keg. Repeat this till you have all 3 crates on the keg.

Climb the ladder, avoinding the bat, and jump across to the crate. At this point you would be wise to drop one of the crates onto the bat. Next, throw 2 of the crates to the platform on the left and stack them so you can jump up to get the bonus bottle.

After you get the bottle, throw them back on to the keg. The bat may have re-spawned by now so go ahead and kill it again.
When you get the crates to the rightmost keg, stack them all up and use them to jump to the next platform. There is another bat here that can be avoided by jumping over it when it swoops down, or running under it if it swoops up.

If you got to the platform fast enough the molty on the top platform should still be left of the key. If this is the case, quickly climb up and crab the key, then throw it past the molty. You can climb down the small ladder and the molty will harmlessly pass you by, allowing you to run over and get the key back.

If the molty is to the right of they key, you can wait for him to turn around and follow him (slowly) until you get the key. after you have the key, continue following him to the end of the platform. From here you can throw it over the molty and down to the lower levels.

However you get the key down, you now just need to avoid any re-spawned bats as you take the key to the door.

Note: you can kill bats with the key if need be!
Level 5:

This is the level I get the most questions about, so PAY ATTENTION!

First, grab the red scaffold and jump over the molty. Stand close to the edge of the floor and drop the scaffold. It will now be acting as a plank so you can use it to jump across to the ladder.

When you get to the top of the platform, jump to the left and grab the next ladder. Climb to the next platform and run left again, jumping to the NEXT ladder.

Climb all the way to the top of the level and go right. Be careful of the 2 molties under the floor because they shoot fire up to your level. Careful timing should get you through unharmed.

Drop down the right side and you will land by 3 crates. Grab each crate and drop them down to the lower platform in the middle of the level.

Drop down to where the crates are and stack them all in-line with the ladder. Use the crates to get jump up to the bonus bottle.

Next, drop the crates down the right side then jump down with them. Keep dropping the crates until they are at th every bottom of the level being careful not to hit the molty (he will break the crate and you will need to go all the way up again to get a new one).

When all the crates are at the bottom you will need to stack them up under the middle platform while avoiding the molty.

Once you ave them stacked you can grab the red scaffold again and jump up the crates onto the middle platform. Walk to the left and the molties will walk onto the scaffold. You can then walk to the right and let them off on the next platform. You should be able to transport 2 molties at a time with no problem. Once they are on the right platform, set the scaffold down and use it to jump over to the left platform.

Now you can get they key and carefully jump down to the door.

Level 6:

This is second boss fight. Grab the steel keg on your right. While avoiding barrels and molties, hop onto the moving platforms and get up to the 2nd level. You can now run to the left and drop the keg on Alkie’s head. He will get angry and monkey swing across the screen. You will be safe if you are on the level above him still. When he gets to the end of the level he will jump up to your level.

Jump back down and get your keg. Work your way up to the top level, avoiding all the perils like before. While you are up on this level you should be able to set your keg under the bonus buttle and jump up to get it. Get your keg again and go drop it on alkie’s head.

Alkie will monkey swing again and fly up to the top level.

Go get your key again and get back to the top level. When you get close to Alkie Kong you can just throw it at him. He’ll get angry and retreat again.

Level 7:

Grab the crate and the key and throw them onto the front of the forklift. Climb the ladder on the left, avoiding the molty then run to the right and go down the first ladder, after jumping the small gap.

Hit the switch on the back of the forklift and climb back up.

The forklift will be raised so you can grab the crate now. Take it all the way to the right and set it in the corner and go get the key.

Take the key to the right and jump on the crate. From here, jump up and toss the key to the next level. You can now jump up and grab the ladder to get yourself up. Watch out for the 2 molties patrolling this platform.

While avoding the molties, get your key again and head left. You should be able to jump up the grey platforms and onto the short ladder. Throw the key across to the top platform on the right.

You can now drop down the left side to get the bonus bottle and retrace your steps back to the top.

Wait for 3 barrels to fall then jump across and follow the barrels all the way to the bottom floor. Head left and jump the little hole to get to the door.

Level 8:

This is another level I get questions on. First, walk to the right edge if the platform you start on and wait for a moving platform to come up in front of you.

Hop onto the moving platform and watch the molties. When they take a breath, be prepared to jump. You can grab the ladders to stay above the molty flames. After you pass the 2nd molty be prepared to jump up and grab the bonus bottle.

Jump onto the 4th ladder and climb up to the next floor. Avoid the 2 molties up here and head left.

Climb the ladder and hit the switch at the top. This will open the silver tube to the right of the moving platform area. Jump over the switch and drop to the left to collect your key.

Drop down to the platform you started on and wait for the next platform to come around. When you get on the moving platform, drop your key onto it so you can collect it later. Avoid the moty flames again and jump over to the silver tube when you get under the 4th ladder again.

At the bottom of the tube you will notice a red lift that isn’t moving. Head left from that and avoid the molty. Hit the switch in the floor and the platforms above will reverse direction, making it possible to key the key to the door without hitting any spikes.

Head left from the switch, avoiing the next molty, and climb the ladder. Beside the door is another switch. Hit this and the left under the silver tube will be activated. Head back to this lift and you will be able to get back up to where the moving platforms are.

Wait for the platform with your key on it to come around and jump on. Dodge the molty fire and pick up the key. The platform will take you right beside the door, and you can jump over the spikes to victory.

Level 9:

This is the 3rd boss battle and is a bit of an endurance fight.

Alkie Kong is in a bit of a box and has a switch that allows him to drop some wooden kegs into the level.

You can climb down the ladder (watching out for the molty below) before the first set of kegs gets anywhere near you.

When you get to the bottom, head left. You will notice a piston-like pole under a chunk of the floor. The switch to the left will raise this floor. If the molty is on the piston, it too will be raised. You can use this to position the molty on whatever platform you feel would be easiest to avoid him on. Personally, I recommend leaving him at the bottom because the falling barrels don’t touch the leftmost bit of the floor there, giving you more room to avoid the molty. You can also use the ladder and wait for it to walk under you.

After you have raised the piston, go back up the ladder you started on and jump across to the newly raised floor. The rolling kegs come in sets of 3, so keep that in mind when you time your movement.

Climb the next ladder and head right. (ignore the crate for now, you will use it later)

On the right is section of wood. you can hide under the first little beam, or stand on the beam, as far right as possibel, and the barrels will roll right over your head. When you get an opening get to the top and head right.

Hit the switch at the far right, then follow the next set of barrels to the bottom of the level.

Avoding the molties, jump your way to the right and climb the ladder. You will see that the switch you just flipped has raised the floor on this side so you can now jump over and hit the 3rd switch on this wall.

This switch will raise the roof of Alkie Kong’s little box. Work your way back up to the top. Down the grey platform up there and get the bonus bottle, then climb back up again and grab the crate.

Throw the crate into Alkie’s box for a sure hit. He will hit one of the switches in his pen and all the pistons will reset. Repeat the sequence 2 more times and he’ll run away again.

Level 10:

If you are really fast, the minute the level starts you can jump onto the ladder and climb straight up without stopping and you will outrun all the molties. If you are less confident, just climp up prt way and wait form each molty to jump over you before working your way up again.

When you get to the top head to the far right. There is a molty up here so watch out. Ignore the pile of kegs for now and drop down the shaft on the right. Head all the way down and go left. There are 3 molties down here to contend with. Grab the key and head right again, jumping onto the elveators until you get to the top again.

Set the key down for now and grab a keg. To the left you will see a blue button on the floor. Set the keg on it and the floor will open.

Now, throw the rest of the kegs down the hole, and toss the key in last.

This floor also has a blue floor button, so set one keg on it and toss everything down when the next hole opens.

Keep doing this on every floor, watching out for all the molties. Eventually the last floor will open and you can take your key to the door.

Level 11:

Jump down to the conveyor belt when there are no molties in your way and grab a crate. You may see the key on the conveyor.. just ignore it for now. It will respawn if it falls down the hole.

Jump/toss your crate to the platform you started on and climb up the ladder to get it again.

To your left is a boiler. The pipe above you has a crack in it and the boiler is sending a wall of hot steam through the crack. Throw your crate at the valve on the boiler to turn it off.

Jump back down to the conveyor and head to the middle of the slope. Jump on any box and then up to the ladder above the slope. Head left, using the red platform to get to the brass pipe. At the very left is a ladder wich will take you to a switch. Hit this and the red platform will begin going up and down.

Head down to the conveyor one more time and grab they key. Toss the key up to the platform you started on and climb up after it. Pick it up again and wait for the red platform. Jump onto the red platform then jump over to the next boiler.

Throw the key at the valve on this boiler to turn it off, then grab the key and wait for the red platform again.

Get on the red platform and it will lift you all the way to the top pipe. head right and set your key down. Jump down the right side of the boiler to get the bonus bottle, then work your way back up to the key. Be careful, molties drop down this side of the level as well.

Once you get the key again, jump/toss it up and climb the ladders on the next 2 levels. Jump the key across the 2 gaps as you head left toward the door. If a molty jumps toward your head, just stop and he should land on the key.

One molty patrols the last platform.. jump over him and get to the door.

Level 12:

In this 4th battle, Alkie is a bit more aggressive. Jump to the ladder on the left and climb up. If Alkie is chucking kegs, stay below the floor until it’s save. When all is clear jump from the platform to the wooden ramp on the left. If a moltie is on that secion of the wood, you may want to wait form him to turn around.

When you get on the wood ramp, head left and jump the molty. Hit the switch and a crate will fall. Pick it up and jump/throw it at Alkie when his platform heads toward you.

The switch on this side is now locked, so you need to go to the other side, which is basically a mirrored copy of the side you are on. If you are fast enough, you can jump your way over there while Alkie is stunned. Try grabbing the bonus bottle on your way over, it’s right between the 2 center platforms.
When you get to the other side, throw the switch to get another crate. This switch is now locked, but the one on the left will work again.

Hit Alkie with this crate and head to the left switch again, where you can get a 3rd crate. Hitting Alkie with 3 crates will win the fight and he’ll run off again.

Level 13:

This level starts out quiet. Climb the ladders all the way to the top. You will see the key but won’t be able to reach it yet. There are also a few bats up here that you will need to avoid. Below you is an open vat. Jump onto the lid of the vat to close it up. When the lead closes, it a molty will drop down on top of it, so stick to the right if possible.

Jump to the next vat. This one you will need to drop in to. Drop down along the left wall and you will land on a crate. This should keep you from hitting the molty that’s inside this vat. Jump the molty and take the ladder to climb up to the far side.

Head right and climb up the ladder, watching for those pesky bats again. head to the left until you get to the switch.

When you hit the switch, the red platform beside you will go up, and a red platform on the left will come down making a bridge to the key. If you jump onto the red platform immediately after hitting the switch it will take you up to the bonus bottle.

Drop down onto the lid of the 2nd vat to close it. More molties will fall, but if you stay in the middle you should be safe.

Work your way to the left again and climb the ladder. Use the new bridge to get the key. Drop down onto the vat with the key and jump over the molties as you head right.

Drop straight down the small gap at the right side of the level and you will hit the door.

Level 14:

This is a major endurance level, but is pretty straight forward. First, climb the ladder by your starting position. Run right and avoid the molty, the bat, and the rolling kegs that will come at you. When you reach the right hit the switch and the left side of this level will expand.

Climb down the ladder by the switch and get the key. Head left and you can jump/throw the key up the now-extended slope above you.

Carry the key and set it down under the next ladder. Jump up to the ladder and head left where you will find another switch. The switches in this level are all used to extend the slopes allowing you to jump/throw your key. Use the ladders in the floors if things get heavy, you can usually wait out molties and barrels this way, but always watch for the bats (which you CAN kill with the key).

You will pretty much repeat this process until you get to the top. There is a small ladder left of the 3rd switch. If you drop down from it, you will find the bonus bottle. Make sure you have a health point left because it’s impossible to see what’s under you.

When you get to the top, toss the key toward the door, climb after it and win!

Level 15:

This is the final boss…. Alkie Kong as hijacked the brew-co beerbot. Molties will patrol the bottom of this level while Alkie uses the beerbot to smash anything that comes to the upper level.

To start out, throw as many crates as you can onto the center piston floors. You will need at least 6 boxes, but try and grab around 8.

When the floors are laoded up, climb up each side and hit the switches to raise the floors.

Alkie will try to smash you if you linger under the beerbot’s hands too long. The hands will pause briefly before smashing so you can easily avoid them, however, if the hand comes down on your crate pile, he will smash them all… so don’t linger under his hands when they are near your crates.

You can grab a crate and intentionally wait under one of the hands. When it comes down, you can side-step it, then jump on the back of it.

He’ll raise you up and you can hit the beerbot’s head with your crate.  The bonus bottle is in the top left corner of the level so you will need to ride on his left hand to get it.
or

You can stack a few boxes, then use them to jump straight up and toss a box into it’s face. This way is the fastest way to beat him, but makes it more likey your stack of boxes will get smashed.

However you choose to attack, it will take 3 crates to smash open the beerbot’s head exposing Alkie for attack, and 3 more to finally put the big guy down.

When you win this fight, you win the game.

If you are choking on any level even with the help of this guide, here are all the level codes so you can simply skip it. You won’t rack up as good of a score as someone who plays the game through, but since you suck at the game anyway, that was an unlikely possibility to begin with.

Level codes:

MLEYS - level 1 (brutal)
RLEYS - level 1 (normal)
FLEYS - level 1 (easy)
ZPWTR - level 2 (brutal)
APWTR - level 2 (normal)
HPWTR - level 2 (easy)
XQWXT - level 3 (brutal)
IQWXT - level 3 (normal)
KQWXT - level 3 (easy)
PMPEM - level 4 (brutal)
MMPEM - level 4 (normal)
YMPEM - level 4 (easy)
UOENC - level 5 (brutal)
FOENC - level 5 (normal)
COENC - level 5 (easy)
ONSSW - level 6 (brutal)
KNSSW - level 6 (normal)
NNSSW - level 6 (easy)
IZEPO - level 7 (brutal)
LZEPO - level 7 (normal)
PZEPO - level 7 (easy)
EJUGL - level 8 (brutal)
WJUGL - level 8 (normal)
OJUGL - level 8 (easy)
TYUPQ - level 9 (brutal)
EYUPQ - level 9 (normal)
WYUPQ - level 9 (easy)
MITFD - level 10 (brutal)
LITFD - level 10 (normal)
QITFD - level 10 (easy)
QDOGN - level 11 (brutal)
KDOGN - level 11 (normal)
GDOGN - level 11 (easy)
RAMPL - level 12 (brutal)
XAMPL - level 12 (normal)
HAMPL - level 12 (easy)
GMLSN - level 13 (brutal)
CMLSN - level 13 (normal)
SMLSN - level 13 (easy)
JPNIS - level 14 (brutal)
YPNIS - level 14 (normal)
DPNIS - level 14 (easy)
BBRBT - level 15 (brutal)
ZBRBT - level 15 (normal)
YBRBT - level 15 (easy)

DR0KN - secret code to watch the end movie without actually beating the game.

For the past few months I have been working a ton on getting some projects moving, a new game and a trip to northern Ontario for my brother’s wedding that have kept me really busy.

Being an indy flash developer, it’s always a challenge making enough money to pay the ol’ bills… but recent developments have put me in the unfamiliar position of an anticipated steady income.

I’m working on some really exciting stuff that will benefit and empower my fellow Flash authors.  I’m not a liberty to go into specifics right now, but I will keep you posted as things progress.

Anyway, with all that said… I find myself with a lot of stress free time that I can spend doing… pretty much anything, so you can expect me to get back into the habit of posting gaming news and reviews for your enjoyment.

And on that note, I have a walkthrough to write….

Kenney, like many, got started with his career at a very early age. In 2004, at the age of 14, he had developed his first Flash game, and was shortly contacted by Daniel McNeely of Armor Games.

Daniel was impressed with Kenney’s first game and was hoping to pick up the young talent to help promote Armor Games, which was still in it’s infancy at the time.

Kenney had developed a new game called Mario’s Time Attack, a very simple Super Mario game where you run through a series of levels to give a deserted princess peach some water before the time limit runs out.

The game was simple, but kind of fun, and so he was offered a $500 Armor Games sponsorship. For a 14 year old who was only on his 2nd game ever, $500 was a fortune!

His parents did not approve of the idea.

His mother worried these games would interfere with his education, and his father was weary of the legalities involved due to his age. But, like any 14 year old with a $500 carrot dangled in front of him, he took the sponsorship behind their backs.

“They had this perfect story of me getting money for making games. Of course, I couldn’t say no but my parents were a little fishy about this since it didn’t sound really legit. … I just went on with it. Come on, it was my dream!”

“I signed up for PayPal and combined it to my Junior bank account” he said. ” After I got my first payment I almost pissed myself, Bill Gates; Here I come.”

Kenney told me how, after his first paid game, he decided to really push himself and make his next title something more innovative. Mario’s Time Attack used ripped sprites from licensed Nintendo titles, so this time he wanted to do more of his own art. He developed a web-cam game called ‘Dress Up Yourself‘, where you can drag goofy eyes, facial hair, teeth, etc.. onto your own webcam image.

While the webcam was innovative, and he certainly put more effort into the game, the end result wasn’t as well received as his previous title, and so his next sponsorship offer was noticeably lower.

“Because that [first] game was made using sprites, I had a hard time making my next which should contain my own art. So it took me fairly long before I made my next game, I just showed it to them and they gave me a certain amount which I forgot (I wasn’t very happy about it though) and I published it.”

Before talking to Kenney, I took a stroll through his collection of games. What I found was far from impressive. I was able to see the appeal of “Mario’s Time Attack”, but could also understand why “Dress Up Yourself” wasn’t so well received. The game merely took your webcam image and let you drag stuff onto it. More of a gadget than a game.

In fact, Kenney’s game library consisted mainly of unimpressive mini-games, many of which were clones of other games that had recently seen success on other sites (compare Jack Russell to Line Rider, for example), and sequels of said games. I asked him about this.

“Yeah, making lot’s of mini-games for AG earns you more than making 1 or 2 large and expansive games. So that kinda kept me making small games.”

It makes sense. The business model for any successful sponsorship driven site is pretty simple. Put your branding on as many games as you can and get them spread around. It’s viral brand recognition, and it definitely works. The problem was, after a certain point, the games started becoming little more than interactive advertisements, and the market started to be completely flooded with them

For nearly 3 years, Kenney was a loyal supporter of Armor Games, eventually running Armor Studios with his partner, Gabriel Ochsenhofer (Gab for short). Armor Studios started as PLDM Studios, a just-for-fun project started by Gab and, then-partner, Wyatt McNeil.

PLDM Studios was one of many small-time studios started by aspiring artists who were quickly learning that working in teams had numerous benefits. Kenney started with another of these small studios, Lost Solution, now known for such hits as Ninja Golf.

“[Lost Solution] is a little studio I was with. It’s currently being run by Edvin, aka Puzz” said Kenney. “I went for PLDM Studios which I predicted a much better future, once I joined we changed names to Armor Studios and got sponsored by AG.”

“We started as PLDM Studios on 2005 summer with me and Wyatt,” said Gab when asked about the founding of Armor Studios. “Kenney left lostsolution.net. Then we invited him to join, it was like in August or something.”

“After some months Kenney had a chat with Daniel McNeely then we had a deal. PLDm changed to Armor Studios.”

“November 2005, Kenney decided to kick Wyatt because he was producing nothing, then Wyatt was out (I agreed),” said Gab.

“We both agreed that Wyatt (aka Stickmoose) didn’t deliver any work so we both kinda agreed on dropping him. But never officially did,” Kenney told me.

To this day, Wyatt is still technically a part of Armor Studios (which reminds me of Milton from Office Space).

Recently, Kenney made the decision to leave Armor Games and work independently. “[Gab and I] both got angry at the deals Daniel was making us so we decided to make the studios independent and not a part of AG, ” said Kenney. “We both decided to quit on AG, then [Gab] told me he doesn’t want to work with me anymore. Now he continues Armor Studios by himself…”

I got the impression Kenney felt scorned that his games were being valued at less and less money, and maybe took things a bit too personally. Thanks to a crappy wi-fi connection, I wasn’t able to get Gab’s side of things.

Never-the-less, I asked Daniel about the sponsorship rates getting lower. His response seemed to confirm a lot of the things I have been saying as of late.

“The flash market is getting saturated with games. Some great games, a flood of average games, and even more titles that are beta works for most new developers. Since the market has open up the doors for developers to make games, the quality has decreased and so has the sponsorship rates. In turn, when a truly unique title does come out, it raises the price of sponsorship since they have become more of a rare gem and commodity.”

Daniel’s comments confirmed my thoughts, and my concerns: As long as somebody is willing to pay for poor games, at any level, people will continue to mass produce them.

I asked Inglor, Armor Games’ public relations official, for his thoughts on why such a flood of average games has occurred. He felt that some of the development contests may have had a hand in things.

“ArmorGames is aware that some of the games that get into our contests, and even some of the games we sponsor are unoriginal and repetitive. We are always trying to encourage original games and sponsored quite a few revolutionary games. My heart goes out to the artists who work their asses off and make original games with original concepts and accomplish impressive results. If it was up to me originality would be more important of a value in the flash game industry,” he said.

The 5^th Armor Games challenge offered a generous $26,500 in prizes. While that number may seem staggering, it resulted in around 106 entries, many of which were complete crap. The poor quality games, obviously, did not win any money, but they are now spreading the Armor Games brand all over the web. Had Armor Games individually sponsored these games carrying their branding and links, they would have paid a mere $250 per game.

Many large sites run contests on a regular basis. These contests are HUGE money makers for these sites, because, while they put up several prizes and rewards, ultimately they get a larger quantity of games with their branding spread across the web for less overall money. Because anyone can enter these contests, several people often do.

Armor Games is just one of many sites capitalizing on these contests, while only a few sites are willing to run contests without asking developers to brand their work. Newgrounds continues to offer monthly contest prizes, for which, any developer who submits their content is eligible to win, regardless of any site branding.

I asked Newgrounds’ Tom Fulp what he thought about the sponsorship industry, as Newgrounds has been sponsoring a lot of quality work.
“I was originally surprised by the sponsorship concept, because I was accustomed to the model where you made Flash to promote your own website, then sold ad space on your web site to generate revenue. The thought of giving away your branding to another website seemed odd at first, but in the end it made sense.”

“Newcomers weren’t having the same success with running their own websites, compared to the guys who were doing it from the beginning. Sponsorships streamlined the process, allowing Flash artists to focus on their games and not on trying to run a website business.”

“Now we’re seeing a sort of hybrid of the two business models, where Flash artists are selling ad space directly in their games, thus negating the need for a website OR a sponsor. Of course, there is still room to have both a sponsor / producer AND an advertisement, so the sponsorship model can still be very beneficial to both the artist and the sponsor. I just hope I don’t have to sit through 10 minutes of crap before I get to play the game.”

For another perspective, I spoke to Aaron over at Flash Portal for his thoughts on the sponsorship industry. Aaron has been running Flash Portal for a long time, and has been running a more low-key sponsorship program of his own.

“My personal view point is, paying authors too much money is hurting the industry. There is a answer though. Payment based on success, everyone wants money now but sometimes it’s just more beneficial to reap the rewards over the long haul then in the now. I believe that a small base amount should be paid out for sponsorship then based on the games success, a bonus structure can be worked out. So for arguments sake, $250 for a base amount then another X amount if the game gets a good rating and then another $100 per X number of views over a period of a month. This forces authors to create games that will be fun, unique and challenging. This also limits bidding wars between websites and forces websites to create better business models and earn more community trust then just how much money where willing to pay. Gameplay, Replay and Quality is what this industry needs,” he said.

I asked Daniel McNeely for HIS thoughts on the issue.

“I think sponsorships will be around for a while. Not all games will be worthy of $1000’s of dollars, but a select few will. I think treating developers fairly is the best practice you can have. As it says in the Inspired Holy Scriptures ‘He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. Luke 16:10′.”

While many sites, including Armor Games, have already implemented reward systems, it seems the overall ease to make money with weak games is still too high.

Inglor offered some insight as to why this may be.

“It is very hard to say no to an artist who made a game, even if it’s unoriginal, if it’s a good game that’s fun to play. I do feel disgusted some times working with greedy people, however that’s not always the case. We did say no to quite a few people who seemed ‘too greedy’ to us, but we can’t always tell who’s in it for the heart and who’s in it for the money.”

“The [Armor Games] contests are judged by players. Players tend to judge games by how fun they are to play and not how original they are. We intend to judge some future contests ourselves but after all the players are the soul of armorgames, and we can only do so much as try to influence their opinion, we can’t force them to vote the way we want them to vote.”

Sadly, there is a lot of truth in that statement. In my recent “Generic Defense Game”experiment, I experienced just how viable it is to make money from an unoriginal game. However, to toot my own horn, the game was still fun at the core. Many games today are neither fun NOR original, and are still getting sponsorships.

I also can’t help but wonder. Would players still prefer to play this generic crap if the higher quality games stayed in the limelight a little longer?

On many portal sites, the best games get bumped quickly as the flood of new (and usually weak) games roll in. It’s a necessary evil for these portal sites, because they need to keep their primary entry pages fresh, but it results in a much smaller sampling of quality work at any given time. The alternative is to list the most popular games on these pages, which ultimately puts the focus on older content and making it hard for the newer content to get noticed in the first place. It’s a tricky balance.

It’s apparent that, for now, the crap is here to stay. So what does the future hold?

Kenney has recently quit school. He has no degree or work experience in any other field to fall back on. All he has is his collection of games.

I asked him if he thought spending the past few years making generic mini games may have hurt his chances at being rediscovered today.

“I think it does, people with a great game get noticed more than people with lot’s of good games. Tom (Fulp) asked me to do something although he’s always very secret about his things and Tony asked me to work on Indestructotank for X-Box Arcade (which I declined, I don’t feel I’m good enough yet). Those things mark my progress on getting better and probably more meaningful in the Flash community.”

In spite the lack of technical merit, I did tell Kenney that I dug his art Style.

“Thanks, you’re not alone:)”

When I asked him about the technical level of his games he was actually pretty honest with me. “I’m a real dunce on coding really. I always figure out how things work, but never perfectly.”

Kenney is looking for his next break, but since quitting school and ending his relationship with Armor Games, his confidence is not what it once was.

“I’m in debt now and I don’t really see a bright future ahead of me other than making a few bucks making small games.”

When asked if he felt his career, at the time, was a success, he said “Definitely, you should see my room. Of course now things are a little different, have to visit IKEA to get a €1 breakfast which may sound really weird. But that’s kinda the transition I made when I decided to leave AG all of a sudden, all nice things when you work for them, you lose when you quit.”

In a recent EDGE Magazine article (which can be found on the Super Flash Bros site), John West from Crazy Monkey Games was quoted as saying “People who used to develop these games for fun in their spare time quit their day jobs to earn their living developing games full time, and I see this market as continuing to grow very quickly.”

I am one of many people who left a job to make a living making games. It’s a very fun career, and I love what I do. I was in my late 20’s and had already been a Flash developer for 5 years before I felt I had established enough skill and resources to take on this biz full-time.

I can’t help but think, if the current opportunities existed when I was a teenager, I could very well be in Kenney’s position right now. Like Kenney, I was a brash teen who knew everything about the way the world worked. I was also the best at everything I did. If someone told me my skills at that time could make me money, I would have jumped at the chance with no second thoughts about my future.

This raises the issue that perhaps we need some kind of regulation as it concerns minors getting paid for Flash games. There have been several individuals who worked hard and used sponsorship income to pay for college, but what about the ones making career decisions they are probably not mature enough to be making? Are there any legal implications that sponsors should be worrying about when dealing with minors?

Many high school kids get started in the industry through Armor Games, so I asked Daniel for his comments on these legal issues. His response was that “99% percent of sponsored payments get made through paypal. There is no age check verification, so payments can be made to anyone who is old enough to sign up for their service. Since the games are sponsored, I’m not employing people to make games so age normally doesn’t come into play. There are a few sponsors who have me pay their parents, and I’ve even spoken with several of them before and it’s always been a positive experience.”

While Kenney may have been too young to really grasp the impact this business would have on his future, he has been around long enough now to have learned the ropes. Kenney freely admits his current production quality will not yield a bright future. Curious as to why his skills remain where they ar, I asked him if Armor Games ever made attempts to better his ability, or pair him with other talent that he could learn from. He told me they did not.

“AG doesn’t care about your future.”

Inglor tells a different story.

“I gave him AMAZING projects stuff most artists would DREAM about, like the Raiden X sequel, for a sum over $2500 for the art alone.”

“I teamed him with some of the best coders and artists. Eventually when he started quitting stuff I stopped pitching him and put effort in authors who deserved it. Although he did give me web help sometimes.”

When I was talking to Aaron from Flash Portal, he had a lot to say about Kenney’s situation.

“Kenny is the perfect example of what this market does to authors. Shortly after Kenney left armorgames he sent out emails to many of the other free web game sites inquiring what we would offer him to make games for us. I responded with what I thought was a pretty generous offer. My offer had more to do with a long history of successful sponsorship and a guaranteed monthly income rather then the highest amount I’d pay per game.”

“I offered poor Kenny $500 per game minimum. I said that no matter what you will make $500 per game and if the game did really good and became successful, I’d work out a bonus structure that would give him extra money depending on the number of views. Kenny seemed concerned about not making $1000 minimum and felt that his games would not be successful enough to earn bonuses. I tried to explain that I’d help him design games that would be unique and that people would like. I explained that I have been in the industry for a long time and I know what works and what does not work. I told him that I have a lot of great ideas for games that would help him get started.”

“At first Kenny seemed happy with my offer and was ready to get to work. The next day when I came online I was shocked that Kenny had found someone to pay him $800 per game minimum. He now attempted to get myself and the other site owner into a bidding war for his services. The person willing to pay the highest per game would be the victor. At that point I knew that Kenney and I would not work out a deal. Not because I was not able to pay the money but because I was not willing to get into a bidding war with another site owner for a author who makes generic games. I was not prepared to spend website revenue on a person who obviously does not care about what he’s creating as opposed to what he’s earning.”

“I tried to explain to Kenney that there’s more to this market then just how much you earn per game. I explained that I bring other intangibles to the table that other website owners don’t. I told him that although I would not be willing to pay him $1000 per game I would be willing to guarantee him a good wage for 3 years. I even put my mouth to paper by agreeing to sign a contract guaranteeing Kenny revenue over a period of 3 years. I explained to him that I have seen this sort of thing before. That although some other site may make a larger pitch of money for a game. That those same site’s may not be making the same pitch the next month. I tried to explain to Kenny that guaranteed revenue is better then the unknown.”

“I also told Kenney that it would be easier and more fun to make games for my site because we would venture into areas of web games that have not been created before. I have a handful of animators that work closely with me and they would be made available to Kenney if he needed help with graphics or a key animation. I even explained that people who show that there working with me to create what we envision in web/flash games will earn more money later on down the road. I even gave him examples of other authors that had been employed with me before earning more and more money though time because we had developed a good working business relationship.”

“But Kenny didn’t see it that way. All he could think about was the extra $300 per game he was going to make and that lead him astray.”

It seems like Kenney merely grew comfortable where he was and simply didn’t want to change. And why SHOULD he? He was making good money and putting in little effort. What reason would he possibly have for wanting to expand his skills? That’s just the way most lazy kids think. It’s no secret, and most of us were the same way at one time.

Kenney is just one example of what’s bound to happen in our industry. Some people who are into gaming are going to quit school or work because they think this is an easy industry to break in to.

Kenney put 3 years into it, and while he got paid, he never truly broke into his own. With so many other kids riding the same gravy train, he’s not going to be alone in his situation.

I sent Jay Bibby, of JayIsGames.com, an email asking if he wanted to contribute anything to this story, and he was generous enough to do just that:

Thanks for the offer. My thoughts, though, are that it’s hard for me to feel sorry for Kenny. His games were inferior, as you indicated, and thus were never featured on JIG. What’s happening to the industry is simply natural selection. Survival of the fittest. Perhaps the industry in its infancy rewarded those with little talent, but now those people are getting squeezed out in favor of developers with more talent. It’s as it should be. And with services like Mochiads empowering the developer, the sponsorship business is changing as well. One thing for certain when working on the Web: ‘Business as usual’ is a moving target; those who can see the changes adapt quickly; those who don’t get left behind.

cheers,

Jay

No one knows for certain where the industry is headed, but I like the idea of empowering developers with services like MochiAds, which are simple impression and click based advertisements. The better the game does, the more money it can ultimately make, and as a developer makes more, and more games, their revenu stream snowballs. Unfortunately, most people don’t see that far ahead…

Yet, at the core, sponsorships are really nothing more than exclusive advertisements. Maybe one day, even the big sponsorship sites will go the rout of traditional on-line advertising and only pay for the traffic they get back. I ould certainly eliminate poor quality games as a viable business.

As for Kenney, he’s still hanging on to the dream.

“I’ll continue making Flash games and get them sponsored, hoping someone will tap my shoulder and get me in the big business one time or another.”

Nodes is a very original concept created by programmer, Eggy. According to his blog, Nodes was built as a bit of an experiment with some of the programming features in Flash.  How does it stack up against other programmer-concept games?

Art-wise, it’s pretty simple;  Shiney circles, red lines, generic background texture and uninspired menus and interfaces.  It still looks better than most games developed by non-designers, but the art was developed by ShibbyMedia, so I was expecting better.

Sound-wise, there is nothing special here.  The music gets old after a few levels, and the ONE sound effect is rather long and annoying as well.

The gameplay is really all that matters though and this is a brilliant brain-teaser concept.

You have movable nodes that are all connected by lasers beams, and static nodes that star out blue.  The goal is to position the nodes so that the lasers pass through all the blue nodes, turning them red.

This is the type of thinking man’s game I typically enjoy, so when I started this game I really liked it a lot.  Then I kept winning….and winning… without any challenge.  I realize I’m a smart guy, but I’m pretty sure a chipmunk with downs could master this game.
The level design is where the lack of a designer really shows.  Each level is unique, to be sure, but none of them are really well thought out.  There are so many ways to solve each level that I found myself inventing a challenge and trying to do it with the least amount of laser lines possible. As you can see in my screenshot, even as far as level 20, I was able to easily solve the puzzles and still have extra nodes I didn’t need.

Because this WAS designed as an experiment, you really can’t expect a big production, and like I said.. the IDEA is awesome.  I hope Eggy does a second version with more challenging levels and maybe some bonuses for unused beams, so players can really test their minds and compete for high scores or something.

At the end of the day, this is really a tech demo and not a polished game.  But tech demos can still be fun, so go check it out.