Escape From Puppy Death Factory

By: Derek Yu

On: August 16th, 2011

Escape From Puppy Death Factory is my favorite Adult Swim game to date – even sweaty, nude car people can’t beat this mix of adorabubble puppies and smart design around an innovative block-swapping mechanic. Glen “Radix” Forrester developed the mechanic for Ssshifty and collaborated with Arthur Lee on early versions of Puppy Death Factory before the two split amicably and Arthur took control of the project. This game definitely includes all of the hallmarks of Arthur’s designs: funny dialogue, catchy tunes, and a cute nod to a classic game (Metroid, in this case).

The canine hero of Puppy Death Factory can fire a shot that swaps her position with whatever block it hits. There are some neat, timing-intensive applications of this, like flying through a line of blocks by swapping quickly with one after the other. Other obstacles – like moving platforms, laser beams, bombs, and mirrors – add depth to the puzzles, some of which are quite clever. Overall, it’s not a tremendously difficult game, but going for 100% completion offers a moderate challenge and it’s fun swapping your way through the game’s desolate locales to hear what each lovable pooch has to say when you rescue it.

TIGdb: Entry for Escape From Puppy Death Factory

Streemerz

By: Derek Yu

On: July 23rd, 2010

Glen “Radix” Forrester and Arthur “Mr. Podunkian” Lee have announced mak gam, their new game studio. This announcement coincides with their release of the FlashPunk version of Streemerz, a platformer based on the Action 52 game of the same name. Streemerz was created for Mr. Podunkian’s Action 52 project, where various developers sign up to create games based on the infamous Action 52 multi-game cart for the NES. As of writing, 20 of the 52 action-packed “gams” have been finished, and I believe there are still spots open if you want to participate (full list here).

In Streemerz you play as the lovable-but-misguided proletariat Superb Joe, who is out to topple the benevolent dictatorship of Master Y. Superb Joe is armed with a grappling hook (or “streemer”) which allows him to swing around and make his way through the flying fortress of Master Y. Like Bionic Commando, which the game parodies, the character is unable to jump and can only use his streemer to leave the ground.

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GNILLEY

By: Derek Yu

On: January 31st, 2010

The Global Game Jam 2010 is going on right now. I just had to share GNILLEY, which was made by Radix for the Sydney GGJ. It’s probably one of the few games where being a loud angry drunk works in your favor. You can download the game from here (requires a microphone).