This is a must play for anyone who likes there games to have a great deal of depth and atmosphere. The fantastic character development and interaction is a joy to see and contributes greatly to the immersiveness of the game. Add to that excellent sound and fun puzzles – really, what more could you want? Simply put, this game has a genuine touch of class about it and deserves to be played by a lot of people.

Thanks a bunch JD!

Read more of JD’s reviews on his Adventure Game Review Blog. Hat tip, again, to SSH for noticing this before I did!

Click on to the interview. And leave a comment on their page saying you want more indie developer interviews!

The Anna review points out the game’s roots in classic speculative fiction and gives nice props all around.

The graphics do a perfect job of setting the mood. Set in gray-scale with smooth (but spartan) animations and parallax, the overall effect is a kind of neo-noir, perfectly conveying the sterility of the clean-room in which Anna’s hardware is housed (and the action is set). The audio is similarly sparse, but it evokes a definite claustrophobia; perfect for when the computer controlling the life support on your tiny space station is shutting down or on the verge of going bonkers.

The Linus review takes a different tact, offering two side by side reviews to mimic the game itself. One reviewer quite positive, the other having fun and calling me pretentious. It’s a pretty funny read.

Admittedly, the graphics are nice. Yet, what’s with putting half of the game in Japanese? Does he figure that most gamers worth their salt have worn through the Criterion Collection’s Kurosawa archive? Or perhaps he thinks that the average gamer’s brain is made of Twiglets and is relatively pliable? Seriously, though the independent-gaming press seems to be eating this game up, I can’t help but wonder if it’s just because they don’t “get” the game and are deathly afraid of appearing that way.

Yesterday’s Salad has become the number one site for freeware adventure reviews lately. I’m looking forward to lots more!

Mentisworks has posted a list of 27 truly artistic independent games, and guess who made two of them!

Anna’s minimalism ranked a respectable #20, while Linus’ split-personalities snagged the #9 spot!

And they’re in great company, too. (Nifflas? Orsinal? Raph? Yay!)

Anyways, look what just popped up over at the gnome’s lair. It’s an interview with little ol’ me about myself, Linus, and my upcoming projects!

I was super excited that the gnome thought that I was interesting enough to warrant an interview and I hope that some people find it interesting.

EDIT: The interview also got picked up by GameSetWatch!

Also, Anna was included on the cover CD of the UK’s “Microsoft® Windows® XP: The Official Magazine.” (what a longwinded magazine title) Here are some scans of the CD sleeve (front and back) and a shot of the CD interface (big thanks to LimpingFish):

   

Oh, I should also mention that the folks at “Level” were nice enough to email me (in English!) and ask if they could use the games. The boys at “Microsoft® Windows® XP: The Official Magazine” just yoinked it and stuck it on their CD without permission. Not that I really care. The README included with the game specifically allows free re-distribution, but it also asks for notification. I mean, I’m happy that the game is getting some distribution, but c’mon… common courtesy. It would have been a bummer if this had gone out and I never knew (again, big thanks to LimpingFish). Let the hard working game authors enjoy the recognition, giant cash-loaded publishers!

The first of the xii games is Anna. Anna was originally created for the second One Room One Week Competition on the AGS forums. Which means that the game was originally conceived, designed, drawn, written, and programmed entirely by me and entirely within one week.

I say “originally” because the version up for download now is slightly updated with new GUIs, music, and sound effects that the original version did not have. I also added in the unique Flash manual that monitors your progress through the game and provides hints to the player on request.

I’m quite proud of what I accomplished in a week here. Apart from winning the OROW competition that Anna was created for, Anna has garnered several AGS Award nominations including Best Short Game, Best Scripting, and Best Non-Player Character: Anna. It went on to win the AGS Award for Best Documentation thanks to the aforementioned Flash manual.

I’d like to follow up and continue this story at some point. We’ll see what the future holds. Until then: you can check out Anna’s page and download the game from there. Enjoy.