Winner’s Circle
This week’s Flash Game Friday winner is Dead in 60 Seconds by Ariel Jurkowski.
There is a backstory here- something about being a policeman, being bitten by a zombie, and having 60 seconds to get to your vaccine before you die. While that is interesting, it isn’t the reason that Dead in 60 Seconds was selected as this week’s Flash Game Friday winner.
This is basically an upgrades game, where the more you play the better you get via exchanging points for upgrades. Upgrades in this game include better aim, more ammo, faster acceleration…you get the idea. You have to constantly move forward and shoot zombies without slowing down too much. Sometimes one comes up from behind, and you have to shoot in both directions to stay alive.
This game was selected because of it’s extremely fun (and addicting) gameplay. The game’s graphics are also really unique, as the creator went with a box look and multiple colors vs. the standard zombie animations we see everywhere. Congratulations Ariel!
Get To Know Ariel
Tell me about yourself- how many people are on your team? Where are you based?
My name is Ariel and I live in Poland. I am 21 years old and I’m currently studying information technology in Łódź. I have always liked video games and I always wanted to create them too.
How long have you been making games? What did you do before?
I started making Flash games around a year ago, it’s more of a hobby than some sort of job. Before that I made only a couple of very early game prototypes in C++ that weren’t even close to call them “finished games”. Flash games are very popular over the internet, it’s very easy to get thousands of people to play your game. That’s the main reason I started to actually finnish my games.
What was your inspiration for “Dead in 60 Seconds”?
I simply decided to make a shooting game just because I never made one, that was the basic idea. I wasn’t really inspired by any movie or game. All the ideas came while I was developing the game.
Did you encounter any major challenges or hurdles during development?
The development of “Dead in 60 Seconds” was actually very easy, just a little time consuming. There are no hard to implement mechanics or algorithms in the game, the garphics style is very easy to create and character animations are very simple. I think it took me less than 20 hours in total to develop the game in a 10 days period of time.
What types of games do you like to create the most? What types of games do you like to play the most?
I don’t have any specific game type that I like to create, but the most fun is creating platform games. I think that’s because I was playing a lot of Super Mario Bros when I was a little boy.
The games I like to play the most are shooters, both in singleplayer and multiplayer. But that doesn’t mean I don’t play non-shooters, for example I really like Minecraft!
How long is your game creation cycle? What is your process?
Making a game takes me anywhere from 1 day to a month and that mostly depends on how eager I am to actually finish the game. If I am very eager, then it’s usually a week or less, few hours every day.
My process of developing a game isn’t very special. Firstly I think of a concept (usually it just appears randomly), if I think it’s good, then I make some graphics, like the main character or the enemies (it usually takes me few hours, because I’m not good at that part). Then I start to code it, which is the longest part. After that I do some polishing of the game and in the end I publish it or wait for sponsors.
Are there any game developers that you admire or consider “rock stars”?
Markus “Notch” Persson, the creator of “Minecraft” and founder of “Mojang AB”. He is the ultimare proof, that a single man can make a game, which milions enjoy and want to pay for. I hope I’ll reach at least 5% of his succes some day.
What is it about making a new game that you enjoy most?
Designing the concept in my head. I feel like Doctor Gregory House when I think about the game mechanics and algorithms that need to be implemented in the game. Geting positive opinions for your game is also great. And coding helps me relax (unless I’ve some bugs in the code).
Do you have any hot projects you’re working on right now?
I’ve a prototype of a car/racing game about drifting. Also I’ve a few games that are waiting for sponsorship.
Thanks Ariel, can’t wait to play your racing game!
