Kloonigames

This is a bit of a status update about me as well. I’ve hesitated about writing update reports, mostly because if I write something then it will be set in stone. And also you guys tend to go berserk in the comments section each time I write about the game 🙂

So I’ve been working on Crayon Physics Deluxe full time for about a year and a half now. It’s a small miracle that I’ve been able to pay my rent on time, without having a real income. The game itself has made some really good progress and it’s never been as close to being finished as it is now 😉 But there’s still stuff to be done and graphics to be tightened up. And in regards to that, here’s the official release date: When it’s done!

Sorry about the big font.

I’d love to see the game released during this year and I’ve been working hard to make that happen. Wish me best of luck and bug free code.

The game will be released as a downloadable PC game and the full version of the game is going to cost the standard 20$. There’s going to be a free demo that you can try out. And the game is going to be released on this site. (There might be some other distribution channels as well, but I can’t talk about them now). I can’t promise Mac or Linux ports, but I’ll try to do my best to bring the game to those platforms as well.

Also concerning all the other platforms: I can’t promise anything. We will see what the future brings.

I’ll try to setup a FAQ so post your questions in the comments and I’ll try to answer them to the best of my abilities.

I’m on the road, but here’s some quick news about Crayon Physics Deluxe, that were just too delicious to pass.

• Cama has created an amazing fansite for Crayon Physics (Deluxe). You can download level packs for Crayon Physics and there’s a video tutorial for the horrible Crayon Physics’ level editor. Crayon Physics Unofficial Game Blog
• Chris Baker wrote a great article about Crayon Physics Deluxe for Slate. He wrote that the game looks like it was designed by a third-grater. I take that as a compliment.
• Crayon Physics Deluxe is also featured in Darren Gladstone’s PC World report about this year’s IGF winners. There’s also clips from World of Goo, Fez and Audiosurf. [Via Limevoodoo’s comment]

Apparently the GDC interviews are surfacing now. I remember vaguely talking to some people from gametrailers and now they published the interview on Gametrailers TV 😮 (The indie section starts around 7 minute mark). [Thanks to Apina for letting me know about this].

It’s quite a small clip and all I get to say about the game is “you draw stuff, they behave physically correctly and you solve puzzles”. But I’m glad they included it there anyway. There are also couple of other indie developers there; Mårten talks about Fret Nice and Darren demonstrates Iron Dukes. It’s great to see that indie games are getting some airtime, in between GTA IV and Gears of War 2.

Link to the Gametrailers TV episode

Also I was positively surprised to see Crayon Physics Deluxe talked on DL.TV. They did this small round up of couple of the IGF games and Crayon Physics Deluxe was one and the other one was the sweet 2D/3D platformer Fez. While they didn’t really have any real footage of Crayon Physics Deluxe, they talked about the game in detail and got past the “you draw stuff, they behave physically correctly and you solve puzzles” stage. Garnett Lee has some really constructive comments about the game and he “got” what it’s really all about.

The Crayon Physics Deluxe part starts around 1:30 mark.

That was my acceptance speech. I wrote it in crayons on my way to the stage. I still can’t believe it, but Crayon Physics Deluxe won the Seumas McNally Grand Prize at the Independent Games Festival (IGF).

I’m just happy that I got to continue the tradition of crappy acceptance speeches (with monocoles) at the IGF.

I really didn’t get a change to thank all the people who have helped me make the game possible. I felt a like a self centered brick, for not thanking anyone, but I didn’t prepare at all for the possibility that I might win, so I was afraid to thank anyone, because I might totally forget a bunch of people. So here’s a list of people without whom, the game would have never been made.

* _Ghost (Jarogniew Slotala), huge thanks for creating such an amazing piece of music and for allowing me and other people to use it. I think it’s hard for an outsider to understand how much his music changed the game, I wasn’t sure about the exact feeling I wanted the game to conceive and it wasn’t until I listened to his song I realized what I wanted.

* Erin Catto, for his marvelous physics engine Box2D. Which he has created on his free time and which he generously released as an open source project and has never asked anything in return.

* Jussi Laakkonen for helping me out with the business stuff.

* Juuso Savolainen for helping me out with some of the coding stuff.

* Daniel Benmergui for helping me out with the design stuff.

* Petri Luukkainen for being an awesome friend, play testing the game way more than is humanly possible and for doing the youtube video.

* All the testers who have given me their precious time to use for the improvement of the game. Without you guys the game would have never made it!

* Kyle Gabler for inspiring me to start doing prototypes!

* All the people who wrote comments, forum posts, blogged about the game, emailed me about, harassed me about it, the guy who kidnapped my cat and demanded that I’ll do a never version of the game or my get gets it… Huge thanks to you all, with out you I probably would have never made the game.

Edit: This was the reason why I didn’t want to say any names during the acceptance speech, because I was sure I’d forget someone. So I wrote this blog post in a hurry so I forgot to thank Ale Fernandez and Krishinda Powers for allowing me to use their sample “Krishinda Singing” in a commercial product. Also thanks to _ghost for allowing me to use Lullaby in (in which “Krishinda Singing” is used) in a commercial product. (I feel awful for forgetting them 🙁 )

I have nothing against mods, but “Nomination and Interview” is so much better than “A Mod and an Interview“.

• Crayon Physics Deluxe has been nominated for the Wizards of the Coast’s “Gleemie Award”. Being an old Magic: The Gathering player (I still have decks somewhere), it’s an honor to be nominated as one of the seven finalists in this category. The winners will be announced next week at the IGF award ceremony. (Thanks to Justme for letting me know about this 🙂 )
• Entar interviewed me over at Games Fascination. It’s a short interview, but he asked all the though questions. Like when is Crayon Physics Deluxe going be released.
• A comic about game industry. I know it’s old, but it’s so true 🙂 (via TIGSource forums)