Attention Deficit Arcade

ReEntry

2009-09-27T15:04:00.000-07:00

I'm gonna just be lazy and copy my announcement from the EGP Site.

I was inspired by this month’s theme[Failure] to create this game, ReEntry:

http://gamejolt.com/freeware/games/action/reentry/855/

You play a damaged spaceship attempting to survive re-entering a planet’s atmosphere.

It doesn’t end well…

This game is intentionally visually and aurally overwhelming. I was attempting to simulate the chaos and massive amounts of energy that would be involved in this sort of situation. By creating a sense fear, frustration, and futility in the player, I hope to open their eyes to the sheer amounts of energy and power embedded in the physical world, and the difficulties that actual space travelers have to overcome.

Also, there are lots of quickly and brightly flashing images in this game, if you have sensitive eyes or are epileptic, I would avoid it.

TIGSource Adult/Educational Games Competition

2009-08-18T12:04:00.000-07:00

TIGSource held another games competition over the summer and this summer's theme was Adult/Educational games.

Check out the gallery of all the games here:

http://www.tigsource.com/features/adultedu/

I developed A Sexual Safari0 on my own.

I also collaborated with the guys from Gang Garrison to create Super Cock Blockers.

I'm hesitant to post screenshots because both these games are intended for adult consumtion only. But if you are in fact, an adult, I would check them out because they are both quite amusing.

Edit: Quick Followup.

Super Cock Blockers came in 4th place and A Sexual Safari came in 11th. There were 28 entries. The full results can be found here: Adult/Educational Compo Results

More WIPs that may never be completed

2009-06-27T12:41:00.000-07:00

First off, there is this dude, who may or may not star in a completed game of his own.

I also recently re-discovered Snail Simulator 5000, a game I started ages ago, but never really finished. It's sorta worth a play through, and may get a laugh out of you, but it certainly isn't complete and likely never will be. You can play it here: http://www.yoyogames.com/games/show/31018

Tradional Arts

2009-06-27T12:25:00.000-07:00

I've been hard at work getting a Art degree at UCSC, in the process I'm learning to work with all sorts of traditional media, and here is some of what I've come up with.

Ants

Oil on Canvas

Lonely Night

Oil on Canvas Board

Charcoal Mario 2

Mixed Media on Paper

Priorities

Oil on Canvas

Untitled

Mixed Media on Paper

Untitled

Spray Paint and India Ink on Paper

Something I made

2009-03-21T17:31:00.000-07:00

This wasn't created for any real purpose. I was just messing around at this happened:

My latest failed creation

2009-03-21T16:59:00.000-07:00

I had hoped to enter a game in the latest TIGSource competition, the Cockpit Competition, and I actually got off to a pretty good start. You can view my devthread here.

Sadly, due to time constraints and continued issues with Gamemaker, I don't think this game will

be completed by the competition deadline (or possibly ever), but I did put together an amusing animation that I thought I'd share.

Gang Garrison v2.0

2009-03-21T16:38:00.000-07:00

I'm gonna be a bit lazy with this one and just post the press release I wrote when we released this.

www.ganggarrison.com

Originally conceived for the 2008 TIGSource.com 'Bootleg Demake' competition, Gang Garrison 2.0 is a free multiplayer 'demake' of Valve's Team Fortress 2 by mrfredman, MedO, and Synnah. With all 9 classes, many different TF2-inspired environments, and fast-paced, team-based, multiplayer gameplay represented, GG2.0 is the premier TF2 tribute/parody/alternative.

Gang Garrison 2 presents the player with 9 unique classes to use in frenetic, cooperative multiplayer action in a stylish and unique 8-bit style. Battle with your friends or others you encounter online through a whole range of vibrant maps; TF2 maps reimagined in 2D as well as a multitude of maps in all sorts of different looks and settings, all of which have been dreamed up and constructed by members of our community. We've made a huge effort to provide simple, bugfree custom map support, so that anyone with a paint application can put together a map and test it themselves with our Garrison Builder utility. We also gladly encourage Gang Garrison modifications; many successful mods have been incorporated into the game as new features.

During the first development cycle and the judging of the Bootleg Demake contest, interest in the game began to grow, and as the game's fanbase grew, we became flooded with complaints that we weren't adding new features fast enough and things began to get a bit out of hand. We woke up one morning to find that someone had decompiled the game and was modifying it and releasing new versions without our knowledge and permission. We concluded that the best course of action was to release the game as Open Source so that those interested could step forward without consequence and aid us in development. Since then we've moved to our own site, acquired some incredibly talented and devoted new developers who have worked hard over the past few months to turn our original bootleg demake prototype into the polished, balanced, and bugfree game that it is today.

Changes from Gang Garrison 1.0 to 2.0 include:

- 9 Fully Functional, Unique, and Balanced Classes with Improved Sprites
- Unique Taunts
- New Music
- New Menus
- New HUD
- New Options
- New Explosions and Effects
- Tons of New Maps
- Custom Map Support and a Level Editing Utility
- Kill Notifications
- In-game Communication
- Team Autobalancer
- Spectator Mode

While this game has come a long way, it is still a work in progress. Many impressive new features are currently being planned and developed, like new gametypes and alternate weapons. Because this game continues to grow only because of the devotion and hard work of our community, we invite you to come and participate in the future of this game. We are always looking for talented people to join the forum, contribute art, content, ideas, and modifications, and maybe even help us behind the scenes on new official versions. We hope you'll stop by and have a look at our game; it is the imagination and spirit of our players that makes it so fun.

The Light Faucet

2009-03-21T14:59:00.000-07:00

I created this electronic sculpture with a partner for an electronic art class. I made two other electronic sculptures as well, but they didn't turn out anywhere as cool as this one.

Zatikon

2009-03-21T14:38:00.000-07:00

I've had an internship at Santa Cruz based game company Chronic Logic since last summer. I've contributed a variety of art assets to a few of their games, but my biggest project to date has been my work for Zatikon.

Zatikon is a turn based multiplayer tactics game that they've been working on for a while now. Over the past few months, I've contributed a number of original sprites to the game, as well countless revisions, variations, and cleanups on sprites created by previous art interns and contributers.

These are the completely original sprites I've created for the game:

Musket Loads

2009-03-21T13:34:00.000-07:00

Musket Loads is a game I made on a whim during my winter vacation. Its very short and very silly, but I hope you'll give it a try, it certainly makes me laugh every time I play.
So as not to taint the user experience, I'm not gonna tell you where I got my idea from, but just so were all clear going into this, I'm not claiming this as an original idea, its more of a tribute.

You can play it here or here.

I hope you'll give it a try.

Controls:
Player 1 - A and Q
Player 2 - L and P
Both players - Space

Credits:
All art and programming/gamemakering - mrfredman
Music - Synnah

Gang Garrison

2008-12-21T18:59:00.000-08:00

Its way past time I updated this. So its time to get started, I hope by the time anyone reads this I will have totally redone the layout as well.

For the TIGSource Bootleg Demakes Competition in August, I teamed up with fellow TIGSourcers MedO and Synnah to create Gang Garrison II, a TF2 demake. We came iu second place and came away with a very loyal community devoted to Gang Garrison.

If your interested in the version we released for the compo you can find it here:

http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=2491.0

But its come a long way since then.

There was so much user interest in continuing development on the game that we released it as open source so that anyone interested could help us develop the game. Since then we have put together a devoted development team and they have worked hard to complete Gang Garrison and make it into the fully polished feature-intense game we always dreamed of.

Check out our website http://ganggarrison.com where you can download the latest version and see where the game is at now!

(Possibly Incomplete) Isometric Buildings

2008-05-19T15:22:00.000-07:00

I've been working on this all weekend, but I've simply run out of time. It needs some more detail, but who knows when I'll actually get around to it.

Current Projects

2008-03-30T13:01:00.000-07:00

Right now I'm working on two projects.

The first one is a small interactive art project called Snail Simulator 5000 starring this guy:

I hope to have it completed within the next two weeks, so keep your eyes peeled!

My other project is a bit more long term, it's a side scrolling adventure starring this guy:

This one is gonna be a lot bigger and longer, I'm hoping to have it done by summer vacation, but we'll see how things go.

Check back for updates!

Bacteriophage

2008-03-30T12:44:00.000-07:00

http://www.yoyogames.com/games/show/27114

Bacteriophage was a game made with Game Maker 7 for one of my classes at UCSC. It was an awesome class called Foundations of Game Design. It's the teaser course for the game design major, and consequently it was massive, about 300 students in a giant lecture hall learning the basics of game design and video game history. The big project for the class was to design a game with a partner. I had a partner, but he was useless, so I did the entire game myself, with some help on artwork and music from friends.

All of the 150 or so games that were turned in at the end of the quarter were entered in a class-wide competition. The games were judged by the owners of three Santa Cruz based game companies, and competing for a Nintendo DS and other video game prizes.

Bacteriophage was picked as one of 7 finalists to be demoed for the whole class and entered in the final competition. In the end it wound up tied for 3rd place, which isn't half bad for a solo game project competing against more than a hundred other games.

Overall Bacteriophage isn't a complete project yet, it still has a few bugs that need fixing, and it lacks two or three layers of polish that it would need to compete in the real world. At some point in the near future, I'll sit down for a while, complete it and re-release it, but for now I've been distracted by newer projects and its been put on the back burner.

I'm working on getting a direct download link, but for now check out my yoyogames site (above) where you can play online or download it (which is the option I recommended).

Enjoy!

Pixel Art

2008-03-30T12:34:00.001-07:00

Another thing I've been working on is pixel art. I've found that its a medium that I really enjoy working in, and its also very useful when it comes to making games.

I've been doing a lot of experimenting and messing around just to practice and see what I can create. All of them were created with a 16x16 or 32x32 bitmap and then blown up.

Here are some of my favorites:

Poetry

2008-03-30T12:06:00.000-07:00

I've always enjoyed writing, so this year I took a bunch of creative writing classes to see what would come out.

I wound up producing a ton of poetry, so I'd like to share some of my favorites. These have all been heavily revised and workshopped with a bunch of poets, and I got 'A's in both classes, so I'm pretty sure there's some quality here.

I hope you'll take the time to read through these and enjoy.

Oh, also, I apologize for the somewhat overwhelming formatting, blogger is a bit restrictive. Its very important the ways look on the page, and here they look funny and not-so-compelling. If you want to read these as they were meant to be read, let me know and I'll throw you the .doc

Untitled

phantasm plantgasm seedling gone by

missing the moisture and light from the sky

once soaring and flooring with slight sweeping style

risen, imprisoned, and stored for a while

temperature dropping stasis for cells

given religion, a deep frigid hell

tactically frozen fearing the worst

man plans ahead knowing his curse

of altering, faltering, not thinking ahead

so he plans like the ants and gets ready instead

Decorate your Cave

Freshly painted slabs of empty canvas cry out for content.

This is a war they fight for sterile hopeless surroundings.

I could do something about that, a name, a face, a broadcasted physical emotion.

Does this safe white and beige and gray backdrop help you to achieve your goals?

This is a war they fight for sterile hopeless surroundings.

Sanctioned-selling-art shouts at me from all directions, but I can't talk back?

Does this safe white and beige and gray backdrop help you to achieve your goals?

Everyone should be able to express themselves explosively all over their natural habitat.

Sanctioned-selling-art shouts at me from all directions, but I can't talk back?

Hire an exterior decorator to make over the open-air corridors that line your daily pilgrimages.

Everyone should be able to express themselves explosively all over their natural habitat.

Don’t hold back and allow a thought, a dream, an inspiration, fade into the cracked gutters of your brain.

Hire an exterior decorator to make over the open-air corridors that line your daily pilgrimages.

Examine the unregulated independent idea-streams that flow onto urban open spaces.

Don’t hold back and allow a thought, a dream, an inspiration, fade into the cracked gutters of your brain.

Don't hoard your psycho-emotional manifestations away. Invent. Share. Repeat.

Examine the unregulated independent idea-streams that flow onto urban open spaces.

Grab an idea-archiver and etch your daily musings somewhere static.

Don't hoard your psycho-emotional manifestations away. Invent. Share. Repeat.

Choose a piece of the world that will be viewed by many. Mark your territory and influence a population.

Grab an idea-archiver and etch your daily musings somewhere static.

The established artistic channels are clogged with clones and competition. Art for the art of it.

Choose a piece of the world that will be viewed by many. Mark your territory and influence a population.

Afraid of authority and consequences? Be more afraid of censorship and the immensity of the unremembered population who didn’t leave a mark.

The established artistic channels are clogged with clones and competition. Art for the art of it.

It is an ancient practice, older than walls or paint or words. Find a cave and draw on the wall.

Afraid of authority and consequences? Be more afraid of censorship and the immensity of the unremembered population who didn’t leave a mark.

Freshly painted slabs of empty canvas cry out for content.

Finger Explorations

I tried to stick my finger in an electric pencil sharpener, my finger didn't fit, but it still started buzzing excitedly.

I tried to stick my finger in a cake to see if it was done, it was, but I burnt my finger.

I tried to stick my finger in the faucet of the sink, pressure built up, then water sprayed all over the room.

I tried to stick my finger in a stapler, it didn't hurt but it bled and bled for almost an hour.

I tried to stick my finger in a cat, one end was smelly and the other was sharp, I didn’t want to try my luck.

I tried to stick my finger in my nose, I found a cave full of magical treasures.

I tried to stick my finger in other people's noses, I wasn't usually successful but when I did succeed it was glorious!

I tried to stick my finger in dry ice, it burned for a second then went totally numb.

I tried to stick my finger in a rubber pencil grip, it was squishy and fun, my finger stayed for a while.

I tried to stick my finger in moldy cottage cheese, the mold was fuzzy and adorable yet somehow vomit inducing as well.

I tried to stick my finger in a woman, it didn't go over well, apparently they like it if you talk to them first.

I tried to stick my finger in my ear, the outside world grew softer, but I could still feel it vibrating on without me.

I tried to stick my finger in an electrical outlet, it didn't fit, but a fork sure did.

I tried to stick my finger in a rat cage, it turns out food and fingers are equatable in the rodent mind.

I tried to stick my finger in a keyhole, it was a tight fit and I got stuck; they had to call in the fire department to free my finger.

I tried to stick my finger in a bubbling stew, it was just about ready and I got to share my pneumonia with my dinner guests.

I tried to stick my finger in a tree, I found a good hole but it was full of sticky sap.

I tried to stick my finger in bear scat, it was warm and pleasant and full of berries.

I tried to stick my finger in a lawn mower, now I need to use a different finger for my explorations.

I tried to stick my finger in a cow, I succeeded and then wished I hadn't.

I tried to stick my finger in a photocopier, now images of my finger adorn my walls.

I tried to stick my finger in a baby, the mother screamed and now I'm doing 10 to 15 in a federal detention facility.

I tried to stick my finger in my cellmate; it was the beginning of a long and prosperous friendship.

Kyozo, behind the dorms and in the woods

I stand atop the rocky ridge, taking shelter from ruptured clouds.

The weightless gray and drifting reservoirs of the forest are pierced by redwood pikes.

My arms are sore, and the cracks and crevices of my hands are lined in dirt and blood and sharp defensive pieces of tree.

We work like beavers, collecting felled branches from the amply littered forest to patch the holes in our steadily decomposing woodland fortress.

My companion struggles over the hill lugging two severely soaked structural supports.

“I found an untouched stash that needs pillaging.” he says.

I scramble down the treacherous hill to resume my labors of leisure.

Bread

First you, throw some warm water and yeast in the bottom of a bowl and let it sit for a minute while you get the rest of the ingredients ready:

Flour, water, salt, and sugar.

Now throw them in the bowl.

You can use measuring utensils if you feel the need to be scientific, but really you just need to remember one important thing:

The flour to water ratio should be roughly 3:1.

Yeast, flour, and water are the building blocks of bread, everything else is just frills and decoration. Go ahead, add your embellishments, they’ll give your dough personality.

You need a bit more salt if you want your bread to be serious, a bit more sugar if you want it to be sweet and tantalizing.

Now knead. Don’t be afraid to get your hands a bit sticky. There are machines to do the mixing for you, but why deprive your bread of a soul?

As you knead, add a bit of flour if your dough is too sticky and a bit of water if it’s too dry, you need to reach a moist, but not-too-adhesive equilibrium.

Once the first dose of effort has been added to your dough, drape a cloth over your bowl, and find somewhere warm and protected to place your creation, as the yeast mobilizes and gets down to its job of gluttony and excrement.

A few hour later your dough should be grown up and ready to be molded.

A nice surface should be prepared, with flour lightly sprinkled, and whatever tools you need on hand. Punch down your dough, you need to reclaim it from the yeast, and begin the real preparations.

Once your dough has been properly abused, throw it on the work surface and get back to kneading.

Punch it down, fold it over,

punch it down, fold it over,

and knead, and knead and knead, and knead.

Once your dough has toughened up and is resisting your violent advances, its time to decide upon its final form.What shape will your breadly incarnation take?

Roll, and shape, and pinch, and plead until your dough looks pretty and good enough to devour.

Find something to bake on, place your raw dough upon it, and then put it aside, covered, to rise some more. This rise doesn’t need as much time, you just need to give your dough a chance to grow into its new shape.

Now, turn on your oven to something hot and by the time it is, your dough should be ready to go in. This is your last chance to modify the recipe, sprinkle something on top, or make some artful cuts. If none of that is necessary, open the oven, and throw in your dough for its graduation to edibility.

Check on your bread on a regular basis, don’t place your trust in kitchen timers.

When you open the oven to find your bread hard and golden, take it out and let it cool.

Now its time to share your labors, who will be able to resist?

Hi

2008-03-30T10:40:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Attention Deficit Arcade.

I plan to showcase all sorts of work here, it's gonna be totally awesome, but before we get to my fun new stuff I have a whole backlog of artwork that I want to share, so here it comes!