OLD NEWS ARCHIVE - 2004
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HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
We're very happy to announce that our soon to be released game, Weird Worlds: Return To Infinite Space, has been selected as a 2005 Independent Games Festival finalist. If you checked out the DIY Games article below, or if you've been following the news on the IGF site, you know that there were a lot of great games entered -and that there is a lot of worthy competition. We're really proud to be listed among those games and we wish each and every team the very best of luck!
We have attended the Independent Games Festival at the Game Developers Conference in California before, and you just never know what to expect. If you want to see what I mean, click here and here.
Ho ho ho! It's almost time for those jolly holidays when we all huddle together around the Yuletide fire and play video games all day long! Yay!
But wait. Computer games on the store shelves cost so much, and some of them sure don't last very long. We know what you're thinking. How could I possibly afford enough video game goodness to keep me satisfied until New Year's Day -and beyond?
The answer? For goodness sake, head on over to Jollygood Games right now and check out some of the coolest most reasonably priced computer games available on the WWW!
We're not kidding. Play GAL-apagos, Flip Words, Betty's Beer Bar and their latest action game release, Turbo Sliders. (Turbo Sliders is a racing game that allows up to 20 network drivers to compete against each other. Lots of tracks and cars are included, plus a level editor!) You'll quickly see that Jollygood Games are all about great gameplay, affordability and fun!
And...While you're visiting, be sure to check out the new Jollygood Games Digital Eel section! All of our PC games*, Digital Eel's Big Box of Blox (Jollygood link), Dr. Blob's Organism (Jollygood link), Strange Adventures In Infinite Space (Jollygood link) and Plasmaworm (Jollygood link), are now available there, as well as actual information about Digital Eel, and of course the rest of the excellent Jollygood Games game roster. Our heartfelt thanks go out to the folks at Jollygood for their enthusiastic support. We're honored and happy to join the Jollygood family and we look forward to a great relationship with them!
*Actually, they're YOUR games. We just make them.
Also, Do It Yourself Games has posted an overview of all entries in the 2005 Independent Games Festival. Since the finalists are to be announced tomorrow, you'll definitely want to check this out so you can root for your favorites! Thanks to Greg and the DIY Games staff for mentioning Weird Worlds and Digital Eel's Big Box of Blox too!
This just in (thanks Hank): Inside Mac Games recommends Strange Adventures in Infinite Space in its 2004 Holiday Buyer's Guide, calling it "an offbeat galaxy exploration/trade/combat game for those who’d rather engage in a variety of short campaigns than one lasting weeks." That's about the size of it in 25 words or less, or 20 minutes or less if you're playing the game. Thanks to all at Inside Mac Games for mentioning SAIS and for your support. To the rest of you out there in Sector Prime hyperwave radioland, have a happy and safe Turkey Day!
Fun Things To Do While Waiting For Weird Worlds
1. Visit the Plasmaworm website and be a cheater (oh my!), and check out weird screenshots like this.
2. Visit the Strange Adventures in Infinite Space website, study the alien lifeforms of Sector Prime, download spaced-out desktop images and view snazzy screenshots of starship combat.
3. Visit the Dr. Blob's Organism website, check out the odd files page for odd files, download peculiar music tracks and see Dr. Blob's glob in action.
4. Visit the Digital Eel's Big Box of Blox website and view the future of retro now. Falling block games never looked like this, or this, or this!
5. Visit Phosphorous' online art gallery! See Lookout Frogs, Chaos Weevilz and other things that should not be.
6. Stop by the Digital Eel Nonprofit Store and pick up some hyperhip Digital Eel swag, like your very own Dr. Blob's Organism Growing Kit or even a mousepad.
7. Visit Cheapass Games and Astraware to see what they're up to these days. (Hint: Games)
8. Go to the Digital Eel Links page for even more cool things to do on a rainy day, a sunny day, a slightly overcast but generally pretty nice day, a twenty below zero day, or a national holiday, like Blowfish Day.
9. Play Digital Eel games!
10. Play Digital Eel games some more!
While you're out there surfing, be sure to stop by Gamasutra and check out Ernest Adams' enthusiastic review of Strange Adventures in Infinite Space called A Perfect Short Game (free registration required). It's a thoughtful write up. Mr. Adams really understands the game and he delves into details few reviewers have noticed. Whether you have played SAIS before or not (and if you haven't, well, shame on you!) Adams' article is a must read. Go see!
The Universe Is Expanding...
Coming soon from Digital Eel!
What are folks saying about Strange Adventures in Infinite Space for Palm and Pocket PC? We thought you'd never ask! (You did ask, didn't you? Okay, good.)
Stephen at PDArcade says "...SAIS will provide a close encounter that's fresh and entertaining." and "...fans of short explore and conquer genres will rejoice." and scores the game 7/10. Check out the review.
Brad from Daily Gadget says "...this is a game that most people will continue to keep on their handheld and has good continued playability." and "...the Combat game alone could almost sell as it's own game..." and "...you can tell a lot of thought, time and effort went into creating this game." and scores the game 5/5. Go see.
Adam Saunders at Games-art says "Call me a Star Wars nerd, but I love this game." and "Well worth the price and will keep you playing for hours." and scores the game 5/5. Take a gander.
Thanks to Stephen, Brad and Adam for playing the game and taking the time to post their comments, and special thanks to Astraware in merry old England for doing such a dynamite job bringing Strange Adventures in Infinite Space to yet another galaxy of space gamers!
It's true! Now YOU can own your very own Phosphorous! Well, at least one of you can, because Phosphorous himself has unveiled "A Day at the Beach," an original work of real live art unavailable anywhere else in the galaxy, and it's on sale now. A Day at the Beach is colorful and whimsical and it will make you laugh. Check it out!
Just in from Exaar: The Urluquai Crusade mod for Strange Adventures in Infinite Space has been updated and version 1.1 has been released. Here are a few details from the official announcement:
Changes in version 1.1
* Slightly changed fleet setup probabilities.
* Size of Unknown Corvette is now 80 so that it appears as medium-sized dot on the radar screen.
* Made some minor text changes in the string file.
* Changed planets.ini so that "Sol's Twin" is now a yellow star instead of a blue one.
* Added a sentence to the "New Features" section, explaining how to use waypoints with cloaked ships.
* Included Excel file with some statistics on game balance.
As you can see, there are no major changes in version 1.1. Accordingly, I just replaced the old "UC main files" in the download section with the new ones and left the sound files as they were.
You can learn more about The Urluquai Crusade and download all versions of the mod here. To stay up to date with the Strange Adventures in Infinite Space mod community, be sure to visit the SAIS Federation website and the mod section found on the SAIS Files page.
Many thanks from the Digital Eel gang to Matt Gallant for recommending Strange Adventures in Infinite Space as the ultimate pickup game on Gizmodo last week. Matt chose to spotlight five pickup games, games that can be completed in a matter of minutes, and we're pleased as space punch to be included. Stop by Gizmodo, go to the software section and check it out!
Astraware Presents SAIS for Palm & Pocket PC!
Hot News! Astraware has released Strange Adventures in Infinite Space for Palm OS® 5.0 (and above) high resolution color devices and Windows Mobile™ for Pocket PC. This is a slick version of SAIS, faithful to the original and jam-packed with a nearly endless variety of encounters. It's like carrying an instant space opera around in your pocket. SAIS for Palm & Pocket PC is an interstellar blast-fest unlike anything else out there, so check out the full-featured demos here. Congrats to all at Astraware for doing a great job with this port!
Four groovy Digital Eel game MOUSEPADS are now available for only $10.99 each from Cafe Press. Each pad features eye-watering Big Box of Blox, Dr. Blob's Organism, Strange Adventures in Infinite Space or Plasmaworm splash screen art by Digital Eel artist, Phosphorous! Cafe Press does excellent color transfer work and you'll want one of these so click here to visit the Digital Eel Nonprofit Store and check 'em out!
Btw, the thumbnail example images for each mousepad are kind of dark. The actual mousepads look much brighter and more colorful. Also, in order to keep prices as low as possible, Digital Eel does not make a profit from the sale of these products.
The Universe Is Expanding
May 2004 Strange Adventures In Infinite Space Mod Update
NEW! Exaar's The Urluquai Crusade (Hang out with the baddest of the bad guys.) - NEW! Jeremy Johnson's Even Stranger Adventures in Infinite Space (Completely revamps the original game in awesome ways.) - Wydraz's The Mizendar Galaxy (Captain an Aethership and explore an alternate universe.) - Alex "AlStar" Gesing's AlStar's SAIS mod (v1.2 - Features:a funky colored title screen and tons of new things to find and use.) - Chainmail Straightjacket Enterprises' Megamod (More wacky stuff to discover.) & Dogfight ("super-melee Megamod" - Everything from Megamod but with smaller faster ships for more intense combat.) - "Deep" Hunter Johnson's Renegade (Pilot a Zorg corvette, a Garthan light carrier or an Urluquai Deep Hunter.), Target Rich Environment ("TRE" - Ups the ship counts.) & Q (Adds a mysterious [text deleted for security reasons] to the game.)
For more Strange Adventures in Infinite Space mod information, links to mod author websites, alternate mod download links and related items, be sure to visit the mod section of the SAIS Files page.
The Urluquai are attacking --and you are on their side! As a mercenary, you help them to obtain crucial information for their assault on the other aliens of Sector Prime. But beware: helping the Urluquai means siding with pure evil and nobody likes you for that!
Navigate deep into enemy territory, land on hostile planets to go on dangerous ground missions, combat powerful new ships and use awesome weaponry to accomplish your task! In the end you will be paid for your services depending on the information you gather and the enemies you neutralize...Unless they blast YOU to smithereens first!
Exaar's done an amazing job with this ambitious Strange Adventures in Infinite Space modification. The Urluquai Crusade offers a ton of new content and more than a few surprises. The production is very nice throughout and the idea of hanging out with the baddest of the bad guys is irresistable. Check this mod out and prepare yourself to spend a long time plumbing its depths. The starry depths where Deep Hunters lurk, that is...
Click here to download The Urluquai Crusade from the SAIS Federation website right now! Triple thanks from Digital Eel to Exaar for creating this intriguing "expansion" to the SAIS universe. It's another "must have" add-on. Well done!
The Digital Eel Community Scroll is online today. Now you can post comments to each other, or to the Digital Eel guys, any time you want to. The Community Scroll message board is very easy to use and new features will be added from time to time, so check it out and express yourself!
The Universe Is Expanding...
Jeremy Johnson's impressive new SAIS mod, Even Stranger Adventures in Infinite Space, completely revamps the original game in awesome ways. Essentially, it's a whole new version of SAIS to play. ESAIS adds amazing new weapons, ships, items, aliens and so many changes and new things that you would think it was an official sequel or add-on. With nice art and details galore, ESAIS looks good, it's fun to explore and it plays insanely cool. Jeremy must have spent hundreds of hours on this modification but it sure paid off. ESAIS is a blast!
A big time round of applause from the brothers Eel to Jeremy for doing such a great job! -We're going to keep our eyes on this guy. He's dangerous.
So don't just sit there counting your clingons, click here to download Even Stranger Adventures in Infinite Space. Or click here to go to the SAIS files/mods page.
New Mac OS X Three Pack! (And a great deal for PC gamers too!)
Piping hot from the Mystery Kitchen, Cheapass Games is serving up the Mac OS X Boiler Plate Special, a zesty new game collection which features Digital Eel's Big Box of Blox, Dr. Blob's Organism and Strange Adventures in Infinite Space, together on one CDROM for a special low price! Whether you crave puzzles, action, adventure or strategy, Cheapass Games' Mac OS X Boiler Plate Special is a combination platter to satisfy every Mac gamer's appetite!
The Mac OS X Boiler Plate Special CDROM is packed with extra goodies, including eye-popping desktop art, the first official Digital Eel music collection, free demos of every game and lordy knows what else we put on there. You get all of this great stuff, and three award winning Mac OS X games, for only $25!
Hey, that means you get one game free!
PC gamers, you get a deal too: all three CD's, Digital Eel's Big Box of Blox, Dr. Blob's Organism and Strange Adventures in Infinite Space, with extra free goodies, for the same ridiculously low price!
Until our accountants come to their senses, this is your opportunity to get this milestone Mac CDROM release (or three PC CDROM's) and ONLY from Cheapass Games. The Boiler Plate Special is one heck of a deal, so click here to get it now!
From the Cheapass Games website: Macintosh users, hooray! At long last, Digital Eel's "Boiler Plate Special," containing OSX versions of Dr. Blob's Organism, Big Box of Blox, and Strange Adventures in Infinite Space, will soon be available. This CD will contain full versions of all three award-winning games, plus a few cool extras like desktops and music files. All this goodness plus the award-winning price of $25.00, shipping in mid-April from Cheapass Games. (Which means that it's done, manufactured and will be available this week!)
Direct to you from the Mystery Kitchen: The Dr. Blob's Organism PC v1.1 update has been released! This patch adds a new streamlined menu system, a handy windowed mode option, a few minor gfx tweaks and *drum roll* mouse support! (Hooray!) Btw, if you like Dr. Blob's Organism v1.0 the way it is, you don't really need this update -but if you want to blast blobs the modern way (wink), get it here!
All hail, Brent Roberts, Slimeslayer! Brent was born to blast blobs, and he proved it to everyone at the GDC/IGF show by racking up almost 37,000 points! If you've played the higher levels of the game, you know how wild the action gets as blobs spew spores, multiply, regenerate and GO BERSERK! Nevertheless, Brent kept his cool and jarred the jocular jelly during the final Spore Storm. Way to go, Brent, and here come the prizes: One copy each of Dr. Blob's Organism, Digital Eel's Big Box of Blox and Strange Adventures in Infinite Space (the swanky CD versions) PLUS extra goodies from the Mystery Kitchen! Congrats from all at Cheapass Games and Digital Eel!
Download .bmp format wallpaper here. (766KB)
The Zorg ambassador, Waman Vajramani, has recently returned from his homeworld bearing wondrous gifts from the outer worlds, among them the Strange Adventures in Infinite Space v1.5 patch!
Our thanks (and 10 complimentary jars of high grade iridium cranial paste) to metascientist, Divyendu, for fixing a timing problem (which occurred while moving the explorer starship on the star map) caused by faster processors in new PC's. This is a "must have" patch and it will update any PC version (v1.0 - v1.4) of SAIS, so grab it here.
Hats off to Brent the Slimeslayer for acing the Dr. Blob's Organism high score contest at the Game Developers Conference last week! There were lots of impressive scores but Brent took to DBO like slime to a petri dish, relentlessly destroying wobbly blobs and pesky spores while racking up thousands of points. 'Twas a sight to behold!
The only trouble is, we had to pack up and leave the show before Brent had a chance to claim his prize. Dang it, we want to post the score but... Brent, if you're out there, please drop us a line and tell us your high score (a very close guess will do). Then we'll mail the groovy prizes out to you.
Digital Eel is proud to announce that Dr. Blob's Organism won two, count 'em, two awards at the Independent Games Festival awards event last Wednesday. The swanky trophies are for Innovation in Audio and Innovation in Visual Arts, which in computer game terms is a fancy way of saying sound fx, music and graphics.
This was all very surprising to say the least -we were literally speechless when we accepted two awards in a row! It seems that the arty side of Dr. Blob's Organism got the judges attention. (Lucky for us that we put more time and work into DBO than we had intended!) Anyhow, since we didn't say anything when we yanked the trophies out of Alex Dunne's hands, I thought I'd do the honors here.
First, thanks to Richard, Chris H., Justin, Kyle, Ralph, Warren, Zoe, Thomas, Alex, Dan, Yannis, Howard, John P., Jani, Tom, Seth, Akiko, Matthias, Andrea, Mikko, Marc, Chris L., Amy, Rob, Bryce, Loni, James, Toivo, John C. and Glenda for your friendship, TLC and support both for Dr. Blob's Organism and indie games in general.
Thanks also to Sandlot Games, Trygames.com and Cheapass Games for your guidance and confidence, and for being willing to take a few risks!
To John Conway who invented Life some 34 years ago, sorry but this was the best thing we could think of to do with your elegant cellular automaton. We hope that you will at least appreciate the moist and squishy sound effects.
Lastly, thanks to the little people (who live secretly underneath the back porch). Without your ceaseless gibbering and disembodied whispers in the wee hours of the night Dr. Blob's Organism might have been a normal game.
Update: Be sure to check out the Digital Eel GDC Mystery Tour 2004 page to see brand new photos from the GDC/IGF road trip. They're darn peculiar!
Yo ho, it's off to the Game Developers Conference we go!
Yep, it's that time of year again, folks. The time when chubby hibernating game designers emerge from their winter dens, yawn, rub their eyes and then head to San Jose to congregate, commiserate and otherwise hobnob with their fellows and peers.
We'll be there because Dr. Blob's Organism is an Independent Games Festival nominee! As is traditional, we're going cheap so it's going to be another road trip with the usual detours. All in all it should be a memorable and weirdly cool™ adventure! We'll be sure to post an edifying pic page when we get back.
Also, and perhaps most importantly, there WILL be a Dr. Blob's Organism high score contest with prizes and swag and all kinds of stuff like that there. We'll also be giving away the coolest buttons at the show (true!) and even free Cheapass Games "t-shirts." Better be the first in line because these goodies will be gone fast!
MadMonkey.net is cool free game site which showcases independent games that are not publisher-funded. The site is constantly updated. New self-funded games appear every few days. The site also offers a number of features which allow gamers to interact with game developers, the site and each other. You can read descriptions of the games, look at screenshots, download demos, discuss indie games on the Gamedev.org forum, rate the games and even write game reviews! We urge all independent gamers to take the time to stop by MadMonkey.net and express your support, literally, for indie games! We're sure you'll have a good time when you do.
Game Tunnel continues its early and extended coverage of the Independent Games Festival with a casual interview article with your favorite game developer, Digital Eel! Game Tunnel will also be reporting from the festival itself which will be held in San Jose in late March as an adjunct event of the Game Developers Conference.
You have to give Game Tunnel kudos for their robust support of indie games and indie gamers -so stop by the Game Tunnel site and check out all of the exciting news about the coolest games in the multiverse. Do it!
Cheapass Games Circles the Square!
More cool news for gamers! (And that means you!) Digital Eel is downright giddy to announce that the PC version of Digital Eel's Big Box of Blox has been officially released on CD ROM by Cheapass Games! Now you've got something to hold on to; something to show your friends; something to hang on the wall; something to have.
Digital Eel's Big Box of Blox is a column stacking game taken to outrageous extremes! The rules are simple. With easy keystrokes carefully arrange the three-blox-high columns as they fall. Match blox in each column to eliminate rows. The gameplay is very easy going at first glance -but there's more!
Why just simply stack blox? What if you could smash them, blast them, squish them or mutate them? Digital Eel's Big Box of Blox introduces jokers, bombs, hidden blox, frogs, fireballs, slot machines, "wild" blox, boulders and lots of surprises to keep your eyes, ears, brain and fingers happy and challenged. (And that's a tall order!)
Digital Eel's Big Box of Blox also offers five different games (Flaming Peelout, Blok Atak, Groink, Mushroom King and Asylum Cubez), a custom game mode, eye-watering psychedelic graphics by Phosphorous, groovy sounds and music by Lextor Mucron and His Orchestra, multiple difficulty levels and even a cameo by our old friend, Plasmaworm.
So, what are you waiting for? Enter the Asylum, visit the Mushroom King and spin the Wheels of Fortune with Digital Eel's Big Box of Blox -Now on CD ROM from Cheapass Games!
Download .bmp format wallpaper here. (453KB)
A new high score record for Strange Adventures in Infinite Space was set last week by John Slade of St. Paul, Minnesota. After a grueling normal difficulty session he racked up 13,038 star bucks! The previous record of 12,126 star bucks was held officially by Shadowcat. I've also read that someone else scored 12,667 star bucks but I can't verify it. Congratulations to all in the SAIS President's Club! Well played!
Post-holiday news from Toad Hall, the woodsy abode of Digital Eel artist, Phosphorous!
It seems they had snow up on Raven Hill last week. Enough, in fact, to shut everything down for a few days. Alas, Phosphorous and his tribe were snowbound so all that was left to do was enjoy the beauty of a winter day.
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