Happy New Year! (Yes, I know it's a little early)

It's a bit soon, but I wanted to say it early. Happy New Year everyone!! Here's hoping 2012 is just as enjoyable as this year. I wanted to look back at all the games made this year.

First up, Zombie Scream, released on March 25th. This game was a side scrolling horror shooter, where you took Arnold Houston around St. Louis to investigate the zombie outbreaks. At the same time, there was an organization trying to convince Arnold to "join them." Earlier this year I had announced a sequel to Zombie Scream, which should be released in the summer of 2012, although this is subject to change.

Up next is Galactic Infection Aliens, released on June 9th. This was simply a spin off of Galactic Infection, where the player could take control of the aliens instead of the humans. One feature that stands out in the game is the multi-player. You and a friend could take over Earth together. Whoever would end up as the ruler of the Earth you two probably decided on later.

To end it all, the first two episodes of Monsters was released, with the first being released on November 21st, and the second released on December 13th. There was also an updated version of Episode 1, although all it had was some different level design. That was released on November 28th, just a week after the original. In these games you took control of Lucius and Rufus, who were traveling the land in search of treasure, and also staying out of the war. But, they ended up getting caught up into the East Kingdom's personal problems.

And now, for a little news concerning some of 2012's first releases. Of course, there is Episode 3 of Monsters, but unfortunately there has been some technical difficulties, and the game is being released later, probably mid-January, but it is possible Episode 3 could get a February release date. I apologize for the inconvenience.

Next up is a title called World of 8-bit, another game I announced earlier this year. This game will be made a little differently from previous titles. It will be coded in HTML5. What this means is the game is going to be released as a flash game...well, kinda. In addition, this game will be on websites other than the Yoyo Games Sandbox. It will be a Platforming game with a retro feel to it. This game will most likely be released in the Spring of 2012.

And there you have it! I am looking forward to the new year. Hope your New Years day is a good one! See you soon!

-The_Puzzle

Happy Holidays!

Hey everyone! The_Puzzle here, with an important message:

First off, for all those who continue to play my games, I want to thank you! Without you, I doubt I'd continue making games. You guys and girls are the reason I keep going.

Happy Holidays everyone! Hope your weekend is an enjoyable one!

-The_Puzzle

Monsters Episode 2 Arrested is out now!

Greetings and salutations! Monsters Episode 2 was released earlier this week on December 13th. The story of Lucius and Rufus continue in this epic chapter of the Monsters saga! So, do our heroes manage to slip away from the East kingdom and go about their business? Click the link below, play the game, and find out!

Monsters Episode 2

Monsters Episode 1 Beginnings

Hey everyone! Monsters Episode 1 Beginnings was released November 21st, 2011! The saga now begins with this title. However, there was an issue addressed to me about not being able to get past the first platform. In response to this, I created an updated version, Monsters Episode 1 Beginnings+. Some parts of all stages have been made simpler to counter-act this problem. I will provide two links, one for the original and one for the "+" version.

The original

The "+" version

Have fun!

Monsters Episode 1 out on Yoyo Sandbox Monday!

As stated earlier back, the first episode of Monsters will be released on November 21st, 2011, which is this coming Monday. Be sure to come back next Friday to receive a link to the game and try it for yourself.

Monsters is huge!

For a Game Maker game, Monsters is getting to be quite big. In fact, it's so big, that I've only made two stages of the game, and it's already 14 MB in size! Considering that that is only, like, one tenth of the number of stages in Monsters, you can only imagine how big the game would be if every stage was crammed into one executable file. We're talking a game that will be about 150 MB to 175 MB in size by the time it's all over!

Well, I don't want the sheer size of the game to make loading times ridiculously long or anything, so in response to this, I am going to release the Monsters game in individual episodes! Episode 1 will be released onto the Yoyogames Sandbox on November 21st, 2011, with the second episode to be released December 13th, 2011. Players can expect another Monsters episode about every 3 weeks, although that could be shorter or longer, depending on elements such as what part of the story the specific episode is in, or how large certain Stages are, etc.

Happy Halloween

It's the Friday before Halloween, and I'm sure everyone is pumped and ready to go for this Monday. To celebrate the coming holiday, I've decided to reveal some spooky news...

First off, there's Monsters. Just a reminder that you can play a demo of the game here. There's already been quite a few revelations concerning the characters, enemies, etc. Today, however, I felt like showing a screenshot from the second stage of the game.

Also, I felt like paying a bit of homage to the Zombie Scream game, released back in March. Unlike Monsters, Zombie Scream had a horror tone to it, whereas Monsters has a somewhat comical mood. When you weren't fighting through countless zombies, there was a mysterious organization around that wouldn't leave Arnold alone.

And speaking of Zombie Scream...I have some exciting news. Sometime in 2012, there will be a sequel to Zombie Scream!

Logo not final

The first boss of Monsters - Creature

Heh heh...kinda looks like a mutated version of the purple imp enemy. He's just as basic as the enemy too. The main difference is he has a ton more health, plus is stronger.

He's not very fast, so if you need to run, then you'll be able to do it. Should you have to run, use Rufus, since he's the faster between him and Lucius. Lucius' magic will do the most damage, but Rufus' magic will do a reasonable amount as well.

I mentioned earlier that if you need to run, then you'll be capable of doing it. There is no shame in hiding...or in this case, running (there really is no place to hide). Low on health? Then stay out of his way until your Heal Spell is ready, then continue the fight.

Monsters demo out now on YoyoGames Sandbox!

It's finally here!! The Monsters demo is now on Yoyo's Sandbox, ready to play!

So, are you ready to take these monstrous characters and make them fight enemies as they explore the world? Nod your head yes...good.

Type in www.sandbox.yoyogames.com in your address bar. When the page is done loading, type "Monsters demo" into the search box. It might take a little searching (Two pages of games come up when you type this), but when you find it, click it and begin playing Monsters. Be sure to leave feedback so I know what to improve on, this way the game can only get better.

Magic

You have the ability to cast magic in Monsters. If you're controlling Lucius, you will use light magic, which is strong against many enemies and weak against few. Yes, enemies have magic weaknesses. Use the correct magic spell to inflict more damage on your foes.

If you're controlling Rufus, you will use dark magic. It is generally stronger than Lucius' magic, but not effective on as many enemies as Lucius. Like Lucius, Rufus' magic has few weaknesses.

Happy birthday Galactic Infection!

On September 4th, Galactic Infection turned a year old! ...yeah, okay, not the most amazing thing ever, but I thought it deserved a little recognition, being the first game I made and all.

Haven't played Galactic Infection yet? Then what are you waiting for? Click this link (http://www.sandbox.yoyogames.com/) and type Intergalactic Virus in the search bar (Yes, it basically has two names.) to begin playing the game that started it all.

Somewhat early screenshots

I say "early" screenshots because as you can see, it's just the HUD, some enemies, and either Lucius or Rufus on screen. No fancy backgrounds, tiles, items, nothing like that yet. It's coming along though. Just showing you that the game is still a little ways to even having a demo available (although that's not too far away), but it is getting there.

Website released!

The new Puzzle Works website opened up this past Monday. Here you will find photos of games I've made, take part in discussions, and learn about upcoming games. To visit just click this link!
www.thepuzzleworks.wetpaint.com

Monsters - Rufus

Say hello to Rufus, Lucius' partner and friend. Although he seems like a big scary guy, he's actually quite friendly...just don't make him angry, or you'll be in for a terrible beating!

While his Attack and Defense are not as good as Lucius', Rufus is known for casting some amazing Magic. He's also known for being able to outrun just about anybody.

Attack: Mediocre

Defense: Poor

Magic: Excellent

Speed: Great

Health: Good

Website coming!

Hey all. Sorry it's been forever since I posted, I was on vacation. I have awesome news! In a couple weeks I will be creating a website that operates much like this one. Like this blog, the website will keep you posted about upcoming games. The website comes August 15th.

Monsters - Enemies

Here are the first two enemies in Monsters. The purple imp thing has just a basic scratch attack and nothing more. They have poor attack and defense, but their speed is about average. The enemy above that makes me personally think of a frog and...some other thing combined. It has better attack and defense then our little imp friend, but their speed is not as good. They also have a magic attack, but it's pretty weak.

Monsters - Lucius

This here is Lucius, one of the characters you control. He's not holding it right now, but while in battle he has his sword in his hand, ready for use. You can't really tell from all the armor he wears, but he has an appearance similar to a wolf.

Lucius' stats:

Attack: Good

Defense: Great

Magic: Poor

Speed: Mediocre

HP: Good

Upcoming games in 2011

Hello everyone! Today I felt like revealing some upcoming games, but first, I wanted to take a look at what I recently released. It's the most recent game to be released. Galactic Infection Aliens is a game where you take your alien saucer and blast your way through 19 levels. It also has a 2 Player mode, allowing you and another player to take over Earth together.

Now for what is to come. I recently started working on another game titled Monsters. The pictures above show the two main characters of the game. You play the game by moving these two around the game world and getting into battles. As you win battles, you'll gain experience and level up. As you level up, you also gain new abilities and learn new magic spells. The release date is unknown at the moment. All I can say is that I plan to have the game released around August or September, but chances are, it'll come later than that.

There are two other games that we can expect to be released in the last few months of 2011. These two games are World of 8-bit and Once Upon a Time. World of 8-bit, as the name hints, will put you in a world where everyone and everything looks...blocky? Yes, the game will have an 8-bit feel to it, as if it was a game made in the 1980s. Once Upon a Time will be a game that allows the player to basically change the story of some familiar fairy tales and storys that we all know. How does that work, you ask? You'll just have to wait and see.

Galactic Infection Aliens out now!

Yesterday, on June 9th, I published Galactic Infection Aliens on Yoyo Games. Click the link below and type Galactic Infection Aliens to play the game. Two games will probably show...the demo version of this game and the full version. The full version will have the date 09/06/11 (Date, Month, and Year) next to the word 'Created'. The full version is the one with the picture of the Player 1 saucer with about ten blue enemies around the top of the screen.

www.yoyogames.com

Galactic Infection Aliens - Enemies (Part 2)

Here are the other two enemies of Galactic Infection Aliens. The green enemy shoots the same laser as the red enemy. However, it shoots more often. It also takes two hits to defeat it with the basic laser to defeat it, or one hit with any other laser. The black enemy is a troublesome foe. He blends in with the background! However, you can still see the gray part of its ship, so at least you can still see it. It has the most powerful laser of all the enemy ships.

There is one other thing I should tell. The release date for this game has been confirmed! Galactic Infection Aliens will be on www.yoyogames.com June 9th.

Galactic Infection Aliens - demo release!

I have great news! A demo of Galactic Infection Aliens is out now on http://www.yoyogames.com/. When you get to that website, type in the search box Galactic Infection Aliens demo, and it should take you to the game. Feel free to comment on the game, here or at Yoyo Games.

Galactic Infection: Aliens

Remember the virus pieces in the original Galactic Infection? In that game, your job was to destroy these to progress. This time, you want to have these around. Now and then you will find a virus piece in the level. Fly over them to pick them up, and your power will increase by 20. You should always make a note to grab these, this way you don't run out of power.

Galactic Infection: Aliens

Here are some screenshots of Galactic Infection: Aliens. Each screenshot takes place in Level 1, but one image is of a 1-Player game, and the other is of a 2-Player game. You can see the HUD (Heads Up Display), the ships you control, enemies, etc. But I bet you're wondering...what's with the virus pieces? And who's the enemy with the star on it? Come back soon to find out.

Galactic Infection: Aliens - Your lasers

These are the four different lasers you can fire. The green one is the weakest but consumes the least amount of power. The blue laser moves a little faster than the green laser and does more damage. The red laser is the slowest of all four but can do a lot of damage. The long purple laser is the most powerful and the fastest of all. It's so powerful, that it rips right through the blue and red enemies, allowing you to hit many enemies with one shot. However, it takes up the most power, so don't fire these lasers over and over again, or you'll be out of power and won't be able to fire lasers at your foes anymore, making you a ridiculously easy target.

Galactic Infection: Aliens - The Enemies (Part 1)

Say hello to two of the enemies you come across during the game. The blue one shoots the most basic laser and only hurts you a little. But there is usually many of these guys in one area at once, and if you ever run into an enemy, although you get rid of them, you lose 15 of your health. The red one moves slightly faster than the blue ship and fires a more powerful laser. You only need to shoot these guys once and they'll be out of commission. If you shoot them with your most powerful laser, it will just rip right through these enemies, allowing you to hit more than one enemy with just one shot!

Galactic Infection: Aliens - characters

Alright, so here are some characters we ought to know about it. We see the alien saucer with the purple lights at the bottom. This is the ship Player 1 controls, and is the main character of the game. The Aliens consider it their "super ship", mainly because of its durability and its ability to fire four different lasers. The black and green saucer is the ship Player 2 controls if you choose to start a 2-player game. It can do everything Player 1 can do. At the top is the first boss of the game. Players of the original Galactic Infection (or Intergalactic Virus...yes, it seriously has two names.) might recognize this as the ship you control in Galactic Infection, but this time he is your foe.

Welcome!

Welcome to The_Puzzle Works! Here you'll find information about games I'm developing. I'll post every Friday (or at least every other Friday) about whatever is in the game I am working on (game images, story, screenshots, etc.). Hope you enjoy! -The_Puzzle