2DArray's Blind Ambition
About
My name’s Eli. I make games and stuff. Next year I’m going to SCAD to study film.
It didn’t take long for me to figure out that I’m tits-up awful at drawing, so my original endeavors to become an animator were short lived. I did, however, pick up a copy of Flash along this short journey, and eventually realized that it included a coding language called Actionscript. It was awesome.
Magic happen, elbow grease was utilized, and eventually I got pretty decent at writing code. Sooner or later I made a game called Reverb, which featured shoddy graphics that I made myself, and code that I was immensely proud of creating from scratch. Someone told me that you can get paid for making Flash games by sticking an ad at the beginning. I talked to Jason of Stickpage.com, who said he’d be willing to pay for it. Having no idea how much an ad in a game like this was worth (my best guess was somewhere around $50), I suggested that he pick a number instead, since he had more experience with this kind of thing. He came up with $500, and I nearly pissed my pants.
Several years later, I’m still making games, and still putting ads in them (turns out, college is expensive after all).
The latest game I made was called Spewer–I wrote the code and Edmund McMillen did all the art. As it turns out, Spewer did way better than we expected, briefly snagging the #1 spot on Newgrounds.com, being mentioned in all sorts of PC gaming websites, and even getting into a magazine or two.
What’s in store for Eli in the future? Tune in next week to find out.
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#1 by Rebecca on July 28th, 2009
hmm, im very interested in this sounds very nice and fun im surprized you got it on newgrounds congratulation
#2 by Rebecca on July 28th, 2009
sorry to repost doesn’t let me edit” omg iv played spewer! i love that game i can’t wait see more!! good luck on that codeing
#3 by madameesp on August 1st, 2009
Check out this article about Spewer in the current issue of Maclife!
http://www.maclife-digital.com/maclife/200908/?pg=74
#4 by Skrator van Kernel on October 9th, 2009
hello, let me present myself, I’m a brazilian guy student of mechanical engineering, and I would apreciate if u could help me!
I’m creating a interactive animation in flash to use in a sheet of my graduation… and it’s about pumps, so I wanted the water (movieclips particles probably) to move trought the pipes… i was wondering how to do that, i thought something like the movement of fluids in your “Spewer” game.. (by the way, you did a great work on it)
So i was thinking if you could help me with the code for the water movement (the water maybe just some colored dots), do you mind?
I just sent you an equal message on you newgrounds account, you can anwser me there, Thanks!
#5 by Jonathan Adamich on October 13th, 2009
Eli,
I couldn’t find your email address on here so I first want to apologize for writing through here.
Personally, I am an experienced and trained classical music composer. I’ve worked for three years as a free-lance composer and would love to work on one of your projects.
I have an B.A. in classical music composition and I particularly enjoy scoring music for video games.
Here are some samples of my work:
My demo reel: http://www.box.net/shared/p5dtif2rez
Wesbite: http://www.jonadamich.tk
I know these times are tough for indie developers, so compensation would be fairly minimal. Much lower then if you bought the rights through a music library.
I hope to hear from you soon, and I hope development is going smoothly.
Sincerely,
Jon Adamich
Adamichmusic@yahoo.com
#6 by Franz on November 22nd, 2009
Hi,
just came here from bubblebox to see if there were some other games then Company, but didn’t find any
it would really be great if you put some links or at least the names of other stuff you’ve done! Love the style of it.
And just a little bug on the website: the category links up left don’t work, there is a “/” missing after the .net (at least for me).
Keep up the great work!
Regards,
Franz.
#7 by Nick on November 25th, 2009
Hello there! I figure you probably enjoy positive feedback, so here I am. I’d like to start off by putting the coming compliments in perspective. I’ve been playing any flash game I can get my hands on for years. I’ve sampled even more in the past half-year due to working a boring night-shift job, so I’d like to think I have a good handle on what makes a flash game “fun” (at least for me).
I have played Spewer through at least 3 times, start to finish. I have no major gripes with the physics it uses, it’s VERY well polished (for a game about puke), and I was intrigued enough with it’s storyline to enjoy it unfolding, which is rare considering the genre. I understand the game’s story wrapped up nicely at its end, but I’d gladly pay 10-15$ for a sequel, or even a large level pack.
I just finished Company on Armor Games, and I enjoyed it as well. Again, it is so rare to find a flash game that has both an interesting storyline AND fun gameplay. I’ve heard plenty about Braid, but have never got around to buying it, so this seemed pretty fresh to me on the mechanics side. Company didn’t feel as “fancy” or polished as Spewer, but it oddly made sense after I saw the ending.
That about covers what I’ve played of yours, so keep up the awesome work!
-Nick
#8 by Henry on November 28th, 2009
five hundred dollars!?!?!
#9 by Generic Poster on November 28th, 2009
Hello Eli,
I have a potential business proposal for you concerning one of your games. Please contact me when you get the chance.
Thank you.
#10 by Lauren on November 30th, 2009
I want to congratulate you on The Company of Myself. It’s done well on many different aspects that most flash games don’t touch. The music is touching, graphics look great, challenges are substantial, and emotion is involved. I also liked the help option on youtube. The only thing I’m disappointed in is how short it is! Make another one that’s longer! Please
#11 by Gustavo on December 2nd, 2009
“The company of myself” was a great game. I agree with Lauren about making a longer version.
About the music, I wonder if you or your partner could share the file with us. I really really liked that music.
#12 by Snufflez on December 5th, 2009
You MUST put together some sort of 2d, online RPG game.
#13 by High-Lord Vin on December 5th, 2009
<blockquote cite=\"#commentbody-433\">
<strong><a href=\"#comment-433\">Snufflez</a> :</strong>
<p>You MUST put together some sort of 2d, online RPG game.</p>
</blockquote>
err that is not an independent project; also, I do not see a MMORPG being a popular thing; finally, that is not the kind of things he does, he does flash games
#14 by Fotios Siafarikas on December 6th, 2009
Eli, your work is amazing.
As for generating 500. this is nothing for the kind of quality you deliver.
You could make social games on platforms like Facebook and make even 50.000/month.
I am a social games developer and entrepreneur working in that industry for 2 years now.
If you want to discuss with me and view a portfolio of games generating very good revenues e-mail me at f.siafarikas@gmail.com.
Thanks and i wish you the best.
#15 by Markus Kuosmanen on December 20th, 2009
The Company of Myself was pretty darn good. You should definetly work a bit with the animation and publish it in its own site. Losing the gaming site extra stuff would do wonders for the general calm athmosphere of the game. Also, in case you need income, a license to XBoxLA might be possible…
Keep up the good job! It’s always nice to see young guys doing magic on shoelace budget.
#16 by Max on January 1st, 2010
Hello Eli,
I couldn’t find your email address on here so I first want to apologize for writing through here.
My name is Max, I’m of the guys behind gameshed.com. I have a potential business proposal for you concerning Company of Myself game. Please contact me at contact[at]gameshed[dot]com when you get the chance.
Keep up the good job!
#17 by Joao on February 25th, 2010
Hi Eli,
Just played Company of Myself, it’s probably the best flash game I’ve ever played.
I would love to discuss making a game with you through email, can you please send me an email so we can talk?
Thank you,
João