Monkeys & Balloons

I've been seeing people do amazing things with AI in terms of updating / porting 8 and 16-bit games. In terms of updating on the ST scene, I've seen a lot of ST games updated to make full use of STe hardware - blitter, hardware scrolling, extended colour palette and DMA sound. So I got the urge to do something similar.

However, after an initial attempt that went rather poorly, I decided on a slightly different end goal. So I found a very simple, very old game (not quite as old as me, but still pretty old!) and update it with one or two things on the STe hardware side, but mainly focus on actually adding some gameplay elements. 

I'm quite pleased with the results. The game is "Monkeys & Balloons", created by Frank Cohen in 1988, and features a clown being bounced around via two monkeys holding a trampoline, trying to get all the balloon above him. It's a game that definitely has that "one more go" quality, and I've been able to add some extra features that I personally feel make it a more enjoyable game, without changing the core gameplay loop.

The game is available on a disk image which also contains the original game (which was public domain) for those who want to see both the original and updated versions, and I've put full update and methodology notes on the game's Itch page.

One Million Page Views!!

I know it's small fry compared to many sites, but when I started this dev blog all those years ago, I never imagined that it would eventually pass the million page views mark.

So a big thank you to anyone who's been part of this journey!

Testing has been going well and I'll be addressing the issues found over the next couple of weeks, and announcing the release date in the near future. For anyone who's looking forward to the game, thanks for bearing with me - certain things have taken longer than expected and my life hasn't always left much time for devving, but it's getting there. 

Of course I've been fortunate enough to have extremely talented people working with me on this, especially Lorenzo with his fantastic artwork and Eric with his awesome soundtrack, and great support from Matt, Ross, Michael, Stephen and others with voice acting, testing and general encouragement (which I've really, really needed!)

I really hope players find the end product worth the wait. 

"The Corruption Within" now on GOG!

Seems a lifetime ago now but back in 2020-21, I did the design and writing for one of Cosmic Void's games (he's now gone on to create about a million games, I will never be anything like as prolific!!) This is a first-person perspective psychological thriller set in Victorian times, in which your family has disappeared during a camping holiday and the only sign of habitation for miles is a mysterious country house...

The game is designed to be accessible to players of all abilities, with puzzles probably on the easier side if you're a real adventure game aficionado. There is an emphasis on strong storytelling and interesting characters. It's not a huge game and will probably take you 2-4 hours to complete, depending on how much you check out everything and how quickly you work out the puzzle solutions.

It's a very different game tonally to what I normally design, and I tried very hard to ground the storyline and puzzles to reality, despite some obviously unusual circumstances and events.

Some years after it's initial Steam release, it's now available on GOG - and is currently 75% off, so if that sounds interesting to you, check it out.

Steam Autumn Sale

Well, it's that time again folks - leaves are changing colour, the summer heat is truly beginning to dissipate, and it's time for yet more reduced price gaming on Valve's digital distribution platform. All of which is a long-winded way of saying what this post's title said in three words - Steam Autumn Sale.

Once again, I have added my own humble games into the mix, this time at 60% off the normal price. So if you want, take a look:

Captain Disaster in Death Has A Million Stomping Boots

Interplanetary shenanigans with the beloved nitwit who somehow ends up saving the day.

Snow Problem

The snow's going to come down anyway, but will it end up where you need it to be - and in the correct colour?

The Ancient Art of Staying Alive

Keep your little blue guy alive whilst hundreds of little red guys are trying to crash into him.

It really is that simple... but not necessarily easy.

If you do get a game and like it, please consider leaving a review - especially for Snow Problem, as that's just one away from the magic 10 reviews where Steam deems a game worthy of an overall rating.