CACTUSQUID.com // GAME DESIGN by JONATAN SÖDERSTRÖM

Evac MAC

2012-01-07T21:59:00.004+01:00

Thanks to L there's a new Mac port. This time it's a small game I made for a game jam at HKU, called Evac (click for PC version).

DOWNLOAD (6.5 mb)
Right now I'm working on Tuning whenever I get the chance, which I feel is way overdue by now. I'll try to make a few smaller games this year as well and not focus too much on big projects like last year. We'll see how it goes.

KEYBOARD DRUMSET FUCKING WEREWOLF

2011-10-18T17:58:00.007+02:00

A collaboration between me, Fucking Werewolf ASSO (Music, Graphics), my brother (Cover Art), and gbsr (SFX).

DOWNLOAD (PC): http://cactusquid.com/games/FWA.zip
DOWNLOAD (MAC): http://cactusquid.com/games/fwamac.zip

A big thanks to L for the Mac port!

Caution + Thanks for the fanart!

2011-04-19T19:02:00.005+02:00

Thanks for the awesome fanart. It got me working a bit now, hopefully I'll have it all fleshed out by the weekend.

There's one potential letdown about the game that I should probably address; it is very effects ridden. So if you've had problems getting games like Norrland running on your setup, you might have to forget about this game. When I showed it at the Killscreen Party during GDC the computer threw errors every once in a while when the graphics memory had been all used up. I'm not sure if there's a good way of fixing this...

The game's using multiple surfaces for various effects and I've even managed to get some slight pixel shaders in here. It looks completely trashy and I love it, hopefully it won't make people freak out.

I think I need some motivation...

2011-04-16T03:44:00.003+02:00

Sorry for the lack of output these days. I've been feeling some pressure to actually make worthwhile games and generally not been having ideas popping into my head as frequently as I've had earlier.

I really want to finish the new mondo game as it is very close to completion, but I keep losing momentum.

Maybe if I see that there still is interest I'd get my shit together and plow through the last 10% of the game. I actually really like what I have so far, although it's a step away from previous installations. I hope it won't disappoint fans of the earlier games.

So, if you can't wait to play the game, please post some fanart and I'll try to feed off of that to get the game done!

More Spoilers

2011-02-15T02:54:00.002+01:00

Hot Throttle Released!!

2011-02-04T01:45:00.008+01:00

PLAY IT NOW!

Me and Mark Johns' game Hot Throttle was just released on Adult Swim a few hours ago. The reviews so far are pretty wild:

"Words can hardly convey how ludicrous Hot Throttle is"
-Jordan Devore (Destructoid)

"It's like watching a car wreck."
-David James Peterjohn (jayisgames.com)

"It's not a gay pr0n simulation game as one would first think"
-WebPimp (JoystickWidow)

"It's pretty enjoyable, although those cutscenes remain creepy as hell."
-Michael Rose (indiegames.com/blog)

"Thank you... for everything."
-Anthony Carboni (bytejacker.com)

"Adult Swim’s New Game, Hot Throttle, is Bizarre, Even For Adult Swim Standards"
-Allen Park (DualShockers)

"Totally needs a graphics++ XBLA version asap."
-Dan Marshall (Zombie Cow Studios)

"It's all worth it for the strange and usually NSFW cutscenes!"
-Eric Caoili (GameSetWatch)

"this game is really wierd. i dont like it"
-Rebecca Sanchez (Adult Swim user)

"This game is just...awful"
-Liam Laferriere (Adult Swim user)

"wierd."
-Ck (Adult Swim user)

"This game is really wierd..."
-Joe (Adult Swim user)

"i like it this game naked game. and i got a boner too!"
-Anonymous (indiegames.com/blog visitor)

We will try to update the game with a bit more content that didn't make it to the flash version yet and add a little tutorial for easily troubled people. But do give it a try!

Next up would be my versus game, followed by Mondo and my comic around the same time. I'll keep you guys posted! <3

Stench Mechanics Mac Version

2011-02-03T04:19:00.002+01:00

DOWNLOAD

Forgot to post this. Another big thanks to L for spending his time porting the games!

Nordic Game Jam + More Mac Ports! + Misc

2011-02-02T14:21:00.003+01:00

Yeah, I know you're waiting for the Mondo game and whatever else, but I can only update with what I've actually got! Mondo X-mas will be released soon, I've got it to around 50% made, the only thing that isn't there is actual gameplay, sadly.

So here's what I've got instead; a horribly crappy game about Nordic Game Jam. It's a joke game, although some of it is somewhat accurate. I enjoyed the event a lot, but I couldn't resist poking fun at it when I failed to finish the more serious project I started. I also made a trailer so you wouldn't have to actually play the game.

DOWNLOAD

Further more, the ever awesome L has provided me with two more Mac ports and even sent me slimmed down versions of Clean Asia!, Fractal Fighter and Illegal Communications that he ported earlier.

So here's Burn the Trash and Block On! for Mac users:

DOWNLOAD

DOWNLOAD

Also, I edited a video of my acceptance speech at IGF last year for a talk I gave and decided to upload it to YouTube. So I can finally post it on my blog without having to link the vid of the entire event.

Tomorrow I think another one of my games will be released! And I'll leave you with a screenshot of my work in progress for the TIGSource competition.

New Mac Ports and Mondo

2010-12-24T18:46:00.004+01:00

Mondo Medicals (MAC)

Fractal Fighter (MAC)

Illegal Communication (MAC)

Mondo XMAS (PC)

As usual; Mac ports courtesy of L. Be sure to thank him!

Clean Asia! - Mac Version

2010-12-15T20:25:00.003+01:00

Mac version of Clean Asia! was sent to me by L today.
DOWNLOAD HERE (38 megs).

Be sure to thank him for porting it for me.

Psychosomnium Mac version?!

2010-12-05T04:16:00.003+01:00

L, aka J-Factor of the excellent Soul Fighter (the game that initially got me into shmups) sent me a Mac port of Psychosomnium the other day. Seeing as I don't have a Mac it's hard for me to see if it actually works, but maybe someone here can verify that!

Game available here (12mb). Music by zabutom, titlescreen artwork by Cow.

Also, the blog has been pretty inactive lately so I'll see if I can get some time to do a small game next week. Some big projects in the works though!

Dear Agent

2010-10-23T19:09:00.004+02:00

Dear Agent is the game I made for BTH's Game Jam. It's short and to the point. Music by Curt Cool.

DOWNLOAD DEAR AGENT!
I didn't have time to fully playtest it, so there might be some bugs in the game. Will fix as soon as possible if I get any reports!

BTH Game Jam

2010-10-23T01:06:00.002+02:00

I was invited to Blekinge Tekniska Högskola (a university in southern Sweden) to hold a small talk and participate in a game jam. It was a lot of fun, and probably the most generously organized game jam in the history of game jams.

Petri Purho was there to give a talk as well, and he talked about how limitations in games can cultivate creativity. It was an inspiring talk and as usual it was very fun to listen to. I talked a bit about what to think about when you want to finish a game in a short period of time, basically a modified version of my 4 Hour Game Design talk I gave at GDC.

After that the game jam started of with a design competition where everyone got to draw a motive for a shirt that would be printed as an official gift to everyone participating in the jam. My entry split first place together with another one by Martin Jonasson (grapefrukt).

I also made a game, but ended up not winning the game jam. I'm happy with the results though, and the game that won did deserve it. I'll release the game tomorrow, got to add sounds and some small things before it's ready to be played. Meanwhile, here's a preview:

Life/Death/Island Preview

2010-10-15T02:13:00.002+02:00

Working on this for IGF. Lots and lots to do before it's ready though!

Norrland CDs again...

2010-10-06T14:35:00.003+02:00

I was going to finally send out replacement CDs for those who haven't received their packages this week. Unfortunately all my money went down the drain when I got quintuple electric bills and was forced to start paying off my student loans on top of my usual costs. It's my birthday this Saturday, and I think with a little luck I'll be getting enough cash to cover shipping for the replacement CDs and some beer.

If anyone wants a refund instead, I'll see if I can work that out as well. I'm terribly sorry about my messy handling of this whole deal.

Status Update

2010-09-13T17:01:00.003+02:00

So, what's happening? I'm currently working on a game for Adult Swim which is taking up most of my time. Then there's the Metroidvania that I'm not sure what to do with, either I expand on it and make it a bit more worthwhile or finish of ASAP. In a week or so I'll be traveling to Texas, to attend Fantastic Arcade and make a presentation about Norrland.

I'm also going to try to finish a demo version of Life/Death/Island for IGF if I have the time. But it looks doubtful.

Did Norrland Arrive?

2010-08-31T00:52:00.003+02:00

If everyone who won a copy of Norrland on eBay could post here whether or not they received the discs I sent out I'd be grateful! I know at least two people have not gotten the parcels I mailed, and since I'm planning to send out new ones ASAP it would be good to hear if any of the other ones has gone missing as well.

This is the first time I've ever done something like this so maybe it's a mistake on my part, but I think it's weird then that several packages arrived safely.

CACTUSQUID in TIME

2010-08-25T20:07:00.005+02:00

Jordan Fehr notified me earlier on Twitter that my site was spotted at #42 in TIME's 50 Best Websites 2010, getting the number two spot in the games category. I don't have any idea how this happened, but I'm very happy and excited about it of course. Thank you TIME STAFF for making me feel special!

Speaking of this, maybe it's about time I update the game's page and clean it up a bit.

Norrland & Gamma4 separate downloads

2010-08-13T19:19:00.003+02:00

DOWNLOAD GAMMA4 - THE GAME

DOWNLOAD NORRLAND

Cactus Arcade 2.0

2010-08-13T17:55:00.004+02:00

So this was meant to get done by Friday last week, but things don't always go as planned. I had a few annoying bugs to deal with, that was nothing but a pain to fix.

Anyway, here it is. The following games were included:
ad nauseam 2, blockon, evac, gamma 4, krebswelte, kryzta, norrland, ping pong, precision, protoganda II, retro 4, silent chain, space fuck, stallions in america, stench mechanics, this is infinity, ultra mission, xoldiers.

DOWNLOAD (~45 meg)
This is not the final release of the pack, Gamma4 needs new music since I haven't asked for permission to use Vitalic's awesome See The Sea (Red) as soundtrack. I'm not sure they'd mind, but I guess I should try to avoid any possible conflicts. So if you have a song you think would fit, please contact me if you want me to include it in the game!

Also, since I have one or two upcoming releases and don't feel 100% sure about the games selected, a change in the line-up might also be on my to do list. I'll also see if I can update the first arcade with vista comaptible game files. And I really need to update my game list on the site! But that's for another day.

The Death Set - Around The World

2010-08-05T18:05:00.005+02:00

The Death Set asked me to make them a music video after I borrowed their song for the trailer to Air Pirates. This was about a year ago, and just the other day I realized I really should finish this thing up before it's way too late (maybe it is already).

YouTube Link

I'd gladly make more videos, but only if it's music that I really enjoy myself (or if I get paid). There should be another video out by October.

No More Sweden Presentation

2010-08-01T16:20:00.002+02:00

I showed off an early version of Life/Death/Island and parts of Norrland at No More Sweden. The presentation was recorded and has now been put online. Not sure how interesting it is to watch, but might as well post the vids here.

An old interview from games™

2010-07-31T22:24:00.002+02:00

Google Alerts just alerted me that this old interview from December last year has been published online. An interview from Swedish national newspaper Aftonbladet was published yesterday as well, and there will be interviews or stories about me in Paste Magazine and Artforum at some point.

Not terribly exciting, but I still think this particular point is pretty important:

"There are almost no games that try to convey messages or personal views on life and matters that are important to the people who have created them. It’s even rare to find any personal aspect about games at all these days."

I feel like a lot of things are pretty pointless right now, I could really use something to draw inspiration from and hopefully start feeling that there is some meaning to everything. Not that I should be complaining, life isn't bad right now, but I seem to have lost my interest in a lot of things.

You can read the full interview here.

New Releases Very Soon

2010-07-30T04:13:00.004+02:00

I've just finished Cactus Arcade 2.0 which will feature a set of old, and a few unreleased games. Hopefully I can finish the Metroidvania in time for the release as well. I'm aiming on releasing everything before next Friday.

Norrland is finished

2010-07-25T02:23:00.003+02:00

Norrland has now been updated and sent out to all who managed to win an auction on eBay. I'm not sure how long I should wait before releasing the game for free. I said I'd release the game when all the copies were sold, but I sort of feel like I should wait until all the packages has arrived. So you guys tell me what you think...

Metroidvania game now has music and is pretty much bug free, but I still want to add a storyline, bosses and possibly a few extra features to make it a really worthwhile release. We'll see what happens.

No More Sweden Game

2010-07-10T21:04:00.003+02:00

I made a game at No More Sweden. It's a somewhat short "metroidvania" that kind of looks like The Power by Alexitron (not on purpose, it just happened). I haven't added sounds and I'll add a boss or two before I put it up online.

Here's something new

2010-07-07T03:06:00.002+02:00

DOWNLOAD GAME NOW!

Final issues of Norrland

2010-06-23T01:20:00.002+02:00

Since all the auctions have bids so far, here's the rest of the batch. Thank you everyone for bidding! I really wasn't expecting much from this!

7 of 10 - 8 of 10
9 of 10 - 10 of 10

Norrland on eBay

2010-06-22T15:37:00.003+02:00

CD 1 of 10 - CD 2 of 10 - CD 3 of 10
CD 4 of 10 - CD 5 of 10 - CD 6 of 10

Will put the remaining four online if all of these have bids by tonight.

Norrland Trailer

2010-06-20T15:06:00.004+02:00

Since I didn't sell any of the copies I printed I'll put them up for auction on eBay. Once they're sold the game will be released for free online.

Please note that this is a bit of an "art game". I'm sure a lot of people won't like it.

Exhibition Game

2010-06-16T22:05:00.012+02:00

Here's some screenshots from my project for the exhibit I mentioned in the last post. The game isn't 100% finished yet, but most of the things you see are in there.

So, if anyone wants to get a chance to play this thing early, come to Kulturbygden in Sollefteå this friday! There will be a limited number of physical copies of the game on sale, and you'll be able to play the game on site of course.

JoinGame Workshop and Exhibition in Sollefteå

2010-06-05T13:31:00.003+02:00

Me and Petri Purho (amongst others) will be talking at the JoinGame workshop in Oslo, Norway.

I will also be attending an exhibition at Kulturbygden in Sollefteå with an unreleased game.

Krebswelte

2010-05-22T15:49:00.006+02:00

Someone on the forums posted about an old game I made for the procedural generated content contest at TIGSource, so I decided to update the game slightly and put it up again.

New Version, Old Version
Updates include random mode, more generous amount of treasure chests, reloading by pressing DOWN + Z (or R), as well as a number of smaller fixes to make the experience a little bit more smooth.

I'm not dead!

2010-05-22T13:37:00.011+02:00

So, been over two months since last update. Truth is I have been doing a bunch of things, but somehow I've ended up with nothing to show for it. I'm dying to release another game, but I've been trying to work on something worthwhile. It might be a good thing, maybe I'll end up creating something that blows my other games out of the water, but it'll probably mean fewer finished games.

For now, here's a few screens of things I've been experimenting with:

With some luck one or two of these will actually be finished somewhat soon!

i won the nuovo award

2010-03-12T11:19:00.002+01:00

I can't believe I actually won. Thank you everyone!

EDIT:
You can watch the award show here. The Nuovo award is presented at 30:00.

GDC 2010 + Gamma4

2010-03-08T20:22:00.003+01:00

I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm doing three presentations at GDC this year. Click here for details. I'm also showing off Tuning at the IGF pavillion and my GAMMA4 game at the GAMMA4 event.

I hope I'll see some of you there!

Friends

2010-02-19T02:02:00.003+01:00

This weekend a friend of mine was brutally murdered by a bunch of kids for no reason at all. He was a wonderful person, always happy and friendly, wouldn't hurt a fly. It's hard to understand something like this could happen to him, or anyone else for that matter. Over four hundred of his friends showed up at his memorial yesterday, which goes to show how deep he managed to touch people's hearts. It's really hard to get back to life the way it was before, I just can't stop thinking about what's happened.

So show your friends how much you appreciate them, you never know when someone will be snatched away forever. Life can be very cruel.

Contrasts

2010-01-15T10:42:00.006+01:00

I think contrasts are important for everyone, they make everything a lot more intriguing.

(Possible collab with David Scatlife)

(Possible project with ASCII graphics)

IGF 2010 Nuovo Award Nomination

2010-01-04T06:46:00.004+01:00

So, apparently TUNING ended up with a nomination for the Nuovo Award at IGF 2010 (another huge thanks to Stephen Lavelle for making this possible!).

- Tuning (Cactus)
The jury found praise for Cactus' platform game thanks to its bold style and its "uncompromising exploration" of almost psychedelic abstraction. Although the title can be frustrating as times, one juror noted that "you have to see the visual distortions and transformations as gameplay", and under that lens, the game seems even more charming.

I've got some stiff competition in there though, with games like Today I Die, Closure, Enviro-Bear and a mysterious Atari 2600 game called A Slow Year. I hope I have a chance!

Now I'm looking forward to see the student category nominations, and I'm very glad to see that Star Guard is up for an award, since it was probably my favorite game of last year.

Top 10s of the Decade

2009-12-30T06:00:00.009+01:00

I can't sleep tonight for some reason, so I figured this might be boring enough to make my bed seem more welcoming.

Favorite Albums:
Black Eyes - Black Eyes (2003)
Greg Ashley - Medicine Fuck Dream (2003)
Pseudosix - Days of Delay (2003)
Unicorns - Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone (2003)
Kent - Du och Jag Döden (2005)
Tough Alliance - The New School (2005)
Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther (2006)
Delta Spirit - Ode to Joy (2008)
Electric President - Sleep Well (2008)
Woods - Songs of Shame (2009)

Favorite Movies:
Dead or Alive 2 (2000)
Requiem For a Dream (2000)
Amelie from Montmartre (2001)
Mulholland Drive (2001)
Grizzly Man (2005)
Noroi (2005)
Tropa de Elite (2007)
No Country For Old Men (2008)
Watchmen (2008)
The Dark Knight (2009)

2002 was a pretty shitty year, apparently. And I really had to struggle with the movie list (bet I forgot a few great ones, though). You probably expected a top 10 of games as well, but to be honest I don't play enough games to write a decent list. Let me know if I missed something really worthwhile.

What was supposed to be a Mondo X-Mas

2009-12-26T19:06:00.006+01:00

So, I started making a little game for Christmas eve, but ended up being convinced by my friends to go out and have a few Christmas beers instead. It's 50% complete, so I might release it anyway, but I don't know.

Here's a screenshot tho. Merry Christmas! Eat my corn.

Game Over / Continue

2009-12-22T03:09:00.003+01:00

Back in March when I was at GDC I did a game for an exhibition at Giant Robo. The event was called Game Over / Continue, and imaginative as I was I ended up naming the game the same thing.

Originally I had planned to do a single player game, but time went by and the day before the event I hadn't received the graphics I was going to work with nor even started working on the game engine. So I went to my collaborative partner, Deth P Sun's studio to spend three hours or so finishing my project. I ended up destroying the awesome cat graphics he had drawn for me, and turning the whole idea around to a multiplayer action game instead (everyone else at the exhibition was doing multiplayer, so I blame group pressure). The cats became freaky mutant spiders crawling creepily across the screen, and the environmental graphics ended up falling down the gameplay arena like slow rain.

I'm not sure if I should be ashamed or proud of the results, but either way I can't really release the game since it requires two joypads and I'm not even sure which ones I ended up using in the final version. I had to recode the movement script at the scene, semi-drunk, since they were all out of 360 controllers.

So today I found a nice video from the event, and figured that it might be interesting to see for those who were unable to attend themselves. My game is shown at 3:45, with Erik Svedäng (of Blueberry Garden) and Messhof playing. The other games are better than mine, and the whole video can be fun to watch since a huge portion of the indie scene can be spotted mingling in the background.

I'll see if I can finish a game for Christmas eve as well. I've released way too few games this year.

Explanation of This is Infinity

2009-12-18T19:04:00.004+01:00

I have been getting some rather negative feedback on This is Infinity, and after letting one of my friends test it, I can see why. The game is incredibly difficult until you get what the objective is.

My original intent was to try to let the player experience something that felt alien, and at first incomprehensible. Then they would feel a cool sensation when they figure out what was going on.

The problem is that the game doesn't have a fixed difficulty curve, you actually start out with a very large chance of entering the most difficult area of the game first. This area is on the verge of being too difficult even played after getting through half of the game, and certainly not a good starting point.

Therefore I think it might be good to give some further instructions as to what to do. However, I do think the game is more rewarding if you have some patience and try to figure out the objective on your own. So if you want to have the most interesting experience possible with the game, have some patience and try your best to figure it out on your own. If not, here's an explanation of what you need to do:

To summarize the game: Find four portals, figure out what to do after you enter each portal, then figure out how to get to the end. The objective in each area is fairly simple, but because of the way the game is presented it can be hard to figure out. Observe the elements you see in each level to get a clue to what is actually going on, and you'll probably be able to beat the game relatively quickly.

If that's not enough to get you through the game, here's a walkthrough.

THIS IS INFINITY

2009-12-14T05:23:00.004+01:00

A very abstract game about exploring rules, graphics, goals, behavior and interaction. Created for Ludum Dare 16 with the theme "Exploration". Made in about 36 hrs... I started kinda late and finished late as well.

This is infinity. Download here!
Seems like I might be able to get back to releasing games a bit more frequently. Certainly have been feeling more inspired the last few weeks. Let's hope it keeps up.

UPDATE: Fixed a very small and somewhat insignificant bug!

GAMMA IV + Donations

2009-12-03T20:31:00.005+01:00

Finished my GAMMA IV entry the other day. I don't think I'm allowed to release it at the moment so I made yet another trailer. Feels kinda crappy to finally finish a game and not get to release it, but I do enjoy making trailers so it's not that bad.

Also, I'm broke and need money for rent, dentist and beer. So feel free to donate. Anyone who donates using the button below will automatically receive the current version of the GAMMA IV entry (hopefully this won't disqualify me). It's short, hard and might throw an error on some computers, just so you know.

Got beaten up tonight

2009-11-28T05:24:00.002+01:00

Got beaten up tonight for no reason. Two morons decided to start hitting me and my friends in the face without any cause at all. Fortunately a cab pulled over and let us inside. Need to get more muscle, fo sho...

New Site Design

2009-11-23T01:38:00.005+01:00

As you may have seen I've revamped the site a bit design wise. Essentially just new banners for the frontpage, games page and the blog. Hope you like them!

I'll see if I can do something to the forum while I'm at it, and fix all the screenshots on the games page.

Then back to working on Tuning and LDI...

URLs

2009-11-19T21:15:00.005+01:00

The new url to the site is http://www.cactusquid.com/ although the old one is still working.

Other urls include:
http://games.cactusquid.com/
http://blog.cactusquid.com/
http://forums.cactusquid.com/

Big thanks to grapefrukt and charlie for help with hosting and whatnot. You guys are awesome!

Hosting / New Domain

2009-11-18T11:32:00.003+01:00

Seems like my filehost will go offline in a while (it might already be). And I don't feel like re-uploading my games too often, so I was wondering if anyone would be willing to permanently host them.

If not, does anyone know a good place to upload them that isn't likely to be taken down, and that offers hotlinking?

So I now have two mirrors. Should be up within days. In other news, I just got a real domain... So now you can go to cactusquid.com instead cactus-soft.co.nr.

Dungeon

2009-11-16T11:48:00.007+01:00

Finally a new release. This game's called Dungeon, and is what me and Arthur "MrPodunkian" Lee managed to whip up for the current Mini LD. The theme was Comedy and Tragedy. I think we went more for the latter.

DOWNLOAD GAME
Controls:
Arrow keys - Move
Z - Jump

This game was created in Multimedia Fusion and not Game Maker. Enjoy!

EDIT:

If you've played the game, here's the explanation for it:
DOWNLOAD CLARITY

If you want to play a castrated version, get this one:
DOWNLOAD ALTERNATIVE VERSION

Some Images

2009-11-15T02:19:00.003+01:00

Just some things I've been playing around with when not working on TUNING and LIFE/DEATH/ISLAND. Click images for larger screenshots.

TUNING IGF 2010 Trailer

2009-11-14T19:18:00.002+01:00

New York

2009-11-06T15:09:00.004+01:00

I've been in New York the last two days, doing a panel discussion for NYU with Mark "Messhof" Essen and Anna "Dessgeega" "Auntie Pixelante" Anthropy. It went really well, and I got to meet some awesome people. The discussion is supposed to be posted online for anyone to listen to, but I don't know when or where.

Now I'm sitting alone in my hotel room, eating pretzels and waiting for something to happen before I need to check out.

Status update

2009-10-21T09:28:00.002+02:00

Despite the lack of actual releases, things are going very well development wise. I'm working actively on four projects, and they all seem to grow at a good rate.

Tuning has reached thirty levels, and I still have ideas for things to add that don't feel overwhelming. I hope to have it finished before the end of the year.

LIFE/DEATH/ISLAND is also progressing, and could probably be released as one of my better games already. But I'm hoping to add enough content to make it a really worthwhile project. And that has made me think about releasing a public beta at some point. I still have more than enough ideas, but I would need to know how easy it is to get into the systems already in place. Watching people play the game has made me realize that this will be key to how interesting the gameplay will turn out.

Failed 2hr Game

2009-10-13T11:39:00.004+02:00

I know I don't have the time, but I tried making a game for the latest Poppenkast competition. It had such a great theme that I couldn't resist it.

I decided to try to make a really small RTS, but the two hours I had were lost in drawing graphics and setting up the movement system. I might still create a game out of this, but I'll save it for when my schedule's a bit more free. Meanwhile, here's a little screenshot:

Further Tuning

2009-10-10T22:01:00.002+02:00

Since Tuning won the award at IndieCade I've been working on it a bit. Here's a preview of some new content. The game's got around 25 levels now, and a map screen. Can't decide if I should put some weird cutscenes in there or not. I guess time will tell.

Independent Games Festival

2009-10-10T13:56:00.003+02:00

Hey guys. I'm thinking about submitting Tuning to IGF, but I don't have the funds for it at the moment. If anyone would like to help out with a donation for the $95 entrance fee, paypal it to crazy.cactus (at) gmail.com

Looks like Stephen Lavelle has me covered. Thanks a lot man!

Keita Takahashi playing Tuning

2009-10-06T08:02:00.005+02:00

Adam Robezzoli sent me this picture of Keita Takahashi (creator of Katamari Damacy and Nobi Nobi Boy) playing Tuning at a barbecue after IndieCade. Not sure how news worthy it is, but I'm definitely a fan of his, so...

Yay or Nay?

2009-09-29T21:42:00.003+02:00

Air Pirates news, LIFE/DEATH/ISLAND and Indiecade

2009-09-28T01:35:00.006+02:00

Air Pirates is complete, aside from possibly small gameplay tweaks and some required help screens (something I'm not very used to adding to my games). So hopefully we will be able to release the game very soon.

I've been working a bit on another project called LIFE/DEATH/ISLAND on the side the last week or so, and so far it's turning out really well. It's procedural and generates islands. The islands have different environments, and wildlife currently including bears, dogs, spiders, birds, maggots, zombies and mutants. The cities also have accessible sewer systems, cars that you can steal, and buildings you can enter. You can also find people to gang up with, to make survival a bit easier. Hopefully I'll be able to add a lot more before release.

Also, Tuning has been selected as a finalist at this years IndieCade. It's got 21 levels at the moment, and I'm not sure how much more it needs before release, but it's not quite ready yet.

Attractmo.de // Merchandise

2009-09-17T00:10:00.006+02:00

http://www.attractmo.de/shop/

Face Generation

2009-08-21T13:16:00.001+02:00

Two Angry Men

2009-08-19T10:20:00.001+02:00

News & Screenshots

2009-08-18T14:05:00.003+02:00

Long time no update. Nothing worth talking about really, but I figured I'd post something anyway. I was recently to Finland, visiting Helsinki to do a talk at Assembly. It went pretty well, and I got to hang out with Erik Svedäng and Petri Purho, which always means that you'll have fun.

I've also been working on Air Pirates, which is 98.5% complete. Should be released at the end of the week unless something unexpected happens. And I've been messing around a bit with some other stuff on the side, some of which I decided to post screenshots of here:

As always, don't expect anything in this to actually be released. Especially not right now.

Website Online Again?

2009-07-20T15:23:00.002+02:00

So I guess my website got hacked. Someone deleted all my files ~~and I'm too tired and uninterested to really do anything about it. I'll get around to restoring it at some point if I can find my backups.~~ so I switched hosts. Website should be working again I think. Not sure I have backups for the highscore tables though.

No More No More Sweden

2009-07-19T14:26:00.004+02:00

So, I guess I've survived the heat and sweat of No More Sweden. I even managed to make a game that I'm reasonably happy with, although I didn't win any of the categories this year. Heart breaking.

I'm gonna see if I can fix it up tonight and release it, but as usual, don't count on it...

Most of all, it was fun to meet everyone again. I hope I'll get to attend next year too.

Also... I probably shouldn't mention this, but I've been thinking more and more about not making games anymore. The last nine months have had quite a few highlights, but overall it's been the worst time in my life. Maybe things will change, though. I don't know.

No More Sweden

2009-07-16T15:49:00.005+02:00

Working hard at No More Sweden.

Hopefully a new game will be released at the end of this. Photo courtesy of Data.

Death Party (Shotgun Ninja II)

2009-07-12T23:11:00.003+02:00

I worked on this a couple of months ago, but never got very far. It's a lot of fun to play though, so hopefully I can put a few levels together and release it.

A small guerrilla squad, called Death Party, undergoes rigorous training to be sent on a mission to take out the mysterious dictator ruling their home land. But how will they uphold their morale as they discover the citizens have all been turned into mindless addicts from drugs introduced into the local water supplies? They soon find themselves in a battle against an over powerful enemy, fighting for no one but themselves. Meanwhile the plot of their adversary seems to expand beyond their wildest imagination.

Tuning, Mondo Agency, Messhof and Jazzuo

2009-06-26T13:05:00.004+02:00

Mark "Messhof" Essen invited me to show two games at an event at the Light Industry in NY this week, and things apparently went very well. The games shown were Mark's Randy Balma and The Thrill of Combat, Jazzuo's Sexy Hiking and Star Wars VII, as well as Mondo Agency and Tuning (the 3D platformer).

EVAC

2009-06-14T19:58:00.005+02:00

I just got back from the Netherlands. I was invited there to do a workshop at HKU, and give a talk at the Festival of Games. Met some people from Poppenkast and had a good time. I also made this little game during my stay:

Click to download

It's very short and basic, but I think it turned out well for a three hour game. The students made some cool stuff too, hopefully you'll get a chance to play some of their games at some point.

Air Pirates Trailer

2009-05-30T04:01:00.002+02:00

Game for e4.com. Music in the trailer by The Death Set (really awesome band, buy their record it's great!).

Update

2009-05-25T10:35:00.001+02:00

Right now I'm in a state of continuous déjà vu. I know everything that's going to happen right before it happens. I could easily break out of it. But I'm curious to see where it will lead.

MESSHOF GAME

2009-05-21T18:43:00.006+02:00

Messhof has released a cool new game called The Thrill of Combat. It's a bizarre helicopter game where you kill people and use lasers to surgically remove organs from them.

Lovely graphics and music as usual. The game is $5 and can be purchased at his site. Compared to a pizza I'd definitely say it's worth it.

If $5 is a lot to you, read this review before buying.

My New Game and Fan Art

2009-05-09T19:30:00.006+02:00

Okay, so it's not my new game. Someone apparently hacked SeizureDome and replaced my graphics with Mario sprites. It made me smile.

And while I'm at it, here's some nice fanart I've received for the mondo games:

Top one by Jonas Steinick, and the ones on the bottom by Momo, who has also got some more Mondo stuff in her gallery.

Trailer

2009-05-01T12:47:00.002+02:00

Screens from upcoming games

2009-04-26T20:02:00.009+02:00

"A game about killing each other."

"A game about killing airplanes."

"A game about killing everything you love."

Area 5 on IGF and Game Over / Continue

2009-04-07T22:21:00.006+02:00

Here's a nice little podcast by some of the cool ~~1up~~ Area 5 people. They cover a few of the IGF finalists and the Giant Robot event pretty well. They have footage from the games (mine included) and comment on stuff a bit. Pretty big download though, and the stream's running quite slow at the moment.

Too much news lately, no games. I'm gonna try to get some real work done tomorrow.

Game Over / Continue & GDC

2009-03-30T23:52:00.013+02:00

So, I finally got home from GDC. During my stay I got to do a talk at Independent Games Summit, a very small acting performance complementing a much grander act by Petri Purho, as well as a quick game for Giant Robot. Productivity wise that's not bad compared to last year.

The talk went great, (for some weird reason) I wasn't as nervous as I would've expected at all. And people actually came up to me and said they liked my talk afterwards, so that felt really good to me, as I had been really nervous about it the days before.

People who want to see it badly can grab a bootleg copy floating around on The Pirate Bay (or watch a stream of it here, courtesy of Noobfarm), and my slides are available here (although a lot of it won't make sense without narration).

The Giant Robot thing went well too. I got teamed up with a great cat loving artist, called Deth P Sun, which is basically the coolest name I've ever heard. I programmed the game the night before the event, and for the first time did joypad input for a weird arcade hotseat experience. Unfortunately, the game is currently Giant Robot exclusive (along with Anna Anthropy's, Derek Yu's and Petri Purho's way more awesome games). The game has not been bootlegged yet either, so you guys will have to go to SF to play it (or something, I really don't know). Ask Adam Robezzoli, who was the awesome dude who set it up.

If you haven't already, you should have a look at Derek's awesome write up of the Indie Game Maker Rant. The last part about Petri Purho's attempt at making a game in five minutes was one of the conference's highlights for sure, and Derek managed to paint a really vivid picture of it using his delicate way with words. The other rants were also awesome, so basically you should read the whole thing.

Finally, I would like to say that I was so happy that my good friend Erik Svedäng won the grandprize with his amazing game Bluberry Garden.

I could say a lot more, because GDC this year has been one of the most amazing things that has happened to me... But there are so many people and events to thank for that, that I'm scared to even try to list them. I'm already looking forward to next year!

Thank You

2009-03-25T21:28:00.002+01:00

I just wanted to give a big thanks to everyone who's made my GDC trip so much fun. I'm sorry if I've been drunk and obnoxious. I love you all :-*

Some More Previews

2009-03-02T03:50:00.005+01:00

I thought it was time for some more screenshots of stuff I've been working on, or else people might start thinking I've been slacking off way too much.

Naturally, not all of these will actually be finished, but I figured the images themselves might be fun to look at anyway. So, enjoy.

PING PONG!

2009-02-27T03:15:00.008+01:00

DOWNLOAD NOW!
Ping Pong rules:
1. When you hit the ball it has to go to other player's side of the net before it bounces.
2. If the ball leaves the table without bouncing, the player who did not send it off gets a point.
3. Two serves each.
4. First to eleven wins.

Instructions:
-Press z when the ball touches you to hit it
-You can hold the arrow keys for different hits
-Right to smash
-Left for less speed
-Up for spinn to make the ball go faster after the bounce
-Down for spinn to make the ball go slower after the bounce
-Hit the ball seven times in a row to do super smash

IMPORTANT!!! HITTING THE BALL WILL ONLY CHANGE IT'S HORIZONTAL VELOCITY, IT DOES NOT AFFECT THE BALLS VERTICAL SPEED!

Mind Map

2009-02-18T16:41:00.005+01:00

On my way home from the Nordic Game Jam, I wanted to plan out a few things for a game, so I sat on the train and drew a few mind maps.

But I got bored with the pen and paper so I decided to make an application to create digital mind maps instead. I'm sure there's already a few of these around but I made this little thing anyway.

These are instructions
Maybe someone will find it useful, I have no idea. I'll probably use it at some point myself. If anyone wants to improve it, feel free to ask and I'll give you the source.

Ping... Pong...

2009-02-16T05:55:00.003+01:00

Dino, Bunk, Pasztor, Hoff and Noir will battle. Who will win? How do you play? Is it fun? Do you want it? Is this the first ever cactus sports game? So many questions.

To be released very soon. How soon? Very soon.

Interview on Rock, Paper, Shotgun

2009-02-11T12:51:00.006+01:00

Jim Rossignol of Rock, Paper, Shotgun contacted me a while ago about doing an interview on the topic of the new Mondo game. After some hassle with internet problems and other troubles, it's finally available for people to read.

Click here to read it!
I think I was pretty secretive (maybe a bit too much) so there's no real spoilers in there. But it might be an interesting read anyhow.

Nordic Game Jam

2009-02-09T22:16:00.007+01:00

Long time no post. I was at the Nordic Game Jam in Copenhagen making games, drinking and having fun with a bunch of awesome game developers.

(That's me posing in the middle)

So I spent most of the time listening to Donald Duck by Wesley Willis together with Petri Purho and Heather Kelley. We were supposed to be making a game together, but ended up making two separate ones due to beer consumption and laziness. Petri's game turned out a lot more innovative than mine (possibly because he listened to more Willis than I), but we both won prizes anyway (innovation and graphics).

(The judges being very impressed by the graphics in our game)

I also spent a lot of time limping around like a gimp since I had bruised my knee the previous week. But it was still really fun, and I had a great time.

When I got back home, my internet connection had gone down and my phone line too, so I had one of the most boring week ever. Unfortunately this didn't make me feel very creative so I don't really have any new games to post. Heather Kelley will post our game on her blog soon, though. And I'll hopefully get around to do a fully releasable version of it at some point.

Oh, and Kyle Gabler mentioned my game Illegal Communication in the official Global Game Jam opening keynote, which was a very welcome surprise. The video is really funny to boot.

New Design

2009-01-11T21:38:00.007+01:00

I redesigned the site and the headers for the blog and forum were modified to fit the new style. Hope you like it.

Games page has also been updated with twelve (previously released) games, which now makes it a list with forty entries.

Mondo Nation & Other News

2009-01-11T03:49:00.005+01:00

Mondo Nation did not get a nomination for this year's IGF. Let's celebrate that with a few screenshots.

Unfortunately I never got around to create a decent demo, and the one I submitted was short and lacked polish. But I've still got high hopes for the game, and have been working idly at improving it this week. Hopefully it'll turn out well in the end.

I've also tried to work on some new stuff, but so far nothing's progressed very far, and all I have to show you are some more screenshots.

And I'm going to try to finish off some old projects that I never got around to releasing. Hopefully you'll see one in the next few days.

Madamluna's Paraluxx

2008-12-22T13:10:00.005+01:00

Paraluxx
This is a collection of comic strips and artwork by Madamluna featuring various characters and settings from my games. There's also an appearance by Jesse Venbrux's character "Karoshi".

Length: 15 pages
Genre: general / humor
Style: gag / illustration
Games: Clean Asia!, Mondo Medicals, Psychosomnium, God Came to the Cave
Download: zip / view online

And while on the topic of fans and such... If you've got Facebook you can always show your appreciation by becoming a fan here.

Mondo Teasers

2008-12-22T03:27:00.004+01:00

I just made a new teaser trailer for the new Mondo game. Compared to the previous one, this shows a lot less content, and not much new, except one of the main ideas in the game. It gives a few hints that won't spoil anything, but you will hopefully understand them better when you've played it.

Sadly, the game's still far from being finished, but that will hopefully just mean that the content will be more rich. I've had a few new ideas in the last weeks or so, which I'm confident will turn the project into a better game.

And for those who missed it, there's an old trailer with further content here.

Some old games I never "finished"

2008-12-09T00:12:00.003+01:00

Here are a few old games that I haven't placed on my site. They aren't "finished" but I've released them on forums before, and I doubt I'll ever finish them. So I might as well put them here as they are somewhat enjoyable.

If you are using Windows Vista, you will need this converter to play most of the games.

Ad Nauseam - Demo1 and Demo2 (2007)

Crazy Patterns (2007)

Malicious A.I. (2005)

RETROFuture (2006)

Silent Chain (2007)

Teknozombie (2006)

Old Stuff

2008-12-07T02:23:00.004+01:00

Found some really old stuff that was saved online. Figured I'd might as well post it here. The first gallery has a few pics from old site designs I did when I was still into making music. It contains some nudity, so if you can't stand stuff like that... Don't click the pic.

Download some music here.
The second one is really some screenshots from a game I was making back in 2006, but it only resulted in these images unfortunately. It actually had a pretty nice story that revolved around a guy who gets involved with terrorists, and develops a strange fetish for blowing himself up.

Sneak Preview

2008-12-07T02:18:00.003+01:00

Avecom, IndieCade and PC Gamer

2008-12-07T01:52:00.007+01:00

A while back I was contacted about having my games displayed at a dutch game/art festival called AveCom. They were real nice about it, and I just had a look at their site and saw that a lot of other cool art and games had been on display.

Click here to check it out
Eurogamer wrote a bit about my games as they were displayed at IndieCade this year. It's a shame I didn't get to go there, but I was pretty broke at the time. Hopefully I'll get another chance soon enough.

Click here for the article.
In other news, I hear Xoldiers will be featured on the cover disc of the next issue of PC Gamer UK. Always nice with a bit of publicity.

Tap Tap Dance

2008-12-04T12:47:00.006+01:00

Mark Johns, creator of the amazing Space Barnacle and Shit Game, contacted me a while ago and asked me if I wanted to make a theme for a game he was working on. Of course I said yes. The project was a sequel to a rythm game, and I got to make a mock up level for a song by Moby. Only part of the mock up made it into the game, but hopefully it'll be updated at some point.

http://tapulous.com/dance/

Weekly News

2008-12-03T02:19:00.001+01:00

Well, I figured I should start posting news more frequently, which is why I decided to create this blog.

In december I'm planning to make a game 'together' with Messhof. We're actually making two separate games, but they're based around the same concept. It's gonna be interesting to see how the two turn out.

I'm also working on Mondo Nation, which will be a compilation of the three Mondo games I've made so far (actually, the third is far from finished yet). Hopefully I'll get a chance to update it for IGF.

Further more, I've been discussing a collaboration with my brother. Wether it'll be a game or something else is yet to be determined. I'm very proud of my brother and his creativeness. He's a lot better than me in many respects. Hopefully you'll get a chance to see that for yourselves.

Finally, Lo-Fi Minds most likely has a few releases lined up for this month. Sadly they do not include Brain-Damaged Toon Underworld, which has suffered a bit from the personal crisis I've had these last few months. I'd expand on it, but I doubt anyone's interested in hearing about it.

Awful Lovecraft Game

2008-12-03T01:55:00.002+01:00

I made an awful game for the new TIGSource competition. Basically I just mock a few of Lovecraft's bad ideas. Seriously, it's so bad that I didn't bother to name it. But it looks pretty neat so it might be worth a check anyway.

Download:
http://willhostforfood.com/users/dorkman/game.zip

Controls:
WASD - Move
Mouse - Aim/Shoot

PS. The game ends when you've found everything. Yeah, I know it's boring. I might update and make it worth playing at some point in the future.

Xoldiers

2008-12-03T01:48:00.001+01:00

Let's go to war people! Here's my entry for the latest Poppenkast competition. I liked it enough to work a whole day on it together with my man Terry who designed most of the levels and wrote most of the military talk.

X O L D I E R S

Download:
http://64digits.com/users/cactus/xoldiers.zip

Highscore table:
http://distractionware.com/cactus/xoldiers/highscore.php

Controls:
Z - Shoot
X - Dodge enemy bullets
C - Throw grenades
Arrows - move

The game also has a level editor and features excessive explosions.