Suntime Productions Blog

Moving On...

2009-08-09T14:30:00.000-07:00

There comes a time in every game developer's life when he has to say goodbye to a blog he loves. *sob* I am officially not going to be blogging on Blogspot anymore - I've moved to WordPress.

If y'all are still interesting in what I have to say about my games and other random stuff, you can visit my new blog at http://gamemakermutt.wordpress.com/

Regards,
Spydog

Psycho2 2.0 is done!

2009-07-05T14:25:00.000-07:00

After 4 long months, Psycho2 2.0 is finished! *thunderous applause*

Changes include:
-Level select menu
-Many new Level Maker functions
-Fixed about 500 truckloads of glitches
-Replaced the "Box Challenge" mode with the much-more-fun "Guard Attack" mode
-New hidden secrets
-Much, much, much more

Download at:
http://www.box.net/shared/mkze1sl67l

Enjoy!

As for the GameJolt contest...

2009-06-23T18:36:00.000-07:00

The top 3 games for the contest (see previous post) have been chosen, and PLUG.it.IN is not among them. Oh well. I wasn't really expecting it to win anyway, but hey - I made a new game and got an interview out of it! That's pretty good by my standards. :)

Shocking! Contest Entry! (Important Update!)

2009-06-20T19:01:00.000-07:00

A game website called GameJolt is ending its first game design contest (theme: "Shocking!") at midnight tonight and at the very last minute (read: this afternoon) I made a game for it. It's called PLUG.it.IN.

It's a short, surreal platformer about a little robot. Features 20 levels and some retraversal aspects at the end. It is fairly difficult as well, so let your fingers be quick!

http://gamejolt.com/freeware/games/action/plug-it-in/386/
OR http://www.yoyogames.com/games/show/86074

The winner of this contest will recieve a free game off of Steam (an online game marketplace) and the top 3 competitors will share in the site's advertisement revenue ($$$). Sweet.

But I highly doubt I'll win, due to the quality of my rivals' games and the fact that my game was made entirely today. On the other hand, some of the other games from the contest have been featured by IndieGames.com, so maybe I could get a bit of publicity...

(On a side note, Psycho2 2.0 is almost ready to be rolled out as well. I'm pretty pleased with it now, so expect to see it before too long.)

One last note: I've broken the one-post-a-month tradition for this blog. Cool.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: I've been interviewed about the game!
http://gminterviews.ueuo.com/wordpress/?p=19
Awesome.

Another Month Goes By

2009-06-06T11:45:00.001-07:00

As promised, here is my June post. (I seem to be posting monthly now.)

Psycho2 2.0 Progress Report: My brain is about to melt from all the work on this game. Thankfully it's almost done. Just a few more tweaks to go... What to expect in this new version: a level select menu, cool new functions for the Level Maker, some other assorted new stuff, and LOTS and LOTS of glitch fixes.

Kan U Spellz Progress Report: S l o w . I sent a very early beta version to a friend for testing almost a month ago and got some good feedback. However, I haven't worked on the game at all since then - I want to get Psycho2 out of the way first. (Not to mention that I'm lazy.) On the bright side, online highscores are working nicely...

Other Stuff:
http://failblog.org/tag/g-rated/ Some of the funniest stuff I've ever seen is on this site. Be sure to give it a look!

I'm in Nintendo Power magazine! Well, sort of. Every month they hold a contest in which you submit your best caption for a game screenshot they pick out. And it turns out that a caption I sent to them last month made it into the new issue (July 2009)! Sweetness. If you see the issue in stores, check out the caption on page 95 in the bottom-right corner. But you might want to look at the screenshot first or the caption will make no sense at all...

I hope that was a fairly interesting read. I'll post again later this month (maybe)!

Coming up....

2009-05-03T17:12:00.000-07:00

Another month has passed so I decided to post again. (I'm not too good with this blogging stuff.) So I thought I'd give you a look into what's coming up from Suntime.

1: Kan U Spellz? (New Game)

My first shot at a shoot-em-up game (no pun intended). However, in this game you don't just mindlessly blast stuff - you have to read the word above each approaching enemy before firing. If the word is spelled correctly, then let that enemy stay alive and hit you to gain points. However, if it is spelled spelled incorrectly then shoot it before it hits you!

Another cool feature in Kan U Spellz: online highscores! (A first for a Suntime Productions game.) When you play in a certain game mode you can submit your score onto the Internet to prove that you are the best Kan U Spellz player in the world...maybe.

Kan U Spellz will be launching within this month (hopefully) so please look forward to it!

2. Psycho2 version 2.0

Yet another Psycho2 update is coming. Yay. In version 2.0 there are some cool new functions for the Level Maker, a few edited levels, some fun new secrets, and a few (million) glitch fixes. Hopefully this will be the LAST Psycho2 update - I'm getting really tired of working on it at this point. (But you're not getting tired of playing it...right?)

That should be online within the month as well. Wish me luck in wrapping it up.

Well, that's about it for now. See you in another month (or when Kan U Spellz or Psycho2 2.0 is finished, whichever comes first).

It's Been a While...

2009-04-02T15:35:00.000-07:00

Considering the fact that I haven't posted in almost a month, I figured I might as well say something. The thing is that I don't have much to say, really. I'm kinda dry on inspiration for games right now. I have a few ideas floating around but I don't know if I'll pursue any of them.

I'm just waiting for inspiration to strike me...but it doesn't always happen that way. Occasionally you have to chase inspiration down. I suppose I'm on the hunt. Wish me luck.

Snackman 4 Download

2009-03-11T12:50:00.000-07:00

After slaving on it for a year, I wrapped up production on "Snackman 4: Tongue-Tied" back in February of '08. The game is a 30-level Pac Man parody with funny boss fights and an interesting tongue mechanic. Looking back at this game makes me realize how much I've improved over just a year's time...

Download Link: http://www.box.net/shared/2zh8ntsuai
Unzip before play.

(You may be wondering what happened to the first 3 Snackman games. I'll put them on here soon, worry not.)

Mirage Download

2009-03-04T14:13:00.000-08:00

I designed this game yesterday afternoon. It's an interactive music visualizer - basically, you load in your favorite music and then create an awesome-looking visual interpretation by using simple effects. A screenshot doesn't do this justice at all, but nonetheless...

Link: http://www.box.net/shared/sh0f4qhynu
Unzip before you play.

Please comment, and have fun!

3-11-09: Slightly upgraded the game's menu and made the full-screen mode optional. (If you've downloaded Mirage before, it's probably not worth another download.)

Psycho 2 Update (the second)

2009-03-02T15:52:00.000-08:00

I've just updated the Psycho 2 download with the Psycho 2.3 upgrade. (Technically it's v1.3 of Psycho 2, but that's just plain confusing...) In this update, I've fixed more glitches than you would ever want to count and did some mild visual upgrades. On a side note, I added:

-3 new levels
-3 cool new Level Maker Rules (one of which is locked until you beat the game)
-Over 10 new example Custom Levels
-A new, unlockable "Box Challenge" mode
-Jumping sound effects
-Fullscreen option
-Swordfight mechanics (swords now kill other players, WAD Players use the Shift key to slash)
-Some other assorted gameplay upgrades, especially with Super Psycho mode

But all you really care about are the bug fixes, right? ;)

The download link to Psycho 2.3 is here:
http://www.box.net/shared/5bg2burqgi

Now, this is going to get a little hairy. If you have previously downloaded Psycho 2, you can keep all your savedata and stuff intact by following these steps:

1. Unzip "Psycho 2.3" files into a folder of the same name
2. Copy the following files: "psy1unlock" (if you have it), "psycho2dat.sav", and any saved image files (.bmp) or custom level files (.psy) that you may have
3. Paste all the files into the new "Psycho 2.3 Files" folder
4. Play and enjoy.

---
Fun fact: There are, in total, over 65 pre-built levels in this download. (Counting the example Custom Levels, the main levels, boss levels, and the bonus modes.) That oughta keep you busy for a while!

Flip the Bear Download

2009-02-20T17:16:00.000-08:00

Back in Summer 2008 I completed the bundle of fun and cuteness known only as Flip the Bear. And now it's up for download in all of its new-found "version 1.5a" glory!

Features:

-Gravity-flipping gameplay. You can't jump, so why not just turn gravity upside-down?

-17 puzzling levels, each of which introduces a new gameplay feature.

-Unlockable Level Maker with some cool little secrets.

-Hidden cheat system (new to version 1.5a).

-Catchy music and cute bears. Really, isn't that enough?

-----
Download Link: http://www.box.net/shared/ga6rcbn9nd
Note: Unzip the game before you play!
-----
Note to all Flip the Bear veterans: Sadly, your saved levels made in versions 1 or 1.5 will not load in version 1.5a, so you might want to keep your old game just for that purpose.

Psycho Update

2009-02-17T14:53:00.000-08:00

I just updated the Psycho files with a big glitch fix, a loading screen for the original Psycho, and a new icon for Psycho 2. If you've already downloaded it, just redownload it from the post below (choosing "Open" instead of "Save" will work fine), replace your old Original Psycho and Psycho2 ".exe" files with the new files of the same name and everything should be hunky dory. Sorry about that!

Psycho Download

2009-02-14T12:33:00.000-08:00

My latest game, Psycho 2, is now available for download! And if that wasn't enough, the original Psycho is included as well!

Features include:

-15+ platforming levels, plus an interesting boss. Over the course of the game you'll face an angry gunman, try to rescue a damsel in distress, float around, and slash your way through a group of foes! Most every level contains a surprise, so expect the unexpected!

-A Level Maker in which you can easily design and share your creations with others. You can make your levels using almost every feature in the game and even add rules like "No Jumping" or "Invisible"! The game can save your level as a code in which you can paste into emails, on Internet forums, whatever. Then others can copy and paste the code into their game to play it! Also, 10+ example levels are included for your playing enjoyment!

-An unlockable "Super Psycho" mode in which you play through the levels from the original game. If you want to test your Psycho skills you can try the Speedrun mode and see how long it takes you to complete the game. At the end you can take a snapshot of your time for bragging rights! I included a screenshot of my personal best time. Can you do better?

-A story that, like in the original game, has you replay the game to get a different ending. You might be surprised by how it ends. (Expect the VERY unexpected.)

------

Download Link: http://www.box.net/shared/5bg2burqgi

NOTE: The game only works on Microsoft Windows computers!

NOTE 2: Unzip everything before you play!

NOTE 3: Enjoy!

------

Updates:

2/17/09: Added a better loading screen for the original Psycho, designed a new icon for Psycho 2, and fixed a Level Maker glitch

3/2/09: Fixed many glitches and added a lot of cool features

Who Am I?

2009-02-14T07:10:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! Before anything else, I wanted to tell you a little bit about who I am.

I am a teenage indie game designer (and author) from the USA. So far I have 8 full games completed, most of which will eventually come onto this site for download. So far I've only made puzzle-platform and arcade-style games. I'm planning to do a lot more, though!

Every game that I've made was designed with the Game Maker software. I've been working with it since late 2005 and I completed my first full game ("Snackman") in April 2006. Over the years, I've learned several tricks of the trade so my newer products are a lot better!

Now for my other hobby: writing. So far I've written 34 chapter books in a series about my dog, as well as 2 short stories and a poem or two. A lot of this will probably never come onto this site, but you never know.

I finished my first chapter book back in December 2004, and at one point I remember writing two or three in a day! (They were about 20 pages each, but still...) My most popular books in the series about my dog were numbers #1 and #30, the latter of which involving a rhyming goose named Mother. I sent them both to a well-known author and he responded back positively! Not too shabby for a ten-year-old, huh?

Well, that concludes my introduction. I hope you keep reading my blog. I'll regularly update it with game/literature news, game design tips, and occasionally just some random musings.

Thanks for reading!