Poke That Dragon!

Yet another prototype for you to play with.  This one is, I think, even simpler than the other two I've worked on.  It's called Poke the Dragon!  And that's really all there is to it.  Poke that dragon as many times as you can in sixty seconds without getting caught!  Kinda silly, but may be worth a giggle or two.  Even though the artwork was done very quick 'n dirty, I'm actually kinda of proud of it.  It's neat to see the dragon moving, even if the animation is rather crude.  But enough patting myself on the back.  Here's that link:
http://bit.ly/pokedrgn_p1

Feedback!  How was it?  Did you find it fun at all, or just boring?  What would make it funner?  Were you able to figure out how to tell when the dragon is waking up?  If I were to run with this idea, I would first of all get some better looking art, then maybe include more clues to tell whether the dragon is stirring and how close he is to waking up, etc.  We could even get more ridiculous and let you "level up" by getting different "poking tools," maybe power ups that make him fall asleep more, etc.  *le shrug*  Does that sound like it would be entertaining?

I know, I know...  Why another prototype?  When am I going to sit down and work on a real game?  Turns out I'm in discussion with a potential artist right now who could help with one of the ideas I've had so far.  In the meantime, I figured I'd try out a few more ideas and pick the one people seem to enjoy the most.  I was also curious to see just how simple I could make a game and still have it be fun.  I figured for my first "published" game, the simpler the better.  Then I can work my way up.  But that also depends on what sticks.  So, of the three prototypes I've posted here (Elemental Tiles, Overflow, and Poke the Dragon) which one do you like best?  Which shows the most promise?

Review: Lurking

http://lurking-game.com/

Play...  if you're really good at holding your breath.
Don't play...  if you simply cannot keep quiet and have no way of disabling your microphone.

In many ways Lurking reminds me a lot of Slender.  A free, relatively short, indie, minimalist, psychological horror.  Lurking is unique however in its game mechanics and how those mechanics make you interact with the game.  In addition to your standard first-person controls, you also use your computer's microphone.  The majority of the game is pitch black, but whenever you make a noise in the game (by walking or knocking things over) or in real life (by speech or other sounds being picked up on your microphone) the sound waves bounce off your surroundings and light up, so you can see using a form of echolocation.  Unfortunately, so can "they."

As horror games go, this one is on the milder side of the spectrum, but still quite scary the first time through, and for a number of reasons.  The graphics are very simple, but that works in the game's favor.  There is some voice-acting which, to be honest, is quite cheesy, but it doesn't detract too much from the game experience.  One place this game really shines is level design.  The using-sound-to-see mechanic is unique, and yet as you go through the game you learn more about it and using it becomes intuitive.

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My favorite moment from this game was the final level.  My brother-in-law was watching me play and we discovered we could use one of the tape players left behind by the inventor to distract the monster on that level.  However, in order for that to work I had to back myself into a corner and thanks to the microphone we had to stay perfectly silent.  We failed a number of times but finally succeeded after literally clamping our hands over our mouths, scarcely daring to breathe as the creature stalked past us.  Loved that added element of immersion!

The best part of any psychological horror game is the lurking insinuations (no pun intended) that it brings to mind.  As the game progresses, you begin to gather hints that these red monsters that are hunting you are something even more sinister... perhaps something buried within your own psyche.  Your deepest fears or the worst part of your nature?  Whatever it is, it's so ingrained within your being that it cannot be escaped, as demonstrated by the very end of the game.  Just when you thought you'd escaped the laboratory and into the light, you walk down a path and find another small building.  Wary, you open the door only to find the very room you began in, and just as you realize this, the inner door leading to the darkness opens of its own accord, inviting you to give up running and embrace what's lurking inside of yourself.  A chilling end; I loved it!

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Lurking is a fun little horror game, but not too scary in my opinion... at least it didn't give me nightmares like Slender has!  The download is free and playable in about 30-60 minutes.  As usual for these types of games, it is best played in a dark room with a good pair of headphones.  The "microphone calibration" didn't work very well for me, but it turned out to be unnecessary, because the default settings worked just fine.  Give it a try; step into the darkness!

E. Tiles: Now with Graphics!

I've added some temporary graphics to Elemental Tiles to replace the old text-only interface.  This may make it easier to tell what's going on.  The tiles still don't animate; I eventually want them to slide to their new location (again, similar to 2048) instead of just instantly appearing there.  Also, I'm in discussion with someone who may agree to be the artist for my first game.  That will most likely be either Elemental Tiles or Overflow.  Either way, I do eventually want to finish this game, including finished graphics, and when I do have prettier graphics it should be simple to replace the stand-in graphics.
So, want to see the new prototype?  Take a lookie!
http://bit.ly/etile_p2
Like before, you'll probably need to allow plugins to run on the page.  And as always, I value all feedback!  I'll add this new prototype to the alpha bundle sometime in the near future; whether you sign up before or after the update is added, you'll still get it.