The Company of Myself continues to collect viewers and spread around the internet like a video of a cat falling off of a table into a vat of molten lead. Unfortunately, due to agreements with the sponsor, I wasn’t allowed to put in a counter to keep track of the total number of plays across the whole internet–I can only check on individual sites, and only when they publicly list how many plays a game has. Armor, for instance, has the game played over 300,000 times. Newgrounds has something like 130,000. The game has also reached the “best of all time” list on NG, currently sitting on #6. We’ll have to wait and see how it shifts around there over the next few days and weeks.
I’ve got a pretty good idea of what I want to work on next, but I don’t want to say too much about it just yet, as it’s got a lot of room to evolve. Once I become more sure of the project and have something to show, I’ll post about it. For now, enjoy the Zen demo, because that’s not it and it’ll disappear eventually.
#1 by caryl anne on November 30th, 2009
incredible game, my friend.
i hope you’ve got some new ones in the works
caryl anne.
#2 by Darknessice on November 30th, 2009
Inredible, quite simply.
In only 2 days, it achieved the 10th spot in kongregate’s top rated games.
#3 by Miriam on November 30th, 2009
I will use the word “incredible” just to fit in.
Incredible work, there.
#4 by I (re) member you(Eli) on December 1st, 2009
Hello Eli,
you know what you’ve done ? You gave this feelings to people which everyone’s feeling today and gave them to think about.
You have the empathy to transport it, a feeling so that other people can understand.
Work on yourself and you will make it to a Steven King, really great job.
Lonely. Is the story of yourself or a good friend ?
It’s a pity I don’t know you personally. People like you are seldom today.
For me you have the right sense in regarding your environment, the reality, without forgetting where you come from and where you want to go.
Never loose this attitude. Money is a gift…and a poison, be prepared… keep yourself, Eli.
*Jack*
#5 by Michael Breheim on December 1st, 2009
This game is very emotional. The plot of this game is very thought out and well written. Is there anyway that I could get a hand of the writings throughout the game? If so it would be sincerely appreciated.
#6 by Aerliss on December 2nd, 2009
A very beautiful little game. I could easily see it being a DS/PSP classic, you know… if it had more levels and if the er… ‘punchline’ came out through the story at a slower pace.
Wonderful work though.
Also… download soundtrack?
#7 by High-Lord Vin on December 2nd, 2009
Someone already asked for thus portable station; Eli said he will probably not do anything else to Company;
also, I was about to ask about downloading the soudtrake
finnaly, a future game on Wiiware maybe…
#8 by High-Lord Vin on December 2nd, 2009
Eli already said probably no to first thing; to second, I agree; I want the music
also, a future game on Wiiware maybe…
#9 by David Carney on December 3rd, 2009
Thanks guys! You can download the soundtrack from http://dvgmusic.com/downloads.html
#10 by 35r2i3405u98u on December 3rd, 2009
The problem with games that try to be more artistic or focus more on having a psychological point is that often the impact is lost due to poor plot creation. Interestingly, 3 games recently popped up at the same time on Newgrounds that have this sort of ‘feel’ – “Level Up!”, “Closure” and “The Company of Myself”.
“Level Up!” ultimately fails to please both due to a serious bug, rendering the main character invisible during a crucial moment, and the ending, which reading like a bad comic book plot written by a 12 year old. It’s like a slap in the face for completing the game, and makes what initially looks like a cute game that’s trying to make a statement about growth as a person, turns into some imbecilic fanfic, with the protagonist pulling a sword out of her ass presumably.
“Closure” on the other hand has some interesting play mechanics, but on top of being a bit long, the plot tries to hard to be ‘artsy’ and ‘edgy’, but ends up being less of a ‘makes you think’ and more of a ‘this made almost no sense’. The plot is driven both by difficult (almost impossible) to read text on walls and bizarre level designs. It’s obviously trying to make some statement about death, but figuring out what is a metaphor and what isn’t is made even more annoying by the abrupt and unsatisfying ending. You pretty much need to be the author to know what the hell the game really is about.
Then there’s “The Company of Myself”. The game keeps it simple, the plot is detailed cleanly, but still withholds enough from the player to make you want to know what it’s all about, and contains a few interesting twists in its revealing and well-written ending. This is how to tell a good story. It’s not as abstract as “I Wish I Were The Moon” or quite as experimental as “Today I Die” but it gets the job nicely done, without leaving a bitter taste in your mouth or feeling like the plot was simply trying too hard.
#11 by High-Lord Vin on December 3rd, 2009
:clap: that was a well written “essay”
yay
#12 by TonyD on December 4th, 2009
I’m mostly curious why you chose the ending you did. I think that it would have been a much better if the ending were a bit more vague. While the twist has some merit to it, I think that there is more to be had from what is left unsaid. What really happens to the girl could be more intriguing if left up to the player. Otherwise, excellently programmed, great art assets and fantastic music. I hope to hear your thoughs!
#13 by Andrew on December 4th, 2009
That was a stunning game – really top notch job. I wrote up a small review on my site today. Keep making kick ass games!
#14 by KsbjA on December 5th, 2009
Freaking awesome gameplay + sad story ending = desire for a sequel…
Any chance? Please? I know the game is new and stuff, and I don’t expect a sequel to be released now, but I would appreciate it if you would make one some time later. The concept of The Company of Myself is too awesome to be dropped after making a cute little game of 20 levels.
#15 by dwarin on December 6th, 2009
I’ve just discovered this game (on kongregate) a few minutes ago. I’d like to thank and encourage you. The concept of making the storyline follow the gameplay is perfectly achieved. A masterpiece among flash-games.
#16 by Jordan on December 11th, 2009
Gah it made me sad when i played it first in beta, and it still does
good job making me cry Eli.. you can probably die happy now
#17 by fishlicker from Kongregate on December 12th, 2009
2DArray,
This is what I posted on Kongregate, in comments under “the company of myself”. I just wanted to make sure you saw this because I was so impressed with this game. I will be playing more of your games soon!
A most excellent game! The mechanics of the game were challenging, but not impossible. The music changes, but somehow both tunes fit this game to a tee. The story… …AWESOME! I think that if 2DArray (this games creator) were so inclined, a short story or novel could be written for publishing. Great Job 2DArray!
#18 by Chickumbleh on February 5th, 2010
Zen demo disappeared ]=
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