My Flash Player 10 Opinion - WOW!!!

You either have it or you are seriously missing out.

In my time as a Flash Designer, I am yet to come across a release of a Player that has provided the improvements that the new Flash Player 10 has given us. It is a MUST download, as it makes the games that were otherwise unplayable - playable! (Such as Aquatica)

How is this possible in a player release? Well, Adobe have introduced GPU Hardware Acceleration in to the Active-X and stand alone player... about time, eh?

So what are you still doing here reading this? GO GO GO! Download now! www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash

Then zip across to Fizzy.com and play Aquatica the way I intended it to be played!

Cheers,

Ben.

Aquatica: My New Game

Hello again... I've just released my first game within my new job as a game developer for 3RD sense. Check it out at: www.fizzy.com/games/aquatica

Boo!

Yes it's true. I'm not dead. And neither is Exmortis 3... And to prove it, here is the first screenshot I've been prepared to let loose in a long time... :)

Ben.

Goliath hits 1 million plays!

It was as much of a surprise for me as anyone else that Goliath The Soothsayer, after only being live for 42 days, has already hit the 1 million plays mark!

It took Exmortis2 about 8 months to accomplish that feat - so to say that those involved in the production of this game are summarily chuffed by how quickly Goliath was picked up - well, that would be an understatement.

I'm sure that as a result of this success, you will see a few more Universal Records/Leffler Web Design collaborations in the future :)

So I send a MASSIVE thank you to all of you guys for playing the game. But for now, I get back to work at putting together a kick-ass Exmortis 3...

Goliath The Soothsayer Bugs

Hi all,

Just a quick thank you for those of you who have reported bugs in the Goliath game... A quick FYI - those bugs were fixed over a month ago, however various websites in internetland decided to steal the game whilst it was in it's pre-release testing phase and publish it without Universal's or my consent. Hence a buggy version of the game is doing the rounds.

For the actual "bug-free" version of the game, please visit Amazon.com or Newgrounds.com to see Goliath The Soothsayer as it was meant to be.

Cheers,
Ben.

Goliath The Soothsayer Released at Amazon

Ladies and Gents - Goliath The Soothsayer has now been released online at Amazon.com for all to play... head on over, give the game a go - and don't forget to pre-order the upcoming Mars Volta album "The Bedlam in Goliath" while you are there...

Play the game here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000ZK4466/ (and click "Play now" in the Play Goliath the Soothsayer dialogue box)

I hope you all enjoy this short little ditty... however next on the agenda: Exmortis 3... :)

Goliath The Soothsayer Screenshots

Hi all,

Hot off the press... here are 6 screenshots for the upcoming game. Keep in mind that the game is still well and truly a work in progress, so any of these scenes could change dramatically come release.

I am probably not going to release any further screenshots after this batch, as I will be too busy coding, designing and recording over the next couple of weeks to upload anything... plus I do want a few scenes to be a surprise... :)

Enjoy!

Ben.

Goliath: The Soothsayer Announced...

Well - the cat is well and truly out of the bag now... this article appeared on IGN's page relating to the Alarm Hot Vest project (now officially titled Goliath: The Soothsayer) (From http://au.music.ign.com/articles/836/836026p1.html)

US, November 16, 2007 - In preparation for the (Edit: Jan) 29th, 2008 release of their new album, The Bedlam In Goliath, The Mars Volta will be releasing Goliath The Soothsayer, an online game based on the album.

Goliath The Soothsayer will be availabel via Amazon.com on January 2nd, 2008. Goliath The Soothsayer is based on the true story that inspired the narrative laid out in the songs featured on The Bedlam In Goliath. The "Soothsayer" in question here is the Ouija board owned by vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala and the songs detail how it morphed from a source of amusement into a "malevolent psycho-spiritual force" during the bands Amputechture tour.

Well, I'm motoring along at the moment with only a couple of weeks left to finish and so far the game is looking pretty nice. All you point n click fans know what to expect from me on this project of which I am hoping to bring the polished look of Exmortis 2 whilst utilising the rather subtle demonic dread of the original Exmortis in this title.

All in all, I have some very late nights ahead of me between now and deadline in December!

B.

Press Release and Trailer

I have been told that there will be a press release coming from my client sometime in the next few days concerning the Alarm Hot Vest project. It essentially lets the cat out of the bag on all the details I have been cagey about relating to this project. And to sweeten the press release up a little, it will include a trailer for the upcoming game...

By the way - no one thus far is even close to working out the anagram... here's some more clues... (but you'll find out the answers in the next few days)

The anagram is split up in to 3 words. The first word is 3 letters in length and does not contain the letter A. The second word is 4 letters long and does not contain the letter T.

Anyway - once the press release has been unleashed and the subsequent trailer hits the net, I will release some high-res screenshots of the opening sequence here on this blog... (the trailer is reasonably low res to save on download speeds/space)

Alarm Hot Vest Clues

The "Alarm Hot Vest" project is under way and motoring along... First draft will be completed on December 1st, and pending it's approval from the client - the game should be released at an as yet-to-be announced website by the end of the year.

For all you Newgrounds/Jayisgames visitors, wide distributed release will see it hit those websites (and all the other sites that enjoy stealing flash games from Newgrounds without remunerating the artist) on January 28th...

Now for the clues on what the hell this project is about...

• "Alarm Hot Vest" is an anagram
• It is a point n click supernatural game
• It is based on a true story from the entity designated by the above anagram
• The date January 28 is significant
• The game has a lot of similarities to the original Exmortis game and it's atmosphere
• Ambience and some sound effects are provided by a group of very well known musicians

That's all I'm willing to give away for now... However, keep your eyes glued to this site in the next 2 months for screenshots and the final announcement once the game has gone live!