The Candybox Blog

I finally posted the Electric Zine Maker public beta. It’s two days old! They grow up so fast!!!! You can download the beta here: https://alienmelon.itch.io/electric-zine-maker The Electric Zine Maker is a printshop and art tool for making zines. It includes a drawing interface. You can import images, size and place them, write text with any font that you have installed, smudge, paint, and a number of other options. It's out!The Electric Zine Maker (public beta)https://t.co/yOVfooYtCv?? Easily create, draw, write, and print zines!? Folding instructions included!!?? You can save them, and re-import them.?? Made with collaboration in mind.? Try it! It's...

So here it is. I’m finally announcing it in a blog post, proper! If you have been following me on Twitter, then you’ve probably seen me talk about it. I’m making a zine tool! This is called Electric Zine Maker. It’s an art tool for creating zines. It will allow you to paint, write, and edit zines. It’s specifically targeted at the 8-page fold ones, but I’m open to adding more templates as soon as I have the hard parts of this finished. This grew out of a spur of the moment thing. I was fairly burned out (jaded?) after...

Since it feels really important to me to make an effort to explain the internet portion that surrounds the desktop version of Tetrageddon Games, I’m doing that here. I never talked about that properly. You can download the game here: https://alienmelon.itch.io/tetrageddon This came about because of this. Since I know how these things play out, if I were ever to build on this, or make something surrounding the subject that I have been working with for 10+ years… I’ll likely be compared to, or told that I’m copying the ideas from the new hit game made by men (I apologize...

RUNONCE (remember_me) is an existential desktop pet that you can only run once, and then never again. You can download it here: https://alienmelon.itch.io/runonce What I think is interesting about this is that it presents you with a warning at the beginning explaining that running it will “break them” and if you do then the damage is permanent. I think this is an interesting commentary on death, and how we view death. Aside from the impending permanence of something we will all be, you’re very likely to say “OK! RUN IT!” and as you interact with it the friendship grows, and...

Final Update: The project is playable here: https://alienmelon.itch.io/runonce For reasons mentioned on the project’s page, and at the bottom of this dev post, I pulled out of DeleteGDC. For the sake of awareness, I encourage you to read it. —- I’m participating in Delete GDC! Yay? What I make will be shown there for one night, and then destroyed. ?DELETE GDC? A NIGHT MADE FOR GAMES/GAMES MADE FOR A NIGHTMAR 20 2019 @ Venue 550, SFhttps://t.co/KNXVv3jhpq New works by @radiatoryang @alienmelon @ra @kahodesu @smitleu @dogs_R_cool DJs TBA poster by https://t.co/jjgAgIxL51#deletegdc#GDC19 pic.twitter.com/CMvoasjXBn — BAR SK (@SK_BARSK) January 14, 2019 The idea...

I just published something new! It’s called A_DESKTOP_LOVE_STORY. You can download get it on itch.io: https://alienmelon.itch.io/lovestory A_DESKTOP_LOVE_STORY is a short love story told between two files. Due to system restrictions this is a forbidden love. As a system administrator, you are the only one that can help them. A_DESKTOP_LOVE_STORY is a very short cute little piece. You talk to the files, they give you things to pass to eachother, after a while they realize they like eachother, and you help them meet. This is also one of the most weirdly designed, and technically difficult things I built so far. I...

ELECTRIC FILE MONITOR, my virus scanner, was just posted to itch and gamejolt. Here are the links: itch: https://alienmelon.itch.io/electric-file-monitor GJ: https://gamejolt.com/games/efm/371598 ELECTRIC FILE MONITOR is pitched to you as a state of the art virus scanner, and free preventative tool against all types of malware… but there’s a lot more to it. This is software as political commentary. I mean, they said to keep politics out of games. Nobody ever said anything about software. So this is OK. The program is a joke. It’s comedic, and the premise is antivirus software. I suggest maybe trying it before reading about it...

My little treat-myself-project is done! I’m excited to share this with the world. You can download it from… GameJolt: https://gamejolt.com/games/graveyard/351892 Itch: https://alienmelon.itch.io/graveyard Cyberpet Graveyard features a little over 41 programs. That does not include html pages, or all the other things to find and look at and be amused by… Basically it’s a collection of strange, goofy, software that you discover by rummaging around in folders. The premise is a set of abandoned cyberpets. There aren’t THAT many of those, but what is charming about this is all the junk surrounding them. There are a lot of .html pages that...

I’ve been talking about this a bit on Twitter. I’m making a collection of virtual pets. The project is called “Cyberpet Graveyard”. This is under development and will be released eventually. The premise is that sometime during the early 00’s there was a critical malfunction at the cyberpet factory. The meltdown led to the miss-creation of several unlikeable and unwanted cyberpets. Nobody knew what to do with them, and they never made it past quality assurance. Therefore the CD project was canceled. They were eventually banned, and buried, never to be seen or heard from again. Thanks to the efforts...

It’s been an interesting episode of mainstream games culture this year. It also reminded me how much I value itch… and GameJolt… and Glitch City… and ok, that could be a long list… I had the opportunity to showcase “Everything is going to be OK” at the MIX. I keep realizing how important it is to showcase art games like that at mainstream events like E3 because it normalizes them. It kinda dawned on me how things are changing… especially when people that I would never have pegged for enjoying something like this, come by and get excited about it....

I just published the final update to “Everything is going to be OK” and, with that, this interactive zine is now completely done. This update features a lot of personal writing, and a strange fever dream OS for you to explore. There’s a lot to get lost in. You can play it on… itch.io or GameJolt If you feel so inclined, please help spread the word about the update being out. I will love you forever. Thank you! I also updated the page description, and the itch page has a nice theme with a fire to keep prospective players, journalists,...

Before GDC I was feeling incredibly ground down after all the aggression “Everything is going to be OK” was generating at me. I was at a point where I wasn’t too sure if keeping this up even mattered. After seeing everyone come by and voice how much “Everything is going to be OK” meant to them, and how much they love my work, I’m very encouraged to keep it up. If you are one of those people, thank you so much, it really means the world to me to know that my work is appreciated this way. People where genuinely...

So there are exciting things happening. First of all, I’m going to be at GDC. Yay! Since “Everything is going to be OK” has been nominated for the Nuovo award, I’ll be showcasing most of the time in the IGF pavilion. If you want to check out “Everything is going to be OK”, or just chat, please come by! I also finally have a Patreon. People kept asking. You can donate here: https://www.patreon.com/alienmelon Every bit goes to supporting the next game or current project. It does help immensely, but if you can’t pay just know that I’m also powered by...