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Runed was a game that was born from Mr. Figgles. I received an email from Isaac Barbosa who was creating his own flash game at the time. He asked if Mr. Figgles was built using flash and through some email correspondence we decided to try and make a game after he finished up his first project Black Snow Zone. The core mechanic of Runed was thought up by Isaac, and I just added some neat little things. I did a majority of the art, sounds and music. The entire game was co-developed via email, we never spoke on the phone until after the project. Isaac is a great inspiration to me.
Runed was original. No doubt about it. From the original concept I knew it was a game that would be challenging to create. We proceeded to create the game within about 2 calendar months. While all of the large publishers rejected it, I still think it's a pretty cool game.The rendered game pieces and effects really were my first attempt at using the cool new blending effects of Flash 8. I may have gone a bit overboard, but hey, so what! I really liked the style the game had. The powerups were a great addition. After a match you get a powerup randomly in one of the four corners. A keen eye is needed to determine if it's a good or a bad powerup. This really added an extra level to the core mechanic. Level creation worked out pretty well. No two levels have the same backgrounds, and the game was under 12 megs. That is quite the feat! Created from placed MC's and using the incredible ColorAdjust effects in Flash, Runed utilized a few basic pieces and created quite the canvas. Sound effects. I HATE sound effects. I love everything about making games ACCEPT SOUNDS! However, at the end of the day I was very pleased with the final sound effects in Runed. Hours and hours were spent tweaking each sound to make sure nothing was too annoying. That is really the hardest thing about sound effects that you hear over and over and over and over again. Co-Development was amazing. Until Runed I was in a virtual Flash Box. I knew I could create a game in flash, but I didn't know how anyone else would do it. Working with Isaac gave me a different perspective on the game creation process in flash.
Difficulty was the biggest bummer. To Isaac and I, our friends and family, the game seemed simple enough. However when publishers played it they unanimously declared it was to hard to understand and didn't have enough positive effects. Looking at the game now, without changing the core mechanic, I'm not sure what we could have done to fix that. The tutorial was a HUGE pain, however, if followed the game is pretty easy to grasp. However it was long and kind of overwhelming for the Casual Games Market.Music, while I really enjoy the music, as always, I wish there was more of it! It tends to get a bit powerful at some points which creates more stress on top of a stressful game. It's still a great tune, and I'm proud of it. No big portals wanted it. This isn't necessarily bad, because really at the end of the day we make games for ourselves, however it does crush the dream a bit. I didn't let it affect me, I kept pushing though to create more games, but it can be a heavy sock in the nose to beginning developers. Multiple game modes. While this seemed like a good idea at the time, Runed has 4 distinct game modes played on the same board. Which I think added to the overwhelming ness of the game. I enjoy all the game modes, but it seemed like overkill when the core game was already a bit heavy.
Runed was another great title that stretched what I considered to be possible in the Flash game department. Co-Developing the title with Isaac was an amazingly inspirational experience that I wouldn't trade for anything. Runed is not your typical casual game, but it's still a strong game and I am very proud of it. It really appeals to a very select group of people who enjoy a challenge, not just a brain numbing experience. Runed rocks ;)
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