A Hardy Developer's Journal – as written by indie adventure game developers

Freelance adventurers Ben & Dan don’t have any extravagant goals in life. A nice, meaty session sat in front of the telly watching Magnum P.I is usually all they wish for. Unfortunately, it’s not the safest possible way of spending one’s time. In the award-winning game Ben There, Dan That it has caused our heroes to be teleported on an alien spaceship filled with gates to alternate versions of Great Britain -  from one where UK is ruled by the USA, to one where dinosaurs remain the dominant species and evolved to the point of producing electronic entertainment. (more…)

I must admit before I even begin to pass judgement on this game that the indie adventure scene has never truly grabbed me. Many years ago, when money was tight and the school nights long and uneventful (how I long for those times now!), I would occasionally grab a free Adventure Game Studio project and give it a whirl. Sadly, for whatever reason, I could hardly ever enjoy these games. (more…)

In modern times great adventure games don’t come in big shiny cardboard boxes and on multiple CDs. In fact very often they are just one click away from you in your internet browser.

Among some of the best of those are the works of Mateusz Skutnik of Pastel Games. His episodic adventure games resume consists of such well known series as Submachine and Daymare Town.

These games despite simple interfaces offer complex, creative puzzles in visually fascinating hand-drawn game worlds full of eerie atmosphere and a kind of surreal beauty. (more…)

Winner for Best Demo at AGS Awards 2009

You can download the WIP demo here. (UPDATED 02.2010)

Follow Franko himself on Twitter.

Scroll down for links to Development Diaries.

A walkthrough for the demo is available here.

Feedback greatly appreciated!

(more…)

I haven’t written about Frantic Franko for quite a while, but it doesn’t mean my work on it doesn’t move forward at a crazy pace! I didn’t make it with the demo in May as originally intended, but it is pretty much ready now – just undergoing some testing. The big premiere is next week! It’s quite a large demo by my standards. It covers about 33% of the whole game, has both alternative puzzle solutions and special features not required to finish it. It also offers plenty of opportunity to get to know the main character – the grumpy psycho that he is. Hopefully the experience will be something truly memorable for the players. (more…)

(more…)

Yesterday was yet another one of my birthdays…     And Today I die… Released that very day… Was the best birthday surprise I could have hoped for. Refreshing, oneiric and inspirational.  And Today I decided to try to bring more people’s attention to this excellent game and some other titles I associate with it. (more…)