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I noticed that a lot of my older game projects are not accessible any more because they either use Flash or the old Unity WebPlayer. Ah, good old unsafe times. Anyway, I uploaded Wunderworld on itch.io just so I can link to a download. I made that one in 2012 for Ludum Dare 23, and it was actually more of a game-design tool than a game.
Some more Rat King history: Inclossssure was our first Global Game Jam entry, back in 2012. As there wasn't any local site, we hosted it ourselves, with the help of the HTWK in Leipzig. The game itself was our answer to the question "what if Snake was a bit more like an RPG".
Another re-upload of an old jam game: Soliloquy. Overall a bit awkward to play, but it holds a special place in my heart, and it's part of a couple of games that I call my "camera experiments", where I try out things with how the camera in a game works. In this case, you see two screens at the same time, but it only becomes apparent in the later levels. Such a 'puzzle platformer with a twist' was pretty en vogue back in 2011.
Rat King's History, Part IV: Today I uploaded Me against the Mutants, another jam game from 2012, but this one is fully 2D, made with ActionScript/Flash! I had the idea for such an "infinity game" before, but the Seven-Day-Roguelike-Challenge from 2012 was the place to finally try it out. It's pretty hard overall, and some people can't even find out how to enter the level, hehe. I'm still pretty proud of the technical achievement.
Today I (re)uploaded HATESNAKE3D. It was exclusively for Android for a while, but I thought I should also offer the PC version again. HATESNAKE3D was made for the second IndieBuskers, a game jam by a few indie developers of Ludum Dare "fame" who thought to make a quick buck this way. Well, I guess we did well enough to do a second one. I worked alone on HATESNAKE3D during the weekend, and I became so depressed I almost didn't finish it...
Historical Rat King Jam Games VI: Kernel Exception - this action strategy game is a mix of System Shock and Dungeon Keeper. A bit under-baked overall, but a fun idea IMHO. Could really use some polish. As a space station AI gone rogue you (try to) take over all the robots and inhabitants. We worked together with a friend on this, over three days in our tiny living room, so it definitely was intense.
Rat King Jam Game History, Part VII. Another 2D game - I didn't make many of those. For a while I really liked ActionScript and Flashpunk though. For Ludum Dare 21, back in 2011, I made a game about luring little bunnies with carrots: Bunnies, Back Into Your Cage! The controls are not the best, because movement is very constricted to a grid. Sadly the game did not make a lasting impact, but nowadays it might have the cosiness bonus.
A notgame from 2013 is Part VIII of the Rat King Game History. We made Rat Race for a Notgame Fest in Cologne, organized by Tale of Tales (I should check what they're doing nowadays). Sadly it wasn't selected for the exhibition. The "game" is simple: You're a rat in a cage, and very lonely. After a while you die.
Fun fact: the cage was modelled after the one we had for some years for our rats.
Rat King / ratrogue Game History, Part IX! Tale of Scale was my entry for Ludum Dare 25, back in December 2012. The scale mechanic is kinda fun, but I couldn't create enough gameplay with it within ~36 hours, so it only has 3 levels. Some people wondered if Superliminal had stolen the mechanic, but that's not the case. (It was a coincidence.) I did give the developer some tips though on how I implemented it when they asked. Maybe it helped.
One of my very first jam games is Part X of the Rat King Game History. Moon Laser Duo was mine and Björn Grunewald's entry for the Overnight Contest at the Devmania 2010 (a German annual event which sadly doesn't exist any more). We actually made first place, which earned us a trophy and the special edition of Anno 1404.
The game itself is a simple co-op only laser action game with nice music from Doron Deutsch.
Ratrogue Jam Game History, Part XI: Broken Radio. I made this for the local game jam in Kassel at the Spielesalon 2013; it was hosted by Jana so I knew the theme in advance. Still, I had three other prototypes before I got to this one during the jam: you control a number of thieves, but not always at the same time. I'm quite happy about it because I feel it's somewhat polished. Also nice: the sounds were made on-site with my crappy phone's mic.
Part XII of the Rat King / Ratrogue Game History - Treasure Chest Island (the German title "Schatztruheninsel" is better, trust me). I think it's fun, or rather funny, but Grune's and mine second Devmania Overnight Contest entry wasn't as well received as Moon Laser Duo. Well, nonetheless, here it is now, the 2011 frantic coin collection game in which you play a tresure chest, with highscore:
Rat King Game History, Part XIII: Double Rogue was my entry for the 7-Day #Roguelike Challenge 2013. I liked it enough that I made a version for Android afterwards; this much improved version is finally available for desktop too.
The game is about a mage and a barbarian that were merged into one being. In six worlds of the cube dimension they now have to find the Amulet of Yendor. I think it's a fun premise and it has some cosy aesthetics.
Ratrogue Game History, Part XIV (it's over soon, I promise) is about Svetovid. More of an absurd experiment than an actual game, this entry for the 7DFPS back in 2013 features six camera views instead of one! And you cannot rotate! That's basically it, you try to kill some cubic enemies and find the exit, done. If I'd do Svetovid again, I would definitely make it real-time instead of turn-based.
Rat King Game History, Part XV - the original TRI! Barely playable nowadays, but back then I was pretty proud of the idea, and that it actually worked as a game. Shoot points and manifest triangles, walk over acid and bend lasers, so yeah, it's basically a Portal-like puzzle platformer. Did you know we made a full game out of this Ludum Dare 20 jam entry from 2011? It's true!
Now on to Rat King Game History Part XVI with Tumblox. After a surprise "success" with our roguelike Pitman on the iPhone, we thought making another game for mobile would be a good idea, and after some prototyping I came up with this puzzle mechanic of rotating and falling boxes. The game was pretty much a fail, both in terms of sales and also, to be very honest, in gameplay and level design. Still, it's part of our history, so here it is again:
Ratrogue Game Jam History, Part XVII. Maybe the last one, for now.
Back in 2014 I hosted a Mini #LudumDare with the theme Demakes. My own entry Thf was a mix of Thief and Hotline Miami, basically a frantic quick-stealth action game with the usual goal of collecting as much loot as possible without being seen. I liked the concept and can imagine it as a full game, but I'd change the player movement nowadays.
Turns out I still have some smaller projects I'd like to add to itch, so I guess this is the Game History, Part XVIII, with Forest Poems. It was our entry for our Climate Change Jam on Alakajam, and it's more of a collaborative writing tool than a game. It's mostly a reminder to plant some trees (which, by pure coincidence, we did today actually).
Ratrogue Jam Game History, Part XIX: A small puzzle game called SNAKOBAN, made with Haxe and Sos' Allegro port to JavaScript. Surprisingly, it's a mix of Snake and Sokoban. I was glad that the concept kind of works.
Made for MiniLudumDare 63, back when MiniLudumDares were still a thing and one of the best parts of the community. Oh, I miss these times in the #ludumdare IRC.
Rat King Jam Game History, Part XX! This is Super No Brainer, our entry for the F*ck This Jam 2012, where you had to make a game in a genre that you hate. We hated Color Matching games and Zombie Shooters, so we combined those to an extra detestable mix. Click on ammo to shoot zombies, otherwise they gonna eat your tiles!
Ratrogue Game History, Part XXI - is for Loguerike. Another game made with #haxe, this one uses luxe from back when luxe was a haxe framework. The game itself is a very abstract #roguelike, you're jumping around on stacks of random events. It's more fun than I expected.
We actually planned to make a full mobile game out of it, but stopped the development quite early.
Part XXII of the Rat King Jam Game History is about a very special game - our first roguelike, and the one that (after some more work) became our first commercial game. We made Pitman Krumb for the 7DRL Challenge 2011, and back then it was very uncommon to make a roguelike with Unity or in 3D in general. It's mostly inspired by boardgames (like HeroQuest), as I wasn't sure I could make a good procedurally generated dungeon.
Okay, I did it, I uploaded 14 games at once, as Part XXIII of the Ratrogue Jam Game History. Those are all games made within a few hours or less, often for the One Hour Game Jam (which celebrates the 500th jam tomorrow)!
Most of the jam games are crappy of course, but some I actually like, e.g. BlockJump, Coxel and TowerBricks.
The Rat King Game History ends with the beginning. Karoshi! was our very 1st jam game, back in 2010, right after we finished our studies. Rat King didn't exist yet, but we (@ratqueen & I) thought this game shows that we *can* make games and thus founded our little indie studio.
Karoshi! is a multiplayer-only game made in 2 months, inspired by Dungeon Keeper, with an office setting in which you place furniture & attack the other office workers.