The first game project I worked on was an iPhone title called Rooster Wanted. The game was coded by legendary Atari 8-bit programmer Ivan Mackintosh. We both came up with gameplay ideas and I created the artwork. Sadly, it was abandoned due to time commitments but you can see a video of the prototype running here.

This is the second title I have been involved with and is a solo project. I did not appreciate how much work goes into making a game - as a self-taught programmer I feel as if I am spending much of my time bumbling around in GameMaker (though it's getting a little easier now), writing the code to realize my ideas. 

Every level in the game has a new mechanic and I have found that many of my ideas evolve from what I originally had conceived. Occasionally, what seemed like a great idea in my head ended up not being that engaging to interact with. Usually, though, the ideas come together with some tweaking. 

To test out the logic of a new idea I quickly throw something simple together in GameMaker's art package. It usually looks quite ugly but that's by design - I tend to resize the new elements a couple of times so it doesn't matter how good it looks at first. Once it plays well I then can model the artwork in Play-Doh, cleaning it up in Photoshop, resize it, and then import it into the game. 

When this game was begun many, many moons ago it originated on the Atari 800XL (or, to be more accurate, an Atari 8-bit emulator, Altirra). Graphics were limited in terms of color and moveable objects though these both could be expanded with advanced programming tricks. As I was struggling with advanced programming tricks I switched to GameMaker because it was easier to write in and for the potential of a larger audience. 

The early version of this game was going to be set on a spaceship. You were still a robot that could stretch but the slime was going to be acid - the game's early title was Acid Reflex. I looked at lots of cutaways of submarines for inspiration for spaceship interiors and, at some point, switched to the current theme of a robot cleaning up slime in underground caves where plants and animals have mutated. 

For the first couple of months the entire game was made from programmer art and then I spent a lot of time trying to find an art style that worked. One early version used vector graphics made in Adobe Illustrator which looked fine but were not as unique as I would have preferred. We were on vacation in Santa Fe, New Mexico and were getting a few items in a pharmacy which is where I found the store's art section and some Play-Doh. This seemed like a great idea at the time and does result in interesting visuals. However, I do understand why not many games use this - it's slow to work with and digitally clean up. 

As of early November 2020 I am beginning work on cave 24. If you have not already done so you can download the demo and try out the first ten levels. Early 2021 is when I hope to release the game but please be aware that it may take a little longer.