It's been almost 2 years since I last uploaded a game here, this is entirely due to focussing on studying and exam work but fortunately that's all paid off and I now have some free time!

I actually have two projects on the go in the hope of kick starting my return to the scene, one of them is almost finished while the other is making rapid progress.

The game I hope to be releasing in the very near future is essentially crazy Pong, you play in a variety of arenas each with their own quirks and twists to the gameplay, you collect points and medals through your victories which you then use to unlock more levels and upgrade your paddle. The ultimate goal is to become the greatest, which means beating all of the campaign levels.

The big thing about this game for me is the AI, I've done my best to make the computer controlled opponents as natural as possible and to some extent I feel I've succeeded, to the point where I've added an AI vs. AI mode in which you pick a level and let two computer paddles go at it, their game-play is very different every time. Video 1 shows me demonstrating the AI

The other project I started this month and have made huge progress with over the last week, it's very ambitious like some of my older projects in terms of content (I'm aiming for at least 100 levels + an increasing difficulty every time it's beaten.) This game's working title is 'Alone in the Dark' and is a mouse avoider in which you guide a ball of light from flame to flame, firing pulses of light to help see your way around the pitch black mazes.

This game very much plays with the idea of sight and your dependence on it to progress, you have a limit to how many pulses you can fire before you are extinguished but the only true way to die is to collide with a wall or obstacle. You can replenish your pulses by reaching exits, checkpoints or refreshment flames. Video 2 shows a powerups demo for this game.

As you progress in the game you start to reach areas with multiple exits and the game suddenly begins to branch out, giving you the possibility of replaying the game by choosing alternative paths and uncovering new areas. Videos 3 and 4 show some of the different areas in the game and how the obstacles change between them.

Video 1 - Pong AI Demo
Video 2 - Powerups + Gameplay Demo
Video 3 - Waterworks and Armoury Preview
Video 4 - Greenhouse Preview

So that's where I'm at currently, the Pong game is practically finished and I'm hoping to release that this month. Alone in the Dark will be released some time after, probably under a new title.

If you didn't have time to read through this whole thing (which is fine) I recommend you at least take a quick look at Video 4 above.