"Zombie Situation"

I would like to announce that my latest game, "Zombie Situation" is now in beta! This means all the features are done so it just needs fixes and tweaks here and there. It is a Flash game where you must defend against an onslaught of crazy zombies using nine different weapons!

I will upload it to FlashGameLicense.com next week for play-testing, and then open it for sponsorship bidding once the game is in its best shape.

I decided to go for a darker atmosphere so the royalty-free music I licensed from Pond5.com helps establish a mood early in the game. Most of the audio was collected from freesound.org that I modified in Audacity (open source!). I like to overlay some of the art with free textures from Mayang.com to avoid making things look too cartoony.

The game itself is very simple and easy to play. You only need the keyboard during battles, and only the mouse for menu navigation during breaks. You can expect to utilize most of the nine weapons because ammunition is limited.

Zombie progress

Lately I've been making a lot of progress on the current zombies defense game. I have decided to keep it in its Flash form and find a sponsor for the web. Why? Because my experiment of pursuing a dual Flash + mobile release of Pigs Will Fly shows that it was not really worth the extra work - I would have been better off with the usual sponsorship route.

This is definitely not a game for kids.

There will be random loot and events that occur. Hey, this is a zombie apocalypse so there should be surprises around every corner. Usually the last enemy of a round will drop some question marked bag which must be opened to proceed.

For example, here are some pills that were looted. You can either eat them for potentially a positive effect, or sell them for cash to upgrade your weapons. These little surprises should keep things interesting in between battles.

I should be finished with the beta in two weeks from now - April 21st.

Speaking of simplicity, I also have a couple freemium games planned for iOS and Android. I notice a burst of activity every time I update ones of my apps (iTunes bumps it back to the top) so I want to develop several free games over time that feature in-app purchases. It does seem like a good way to experiment with ideas.

No, it will not be another defense or puzzle game that reaches a limited audience on the phones. I am thinking even simpler than that - games that anyone can play. Fortunately each initial release can be achieved within 1-2 weeks of development time and I can scrap the ones that don't go anywhere.

Also it looks like I've been indie for one year! I am going to call today the end of my freshman year.

Pigs Will Fly is on the Web!

The free Flash version of Pigs Will Fly is now available on the Web! It has been uploaded to two of the biggest portal sites, Newgrounds and Kongregate and is already spreading quickly. You will notice that there is no primary/exclusive sponsor for this viral version because as an experiment, I chose to self-publish it and emphasize the bonus levels available on handheld devices.

 

Although I tested the game thoroughly, at the last minute I had to rip out the statistics API and upload a newer version because it was causing the game to stutter on my Mac Mini only after publishing the final game. Weird. Therefore I will not have any statistics to share.

Anyways, back to work on the current zombie game!