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Little Wheel is a very cute game that is more like interactive fiction than a real game since the puzzles aren't difficult at all. Great "2.5-D" animation and robots.

Part 2 of the Simeon Meade series.

This game has gotten better reviews, but much less play than the previous one.

It is longer and easier than the first. Most said the first was too hard, and many are saying this is too easy, although that could just be bragging.

Theories:
- Only those who liked the first one (less than 50% on average) played the second
- Exposure matters and so far this has been a much more controlled release
- Having the walkthrough available right away may have backfired since some players seem to play solely in order to provide hints to others.

Patrick Smith is a brilliant Flash artist who has been producing works of wonder for the past several years at VectorPark

His latest game is his most whimsical and technically sophisticated work to date, a downloadable game called Windosill.

There is nothing like Smith's stuff anywhere. He's managed to come up with a pseudo-3D engine for Flash that no one else has replicated.

In terms of game commerce, this is an interesting experiment because the download is only $3. The price point for most casual games has been $15, but now with GameLab going out of business, it looks like that wasn't enough to pay their bills, but at the same time was too expensive for many people to want to pay.

The download is free and you can play the first half without paying anything. I got about $20 worth of enjoyment out of it, so it was worth it.

Play Windosill.

I have a new addiction, Hex Empire by meta sauce (Kamil Burkiewicz)

It's like RISK! or Axis & Allies or Conqueror! if that means anything to you. The brilliant aspect of the game is how the subtleties of strategy seem to come in gradual waves. At first, the Hard level is simply too hard, until you learn the less direct ways af gaining advantage.

On the Hard level I'm able to win about 80% of the time, which seems to be the formula for dependency - I know that I can probably succeed, but I still have to work for it.

GamePoetry.com had a 4K contest where all games entered had to be under 4 kilobytes (4,096 bytes). This is similar in style to the old Atari 2600 games, and it sounded like a fun idea.

Here is my entry: Gompers

The mechanic is similar to the Gladiator game I made a few years ago.

Gameplay:
- You play a golden mermaid who is fighting off incoming cruise ships
- The character follows the cursor, the ships follow your character
- Clicking the mouse launches a harpoon. If the harpoon hits a ship while in flight, it damages the ship
- You have a finite number of harpoons. You have to retrieve your spent harpoons in order to use them again
- If you collide with a ship, the ship capsizes, and you lose 10% of your life
- Obstacles slow you down, and slow down the ships. Obstacles include: capsized ships and your seaweed net in the center of the screen
- Each level spawns ships, the number of which is equal to the level number (3 ships in level 3)
- Each level the ships get a little bigger, a little faster, and a little stronger (can handle more harpoon strikes)
- Each level you get one additional harpoon. If your health is below 100%, you get a 10% boost in health each level.
- The first few levels are intended to get the player familiar with the mechanics, later on the strategy involves trapping the oncoming ships amongst the seaweed and capsized ships

GamePoetry.com had a 4K contest where all games entered had to be under 4 kilobytes (4,096 bytes). This is similar in style to the old Atari 2600 games, and it sounded like a fun idea.

Here is my entry: Gompers

The mechanic is similar to the Gladiator game I made a few years ago.

Gameplay:
- You play a golden mermaid who is fighting off incoming cruise ships
- The character follows the cursor, the ships follow your character
- Clicking the mouse launches a harpoon. If the harpoon hits a ship while in flight, it damages the ship
- You have a finite number of harpoons. You have to retrieve your spent harpoons in order to use them again
- If you collide with a ship, the ship capsizes, and you lose 10% of your life
- Obstacles slow you down, and slow down the ships. Obstacles include: capsized ships and your seaweed net in the center of the screen
- Each level spawns ships, the number of which is equal to the level number (3 ships in level 3)
- Each level the ships get a little bigger, a little faster, and a little stronger (can handle more harpoon strikes)
- Each level you get one additional harpoon. If your health is below 100%, you get a 10% boost in health each level.
- The first few levels are intended to get the player familiar with the mechanics, later on the strategy involves trapping the oncoming ships amongst the seaweed and capsized ships

Candy Hop is my new game, published via Kongregate.

The theme is you are in a candy store, trying to fill your box of candy by bouncing each piece in, collecting chocolate hearts along the way. There are two modes: Action, which has a timed release of candy and encourages the player to react to the falling candy, similar to the classic Breakout; and Puzzle, which has no timer and is more similar to those games where you have to create a wacky device (eg. Color Infection). There is a high scores table on Kongregate. It's satisfying to see the high scores, since it means people are playing it all the way through, not giving up after a few levels.

The game idea is from Jig Easy, Sam, a contest entry for the JayIsGames 4th Casual Game Design Competition that I worked on with Joe Versoza, which itself was first inspired by a "toy" I submitted to Carnegie Mellon's Experimental Gameplay Project called Bagatelle.

The idea was to have a modifiable pinball machine, the key component being bumpers that accelerated the ball, as opposed to simple pegs as you would find in a pachinko game.

The Valentine's Day theme was a bit forced, but gave some guidance in terms of design choices. If this does well I may create sequels for other holidays (shamrocks for St. Patrick's Day, eggs for Easter, etc.), but the ultimate implementation of the idea will probably be a kind of virtual foosball I have envisioned.

The initial title of the game was "Be My Rubber Valentine", which I thought would catch people's attention - but it turned out to be an inappropriate choice, simply because it would be more likely to turn off the potential audience who would probably enjoy the game.

Candy Hop is my new game, published via Kongregate.

The theme is you are in a candy store, trying to fill your box of candy by bouncing each piece in, collecting chocolate hearts along the way. There are two modes: Action, which has a timed release of candy and encourages the player to react to the falling candy, similar to the classic Breakout; and Puzzle, which has no timer and is more similar to those games where you have to create a wacky device (eg. Color Infection). There is a high scores table on Kongregate. It's satisfying to see the high scores, since it means people are playing it all the way through, not giving up after a few levels.

The game idea is from Jig Easy, Sam, a contest entry for the JayIsGames 4th Casual Game Design Competition that I worked on with Joe Versoza, which itself was first inspired by a "toy" I submitted to Carnegie Mellon's Experimental Gameplay Project called Bagatelle.

The idea was to have a modifiable pinball machine, the key component being bumpers that accelerated the ball, as opposed to simple pegs as you would find in a pachinko game.

The Valentine's Day theme was a bit forced, but gave some guidance in terms of design choices. If this does well I may create sequels for other holidays (shamrocks for St. Patrick's Day, eggs for Easter, etc.), but the ultimate implementation of the idea will probably be a kind of virtual foosball I have envisioned.

The initial title of the game was "Be My Rubber Valentine", which I thought would catch people's attention - but it turned out to be an inappropriate choice, simply because it would be more likely to turn off the potential audience who would probably enjoy the game.

My new game is on Kongregate and on NewGrounds and I'm hosting it here

"In the Spring of 1926 you are trapped in Ireland’s Kilmainham Gaol, taking the fall for Simeon Meade’s plot to sell surplus American ordnance to the new German government. But Simeon is grateful, and is helping you escape…"

It's the first of a 3-part sequel to my Obion series. This time, instead of chasing the members of the Talos organization, you are a young recruit, working for Meade and Talos. You are enamored by the cult of his personality and don't yet have much idea what he and his cronies actually do. (yet)

It's pretty hard, and pretty short. What I learned from the last go-around was that the graphics matter and people are tired of the same old things they've seen before, unless you have a really fresh take on it. So I made sure that the puzzles were unique (except for one) and focused on the atmosphere.

My new game is on Kongregate and on NewGrounds and I'm hosting it here.

It's the first of a 3-part sequel to my Obion series.

It's pretty hard, and pretty short. What I learned from the last go-around was that the graphics matter and people are tired of the same old things they've seen before, unless you have a really fresh take on it. So I made sure that the puzzles were unique (except for one) and focused on the atmosphere.

If you're stuck, walkthrough here