Hey, just posted Particle X. I started this game about two years ago, finished it three months later, and have been sitting on it since then. Why wait so long to release this thing? Let's try out NG's new bullet point thing to find out!

• Tried to get it sponsored - failed
• Unhappy about how it turned out and wanted it to die
• Forgot about it

That's pretty cool NG. Thanks for the blog text editor update!

It's a little weird but I'd like to do a little self review of the game. If you havn't played it yet, check it out before you read this 'cause you might get prejudice.

First, some stuff I kind of don't like:

1. Most of the visuals are pretty shitty. I tried doing a simple style that I could handle, but it comes off as cheap. I think I pulled off some things, like the character's faces. I thought about re-doing everything a few times but it never seemed worth it. Mainly because I didn't think the gameplay and story was actually worth doing all that work for. I'm starting to think that maybe I still should, and re-release this with all pixel art. There are also inconsistencies with the art style, like the vector art particle x and enemies, the photoshop made background, and pixel art characters.
2. Inconsistent main character. Joseph Savante is the main character who created Particle X ("The most dense energy source the world's ever seen!") and he is supposed to be this Einstein-like genious, but mostly acts like a naive 5-year old. I was trying to play the whole 'savant' angle, so that maybe Joe's really good at science but an idiot otherwise, but I don't think he comes off that way. He also had to be childlike to play into the next point...
3. The story. There's two levels to the story in Particle X. Are either of them good? I think one of them kinda is. So, the surface plot is: Dr. Joseph Savante creates a microscopic unlimited energy source particle (X) with the help of an A.I. named M.A.R.Y. She and Joe both work for a corporation, but Joe is just there to do experimental research. When Particle X is created, M.A.R.Y. attempts to get Joe to safely deliver Particle X so that the corporation can turn it into a weapon. Joe don wanna do dat, so he goes rogue, and eventually the player has to decide to either destroy the Particle (which would kill Joe, too) or hand it over to M.A.R.Y. The underlying story is: A child (Joe) first must rely on his mother (M.A.R.Y.) to survive because he's otherwise completely vulnerable (if Particle X touches anything, game over). He goes through adolescence and realizes he doesn't agree with his mother and he rebels (end of ACT 1). Then he's on his own and learned to defend himself (shield in ACT 2). He eventually learns how to make decisions and survive without his mother's guidance. The end. The problem with all of that is: At the end of the day, this is only a mouse-avoider flash game with some puzzle and shooter elements. Who cares about a crappy story and subtext? I wouldn't. LESSON LEARNED?
4. The pseudo-sciencey words are silly as fffuuuuuu. And by silly, I mean dumb. 

Other stuff:

• The dark levels in ACT 2. I don't think I've seen anything similar to that before, so that's COOL. The dark levels are completely black except for Particle X,  the enemies, and other particles. You have to navigate through the levels by bouncing particles off of your shield to find out where the walls are. Also, because it's nearly all black, I don't have to worry about the graphics sucking. Hah.
• I had done very litte pixel art before this and enjoyed the learning experience while making the character faces.
• The snake mini-game (Xworm) is pretty addicting, so that's cool.

Overall, working on this game drained some soul out of me. I obsessed over it, although I probably shouldn't have...because at the end of the day, it's just about avoiding stupid circles with your mouse.