An Adventure Apes Christmas

It's been a mega-hectic month, but here is a little something for the holidays. Merry Christmas everyone! See you in 2010, it's going to be great!

Adventure Apes Page 4

...and the story continues!

Adventure Apes Return!

It's probably been a couple of months since I last posted any artwork here. Level one of the game is complete and got some good responses through the month of October, much more than I ever thought imaginable! Level two for the full version is well in development, and now, FINALLY, I've gotten back to doing artwork for my storybook. This is page three of what will be a 27 page illustrated poem that outlines Mitch's first adventure.
Time to get back in the swing of things!

Giving Thanks

I know, I know, "Another post with no pictures...what's going on?!"

Well, it's a week before Thanksgiving here in Canada, but so far, the month has been very kind to the Adventure Apes, and I thought I should write down a few words of thanks. The first big break was the interview at Vancouver Animation. One question in the interview asked what I found most difficult, and I said that by far the business side was the hardest to break in to. Starting out as no one, it's tough to gain any recognition or attention from your peers and contemporaries. I believe the exposure from that interview will help pave the way for the Apes. For that, I am thankful!

Then today I received further good news! Completely out of the blue, the game was featured on two sites:

PixelProspector - This is a review site that goes through and picks out all kinds of interesting games on a regular basis. Imagine my surprise to get an email saying that the Adventure Apes game is featured and reviewed!

GameJolt - I had uploaded the game to this site recently to see what kind of feedback I'd get, but never expected that the folks running the show would feature the game on the front page of their site!

These two sites combined have already helped thrust this game into the spotlight more than I could have ever accomplished on my own, and for that, I am thankful!

So, no images in this post, but there is a veritable cornucopia of good news. I wonder if the full moon this weekend had anything to do with these good fortunes? No matter what the cause though, I am thankful.

Vancouver Animation Interview

I've been looking forward to this for a while now, and it is finally here! It was super cool getting to do this interview, and it was even cooler of everyone at Vancouver Animation to put me out in the spotlight like they did. If you get a chance, make sure you check it out. It makes for an awfully interesting read if I do say so myself!

Read the full interview here!

Ode to the Adventure Apes

A while back, I posted a bunch of images for the bad guys involved in this project. Originally, the plan was to include them in an illustrated storybook describing Mitch's experiences as he explored the Mayan temple. I have decided to change things up somewhat..the story was coming out really flat and not interesting to read at all, and I just couldn't see how it'd have anyone eager to turn the page to see what happens next, let alone a kid! So, the story will now be told in the form of an epic poem as seen through Mitch's eyes...and yes, it will be illustrated! I will post the drawings once I get 'em done, but here are a few random verses in the meantime:

"The old temple ran North, East, West and South,
I'm in its bowels, yet entered its mouth.
Perhaps you may need some time to digest,
but believe what's been said, heroes know best!"

"Rooms carved from limestone the Mayans did build,
though not long after, with water they filled.
The rooms were small and the passageways tight,
this is a place where nobody should fight."

"Towers of flame and black smoke belched in plumes,
I wished there's a way that this would end soon!
But onward I went, to get the bad guy,
and dreamt of the day where I'd see blue sky."

Wordy post eh? I'll make it up with some pretty pictures soon, I promise!!

Adventure Apes Update and Screenshots!

So, this whole 'making a video game' thing is pretty time consuming. I've been posting updates on a regular basis over at the yoyogames forums, and the people there have really helped turn this game into something presentable! It seems like every time I think the game is done, a new suggestion is made, or I think of ways to tweak things here and there. One idea that I think I'll go with for the full 3-level game is to have a track selector option rather than songs getting played according to the room and level. That way the player will be able to choose which song gets played. That means coming up with a ton of songs, but it should be pretty cool when it's all said and done!

Level 1 has undergone a ton of improvements this past week as far as gameplay goes. As usual, I'll be going through to make sure nothing else needs fixing, but it is getting so good! Here are some updated screenshots, taken at their original resolution, however the game scales everything up 200% so that it is a little easier to play:)

 

  

 

  

  

  

Download the game and instructions from here!

Or get it all here!

Or you can even try playing it in your internet browser here!