While reading an interview of always-inspirational 2D Boy (World of Goo), Kyle Gabler said this 

1. No level can rely on luck or randomness. Luck causes frustration!
2. No level can be like any other level. Always introduce something new.
3. Every level must be visually distinct and iconic. Helps build them fiction of the world.

I decided that I will take these rules to heart in my Citrus Engine level-building escapades.

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I finally took some time out and put together the logo for the Citrus Engine. The top piece is the full logo, and the bottom piece is the “bug”. I’ve got some great stuff to show soon, but I don’t want to talk about any of it quite yet. If you’re interested in building a 2D platform game using the Citrus Engine, contact me and we can discuss some options.

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What’s this!? Christmas in September? That’s right, this month’s game is Christmas themed since Walt Disney World’s holiday bookings start around this time of year. This month’s Backstage pass game is a take on the classic Three-card Monte. Keep your eye on the acorn as the mistletoe shuffles across the screen. The rounds get successively harder, so put your glasses on!

Once again, make sure you sign up for a free My Disney Vacation account before you play.

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I hit up Kongregate for a quick peek at what’s out (always checking out the latest platformers). When I was there, I stumbled on I wish I were the Moon (actually, it wasn’t much of a stumble since it was on the front page). I actually completed the whole game, which is rare for me. If you play it, you’ll see it’s not that hard. There was something unique about it that caught my attention, so I checked out the author’s website. His name is Daniel Benmurgui, an indie Flash developer that focuses on gameplay experimentation.

Daniel’s work captivated me moreso than just about anything I’ve seen in quite some time. It stands out among the barrage of Flash garbage, not because it is deeper, longer, or more complicated; in fact, I think it’s the opposite. I think I enjoy his work so much because it’s so simple. He explains this philosophy a bit in this particular post.

I think the game that best captures his work is The Trials.

I’m not sure how I’m going to process this stuff yet… but I think his work will be an inspiration, especially for all the Disney games I work on.

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I’ve finally made the “Big Switch”. No I don’t mean from PC to Apple*, I mean from APE to Box2D. My flash sidescroller engine is almost back where to where I left off in APE, but with a few great improvements:

• Currently 60FPS in the browser, on my 3-year old PC, with as many characters as you’d need. 
• Load level image assets at any time, meaning you can load all the images at the beginning of the game, or individually before each level starts (great for long and/or many levels).
• Image caching, meaning if you’ve already loaded an animation from one level, you won’t load it again in the next.
• Level objects can (but don’t have to) have angular velocity. This means you can have game assets that tumble realistically, such as crates, chairs, and vehicles.
• Complex shapes. No more ties to the rectangle. Combine shapes, create odd-shaped polygons, circles, and more!
• Simpler setup. Create a Flash sidescroller in under 10 lines of code!

Stay tuned for more… 

*this old PC won’t die

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Making use of some slick physics, Acorny Joke makes its debut as Disney World’s August Backstage Pass game. Use your bucket to pocket some tasty acorns, but stay away from the pinecones. Those are an aquired taste, for sure. Tell me if you land in the 130 score-range.

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Balancing Act was June’s Disney World Backstage Pass game. Keep Chip on the ball as long as you can! It starts getting real tough around 40 seconds. Let me know if you beat my high score of 1:01.

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