Game Jam Projects:
Moly and the Ginger
While running the second Molyjam: Boston, I decided to work on a solo Atari 2600 project. I wanted to test the minimum constraints of a narrative and combine that with some really tight assembly code. Moly and the Ginger has a three-act structure, clear protagonist and antagonist, and multiple endings complete with music, and is delivered in under a minute of total game time and comes in at just over 2 kb. The plot is derived from two quotes by Peter Molynieux.
More information, and the playable game, are available at http://www.molyjam.com/games/83.
More information, and the playable game, are available at http://www.molyjam.com/games/83.
Zeebi Labs
At my second Global Game Jam, I was feeling uninspired. By then I had already been the creative lead on five of the seven game jam games I had created and was happy to let someone else take control. Luckily, I saw an amazing pitch about having children create experiments in order to teach the scientific method. With a long history of playing educational games, I was hooked. After the jam we would take it to the Mass DIGI Game Challenge, and would get the runner-up prize for Best Online Game.
It can be played under its previous name, Goomba Labs here: http://bostongamejams.com/games/ggj2013/goomba_lab/
It can be played under its previous name, Goomba Labs here: http://bostongamejams.com/games/ggj2013/goomba_lab/
Live Free or Dice
During the first Boston Festival of Indie Games jam, my co-organizer and I decided to assemble a small game. He wanted to create a de-make of Dice Wars, which itself is a de-make of Risk. I had wanted to try a game engine called Perlenspiel which was created by Professor Brian Moriarty while I was studying at WPI. The result was a hotseat-multiplayer strategy game created in about 6 man-hours of time. The lower left colored pixel is the active player, and the black bar is the next turn button.
It can be played at http://darrentorpey.com/games/livefreeordice/.
It can be played at http://darrentorpey.com/games/livefreeordice/.
Unreliably Yours
The first Molyjam involved creating games based on the tweets of a @PeterMolydeux, a parody of Peter Molynieux. I had always wanted to create a SCUMM style adventure game like Monkey Island or Full Throttle, and I saw this jam as an opportunity to try the Adventure Game Studio. Our artist had initially planned on doing full color after completing his sketches, but we loved the black and white stick figures so much that we kept them for the final game. As the plot and puzzles were simple, we spent a lot of time writing humorous dialog and creating funny interactions with the world. Apparently we did a good job, as Games Magazine decided to feature us in an article titled "The Best of Molyjam".
It can be downloaded at http://archive.molyjam.com/display.php?GameID=290
It can be downloaded at http://archive.molyjam.com/display.php?GameID=290
Sleepwalking Backwards
For Global Game Jam, we decided to make a dark, narrative-heavy game for the Commodore 64. I was one of two programmers on the project, working in 6502 assembly and getting to know the memory map of the C64. We were trying to get at the core of telling a story in few words and with few images, yet creating emotion. Some players were quite shaken upon completing the game and we ended up including a warning disclaimer as a result. It is one of the most unique games I have ever created.
Play it here: http://files.arshangailus.com/sleepwalkingbackwards/
Play it here: http://files.arshangailus.com/sleepwalkingbackwards/
Rave Thru Dawn
For HTML 5 jam, my team created a game about DJing at a club and playing different types of music to make as many people as possible dance. The more they enjoy themselves, the longer they stay, the more money you get from them buying drinks, and with that money, you can play better and better songs. It was built in Impact.js and was created by the largest game jam team in which I have participated.
Play it here: http://ravegame.herokuapp.com/
Play it here: http://ravegame.herokuapp.com/
Detroit
A card game made for the first Cardboard Jam where the players take on the roles of various members of the Detroit city council. Crises approach, and only through cooperation can the players save the city. It was an experiment in a cooperative-competetive game, and as such it relies on players carefully investing in their own agendas without causing everybody to lose.
Radio Moonbase
At my second game jam, the Lunar Jam, we had tons of Berklee music students in attendance. I have always loved music and rhythm games, so I came up with the idea of an interactive musical toy where orbiting planets would be linked to different instruments, allowing a player to create an ambient soundscape. Once again I worked in Akihabara for this project, and the game can be played here http://bostongamejams.com/games/lunar_jam_2010/radio_moonbase/.
NOTE: Z Key to start
NOTE: Z Key to start
Invasive Species
My first game jam was the Immigration Jam, and I pitched an idea about invasive species moving from country to country, and trying to balance the world's ecosystems. We ended up making a digital card game using a JS game engine called Akihabara. Though the game never left the prototype phase, I learned a tremendous amount that would come in use in future jams.