Howdy folks,
I'm putting up some Sharts (and possibly other stuff) at No Era, No Context - a Chicago-area collective show happening December 11th in the mysteriously-named-and-located Treasure Town. There are going to be several awesome artists in a myriad of media there; you should consider going to it if you're going to be in the area.
Link to Event on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=169809839705919
Link to Event Flier: http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/5826/nenc.jpg
Link to Artists Roster: http://noeranocontext.tumblr.com/artistpeak
Here's a bit of art from a couple of projects I've been working on lately- a giant ancient kingly statue, plus a spritesheet filled with different objects that have caught fire. I've also been working on some board games, and have at least one gallery show coming up rather soon. Busy bees are happy bees, as it is said... in the beehive.
Like any burgeoning young medium, games (especially on the indie scene, but definitely around the edges of the mainstream as well) have moved into the phase wherein they must begin to offend the public sensibility in order to provoke discussion and, yes, controversy. True, it could be argued that they've been in this phase for some time now; games like the original Duke Nukem 3D and the Grand Theft Auto and Postal series are just high-exposure examples of what has been going on in video games since at least the Atari 2600 (see: Custer's Revenge).
At any rate, here are a few intriguing indie games with varying degrees of raunchiness:
This colorfully-named pseudo-SHMUP has you controlling a young man who finds himself rocketing through the skies upon the propulsive power of his uncontrollable diarrhea. He meets his spirit animal (who can turn into a sword) and fights ducks, geese, and Nazis, amongst other things.
Toilet-humor aside, this games is, at its core, a story-based SHMUP that doesn't allow the player to fire any sort of projectile. Fearless and inventive.
The oldest game of them all (save, perhaps, Don't Shit Your Loincloth or Don't Shit Too Close to the Campfire) now comes in handy interactive fiction form! Yes, it's basically an excuse to tell poop-jokes, but there's a reason why they haven't gotten old yet. Short and sweet, but containing surprising depth for its length and premise... Don't give up on it until you've become the Shit King.
While most mainstream games that contain any element of sexual expression normally do so overwhelmingly for the purpose of titillation, here's a game that relies upon sex for its premise and presentation, but does so in an artsy- and even perhaps liberating- manner.
The player takes the role of a young woman looking to copulate with as many different partners as possible (who wander around the playing field) without being caught in the act. The sex acts themselves are represented as humorously abstract animations unique to the different suitors. Not exactly groundbreaking, gameplay-wise, but intriguing for what it is.
Here's a game that uses the power of lewdness to educate! Essentially an Abuse-style shooter/platformer with enemy-specific weapons, Privates educates the player on various Sex Ed. topics through surprisingly hilarious dialogue in between action sequences. High production values and solid gameplay make trudging through an infected vagina a fun and enlightening experience. Top marks for providing evidence that "edutainment" doesn't have to be drearily dull, and that sexual education doesn't have to be awkward.
At the end of it all, aren't we all just giant genitalia flying through space, destroying similarly-themed enemies? Perhaps not, but sometimes it's not about the deeper meanings or the social and artistic progression. Sometimes it's just about taking control of the disembodied head of a dog and laying waste to millions of evil space-sperm.
Fun.
Love bobbleheads, but hate rampant commercialism? Now you can support an independent artist while supporting your wiggly addiction! Each Sculpeybobble comes with its own one-of-a-kind character sketch and is guaranteed to make you smile! (Offer void if you are a heartless bastard.)
Here we go:
The (remaining unsold) Sculpeybobble team.
Together at last!
Ghobo (Ghost + Hobo + MD20/20)
Robear (Robot + Bear + Hatred for Human Race)
Hamurai (Ham + Samurai)
Godzillant (complete with Torture-Me-Human doll)
Chumberjack (dolphins don't chop trees; they chop fishies)
Cthabin Boy (Cthulhu + Cabin Boy, complete with Surprised Fishing Vessel)
Capitalist Fish (with real Trembling-in-Fear-of-God action!)
Love Mummy (complete with everlasting, unconditional affection)
Check out my Etsy store to buy, or, if it is still under construction while you are reading this, feel free (nay, encouraged!) to contact me directly.
I registered that font with the Open Font Library; here is a new place (possibly more permanent) to download it.
I decided to go ahead and put together a font for some projects I've been working on.
This, unfortunately, involved learning how to create a font.
It's done now, more or less. Here is a sample:
It occurs to me that I haven't posted many links, or even much text, on this blog for the past... year? This is largely good- the value in the blog is it's use displaying my work and work-in-progress.
However, this is supposed to be a blog filled with things that inspire me as well,
and so here are some games:
Fend off critters in a tower defense / sidescrolling action hybrid.
Easy, but stylish, and incorporates some interesting play mechanics:
The player must "sleep" to refill a constantly- diminishing stamina bar, but enemies do not stop coming during this time. Forts can be bought to ignore the herd whilst resting, but must be upgraded into taller forts when taller enemies come by. Or something. You can put guns on them.
A short collection of themed minigames, playable in any order.
Recommended to old-school RPG veterans, who will enjoy its amusing mind-tricks based off of classic RPG tropes- some of which you didn't even realize were there.
Getting the "real ending" is a treat.
How about a resource-management game wherein you control a horde of cute bunnies?
You must feed them flowers, or they go to sleep. Cutely.
Find cute animals abhorrent? Maybe even all life? Perhaps you need to chill out and pretend to spread zombie plagues across the globe.
Not much strategy here, but the "cities" are still amusing to watch fall into zombified ruin.
Plus it's special units are guest stars along the lines of Zombie Santa and Zombie KFC Colonel.
(He summons undead chickens.)
A one-room puzzle platformer... except the one room is a castle that evolves whenever you reach one of the objectives (which are for you to figure out). Cleverly-designed, with charming graphics. Gag ending.
Not really a platformer, though the viewpoint and controls are somewhat similar... More of an expression of cubicle angst told in a Groundhog-Day-esque manner. Awesome music. Interesting, and carries a message without being too art-snobby. Short and sweet.