Escape from the Underworld - FLASH Version

We did it to Crazy Over Goo, now prepare for the latest in Flash-versions-of-my-games!

ESCAPE FROM THE UNDERWORLD

We haven't made major changes to the game aside from some difficulty balancing and extra background art, as you can see above. This was mostly a light-hearted side project, thanks almost exclusively to PickleMan, who does not actually maintain a particularly active web presence in the same way I do. This dedicated and talented mofo threw this together really quickly, though, and was hella responsive to making changes and adjuestments as I suggested them. A big round of applause for him!

Why wasn't this announced when the game was finished, months ago? We wanted to find a good sponsorship deal! Alas, sponsors did not really like the title, further cementing my confusion with the Flash world vs. PC gaming world. We decided to take matters into OUR OWN HANDS and crafted a Kongregate exclusive package here, banking off the dimes and nickels we may earn through ad revenue. Money was never really a major factor in this game anyway, from its inception back in October 2010 to the Flash version proposal to our half-hearted attempt to garner sponsor interest.

Anyways--ESCAPE FROM THE UNDERWORLD, everybody!

Escape from the College Homework

So this is cool.

A class at Worcester Polytechnic Institute had to write critical analyses of Escape from the Underworld for homework this past week, which is pretty surreal/awesome as far as I'm concerned. Check it out here! (you might have to scroll a bit to find the relevant postings).

Not much else to say; just wanted to share that.
Oh, and be on the lookout for news on a secret ongoing flash project I've been doing... we're in the final testing stages right now.

Escape From the Underworld UPDATE

I've just added an update to Escape from the Underworld following some (fair) criticisms of the original.



Get it at: GameJolt / YoYoGames

What's NEW?
-"Challenge Mode" and GameJolt trophy integration--unlocked by reaching the credits screen. Adds replayability.

-Config menu added so you can edit scaling properties to make it look nice on larger monitors

-Small HUD/interface fixes in areas like the Game Over screen

-Some terrain edits in places that used to be troublesome to platform in


Overall I haven't changed too much as far as the world design goes and nothing as far as controls go. Yeah, the rough terrain can be tricky to deal with but it's never unfair or impossible... just tricky. And since now playtimes are going to get a little more competitive, I didn't want to change the nature of the game and its platforming. Get used to it, people out there who've whined about it.

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Indie Kombat/Press
For those who haven't heard, by the way, Escape from the Underworld won Indie Kombat.

But more importantly, I want to give a big shout out/thank you to the sites that posted it after its release and gave such glowing reviews of it. It got an incredible response over at Indie Games blog, where it got 62 (!) responses (many of them members who disagreed on whether it was awesome or terrible). JayIsGames gave it a longer, more thought-out look. There were a few other places that syndicated it but those two drew the biggest crowds. The game's about due to die out into obscurity now, but it had a nice run, methinks. Now I'm just hoping for a Let's Play to pop up on YouTube...

EDIT 11-11
Escape from the Underworld is on BYTEJACKER! I'm up against some really tough competition (cactus and Pixeljam) so any support would be super appreciated!

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Developer Commentary
Also, for those interested, I did a developer commentary that's currently on YouTube (of the old version)...

And here's part two

Escape from the Underworld - Complete!

It's here.

Working on this game for the last month has been a thrill, and I am really proud of it. With its release comes an immaculate chorus of "oh snaps," raining down from the heavens onto a befuddled, defeated Andrew Brophy. This is victory. This is glory. This is Indie Kombat.

Get it at: GameJolt / YoYoGames

Escape from the Underworld - Second Demo

Yeah, it's here already. Since I only had a month to work, this has been moving pretty quickly... but I still like to put out a demo at major junctions. Here's the post from Indie Kombat, copied and pasted for viewing pleasure:


It's the same link as before, right here: http://www.box.net/shared/sttnon3e5z.

Playtime's been extended... drastically. And save files from old versions are still perfectly functional (and still will be for the final release) so you don't need to replay anything. Feel free to try it out, in addition to adding a ton of new content I've also gone back and fixed things that players didn't like before.

Hey, in other news, has anyone seen Andrew? I've heard rumors of sightings in Melbourne, where people have seen him shambling from place to place with a hopeless look in his eye, trying to cope with a loss so profound and so imminent. I guess I can't say I blame him, but at this point I practically feel bad for still having all these demos and screens to share while he remains silent. This is feeling less like "Indie Kombat" and more like "Indie Banov-kicking-Andrew's-pathetic-ass."

Escape from the Underworld - First Demo

I've just posted the first demo for Escape from the Underworld to IndieKombat. You can get the link/read the full post here!

Escape from the Underworld (Announcement)

So, this is my Indie Kombat game. It's a week into development, and it's frigging awesome. You should keep an eye on the posts Andrew I make on the Indie Kombat blog, because a lot of game updates show up there and it might be fun to watch us make fun of each other. I'm just going to reiterate stuff I've already said there:

It’s called Escape from the Underworld. It’s an exploration platformer and it has a bit of story, but no text or cutscenes. Most of the powerups you collect are items from Andrew’s games, and the exploration platforming has always been his shtick, so that all fits. But I’m going to be honest here: I don’t really see this game as an Indie Kombat game. This is a game I’m making for me, because it’s fun as hell to work on. I’ve been losing sleep at night because I keep getting little ideas for it. There are a lot of things in here that I’m trying for the first time, and they’re coming out surprisingly well. Bottom line: it’s going to be awesome.

And the fact that I will inevitably win this little scuffle with Andrew is a nice, secondary little bonus.

Look out for videos or a demo or something not too far from now.