Tag Archives: flash

Game of the Week: Super Adventure Pals

Posted by Chad Knick on

*dusts off the old manuscript*

Oh gosh, how long have you folks been sitting here without a good game to get your hands on? Well, for the record, I just want to apologize for that. It’s summer, and despite popular belief, I am not a vampire who writes game blogs every day. I like to feel the warmth of the sun on my pixelated skin tone. Well now I’m back, and I’m rolling up my sleeve to deliver a pretty awesome game from developers, Jay Armstrong and Julian Wilton, called Super Adventure Pals.

Now close your eyes and picture this:

You are a young boy. You have a pet giraffe and a pet rock. You’re having a peaceful picnic in the forest, when out of nowhere an evil villain STEALS your PET ROCK! Now it is up to you to save your pet rock [ and vicariously your village ] from the likes of evil genius mastermind: Mr. B. You’re an action hero. A superhero – oh, and did I mention he has a giraffe?! YES. He does. Save the rock, get the girl, and save the town in this adorably addictive Action/Platform/RPG.

‘This picnic ROCKS Giraffe!” “Murrrruuu!”

If the concept is hilarious to you, well then all that’s holding you back from seeing this gem is playing it. In light of this though, I suppose we should be talking about accessibility. OK! Armstrong and Wilton did a lot of small tweaks to the game’s overall design which I feel really make this game enjoyable and I hope you do too – so here goes nothing folks! Hoo!

Pros:

  • Optional control scheme at the start of the game. Left and Right handed schemes.
  • All text/dialogue is written out or symbolic. No audio is necessary to complete levels.
  • Color scheme and art animations are clear and sharp enough to be distinguishable.
  • Simple gameplay makes the platforming enjoyable and the quests engaging.
  • A humorous storyline combined with a plethora of levels to play through makes S.A.P. a joyful and unique platforming experience.
  • Health kits are automatically used making traveling and healing simple.
  • 75 levels, 4 bosses, and 3 towns full of content gives this game quality time.

This level feels so slow – oh. It must be the sloths!

Cons:

  • The text is only available in English, so international gamers may have issues if they’re not proficient in reading English.
  • The control schemes may be simplistic, but they often times require both hands.
  • Motion-impaired gamers may have difficulty with the platforming in further levels.
  • The game doesn’t have a mouse-only option for movement, so one-handed gamers will have extreme difficulty in accomplishing levels.

“Muhahahaha! ALL YOUR ROCKS ARE MINE!”

Overall, while the game has challenging platforming that may make some gamers frustrated, the appeal of the quirky artwork, humorous storyline and engaging levels makes Super Adventure Pals a definite ‘must see‘. Save your pet rock, ride your giraffe, save the world from evil masterminds! Armstrong and Wilton have done an impressive job with this game and I tip my hat to their genius Flash designs. You can play Super Adventure Pals NOW on Kongregate. It’s an accessible little blast of challenging fun and one of the best I’ve seen Armstrong release!

Way to go gentlemen! Now, if you’ll excuse me – I have a giraffe waiting to fight aggressive sloth monsters. He gets cranky when I don’t feed him.

Game of the Week: The Man Who Sold The World

Posted by Chad Knick on

Today I’m feeling a bit retro – how retro? Let’s just say, “David Bowie 80’s” retro. I woke up this morning and checked on one of my favorite little indie game developers that are based right up here in the Northwest. [ Woo for hometown gaming! ] If any of you were lucky enough to stumble upon I Saw Her Standing There…, well then you’ll know why I love Krang Games. They have a distinct retro-simplistic art style to many of their games. Narratives and stories seem to drive every fabric of their games, and I’ve had a blast playing all of them.

It’s that time again! – The Interstellar DATING GAME!

Krang Games is owned and operated by developer Nick Yonge, and I have to say his games have definitely helped inspire me to try my hand at flash game development. Now, why am I in a retro mood this morning? Well it’s because Yonge [ and the rest of Krang Games ] have come out with the newest game in their vintage flash line: The Man Who Sold The World. It’s a interactive narrative/platforming game that was inspired by David Bowie’s music. How cool is that? The game is rather short [ 4 levels ] but the platforming can be challenging, so don’t take this simplistic design lightly. The object seems to be to collect as many of the glowing orbs in the levels as you can find. How did this play out? Well let’s get to the accessibility shall we?

If the world was in the palm of your hand – what would you choose?

Pros:

  • Few controls – makes for simplistic gameplay and easy functionality.
  • All dialog is text-based, which is perfect for deaf gamers.
  • Soundtrack is ambient and unique, though can be a bit repetitive.
  • A & D keys and Arrow keys are both available for users, allowing for one-handed players to play [ left or right handed ]
  • Game has decent pacing, making this game a labor of love, rather than a laborious struggle for gamers. 
  • Game has no penalty system, so if you make mistakes it’s easy to continue and try again.
  • The narrative plot is strong, intriguing, and fun. It will keep you guessing as you go forth.

In The Jungle, the mighty Jungle, The Man He Sleeps Tonight!

Cons:

  • Game almost requires two hands, due to requirement of Spacebar for jump action. [ One-handed is possible, though harder. ]
  • The games color scheme is, for the most part, accessible. Some sections and colors, however, may be troublesome for colorblind.
  • Precision gaming is pretty key to succeed, due some difficult platform sections.
  • Game has a chapter function on Main Menu, but no way to jump to new chapters unless you earn them.
  • I wish there was Skip function. I failed certain sections quite a few times due to jump spacing.

Overall, the game was a joy to play. There may have been moments of frustration due to difficulty with the keyboard based controls, but I enjoyed my time with Krang Games new sci-fi retro narrative. It’s definitely one of those few delights I get from the vast array of internet gaming fodder. If you’d like to play it as well, you can jump into the sci-fi fun over on Kongregate.

The game hasn’t been played much, which is why I’m happy to be reviewing it. Give it some love, maybe some stardust, you know – whatever you feel like! I hope this game keeps you searching through the stars and soaring into the realm of 8-bit retro games!

In closing though, I’ll leave you with two things to Bowie this post up a bit:

and for a little light humor on the subject, one of my favorite beloved comedy bands:

The Flight of the Conchords

Game of the Week: Utopian Mining

Posted by Chad Knick on

Have you ever wanted to make a difference in the world? – Have you ever felt different from this world all together? Well, you’re not alone, in fact there’s a tiny little robot out there who  feels the same as you do. He/She [ The wonderful thing about these robot is they’re gender neutral ] has been sent to some nearly abandoned old town, and with your help these flesh-bags have asked you to use your uncanny drilling abilities to help them repave their homeland from drab to populous. So, go forth my friends, mine your way into the hearts of many and reclaim the respect and devotion of the human world in Utopian Mining by a young designer code-named Schulles!

Burrowing my way into your heart, and paving a city of peace – that’s love.

I’ve been playing Utopian Mining for a while now, and I have to say it’s a simple, heartwarming, and addictive blast of retro gaming goodness. My first impressions, visually, were that Utopia Mining reminds me of what I think Minecraft would have been like had it been invented in the 1990’s for a Gameboy Color. It’s got pixelated 2D artwork, dialogue boxes, quests, collection tasks – does ANY of this not scream a glorious ’90’s game? Well – that’s why I’m in love with it visually, but what about the rest of it?

What makes Utopia Mining special enough for me to dig right in?

Challenge and Nostalgia.

The game, while simple in it’s mechanics, is quite challenging in it’s delivery and the artistic nostalgia of the quests and artwork make for a quite enjoyable experience. The accessibility is through the roof on this game as well, which makes it doubly enjoyable for me when I know I’ve found a game I can share with everyone that almost anyone can play!

Here’s how the controls/accessibility break down:

  • You must guide your robot through the ground using the arrow keys to collect ore.
  • Sell your ore to the Shop to gain Cash to upgrade the city/keep yourself upgraded.
  • Individual quests and a sense of the game growing with your progress is amazing.
  • Minimal risk factors in the game make it an easy-going casual gaming experience.
  • The further you dig the lower your health gauge and energy get. Replenish often!

– and we dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig – in a mine the whole day through!

Accessibility:

Pros:

  • Game is entirely text-driven dialogue which is perfect for deaf gamers.
  • All inputs are either arrow keys or single button inputs used infrequently.
  • All inputs are labeled in the top HUB with quick key notation: 
    • M “Map”
    • I   “Inventory”
    • J  “Jobs”
    • X “Action”
    • G “More Games”
  • Games color scheme is so simple and crisp that colorblind should have little worry.
  • Saves are unique in the form of a tree in the center of the city that grows w/ progress.
  • Play at your own pace – very few rushed moments – perfect game for motion impaired
  • Gameplay is simple, yet effective – the easy to grasp concept makes it easy for anyone
  • Music is actually really special for this game, very relaxing and an added bonus to it.

My first ore!! – Oh how exciting! Oh… it’s only coal. Bah-humbug!

Cons:

  • Upon digging further in, colorblind gamers may have a harder time seeing ores and mining – colors tend to start to blend into a mixture of reds and browns to express danger that you’re about to die if you don’t head back to the surface, but it shouldn’t get in the way of gameplay – just a slight warning in case it affects anyone’s time.
  • No WASD option for controls leaves left-handed gamers slightly disadvantaged.
  • You can play the game without it, but unfortunately, having a Kongregate account is the only way to maintain the saves of your progress – the game is still a blast though!

Overall, this game was a joy and a definite mark on how simple concepts and gameplay can make for an infectious experience.

If you’re already digging on this game as much as I am well then you can bury yourself deep within it’s loving mining arms over at Kongregate and play it now! I wish I knew more about you as a designer Schulles, but what I do know is that you make some pretty awesome games sir! Look forward to seeing what you have in store in the future! Bravo for making your game so accessible for so many to play!

Go mine yourself something shiny and build your Utopia why don’tcha?!

I sound like a prospector… I’ve been playing this game too much… happy gaming folks!