The GHZ Forum

Big news for me, guys! Fire up your Xbox 360s, get to the Indie Marketplace, and download the demo for Astroman, because it is a game that I made along with my friend Daniel, the same guy who programmed Sky Puppy back in the day. It just came out, finally! I have resisted talking about it until now because we are modest people at the GHZ who never tell each other what exciting things we are doing.

It is a platformer about a guy in space. You can check out a trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZlD6J5LQaY

Or you can go straight to the Marketplace website and add it to your queue from there, if you like! http://tinyurl.com/2a2zmu3

Anyway I hope you like it, and every download helps get us closer to a slot on the Top Downloads page so even if you don't like it or buy it, it helps us out even if you just try it. Or all your friends try it. TELL EVERYONE OK.

I loved the atmosphere of Sky Puppy, and it looks like this will have a similarly sublime aura. I'll give it a shot. About how long is it?

It looks pretty decent. Any chance of a PC version?

No Xbox 360, which is a shame because it looks like a lot of fun! A PC version would be pretty cool, and a Mac version would be sublime - you might even make some money because this is exactly the sort of thing I'd love to have around on my iPhone (if I had an iPhone, that is).

Re; How long, when my brother play-tested it, it took him over 5 hours, but the game he played is also harder than the finished product (even on the hard difficulty setting). I can do it a lot faster, but then, I made it.

There might be a PC version, and maybe a version for Windows 7 phones (iPhone is very unlikely), but it's up to the programmer if he wants to make those versions, and that will depend if the Xbox sales are encouraging enough to make it worth his while. So I don't recommend waiting for a different version if the 360 version is an option.

Nice, mang. My ess-boss is 3000 miles away (and much warmer than I) but I'll grab it when I get home.

That looks totally rad. I don't have a 360, but I will force my friends into trying it.

Tiny Barbarian is very pretty too.

Looks like a charming game that I'd love to play but unfortunately my 360 red-ringed a while back and I've still yet to fix it. I just came into a bit of money recently though, so this and the eventual Mass Effect 3 could be a good incentive for me to finally send it in.

It blows my mind that I have pretty direct contact with people who are living the dream and make real games. This looks sweet! There's you, my buddy who worked on Octodad, and this other guy who's working on a isometric shooter for iPhone/iPad. I'll definitely check this out if I get my hands on a 360 soon.

gr4yJ4Y wrote: Octodad

That looks like a total acid trip of a game.

I don't know about living the dream quite yet, because my dream also involves certain financial freedoms. Step 1 is completed, at least!

Man, Octodad is a strange thing. I don't know which is stranger, that the dad is an octopus or that his daughter is under attack by so many giant spiders.

I will buy this thing. I have decided.

awesome game. on level four at the moment.

FUck. My Xbox just red ringed. And apparently Astroman isn't on isohunt yet JUST KIDDING MAN

Sky Puppy was really awesome. I'd really like myself some Sky Puppy for the iPhone. Oh yeah that reminds me! There's a level (a warp zone level actually) on Super Meat Boy named Sky Pup!I've been meaning to ask you about that for a while now.

I don't know when I'll have the opportunity to play the game, but it's nice to see your projects going well. Congrats!

Opa-Opa wrote:There's a level (a warp zone level actually) on Super Meat Boy named Sky Pup!I've been meaning to ask you about that for a while now.

I saw that! As far as I can tell there is no connection, or at least, I think I did the level and it didn't fire anything in my brain. They certainly never contacted me about it.

Mate, this looks seriously great. I'd like a PC version, please! No rush, take your time.

The soundtrack has been released, if you are interested in that sort of thing, for free even!
http://jeffedwardball.com/?p=147

I got the moon jump and the hover ability and the scaner. Ship parts I have one laser, and something else i can't remember the name of. and I having trouble finding extra stuff right now. farthest level I beat was level 6.

Cool! :) You'll have to backtrack some to find the items you need, but the scanner will tell you what planets they're on if you bring your ship near them. If you need specific help, there's a walk through on our site. http://www.starquail.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?t=8

Just beat it on Astromaniac. Good game! There were some great platforming challenges, especially on planet 9. I kind of want to go back and replay them just to see if I can get through without taking damage. I think it could've used one more boss (BTW, is it actually possible to kill the worm without taking damage? I must've died a dozen times there), and maybe a third form for the final boss. If I had to compare it to something I think it would be Tails Adventure. If it were as long and varied as it I would say it was the better game. My complements to Jeff on the music, but my roommate thought the level themes were too short. Oh, and the graphics and enemy design were good too I guess.

Planet 9 is definitely my favorite. :)

I'm not sure if I've actually done it without getting hit, but it's definitely possible. The method I use is to retreat away from the side of the screen he dashed to as the homing shots are coming out, so I've got as much room as possible to dodge in when he comes back out (he always comes out the same side he entered), but it's best to pace yourself a bit too, so the shots miss you as you're moving across and don't corner you. It's still easy to get tripped up though! On normal there's more time between dashes, so you have more time to position yourself advantageously.

Tiny Barbarian is very pretty too.

I just finished up Tiny Barbarian! :D

http://www.starquail.com/TinyBarbarian/TinyB.html

It's a much shorter little project, but it's one that I programmed myself, using Game Maker, and it's completely free. Music was provided again by Jeff Ball. The game was inspired by the Conan the Barbarian story "The Frost Giant's Daughter" and loosely follows its events, but I didn't go to any particular effort to make sure it was accurate.

D-does it run on Macs?

Nope, it's an executable. :|