Category:Cly5m

Cly5m's Shooter

Author of influential indie exploration platformer Seiklus, cly5m cut his teeth on earlier game development packages, from Garry Kitchen's GameMaker to ZZT and MegaZeux. Although he never finished a game with RSD's tools, cly5m has written a bit about his experiences.

Seiklus was one of the first “exploration platformers,” a nonviolent genre that could be compared to a side-scrolling Myst, and that is now a distinct piece of the indie style guide. A small man, nearly a stick figure, travels a flat-colored world, collecting pointless trinkets and the occasional control upgrade, to find his way back home again. There is no death, and no aggression; Seiklus is all about the journey, and the player’s relationship with the game world.

Seiklus comes off as a very personal game. Although the controls amount to little more than walking and jumping, and the presentation is nearly as minimalist, the experience feels emotionally rich. Its level geometry and sequencing trade epiphanies for careful observation and experimentation, and the sound design creates a distinct and whimsical atmosphere.

As cly5m's Game-Maker progress, you can see his eventual style slowly taking shape. His final abandoned game, Shooter, is ironically named as it is his most gentle and contemplative Game-Maker game. It exhibits the same free exploration and focus on environment found in games like Seiklus.

Some unincorporated sprites: