jimmyandthepulsatingmass

[jimmyandthepulsatingmass]

June Commission Discount

Money's tight, so for the rest of June, I'm lowering my commission rate to $200/minute of music. I mainly compose music for video games (Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass, Hymn to the Earless God), but I'll work on anything. Here's a big list of my music if you want to hear the type of stuff I like to compose:

Soundcloud:

Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass soundtrack:

Hymn to the Earless God soundtrack (partial):

Recesses soundtrack (just the stuff I did):

[jimmyandthepulsatingmass]

._.

extra doodles cuz I wanted to draw the mouse family ._ .)

[jimmyandthepulsatingmass]

Hypothetically, if we were to produce some merchandise for Jimmy, what kind of stuff would you be interested in buying?

[jimmyandthepulsatingmass]

it is a random question from some fucking guy

Ahoy, stranger!

I know how hard it is to reach out to somebody, but all the same, I still do it over and over again.

Objectively, you made a blog post on the rpgmaker forums about the vidcon _Weird and Unfortunate Things are Happening_ by Unity. You expressed opinions there that I broadly agree with. Unity created something excellent, and you were at least partially responsible for alerting me to that fact.

So to say, sir, what you have accomplished in Jimmy goes beyond mere magic, and, as a wizard, I would gladly cast spells on your behalf.

Erm, all apologies ifn this is too weird. I swear I could make it make sense if you ever come to Baltimore, but you don't need to.

-Kaz

Yes! Weird and Unfortunate Things Are Happening is definitely worth checking out for Jimmy fans. I'd say it's Jimmy adjacent in terms of trying to combine elements of Yume Nikki and Earthbound, but the end result is quite a bit different (but still great!).

Just got back from a trip to Jersey--about the closest to Baltimore I've gotten. Ships in the night... P.S. for people who live in Jersey; ate at Lucille's Luncheonette and bought a raspberry-apple pie that was genuinely one of the best pies I've ever had. There were lots of pies, so that probably wasn't even the best on the menu.

[jimmyandthepulsatingmass]

Steam Autumn Sale

Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass is 30% off for the Steam Autumn Sale right now! If you haven't checked it out and like RPGs with comedy, horror, heart, and smart mechanics, give it a shot!

[jimmyandthepulsatingmass]

Thanks for tagging me! Cool to see Jimmy's music getting out there.

[jimmyandthepulsatingmass]

JIMBYPIRE

Happy Halloween! 🎃

[jimmyandthepulsatingmass]

Born Under the Rain

The last of my old games is now up on itch.io. It's called Born Under the Rain. From the page:

"Born Under the Rain was a game jam entry for the first McBacon Jam on rpgmaker.net back in 2015.  It's a collaborative effort mostly between me, LockeZ, and Indrah, as well as some original pixel art here and there by Crazy_Leen.  We worked on this for about a month; at the time, I was working on Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass and needed a break, plus I just wanted to work with Indrah and LockeZ, and the end result was this short, charming fantasy ancient Egyptian-themed RPG."

You can play the game here:

https://housekeepinggames.itch.io/born-under-the-rain

[jimmyandthepulsatingmass]

Hey there! I finally finished the demo for Hymn to the Earless God, and holy shit??? It's so good??? I adore this grungy horror aesthetic, the combat is very very fun, and the writing is even better than it was in Jimmy. Also, I was astonished at the artwork in the game. Jimmy was a good looking game, but Hymn is on a whole different level!

It's earned its rank among the only other games I'm actually excited about coming out, Duel Corp, Aotenjo, and the new Fatal Fury. You can bet I'll be playing it on launch day!

Hey, thanks so much! I'm glad people responded favorably to the Hymn demo, because I think it captures the moment-to-moment gameplay, but the stuff I'm most excited about are things I can't really cram into a demo. Can't wait for people to experience the whole game!

[jimmyandthepulsatingmass]

The Heart Pumps Clay

I just uploaded another of my old games to itch.io. This one's called The Heart Pumps Clay; check it out here:

From the page:

"The Heart Pumps Clay was my entry in the 2014 Indie Game Maker Contest.  I had been working on an early version of Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass, which was a much shorter version that I was going to use to show the RPG Maker community how much I'd grown as a developer, then the IGMC came around and I thought, screw it, I'll just make a game for that.  Making The Heart Pumps Clay gave me the confidence to rework Jimmy into what it is today, so this was a huge stepping stone for me as a developer.

In a lot of ways, The Heart Pumps Clay is kind of a proto-Jimmy.  There's equipment that drastically changes your characters, an emphasis on a steal mechanic that operates very similarly to Jimmy's, and this was the first game where I actually did the sprite art.  It's rough, but some of it's actually a little charming--particularly some of the battle sprites."

It's a pretty short game, clocking in at about 1-2 hours, so if you're a Jimmy fan that wants to see some of those early gameplay ideas before they were more fully fleshed out, it might be worth your time.

[jimmyandthepulsatingmass]

The God of Crawling Eyes

Just in time for Halloween, I've added The God of Crawling Eyes to itch.io:

From the itch page:

The God of Crawling Eyes was a game I made in the early 2010s for a game jam on rpgmaker.net.  The game took around 20-25 days to make, mostly because of its short play time and minimalist aesthetic.  

I kind of made it just as a segue into the RPG Maker community, as I was going to upload A Very Long Rope to the Top of the Sky and thought I could get more eyes on the project if I won the game jam.  I don't think I won, but I did get a lot of eyes on this one--I was completely unaware at the time of the huge RPG Maker horror scene and the many people who were ravenous for games that fit that mold.  It ended up being my most-downloaded game on rpgmaker.net by far.

The story's about Max, a high school kid taking some experimental medication for his color blindness.  But, the medication is making him see...OtHeR tHiNgS...

Features:

-Genuine spooks! -Surprisingly good atmosphere for MIDI music tracks! -Adventure gamey, puzzley stuff--some of which isn't even that obtuse! -4 different endings! -Little secrets!

[jimmyandthepulsatingmass]

A Very Long Rope to the Top of the Sky

I've added a Very Long Rope to the Top of the Sky to itch.io!

This is mainly a response to the ask I got the other day to upload God of Crawling Eyes (which I'll get to next, I swear!). Since rpgmaker.net has been down for some time and the only upload for my old games is on archive.org, it felt like probably a good idea to upload everything on itch.io for the sake of preservation. I'm just going to upload them every day or so until they're all there.

From the page:

A Very Long Rope to the Top of the Sky was my first complete game.  It was an overly ambitious, full-length RPG that I had no business making with my rudimentary understanding of game development at the time, but it still has its charm.

The mechanics are pretty by-the-numbers rpg maker, the mapping is generally not detailed enough, and the graphics are RTP with an occasional edit, but the writing mostly holds up and some of the songs are great--even if they're MIDI.  If you're willing to overlook the simplicity of the battle system and the rough-around-the-edges aspects of the game, there's enough here to legitimately enjoy.

The story starts with Mint and Ivy, two sisters who are grappling with the death of their father.  They live on a barren planet, so barren that they've never run into any people outside of their immediate family.  But, there's a rope hanging next to their house.  It's always been there.  It goes up and up and up, so far that it disappears into the clouds.  With their father dead, their attempts at foraging falling short, and the world filled with dangerous monsters, they have no choice but to climb the rope.  What awaits them, above the clouds?

Features: -Original music -Character-centric storyline -40+ hours of gameplay -Different equipment sets that modify the ways characters play -A crafting system featuring over 100 pieces of unique equipment -LOTS of side quests -Recruit an odd assortment of townspeople and pass legislation to develop your own village -Raise a pig to compete in the Pig Arena and win prizes -New game+ feature that includes multiple bonus endings--a mechanic I blatantly stole from Chrono Trigger

[jimmyandthepulsatingmass]

Hey there! I haven't played the demo for your new game yet (by memory I want to say it's Hymn to the Earless God?) but I have it installed, and I'm eagerly awaiting the release.

I wanted to say that I played Jimmy in a very strange time in my life. A few years ago, I was cruising along, after years of struggle. I had a partner, a good relationship with my family, and a solid path to walk in school. Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass made quite the impression on me, as a fan of horror and well-written character studies, both of which Jimmy sits at the pinnacle of, in my opinion.

Then, as suddenly as I gained it, I lost it all. I found myself adrift in life, without any of the things I was sure of.

I won't say something overdramatic, like the game saved my life, because that's not true. But in a time when I felt like everything was slipping from my grasp, I thought about my time with the game. If there's one thing I took away from it, it's this: life is terrifying, more and more so as it goes on. But you are surrounded by family, whatever form that takes for you. They won't be perfect, but you can't let them go, even as the world tries to rip them from you. As long as you trust in each other, as long as you don't let each other go, you can make it to the other side.

So... thanks for being one of my favorite game developers. Jimmy is my all time favorite RPG, and will likely remain so for a long time.

Well, this was the sweetest thing I've heard in some time. Thank you so much for reaching out. Game dev is pretty solitary for the most part, so posts like these really give me perspective; like, it's all worth it, you know.

[jimmyandthepulsatingmass]

Wait you made the God of Crawling Eyes? I loved that game in high school. I gotta revisit it one of these days

I did, yeah. It was my first publicly released game, but I had done A Very Long Rope to the Top of the Sky before that. I just made The God of Crawling Eyes for a forum game jam right before I released A Very Long Rope so I could get more eyes on it.

Both games are pretty rough around the edges, but they were stepping stones that helped me build up to where I'm at now, so I'm proud of them, flaws and all.

[jimmyandthepulsatingmass]

Would you consider putting "The God of Crawling Eyes" on itchio?

Considering rpgmaker.net is still down after months, it might be a good idea to upload all my games to itch. I'll put that on the to-do list!

[jimmyandthepulsatingmass]

Turn-Based RPG Fest

It's also the Steam Turn-Based RPG Fest! Notable game-that-fits-that-criteria Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass is on sale during the festival, so make sure to snatch it up!

[jimmyandthepulsatingmass]

Hey there Kasey! This game Jimmy and Pulsating is something I always like going back and thinking about a lot. It’s actually the start of where my interest peaks with RPG games believe it or not!

Though I’m not sure if you get this ask a lot by now that you’ve probably answered somewhere before, and I’m aware you’re quite busy with your new game you’ve been developing recently. But would a Nintendo Switch/Console Port be possible in the near future?

Always happy to hear from a Jimmy fan!

You'll be happy to know that there's a console port (including Switch) currently in development. This is being worked on mostly by a publisher, so it's hard for me to give a time table for it as it's mostly out of my hands. But, unless something weird happens, Jimmy will be on consoles eventually!

Bonus fact: to commemorate the console port, I made a large update to Jimmy, featuring two new dungeons, a hard mode, and a few other smaller things that will be both in the console and PC version when the console versions release.