1.) Alice is Dead: Chapter 2 – The incredibly popular point and click adventure delivers its second chapter with even more sketchy fairy-tale goodness.

2.) Battalion: Vengeance – The Battalion series brings itself to a closing with this final chapter; fans of the series won’t be disappointed.

3.) Transcripted – Transcripted is one of the more unique games to come out as of late. It’s fantastic art style and suiting ambiance track create a fantastic atmosphere worth checking out on its own. That aside, it offers a fantastic mix of both puzzle and action elements, definitely a must play for anyone interested in either genre.

4.) Civilizations Wars – Civilizations Wars is a very charming tactical strategy game with a lot of new additions to an already working concept. Fans of Nano War will be pleased with it’s fantastic visuals and enhanced gameplay through the ability to use spells.

5.) Helicops – Helicops is an entertaining action game with very nice pseudo 3D visuals. Tons of upgrades, various enemy types, and fast paced gameplay make this a must play.

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.

1.) Miami Shark – Casual, fast paced, and fun, Miami Shark does it all, and it does it well. You’ll go on a quick rampage of eating everything, people, boats, and even planes. The game is as easy to play as it is fun, a combination perfectly suited for the flash game industry. This game is definitely of excellent quality, give it a play.

2.) Clockwords – There have been a number of word games to this date, but Clockwords is by far the most entertaining I’ve come across. It’s an excellent mix of a word game, and the defense genre, something I’ve never seen before. It’s got some RPG elements to keep you addicted, and it’s a definite challenge, even for those who are rather literate. Definitely a must play for any intellectual types out there.

3.) Trap Master – The defense genre takes yet another rare step this month. Trap Master combines the excellence of both the platforming and defense genre, and does so wonderfully. Tons of traps, multiple characters, and amazing graphics, make this a must play for all.

4.) Gretel And Hansel – Gretel and Hansel is an excellent point and click adventure, with a very unique art style. You’ll enjoy rich visuals, as well as engaging story and gameplay in this excellent twisted fairy tale adventure.

5.) Cover Orange – Cover Orange is an excellent physics game with a neat twist on the genre. In each level you will prepare the stage to defend against an angry rain cloud. I don’t know what we’ve done to anger him, but it’s best we keep our defenses up regardless.

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.

1.) Momentum Missile Mayhem 4 – Momentum Missile Mayhem 4 is a fast paced, action packed physics game like no other. I rarely sit down and play an entire flash game these days, this one really drew me in and presented an excellent level of challenge. Tons of levels, a great skill tree system, and a variety in enemies, make this an excellent game that should definitely be played by all.

2.) Madness Accelerant – Madness Accelerant offers an action filled adventure like no other flash game. Beautiful graphics and intense boss moments give an experience that really isn’t found anywhere else in flash games. Any fan of the Madness series will be truly entertained by this masterpiece of a quick action filled adventure.

3.) Mushroom Madness – Defense games have always been among player’s favorites. Mushroom Madness offers an impressive mix of charming graphics, balanced gameplay, and action oriented defense mechanics. Various weapons and upgrades make this medium sized game pass by without a dull moment, give it a play.

4.) SkyFyre – SkyFyre offers some of the internet’s most intense side scrolling shooter action. Four classes, a shop, and a level up system, all allow you to customize and play the game in a number of unique styles. Take the above combination and mix in some retro graphics, and you have one hell of a gaming experience.

5.) Back To The Cubeture – Cuboy has been a successful animation on the net for some time now. Cuboy has now entered the gaming atmosphere, and in what better way then through a time traveling adventure? Highly entertaining voice acting and a crazy story make this one of the best point and click adventure games to exist on the net today.

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.

Becoming A Game Developer

As we’re all aware, or should be aware of, the path to becoming a game developer is not one that can be completed over night. Not only must you have certain mental abilities, but the skills that you must posses can not only exist, but must be refined. For example, I myself have a good eye for what elements in a game make the game more fun, and the elements that just make a game annoying. Despite my keen eye for this, I have a lot to learn, as all developers do. Certain activities should be done on a regular basis to refine the skills needed to be a successful developer, whether you’re a professional or just starting out. Playing games of all types on a regular basis is one of them.

It’s no mystery that playing games is something that all game developers should do. If you don’t play games that are successful, as well as unsuccessful, how can you possibly make a game that will come close to doing great itself? This may be common sense, but it goes a bit deeper. A common misconception floating around game developers and game testers is that when we play games, we’re just playing games. It’s not exactly like that, and if you think it is, I urge you to read on. When a developer or tester is playing games, they’re doing far more than laying back and enjoying some awesome games. As a developer, you must constantly analyze various aspects of games while playing them. Some of these include the length of the game, the fun factor, bugs, pacing, what’s annoying, difficulty, how easy is it to understand, and so on. Each of these aspects is just a main category as well, all can contain sub categories making the list larger than you would expect. It’s these game aspects that you need to pay attention to when playing a game.

Let’s take a deeper look into a specific game genre. Let’s go with any generic “Beat em up” game, Streets of rage, Captain Commando, Turtles in Time, take your pick. When thinking of these games, what important characteristics of the genre come to mind? First off, I would look into the move speed of the character. If the character is moving too slow, then those scrolling backgrounds better be damn pretty or the player is going to get bored fast. Second off, the amount of enemies the game throws at you per each area needs to be carefully thought out. If a game has too many enemies per small checkpoint, it may do one of two things. First off, it may be too hard. These games often aren’t too hard, that is, until one or more enemies decides to attack you at once like the little punks they usually are. Second off, it may make the pacing of the game drag, so it’s important that the number of enemies is too few rather than too many. Next, what makes this game stand out from the others? Almost every game out there has another game like it, if not many, so it’s important to have a few original features. In these games, that usually consisted of special moves (such as the cop car in streets of rage, or the different abilities for the 4 characters in Captain Commando). Although walking around and beating guys up is fun, the occasional destructible terrain such as boxes or phone booths is a very welcome addition. Looking back to difficulty, it’s important that there are enough items laying around to replenish your health (such as the infamous piece of meat on a place), but it’s also important not to have too many as this would decrease the difficulty dramatically. As far as level design goes, it’s important to keep the visuals new, and the way the level progresses interesting. For instance, most levels move left to right, the end resulting in a boss fight. It’s important that this isn’t the case in all levels. Elevators leading to new floors, holes in the floor to drop down into, getting on trains, hopping onto moving trucks, and many other forms of level navigation add to level design greatly and help mix things up. As you can see, I’ve gone into some pretty deep detail as to what should be examined in a “Beat em up” game. That said, there’s plenty more that could be examined; this is only a start, a nice start, but a start none the less.

Playing games doesn’t sound so fun now does it? Well it is, so don’t let the above get you down. Playing games as a developer is definitely hard work, but it’s one of the best activities you can do to get yourself to become a better game developer. In addition, a true game developer can analyze a game while enjoying it simultaneously. That said, if you’re a game developer in the works, or someone who’s just forgotten about how important it is to analyze games, make sure you really tear what makes a game what is apart next time you play.

Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3

Becoming A Game Developer

There’s a lot of work needed in order to become a game developer. People often feel that if they have an artist who can animate, and a programmer who knows the language, that they’ve got a team ready to produce quality  games. In reality, those skills are just the tip of the iceberg. A team ready to produce games may be true, but nothing at all says those games are going to be of quality. It takes a lot more than knowing the coding language you’re using, or being an excellent artist; game design itself should be thought of as the third skill required along side programming and art.

I myself excel in my ability in game design. I admittedly lack in programming skills greatly in comparison to what I wish I knew, but I make up for that with my ability to both detect what makes a great game, and how to build one. I find it odd that most teams don’t feel they need a project manager of sorts, someone who understands how games work, what games are good, and what it takes to make them. The team doesn’t necessarily need someone dedicated specifically to this, but one of the artists or preferably programmers should have this skill.

The reason I give this position so much credit, other than the fact that it’s my strong point and I’m proud of it, is that it truly is a concept that I hope more teams embrace. We’ve all come to accept that average art won’t do, if you get higher quality art you’ll see your game value multiply by at least two-three times, if not significantly more. That being the artist’s job, we can look at the programmer now. The programmer is supposed to know what the game needs, then program it. They simply look at a set of instructions and bring the game to life. The last position, again in my opinion usually the secondary skill of the programmer, if not both members, is to know what it takes to make a great game. This however does not mean that the artist cannot have the mind set of a programmer and contain these skills as well, I simply imply that I believe them to be more common among programmers. They need to get over the hype of the game idea and analyze if the game will actually be quality fun; far too many games work as far as functionality, but when it comes to fun they’re simply a bore.

You may be wondering why I suggest that the programmer is the one who holds the magic of the third skill, the answer is simple. The programmer generally knows how the game works from the ground up. They must know how the ideas suggested will co-exist with ideas currently out there, and leave room for ideas to come. That being said, the programmer really shouldn’t be some guy reading an instruction manual on how to build the game, he should be deciding how the game itself is built. This can be done with a firm knowledge of programming, however it’s significantly easier if you possess the skill of understanding how games are built, as well as what makes them fun.

If you’ve already got these skills present within your team, you’re in great condition. If you lack these skills however, I highly suggest you look into partnering with somebody who has experience and understands the above concepts. They may seem like common sense at first, but it’s things like this that make the difference between the average games on the net and the big hits. I’ll continue on these thoughts with follow-up articles elaborating on how you can gain such skills yourself or refine what skills already exist. In the mean time, check out some other useful articles such as, The Importance of Plot and Game Inspiration, to help get yourself prepared for becoming a better game developer.

Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3

Grid 16

Grid 16 is a rather under-appreciated flash game that not enough people know about. It offers some intense gaming moments and a unique twist on classic games that is sure to entertain anyone who takes the time to check it out. Simple controls, visuals, and goals, make this the perfect game to pick up and play on a lunch break.

Grid 16 plays in a very unique way, it’s actually 16 mini games tossed together to form one large game. The game will randomly jump between games after a set amount of time, and as you last longer, the speed at which the games are played increases. If you lose at a game, it takes it out of the 16 games you can play, and you’re left with the remaining games until there are none left. As speed increases and you get better at the games, so do the intense gamer moments that have you on the edge of your seat.

The strongest characteristic of Grid 16 is it’s casual gameplay. The ability to jump in and instantly play 16 mini games in just a few minutes gives a perfect experience for many casual gamers. Aside from the simple controls that are easy to pick up and get the hang of, all 16 games resemble basic mechanics seen in games time and time again, so players can instantly relate to what’s going on within seconds of seeing the game. It isn’t easy by any means, so competitive gamers get a challenge as well through the high score boards. Aside from it’s casual gameplay, the concept of flying between 16 different games at a face pace is entertaining in itself; it’s a unique gameplay mechanic that very few other games offer. A few other games such as Four Second Frenzy and Four Second Fury have used the same concept, but Grid 16 takes it a step higher with the increased speed mechanic and a few other minor tweaks.

As far as fast paced mini games go, Grid 16 is basically the best choice out there. It’s addicting, unique, and most important, entertaining. It doesn’t have all that much depth, but if you insist on getting on the high score boards you’ll have quite the task in front of you. If you find yourself reading this and you haven’t checked it out yet, give Grid 16 a play and help spread this under-appreciated flash gem.

Making Games For Fun

Game design to me is and always will be something I do for fun, as it should be for everyone. I know this may sound like incredibly obvious information, and it may be, but too many people don’t understand or practice the importance of this. The flash industry is full of people trying to score some extra cash, and it definitely lacks a fair amount of people designing games for the sole reason of bringing their ideas to life. There are many reasons for creating flash games, money should be nearly the last on that list. Game design should be about fun, not some extra cash.

There are many reasons to make games, and with these reasons generally comes 3 different categories that all games fit into. The first is practice games, games designed mostly to give the developer more experience as they evolve as a game designer. These games are usually started just so that the developer can dive into some new material to build their skills. In the end many of these games come out with a decent quality and it would be a waste not to unleash them upon the world. The second category games fit into, is games created to earn extra cash. This isn’t to say the developer didn’t have fun creating the game, however the original incentive and much of the planning of the game was highly based around bringing in some cash. The last category is games made for fun. A skilled developer creating a game entirely for the sake of fun will see far more success than the other two categories will, and, as the name implies, have more fun.

The developer creating games for fun truly puts themselves in the eyes of the gamer, and because of this creates everything exactly how the gamer would want it. Developers always try and view their games from an outside perspective of the gamer, but this is much easier said than done. The ultimate way to overcome this obstacle is to create your game because you’re passionate about it, you want to play the final version, you want it to have the features you imagine, you are it’s biggest fan and somehow in control of molding it exactly how you please. A successful game that was created purely for fun is Super Mario 63, a very huge hit on the net at the time of writing this. Another decent hit at the time was Stabika Episode 2, with over 1.3 million plays on CrazyMonkeyGames alone. I created Stabika for fun, I put in far more hours than I got paid for, and I didn’t care at all, it was a blast to make. I was learning, I was having fun, that’s what it should always be about. It’s this mindset that allows developers to create truly amazing games, games that go big and rise in the ranks of best games of all time.

As I’ve already said, this is common knowledge, but it truly isn’t practiced as much as it should be. I entered the flash industry making games for fun, with absolutely no idea I could be making money off of what I was creating. I was very picky about how smooth stuff ran, I was constantly upgarding features and I worked very fast, because I was passionate about my work, my fun. It wasn’t until much later that I found out I could get money for my projects and started seeking sponsorships. Regardless of the cash, I always try to create games that are fun that I’ll enjoy playing. I’ll admit that I take extra time thinking of how to increase earnings in the eyes of the sponsor, but all of this comes after one thing, creating a great game, for fun.

Quantity vs Qaulity

The phrase “Quality over quantity” probably isn’t new to your ears, you’ve most likely heard it a couple hundred times in your life thus far. It’s something I’ve been giving a lot of thought lately, in regards to the flash industry that is. As much truth as there is to the phrase, there are times when both quality and quantity must be met.

I’ll start off with an example of where quality over quantity truly does apply. My personally run flash portal PrincePorter.com currently runs entirely off of a model based on this thought. My current plan for the site is to just collect as many quality games as possible and truly leave out anything that isn’t of great quality. The idea here is that when you click on a game on my site in a category you appreciate, you find a game that you will enjoy 9/10 times. Sure I could toss on a couple thousand games, get more Google traffic and perhaps make more money, but in the long run this does my site no justice, the quality of games is what keeps people around, or at least keeps those who do visit pleased with their experience.

Quality over quantity is something that flash developers definitely keep in mind. I myself am a perfectionist and refuse to produce a game under my name that isn’t of high quality. Often times I feel that although this is a good thing, there are definitely a few negative aspects to the matter. First off, many average games can be made in just a weeks time, earning the developer a couple hundred dollars at a fairly constant rate. Rather large games can potentially earn thousands upon thousands of dollars, but they take a lot more time, and unless that game is a huge hit, they often end up earning only slightly more than two average sized games, which takes far less time to create. There’s a certain balance that must be had when creating games concerning the size of the project as well as it’s quality, and with the increase of quality flash games on the rise, this balance is becoming harder to obtain as a developer. The simple truth is that in order to survive as a professional flash developer, you must not only release quality games, but you must continue to release these games at a constant rate.

Although some may feel that having a single huge hit may be the way to go, I think most flash developers that are in the industry for a living will agree that committing to a schedule and knocking out successful game after successful game is the way to go. There once was a time when one could simply get by with a large array of average games, but as the industry is stepping up a notch, so must it’s members. In the end, it seems that both quality and quantity will be needed to stand out as a successful flash developer.