flashygoodness

[flashygoodness]

New TOWER OF HEAVEN Project - Announcement Trailer

Although we at Askiisoft always felt TOWER OF HEAVEN was a standalone piece, we’ve come to realize how much of an impression it left on its players. Over the years, fans worldwide have sent in hundreds of remixes, instrumental covers, and fan drawings.

This unfailing outpour of support has inspired us to finally make a game that expands on the original…while staying true to its yellow-and-green roots.

For this game, we’re greatly expanding our scope. Expect lots of new innovative mechanics, classic pixel artwork, and brilliant remasters of flashygoodness‘s classic tunes, along with brand new tracks every bit as catchy as the originals.

We hope you’ll enjoy this new project, so please look forward to it.

Visit the official page:  http://askiisoft.com/games/new-tower-of-heaven-project/

[flashygoodness]

FAN ART FRIDAY: “ふぁぼされた数だけ好きなゲームをイラスト付きで紹介する ” by コルカロリ

After six long years, Tower of Heaven has been officially translated into Japanese! To celebrate the occasion, we’ll be looking at fan art from our talented friends in Japan, via Pixiv.

First, one of my favorites! コルカロリ painted a gorgeous collection of tributes to their favorite games, and Tower of Heaven was among them. The vibrant palette and hectic brushwork is truly dazzling, like gusts of wind blowing through an otherwise calming scene. Remarkable how it sneaks in patches of blue and yellow, yet still recalls the original game’s palette.

But that’s not all! In the captions, the artist also commented on the game itself (translated by Niko Aoba):

“A free game that gives off the nostalgic Game Boy vibes from 20 years ago. Simply put, a game that has you avoid obstacles to climb the tower, but as you ascend the levels, new laws are added. Even without the laws it is pretty difficult, and you will die multiple times. Deaths can add up to around 300 on the first play.”

“The music is wonderful too. It is mostly made from 4 channels. If you listen carefully throughout the stages, you will notice that they consist of the same melody. Although it is the same melody, it will never bore you, and that’s what is wonderful.”

“The music and the aesthetics of the world the game takes place in gives a reminiscence of the games “Ico” and “影の塔 (kage-no-tou - Tower of Shadows)" (actually, I haven’t played either games so I am just judging by aesthetics).

“The context seems philosophical and poetic apart from the cute features, and the beheading effect when you make a mistake gives off an ironic and unique vibe. Fun and great to play casual free game.”

“I also recommend ”Pause Ahead“ made by the same team.”

It’s always heartening to hear that our work bridges multiple cultures and, now, multiple languages. Brave the laws and topple the tower all over again, this time in Japanese!

If you’d like some artwork featured on a future Fan Art Friday, just use the Submit Button on this blog!

[flashygoodness]

This water effect is so fun to play with :D

[flashygoodness]

Had the pleasure of making the cover art for Flashygoodness’ Bean Dreams OST

Check out the music over here:http://store.flashygoodness.com/album/bean-dreams-ost

[flashygoodness]

Hey, another game from these guys! Once again, I was responsible for the music and sounds. If you liked the music, the soundtrack is available for free on my Bandcamp.

Now go and have fun!!

New Game: OVERPOWERED

Our freeware game, OverPowered, has just been released! Created in under 72 hours, OverPowered is our submission to Indies vs PewDiePie.

From the creators of Tower of Heaven and Pause Ahead comes yet another challenging platforming adventure! Brave the mysterious Pit of True Heroes with the aid of friendly old sage Master Toh and take on the fearsome demon Lord Zenithius! There’s just one problem: you’re incredibly scrawny and underpowered, not even able to hurt a bunny. Can you really become a True Hero in time to save the world from apocalyptic  destruction?

Programming: Tadakuni Amano Music/SFX: flashygoodness Art: Kenju Voices: Bill Kiley

Download the game here! (PC/Mac)

If you enjoyed it, please vote for our game on Game Jolt to help us win! Thank you very much for your support!

And for those of you anticipating Police Team Kazuo… expect more soon. Stay tuned.

[flashygoodness]

Super Secret Service

Developer: Austin Ivansmith, Johan Vinet , flashygoodness System: iOS, Android (Google Play + Amazon) Website: austinivansmith.com

Description: ”Super Secret Service is a classic action, arcade title where players control secret service agents and protect “The President” by diving through the air and sacrificing their bodies to block projectiles hurled at the stage. The game is played in a vertical orientation and players control the agents, who stand on opposite sides of a podium where The President is giving a speech, by tapping anywhere on the screen on their corresponding half; if one agent mistimes their jump, their colleague is ready to jump in and fix the error.”

Background Info: Creation Process of Super Secret Service

[flashygoodness]

Hey, I did the music and sounds for this game! It's really fun and simple to pick up and play. Please check it out!

SUPER SECRET SERVICE, a game we did with Austin Ivansmith and flashygoodness is OUT TODAY on iOS, Android and Amazon!

For more infos, visit the game’s page on Austin’s website. Here is a sample:

Features

• On sale %50 off through Nov. 16th. • It’s an addictive action game with a deceptively simple mechanic, and perfect for short burst play. • The game exudes a playful personality thanks to Johan Vinet’s amazing pixel art. • flashygoodness brings his A game with a chiptune score straight from the SNES era. • Leaderboards and achievements cataloging 10,000 possible agent combinations. • Super Secret Service is ad-free on all platforms.

And if you would like to know more about the development process behind Super Secret Service, please follow this link. 

You can also listen to (or buy) the fabulous SNES music of the game composed by talented flashygoodness!

Please reblog this! <3

[flashygoodness]

FAN ART FRIDAY: “Tower of Heaven Alternate Endings” by Kenju

Thanks to the existence of comments sections, I’m comfortable assuming most players have seen Tower of Heaven's 'secret ending' that shed some light as to Eid's fate. But wouldn't it be better with even more endings? Including thematically jarring ones that don’t quite make sense?

Fresh from fulfilling our dreams of a Game Boy Advance-styled remake, Kenju confronts a world of possibility. What if Eid had wished for something else? Are we alone in the universe? How much should one tip for pizza?

All jokes aside, this is some of the most amusing fan art we’ve received to date. Drawn with attention to detail (note the redrawn crenelations in the first two pictures, despite the allure of Ctrl+V), Kenju's renditions keep true to the atmosphere of the game while adding wispy brushwork and an offbeat sense of humor. Thanks again!

godsavant adds: “According to Kenju, the final UFO ending was actually the first one he drew, and was inspired by Adri-chan2's fan art from last week - what if Eid was instead falling up?”

If you’d like some artwork featured on a future Fan Art Friday, just use the Submit Button on this blog!

[flashygoodness]

Plant Cat: First Blossom (Flash Game)

My friends and I made a faux-GameBoy game. It's about a little cat with incredible planting powers. Please give it a try!

Quince the cat decides to go out on an adventure in search for a rare treasure! Can Quince overcome all of the obstacles on the journey? Fight your way through 5 action-packed levels! Use your magnificent seed-planting techniques to eradicate the high mountains that block your way! Show 'em who's boss, Quince!

Play Plant Cat: First Blossom

[flashygoodness]

First Mockup (Tower of Heaven)

Here, we have the very earliest style mockup for of Tower of Heaven. This is the first image I ever drew for the game, back when we were still fleshing out its core conceits. I say ‘first’, but it came after a long string of other test characters and art styles I’d been trying out all night, sitting in a log cabin being swarmed by gnats.

Note these numerous UI and game elements not present in the final product:

Read More

[flashygoodness]

This is the first promotional image for Tower of Heaven I ever drew. At the time, I’d just begun learning pixel art and had no concept of anti-aliasing, something which carried throughout the rest of that game. This also marks the beginning of my obsession with exaggerated perspective and color economy.

It’s been quite a while, hasn’t it?

flashygoodness adds: “This piece is notable for being the direct inspiration for Atop the World, the main theme of Tower of Heaven and the first composition written in the entire soundtrack.”

[flashygoodness]

Many of you might remember scaling the outside of the titular tower in the final level of Tower of Heaven. Difficult as it was, can you imagine that the original design was even more grueling and unfair? 

Despite “no rules applying” outside of the tower, there were still insta-death blocks identical to those within, something we quasi-addressed in the Flash port. Also of note is the absence of saws, and an out-of-place falling-ceiling trap near the end that I’m glad remained unused.

That said, this probably sounds like the greatest thing ever to some of you, so flashygoodness has recreated this concept level using the built-in level creator. The code is below; enjoy!

Read More

[flashygoodness]

Here is the original concept drawing that become the basis for the intermission rooms in Tower of Heaven, drawn by our resident composer flashygoodness. Note the translucent ceiling and the stars reflected in the pillars’ shadows on the floor.

[flashygoodness]

Askiisoft now has an official development blog. Follow them for updates on new projects!

At the behest of no one, welcome to the inaugural update of Askiisoft’s very own development blog! In case you’re lost, we’re the people behind games like Tower of Heaven, Pause Ahead, and many more cult classics to come.

[flashygoodness]

A short animation created by Matthew Cangelosi for DigiPen, with music by me. Enjoy!

[flashygoodness]

I was part of a Ludum Dare Jam game! Our main programmer had to withdraw at the last minute, so I ended up taking his role.

[flashygoodness]

Ange Pon!

Here's a custom stage for Pushmo, a cute and clever puzzle game from Intelligent Systems (who developed Paper Mario and Advance Wars)! You can get it from the 3DS eShop.

If you have the game, you know what to do. Scan in this QR code with the 3DS camera to save the custom map to your system. Let me know how you liked the stage if you get a chance to play it!