• Snowflake Released

    Check out my newest game, Snowflake, on Kongregate!

    Snowflake

  • Chroma Invader

    Chroma Invader is now available for FREE online play.

    Chroma Invader 6_532x400

  • Thrust or Bust: Now on Kongregate

    Thrust or Bust is now free to play on Kongregate!

    Thrust Or Bust_532x400

Voxels and Vardos

posted by Duke
Apr 16


Here is a screenshot of a voxel-based gypsy wagon (more officially known as a vardo) which will be appearing in the new game I’ve been talking about, which I’ve decided to call “Dungeon’s Fortune”. Much work has been going into the voxel graphics engine lately. So far, 14 different block shapes (rotatable/mirrorable to any cardinal orientation) are implemented, as is multicolored lighting (precalculated or real-time). For purposes of this game, I’m using a scale of one voxel or block being 9 inches on each side. I like this scale because it seems convenient for building representations of real-world objects.

Now that I have a working engine and editor, after the editor gets a few more features, it will be time to begin looking at a combat system.

I’m also creating a Game page for the game. It should be up shortly.

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Smiling Cat Donates $100 to Crohns & Colitis Foundation of America

posted by Duke
Apr 16

The Good Gaming Initiative may have ended for now, but not before Smiling Cat Entertainment donates $100.00 to their last (for now) featured charity, the Crohns & Colitis Foundation of America. I hope to continue supporting worthy quality-of-life causes, and then eventually, when the time is right, re-establish the Good Gaming Initiative in some form.

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Thrust or Bust Released on Kongregate

posted by Duke
Mar 3

Thrust or Bust has been released on Kongregate, and the promised updates to Chroma Invader and Snowflake are complete as well. If you haven’t already, please play and rate all three games on Kongregate. I have added convenient links to the Kongregate versions of the games in the sidebar of this site.

My Google Adwords campaign is also up and running (albeit clunkily, I think I need some SEO on my landing pages), so you may start seeing ads for Thrust or Bust or for the Good Gaming Initiative out in the wild.

I hope Thrust or Bust is well-received on Kongregate. I’m looking forward to seeing what badges they create for the game.

For the rest of today, I’ll be checking in on the stats of Thrust or Bust, of course. I also will be hard at work on the Dungeon’s Fortune project.

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Kongregate Release of Thrust or Bust Set for March 3rd

posted by Duke
Feb 25

Thrust or Bust will be coming to Kongregate on Saturday, March 3rd, at 8:00am EST. At that time, Chroma Invader and Snowflake will be updated as well. Later that day, my Google AdWords campaigns should be up and running.

Once Thrust or Bust is released, I will post the link to the new Kongregate version, and will be removing links to all old versions, including the downloadable version.

Hope to see everyone posting their high scores next Saturday!

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Thrust or Bust is Coming to Kongregate

posted by Duke
Feb 18

Some of you may have noticed that my flagship game, Thrust or Bust, is not yet on Kongregate in any form (Web or Challenge edition). There is a very good reason why that is so: I wanted to give Thrust or Bust a few enhancements before relaunching it on Kongregate.

The Web and downloadable Challenge editions of Thrust or Bust will be combined into a single package with two gameplay modes. In addition, Thrust or Bust will be the first Smiling Cat game to be integrated with Kongregate’s API, which will allow high scores to be tracked directly on the Kongregate site, as well as opening up the possibility of Kongregate Badge Achievements. Some other enhancements are going in, too, such as some changes to the music, volume/mute controls, and streaming loading. I am looking to apply some of these changes to Chroma Invader and Snowflake as well.

I hope to have this work done within a couple of weeks, and plan to put together a modest marketing campaign to coincide with the re-release of this great game. I will post further updates as release plans firm up.

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Mid-Winter Update

posted by Duke
Feb 4

Over the last few weekends, I have been designing the encounter engine for the fortune-telling dungeon explorer game that I mentioned in my last update. While all I have so far graphically are some placeholders, I’m pleased with how the encounter engine is coming together. I’ve also been working on the story, and I think I have the major plot points of the first episode all worked out.

Despite all of this progress, though, I still need a good graphic artist to make this project succeed. Someone who can do 3D modeling, texturing, rigging, and the lot, as well as 2D artwork. If anyone out there is willing to work on this project in that capacity on a contingency basis (if it makes money, you make money), please give me a shout.

Today I finally get to fix my file server, now that the hard drive shortage is passing. Its RAID has been in failover mode for some time, leaving me with that not-so-secure feeling. Once that is done, it’s back to the encounter engine.

As for the Good Gaming Initiative, so far we have not received any contributions. I am still hoping to use my games to somehow give back to the community at large. For now, the Good Gaming Initiative will continue. Since I’ve not yet done my part by posting about the Crohns & Colitis Foundation of America, I am extending sponsorship of that charity for another month, until March 31, and will post about it right now.

Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis are both debilitating diseases that severely affects the quality of life of over a million people worldwide. The Crohns & Colitis Foundation of America is dedicated to finding cures for both diseases, as well as improving the quality of life of people suffering from those diseases. Over a third of the money contributed to them funds medical research, with nearly 80% of donations overall going to programs. They consistently meet the standards of the American Institute of Philanthropy as well as other charity watchdogs. For these reasons, I chose the Crohns & Colitis Foundation of America as Smiling Cat’s first sponsored charity for 2012.

Please remember to get out there on Kongregate and rate up my games. Your support is very much appreciated!

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Looking Forward into 2012

posted by Duke
Jan 4

After a relaxing holiday season following the release of Snowflake, I am ready to hit the ground running again with a new game project. But which one? I have so many ideas. I will probably spend the next couple of weeks exploring proofs of concept – one idea of mine that is gaining favor involves using fortune-telling cards to explore dungeons. I’ll let you know more when I have something workable.

As promised, the Good Gaming Initiative has sent $100 to the Prevent Cancer Foundation. For January and February, the chosen charity will be the Crohns & Colitis Foundation of America. At the weekend, I will try to post an article about why this particular charity was chosen.

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I’ll Kick In $100 to Get the Ball Rolling

posted by Duke
Dec 10

In addition to amounts donated from any contributions that are made between now and December 31st, I will personally pledge to contribute $100 to the Prevent Cancer Foundation. Remember that your contribution serves two noble causes: aiding the fight to prevent cancer, and helping Smiling Cat to create even better games in the future.

Also, if you have not already, please head over to Kongregate and rate Snowflake and Chroma Invader. Your ratings directly help my games get to the top of the lists on the site, which gets the games more hits and more recognition. Thanks!

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Snowflake to be Released December 1st

posted by Duke
Nov 30

I’m excited to announce that Smiling Cat will be releasing Snowflake, a new browser game offering, on December 1st. The idea of the game is to click the falling snowflakes, each time matching either the size or the shape of the last snowflake that you clicked. This game will be playable on Kongregate, and my hope is that in the near future I can do a Android/iPhone release of the game.

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Gaming to Prevent Cancer

posted by Duke
Nov 12

Our first charity beneficiary for the Smiling Cat’s Good Gaming Initiative is the Prevent Cancer Foundation. My main reason for this choice is a personal one. Earlier this week, a good friend of mine was diagnosed with colon cancer at a very early age. It was a rather large tumor that apparently had been there for some time. Seeing how much damage the tumor caused while left untreated reinforced for me the need for prevention, early detection, and early treatment. I will make a strong argument, though, that the best kind of cancer is the kind that you never get, so cancer prevention is the first and one of the most important steps toward curtailing this disease.

I found the Prevent Cancer Foundation to be unique among top-rated cancer-related charities in that they focus their efforts largely on cancer education and prevention. In 25 years of service, the Prevent Cancer Foundation has provided more than $125 million dollars for their mission, contributing to the areas of research, education, and community outreach.

Due to their dedication to cancer prevention efforts, I am proud to select the Prevent Cancer Foundation as the first beneficiary of the Smiling Cat’s Good Gaming Initiative.

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