1.) Cursed Treasure: Don’t Touch My Gems! – This game will speak for itself within the first few minutes of playing. Beautiful graphics, extremely balanced gameplay, and that wonderful TD magic we all love.

2.) Talesworth Adventure: Episode 1 – The mechanic has been done before, but never this well. Talesworth Adventure Episode 1 takes exploration and puzzles to a whole new level.

3.) Wallace and Gromit: Sprocket Rocket – This game is the most unique and well put together physics games since Hannah In A Choppa. It features incredible graphics, unique gameplay mechanics, and a very solid build all around.

4.) Pixel Legions – Pixel Legions is an incredibly enjoyable and well presented strategy game that plays much like Phage Wars, but with a few added features.

5.) Traverse – Traverse is the newest game released by myself and Andrew of Epic Shadow entertainment. It uses mechanics you’ve seen over and over again, but adds a few layers of polish to make it shine like none other before it. Incredibly crafty level design makes for more challenge then the genre has ever presented before; see how much of it your brain can tackle.

If you haven’t checked out all of the above games, I strongly suggest you head over and give them a play, they’re all of excellent quality. Be sure to check back frequently to the greatest source of quality games on the net.

Porter Vs Benologist

Greetings fellow members of the flash game industry. Word on the street is everything this blog has to offer isn’t all it’s cut out to be. Ben Lowry, AKA FlashGameLicense member Benologist, founder of SWFStats, has called me out on my lack of actual work. My perception of our numerous debates, simply put, is that he claims I’m all talk, and no action. Although I’ve created or co-created Stabika 1, Stabika 2, Stabika 3, Dominus Void, Gravibounce, Tower of Greed, Traverse (being released this week by Ninja Kiwi), and a few others that were contract work or not worth mentioning, there may be some truth to that statement. I in absolutely no way work “full time”. Creating flash games is indeed how I pay my rent (with very little help from revenue earned on this site), however I live a very affordable lifestyle which requires very little funds from me. I simply work enough to get by and enjoy a very social life; which is exactly what I’ve tried to accomplish. That being said, I in absolutely no way feel that my lack of releases disqualifies me from sharing (and knowledgeably so) anything on this blog.

So here’s what’s going down; Beno decided that it would be great to give me the rest of the month to come up with something sale worthy. I’m to do everything except for the art, which my partner Andrew will cover. If I’m to succeed in creating a game “sell-able” by April, he’s going to give me $100 USD. If I fail at doing so, he can continue to run his pompous mouth to me about how I never work and I’m all talk, and I’m not to consume any amount of alcohol for 2 weeks. Although I could easily win this bet on a technicality of creating something incredibly simple and “sell-able”, I’m actually going to knock something out of decent quality; at least by the standards of 2 weeks worth of game development.

Before you guys get the wrong idea about the relationship between Benologist and I, let me explain a bit about how this bet came to be. First off, Benologist is a business man. He makes games for money, and almost always no other reason. I almost always make games for fun, unless I’m in need of quick cash, in which case I’ll pull something together to get me some rent money for a few months. Having these different views creates a lot of tension between us during conversation, and very often results in a heated debate. These heated debates generally just die down, with either me or Benologist going back to work, or Benologist choosing a new target within the FGL chat room to badger. Either way, the relationship between the two of us isn’t exactly mortal enemies, sometimes it’s just fun to have a rival or pseudo enemy of sorts. That being said, he does talk a lot of crap about me, and he is an arrogant prick, egotistical, and an ass more often than not, and if I didn’t talk just a little bit of crap about him, this wouldn’t be nearly as fun, so let it begin; compliments to JJWallace for the wonderful art below,

I’m definitely looking forward to seeing how the bet turns out, I love proving people wrong when a worthy opportunity arises. In addition, I don’t need that $100, and to prove this, I’ll be framing the check or $100 bill he sends and sharing it with you all as soon as it’s in my hands. Overall, I’ll take this opportunity to not only prove him wrong, but to grab some extra cash for myself. I’ve already got an idea of what I want to do, so it’s about time I stop writing this and get to work. Check back often, as I’ll be updating my progress every few days up until the final day on April 30th. If you’re taking sides, or just have something to say, be sure to do so; can’t ever get enough entertainment.

1.) Remnants of Skystone – Remnants of Skystone is an incredibly well-built, steampunk, action-oriented MMORPG. This game has the highest production value of any flash game I’ve ever seen. Incredible visuals, amazing structure, multiple character classes, vast maps to explore, flash really hasn’t seen anything to this degree yet. If you like RPG’s, action games, or MMORPG’s, definitely give Remnants of Skystone a play.

2.) Mushroom Madness 2 – Mushroom Madness is an incredibly polished and addictive action-oriented defense game. The game offers plenty of upgrades, unique enemies, multiple game modes, and a ton of charm. I loved the first one, and the second simply builds upon an already working formula.

3.) Robot Wants Kitty – I definitely have a soft spot for retro games, but I also have on for the Metroid series, this game reaches out to both my likings. Explore and work your way through a single open level, collect upgrades, and get yourself that kitty.

4.) Valthirian Arc – Valthirian Arc is a mini sized action-RPG with a lot of charm. It’s not too complex, it’s easy to play, and it has excellent audio and visuals. It is a bit lacking once you play it for a bit, but for a flash game, it’s just about right.

5.) Sushi Cat – Cats seem to be a theme this month, and Sushi cat is definitely a great addition. Everyone loves sushi (at least anyone awesome), and cats are basically amazing, combine the two, you get an awesome physics strategy game; who would have thought?

If you haven’t checked out all of the above games, I strongly suggest you head over and give them a play, they’re all of excellent quality. Be sure to check back frequently to the greatest source of quality games on the net.

The Boss

Being your own boss is pretty sweet. As a full time web developer, and flash game developer, I’ve come to enjoy far more time in my room and outside, rather than making pizza on the make line at Domino’s. As great as being self employed is, I perhaps jumped into the self employed role a bit too early, and I’m facing the consequences of that now. I do however plan to push through hard times and succeed, but I’m here to share the pros and cons of being your own boss, and what you can do to ensure a smother ride if you happen to choose this wonderful route.

Everyone wants to be there own boss; nobody likes taking orders from others, especially when your input on matters isn’t really appreciated, or even listened to. Aside from the horrible wages and lack of free time I experienced working a “normal” job, I also got sick of taking orders from someone above me, especially when that someone wasn’t exactly as intelligent or deserving of that position in comparison to myself. This is one of many things that finally drove me to the decision of quitting my job and becoming self employed. Sounds awesome right? For the most part, yes, but there are a few negative aspects to it that I’ll go over now.

I admittedly jumped into being self employed a little too soon, I can cope with it now, but at a price I would have avoided had I known what I know now. I definitely should have gotten more experience under my belt before making this my actual day to day job, especially without having too much funds saved up. Stability of income is an incredibly important thing, if you’re not entirely prepared to be out on your own and self employed, you’ll find yourself facing unstable income from time to time. This can all be easily avoided if you save up enough funds to support possible issues, so I definitely advise anyone considering becoming self employed to do so. I also encourage you to be well prepared for what it is you’re doing. If you’re a programmer, make sure you know your stuff, learning is much harder when you have to worry about paying the rent and where that money will come from.

The next issue, and biggest issue for myself and others from what I’ve heard, is motivation. It’s really hard to put in the proper amount of hours, as well as actually stay focused, when sitting in front of a computer. I’m not addicted to any social networking sites, nor do I play any MMO’s, yet I still find myself wasting far too much time in front of the computer; this generally consists of doing things such as browsing the net, reading interesting articles, looking at computer parts on Newegg, and so on, it’s just one thing after another. When I finally do get settled down, and into a mental state that is ready for work, a friend will call me up and invite me to some gathering that all my friends are going to, something I have a hard time passing up when there isn’t someone there to tell me no. It’s not that I don’t have self control (believe me, I’ve passed many events in the last few months), it’s just not as easy to pass up a good time when nobody is stopping you but yourself. If you think that this could be a possible issue for yourself, check out my other article titled Motivation Boost. In addition, I strongly advise you to change your desktop background to a little motivation, it’s effects are rather impressive.

Lastly, there’s the wonderful world of taxes. This really shouldn’t be an issue, at least once you’ve learned what’s required of you as someone who is self employed, but unfortunately for me, I’m one of those people who has been delaying the research and will have to deal with it when the time comes. Some sponsors require you to fill out a W2, while others don’t. Regardless, I don’t exactly know what to do when it comes to my taxes and being self employed, and this could prove to be an issue in a few years. It really isn’t a huge issue since I have records of all my game sponsorships, but it’s still something you have to be aware of when becoming self employed.

Cons aside, there are definitely perks to being your own boss. I can sleep in as late as I want, whenever I want. I’ll repeat that for those who are in shock, yes, I can sleep in as late as I want. There is no greater perk to being your own boss than that. I don’t have to rush out of bed, take a shower, catch a bus, then fly down to a place I don’t want to be. Instead, I can wake up slowly, grab some food, hop online for awhile, then let the course of my day roll out as I please. We all remember the dreaded sound of an alarm clock waking us up for school or work, rarely do I hear that sound anymore, and when I do, it’s not I who has to wake up with the feeling that smashing something against the wall is a great idea.

As far as free time goes, there is a lot more free time to be had, and it really won’t hurt you if you use a bit of self control and plan out your work schedule. On that note, I highly suggest you plan out actual hours for yourself, don’t feel that you have to work those exact hours, but giving yourself a rough outline will help you maintain a balance of free time and actual work accomplished. I suggest using the program Klok, it’s an excellent program to keep track of the hours you work, and those you don’t.You’ll also find that having more free time makes you a happier person, which in turn makes your actual production hours more valuable because you’re in a better mindset. The amount of work achieved when happy and working on something passionate is significantly larger than work you have to do, and really don’t give a damn about.

Lastly, and most importantly, there is a certain sense of accomplishment one gets from working for him or herself. My biggest complaint with a “normal” job is that I constantly felt like I was wasting my life, like I was literally a slave to society and the system that it rests within. Making pizza is fine, but it’s not something I want to do, it’s not something I can feel proud of. People shouldn’t have to sit behind counters and take orders for nearly 25% of their life (168 hours in a week, full time employment is 40 hours, often times more). If I’m going to be working that long, it’s going to be towards something I’m passionate about, something that I enjoy, regardless of how tiresome it can be at times. That being said, I would rather work 40 hours a week as a game designer and just barely be able to pay my rent, then work 20 hours at a gas station making more, it’s just that much more fulfilling.

All in all, being your own boss is excellent. You’ll live a happier lifestyle, feel more accomplished, and eventually make more money than any retail job will ever pay you. It takes a lot more work than those jobs do, and often times it’s much harder work, but you’ll gain valuable knowledge along the way, and actually enjoy yourself. The few cons I mentioned aren’t really cons, but more things you should be aware of before becoming self employed. If you enter carefully, and well prepared, you’ll find yourself a much happier and successful individual.

Castle Crashing the Beard

Castle Crashing the Beard is an incredibly short game, but it offers a great amount of fun while it lasts. The game has fluid controls, great graphics, an addicting level up system, and an awesome boss that you’ll insist on seeing the death of once you start playing this great game. It is a bit on the hard side for the average casual gamer, but as a whole, it’s a great example of an awesome action flash game.

The game has a bit of an interesting back story, so we’ll look at that quickly. Tom Fulp, creator of Alien Hominid, and owner of Newgrounds, was working day and night on finishing Castle Crashers, which the characters of this game are based off of. As motivation to complete the game, he vowed to stop shaving his beard until his job was completed. As a result, Tom had a beast of a beard (not really, but in comparison to his normally shaved self, yeah, so we’ll go with it). This beard inspired his friends and co-workers to make a game joking of how his beard will grow beastly and destroy all.

The object of the game is to play as a Castle Crasher and destroy Tom’s beard before it destroys you. It’s a simple 1 on 1 boss battle, you vs the beard. You can attack at close range, or charge your attack if you have mp and shoot a semi long ranged attack. Each hit earns you experience points to level up your character, which gives you better attack, combos and a sweet new look. Although the boss AI follows a simple pattern as all classic arcade games did, many players may find the challenge a bit overwhelming as you must be a bit cautious about taking damage since your life is low.

The strongest point of Castle Crashing the Beard is the simplicity of it. You press one button on the start menu and are immediately in the middle of your one and only fight of the game. Aside from the jump in and play action element, many players will find the game strongly addicting as they not only try to beat the boss, but level up their character to the max level, win or lose. The controls are as simple as can be, and because of this instructions really aren’t needed. The movement is fluid, the speeds perfect and the action is fast paced, all very welcome attributes for any game.

In the end, Castle Crashing the Beard is a simple game that will take you between 3 minutes and an hour, but it’s enjoyable for what it is. It lacks any serious depth (although the engine could certainly be used for a longer game), and it is, as I mentioned, a bit on the hard side. In addition, there’s also a neat Easter egg for any oldschool gamers like myself out there, the ending credits screen is based off of the credits screen from Super Mario Bros 2 for the NES. That aside, it’s a fast paced arcade boss battle that will surely entertain you until you destroy the beard.

RaidenX

There’s been a ton of great flash games as of late, but something people often forget about are the classic gems of the flash world. RaidenX is an amazing game that was created as a tribute to the Raiden series. The original Raiden games can be found all over arcades around the world (or once could be, curse the decline of great arcade games, Street Fighter 4 aside) and was also ported for the Play Station 1.

RaidenX was created in mid 2005 and sponsored by CrazyMonkeyGames, (lucky them!) Since that day it has received over 11.5 million plays on CMG’s site alone, and continues to get attention as one of the greatest flash games of its time.

This game is all about quick action, something most people on the net need in order to stay entertained these days. From the moment you press play on the main menu you’re immediately tossed into the battle zone as Stage 1 starts. The controls are simple, “Z” to shoot and “X” to use your special. This kind of quick action is something that really adds to the value of a flash game. Most players are looking for casual play, something to jump into and play on a lunch break or during class at school when nobody’s looking; RaidenX is a perfect example of quick pick up and play action, yet still offers a save feature so you can complete the game over time if not in one sitting.

Aside from its easy controls and fast paced action, the game offers an expansive game-play with a decent number of levels and a nice twist that will catch some players off guard towards the end. The game offers nearly everything the original game offered: great weapons, awesome bosses, fast-paced action, and awesome music that brings back memories of many peoples’ childhoods. It also offers the ability to change difficulty between easy, normal, and hard, yet again keeping a large number of players happy.

Although the graphics may be considered only decent in current times, they still offer their own style and get the job done. We also have to keep in mind that the game was created using AS2 and optimization back then could only do so much. The visual effects on weapons and specials are still pretty impressive and give the player a feeling of accomplishment as everything on the screen is demolished. Bosses are animated, backgrounds scroll, and everything moves fast enough to stop you from focusing on the lack of detail on any given piece of art. Overall the art is still impressive and stays true to the feel of the original game.

The music in this game is something that really brings it to life. Although the quality lacks a bit due to file size restrictions, the songs are memorable and full of atmosphere. Sound effects can be found for every action you do, from menu selection to bosses exploding; it’s all there. With the large array of sound effects and music found in this game, I think it’s safe to say that the audio portion of this game is covered.

Overall RaidenX can easily be seen as a classic flash gem of 2005. It offers great game-play, awesome weapons, an amazing soundtrack, difficulty adjusting, and basically everything else a good game needs. If you’re one of the many who haven’t checked this out previously, and/or the 11.5 million views on one site alone haven’t yet convinced you that this game is great, go give it a play yourself; you won’t be dissatisfied.