SubPow

Welcome to the 110th Congress

2007-01-04T21:04:00.000-05:00

Today the new Democratic majority takes control on Capitol Hill.
Nancy Pelosi & Co. have promised that in the first 100 hours (It is like a Football game clock with lots of Time-Outs) they are going to prove themselves to the people by making changes in what gets done, and how they do it. Ethics reform was first on the list, followed by a number of things that people have wanted, like stem cell research and the minimum wage, but that the Republican 109th congress refused to act on (in good faith).
Of course I hope for the best, but I am getting that sinking feeling. Will they really follow through? Will they just slap a new coat of paint on the old rust? Or will they really dig down and scrape away the corrosion?
And will they stand up to this executive branch which has so gravely usurped the powers of the people’s house, and so undermined the Constitution, or will they go all squishy and spineless just when they need to stand tall?
Will they really investigate, issue subpoenas, follow the evidence of bad behavior and dishonest dealings wherever it may lead and do what needs be done, even if that includes impeachment proceedings against government officials?
Anyone who thinks that such a stringently principled response to the events of the past several years is bad for the nation is being short-sighted. It is critically important to enforce the rule of Law as expressed in the Constitution if we want to save the republic and turn away from an imperial presidency.

THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN

2006-11-17T21:08:00.000-05:00

Well there is reason to be happy and hopeful. The people have spoken, and they have upset the control of the most powerful group in congress, the Republican leadership.
Exit polls indicate that voters gave “corruption” as the second most important reason for turning against the Republicans (after the failures of the Iraq War).
It is true that the particularly corrupt 109th congress is dominated by Republicans, and it is true that the several interlocking scandals that have cracked open recently involve mostly Republicans, but the issue of corruption is a bi-partisan one, and the voters know it. They know that there is greed and abuse of power in both parties, and they do not like it because it is just simply not right, no matter who you are.
There is a culture of influence peddling, contributions, and ear-marking public spending that runs far too deep to have been corrected with one little election.
But it is a beginning. A step in the right direction. We must now encourage them to do the right thing, and we must keep our eye on them.

WHY VOTE ?

2006-10-31T21:38:00.000-05:00

There is one week until the 2006 elections. It is time for the citizens to do what needs to be done to save the republic, it is time to vote.
we have to remind the politicians that they work for us. We have to stand up and tell them that we will toss them out on their ear if they forsake their oath, and betray our trust.
In their oath the one and only thing they swear to defend is the Constitution. That’s not the musty old parchment in the cellar, nor is it some fairytale essay of utopian abstractions. It is the actual design and constitution of a fair and righteous government. It’s a great design, and the founding fathers thought it through very carefully. It still makes sense, because wisdom like that doesn’t wear out. Yet some of the current crop of leaders presume they know better. Treading upon the Constitution, they defend themselves and their money, their friends, and their power, all the while proclaiming they do so for us.
This is a non-partisan position. We believe that neither a “conservative” nor a “liberal” can be happy with the 109th congress, but we leave it to you to decide for yourself because that is exactly the point.
Parties, after all, come and go, but common sense, common decency, the golden rule, All men being created equal, such ideas - the ones we hold to be self evident - cut through the muck of politics. You don’t need a politician to explain them, and you don’t have to be a scholar to understand them because they are already written on your soul, whether you know it or not. That is what “self evident” means.
A Democrat can believe in the republic, and a Republican can believe in democracy but it is the scoundrels of any stripe that we deplore. We believe that Abraham Lincoln was right when he said, “You can fool all of the people some of the time, some of the people all the time, but you can’t fool all the people all the time.”
Let’s not get fooled again.

SubPow on frontpage on Newgrounds!

2006-10-16T11:02:00.000-04:00

We are so proud to be showcased on the frontpage of Newgrounds, the popular Flash portal, and even more surprised at the response of young people under the age of 20-something.

I am excited that kids actually are thinking about American politics while playing our game. This was the point of the developer and I just didn't believe it would be so. I thought that political activists would get this political satire. But the political blogs have had little interest.

Whatever gets this political discourse started at ths crucial time in American government is important. In the age of misinformation, where comedy and games are seen as information I wonder about our future but we are pleased to be part of the conversation.

New Web based Game Subpoena Power Lampoons Corruption in Congress

2006-08-23T13:52:00.000-04:00

insist on truth and save the republic with Subpoena Power a Flash animation civic action game by NoEvil Productions.

Beta & Bugs

2006-08-22T17:00:00.000-04:00

What the heck is public beta?

Public beta means that it's not the official or final version, and that we ask for user help. In this case, we ask for players to play the SubPow game and tell us what they think -- especially if they find any bugs.

With many people playing, the game is tested from many user points of view along with the various operating systems etc. This gives us, or rather the tech team who knows such things, all the information to fix the problem.

When you find something that you believe shouldn't happen -- something technical with the game itself, not a complaint about a Toadie making you use your last towel! -- we want you to report it.

How to report a bug:

Since the tech team is going to need lots of information in order to fix the problem, we ask that you email us at judge@subpow.com describing the last things you did prior to seeing the bug, and what the bug was.

In an ideal world, you know all the above information. But as Subpoena Power proves, we aren't living in an ideal world, so we know you may not know all of this. (This is especially true if you just came to read this after you found a bug or glitch!) Please provide all the information you can, and we'll see what we can do to find or recreate it from there.

Thank you for helping us Save the Game, and so Save the Republic!

A Non-Gamer Tries Beta

2006-08-18T19:49:00.000-04:00

First off, you should know that I am not your typical gamer. In fact, I’m not a gamer, unless boardgames count. I don’t own gaming consoles, I’ve never had a joystick for my PC, and frankly, I tend to mock those who have such passions. "Step away from the TV," I command children and adults everywhere. Yes, I'm one of those moms.

So, when asked to beta test the new game, I was less than confortable. I mean, I’m no gamer, and had very little idea even what Beta Tester meant. But I played the game. Now I am hopelessly addicted.

What won me over was the game's theme: "Be patriotic. Save the republic. Insist on truth." I like that. These are things worth fighting for! I'm thrilled that instead of using violence as a form of entertainment, you work to bring real justice via the system. Instead of running around, trying to shoot before being shot, living the life of some renegade vigilante, you run around trying to gather evidence & serve subpoenas. But don't you real gamers worry, there is plenty of action. And plenty of danger -- you have to keep your character intact while the bad guys sling mud at you. (Oh, the nerve!)

The game begins with a conversation between you, an Assistant Special Prosecutor, and the Judge:

You: Corruption is rife, your Honor. The Scoundrels must be exposed.
Judge: Take these Subpoenas, uncover the truth. I’ll issue more orders, when you bring more proof.

And with that, you are off...

You enter the halls of Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. ready to serve the subpoenas and uncover the truth. Your objective is to save the republic by finding the trustworthy congressmen and vanquishing the corrupt ones. The Senators and members of Congress, be they good or bad, all look the same. The only way to discover their character and deeds is to deliver the subpoenas; when you do, they'll A) either break down and confess (and then be taken away by the police as a Perfidious Scoundrel), or B) profess their loyalty in the form of an Honest Tribute. The Honest Tributes become the score by which you win the game.

You can improve your odds of getting Honest Tributes by making use of the "Trust-o-meter". This bar shows the percentage of Good to Bad politicians, and your actions move the bar. Catch the Lobbyist with the suitcase of money, and the meter goes up 10% to the good; miss the money and the Sycophants get it, and the meter goes 25% to the bad. It helps track your progress as far as what impact you are making in the halls. But as I said, there are those ready to stop you!

As you deliver your subpoenas, you'll run into Sycophants and Toadies. Both are obviously bad, and you'll see them coming, but they each have their ways...

Sycophants can't hurt you directly -- but not only do they collect moneybags and shred evidence (moving that "Trust-o-meter" to more red or bad), they can and do block your movements, making you an easy target for the Toadies. Oh, the dreaded Toadies.

The Toadies are dangerous. They seek you out and sling mud to sully your reputation. When they get enough mud to stick you, the cop will escort you to the restroom where you can wash up. It's a time-out for you -- and I can't tell you how infuriating it is to be fighting for justice and have the bad guys sully your reputation! But more than the cost to your pride, Toadies can mean the end of the game. For when you run out of towels, the game is done and you retire with a very poor press headline, (it's so sad!). The only way to get more towels in the restroom is to do a good job: for every 12 scoundrels you find, you'll get one extra towel stocked in the washroom.

When you run out of subpoenas, you must get more from the judge. However, just as in real life, you need to convince the judge with evidence. For every 1,000 evidence points, you'll earn one new subpoena -- but you must reach the judge to get them. (And he's not around nearly enough, making you defenseless against Sycophants and Toadies!)

You do gather evidence when delivering subpoenas, but you may also find physical evidence (documents and briefcases with money) in rooms, trashbaskets, bookcases etc. in the halls. So it's best to keep checking them, accumulating points, so that you have enough points to nail that judge everytime he passes through the halls!

To re-cap the game, you need to do the following:

Deliver subpoenas to both catch Perfidious Scoundrels and score Honest Tributes
Gather evidence so you don't run out of subpoenas
Avoid Sycophants and Toadies

Remember, keep the Perfidious Scoundrels count high to keep the towels stocked and the game going, and the Honest Tributes score is the way to win the game. You need both.

Have you figured out that there is a lot going on all the time in this game?

And no, I have not won yet. Not even close. Perhaps this is why it's addicting. But I'd like to think it's bigger than just that...

I feel rather like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz up against such things. "Scoundrels, Sycophants and Toadies, Oh, My!" It's all so much bigger than I am... I can't wait to get home to Auntie Em and find out it's all just a dream -- but it's not.

The game literature says it best:

Some like to say this is just a game, and maybe they're right. Some say the real world is just the big game and maybe they're wrong.

Imagine with us a government "Of the People, by the people and for the people" where merit reigns, and greed is disgraced. Where the rule of law applies fairly to all men.

Once you have mastered the little game you may want to move on to the big one. That's up to you. It's a free country. And I do encourage it!

As I said, I am hopelessly addicted. I'll meet you in the forum. There we can gloat over each other's scores, cry over the Toadies, and perhaps make plans for the bigger game.

The layout adventure.

2006-08-18T10:59:00.000-04:00

The layouts for this game were some of the most ambitious I have ever done. I had to find ways to speed up and use tricks to finish them on time.

The one that took the longest was the long pan used in the game. I hid various fun things in it, and invented random pictures of folks. A funny moment was when I was speaking with a friend from California and said I couldn't decide on a good person from American history to use as a bust, but had eventually decided on Winston Churchill. He was tactful in explaining why Mr. Churchill was not a very good person to use. (Whoops, wrong country.) I changed the head a bit after that to a different likeness.

The layout that almost killed me was staring up the steps at the capital building. I was trying to get it done overnight and wanted to go to my friend's the next day with no work. So I worked until the sun was coming up, and found some tricks in photoshop to do the stairs.

The certificates were another fun one. The patterns along the outsides were made using a tiling trick in Flash initially, so I could draw in one space and have an idea of what it looked like tiled overall. After that it was painted in pieaces by hand.

I had a lot of fun and learned a lot of tricks from this.

The Naughty Congresswoman

2006-08-16T00:37:00.000-04:00

It was a lot of fun--and somehow not a stretch--to record voices for this game. I particularly got a bang out of voicing the blonde, super-Martha Stewart-coiffed Congresswoman. Especially as I'm neither blonde, super, Martha Stewart or a Congresswoman. But I can pretend! Her "boohoo--I'm sorry," as written by Tom Reeve, is heard many a time as we realize she is more often than not a perfidious scoundrel-ette. (The cool thing about doing video game voices is that you have the opportunity to hear your voice(s) multiple times, if you are interested in that sort of thing. I often am.)

"Subpow" was just so great to work on as a voice actor because it offered me the often-sought but seldom achieved opportunity to wallow in melodrama. Imagining the extreme distress of a lawmaker being bopped by a subpoena when she was just trying to slink unmolested through the halls of federal service, well...twas fun. E.g., other lines needing to be voiced included the more "One Life to Life" soap opera-esque "It's only a game, boo hoo" and the rather weaselly "Everybody does it, boohoo". The trick, of course, is to vary the boohooing. Thanks to Tom's subtly precise direction, this was a piece o'cake.

Bravo, Tom & Kat--and more boohooing for me, please?

The Original Inspiration.

2006-08-15T21:09:00.000-04:00

Once when I was working on the prop crew for a lawyer movie, I found myself in the big city on the steps of a large government building with several “blue backs” like the ones in the game. They can be subpoenas, indictments, or other court orders, but they look about the same, and are stapled to the blue cover sheet and tri-folded in a particular way that is unmistakable once you’ve seen one.
The one I was holding was a prop, of course, but made with the real litigation jacket stationery and quite convincing. In the blank spots we wrote dates and docket numbers and used each other’s names where felons were called for, or scribbled things like “ Heywood Jablowmee V. Ivan Tophartt”, a private joke since the camera can’t really read it.
We had a bunch of these at one location but some were needed at another set being prepared down the block, so a co-worker was to meet me on the steps and receive them as a quick hand-off. I had been inside that building, so I made it to the rendezvous first. I stood near the revolving door at the top of the steps and watched for him among the stream of people coming into the building in the morning rush. There were secretaries and bureaucrats, lawyers and clerks, Politicians, deputy commissioners, lawmen, jurors and God only knows who else coming up the steps. The low winter sun was in my eyes, so I squinted through the clouds of cold breath and bustling silhouettes to pick out the crew brother I expected to appear in a moment.
I decided that when he showed I would not just hand him the prop, I would “serve” the subpoena on him, as would a process server. It would be a moment of ad hoc micro-theatre al fresco, a little joke between us that might find an audience in some gullible pedestrian. I stood tall with my blue-back at the ready and looked deep through the people funneling towards the revolving door.
Just then a prosperous looking man in a nice coat, who was coming up the steps towards me stopped dead in his tracks, spun on his heels and scurried back down the steps and out of sight.
It is impossible to know for sure, but he seemed to spot the subpoena, and recoil from the sight of it. I suppose he may have suddenly remembered that he meant to buy a newspaper, but it seemed like he was alarmed. He was suddenly running away from the door that he had, just an instant before, been deliberately striding towards. It was as if he thought that he had seen me before I spotted him, that I was an actual process server, and that it might be prudent to use the back door.
Whatever it was it made me wonder how many guilty consciences you could find that way.
In retrospect, that morning was the inspiration for the game.

Something about stuff that you dont see (programming the game)

2006-08-15T19:10:00.000-04:00

Finally, that day came, a lot of hard work and thousands lines of pure code that makes no sense to ordinary people, but turn online design, animation and sound into the game like it is SUBPOW.

My name is Ermin Nogo and I am from Bosnia and Herzegowina. It is my pleasure to work on this game as a computer programmer when I have a team like this one is.

When I started to code the game, I thought it will be good game and that I will play it........but I was wrong, SUBPOW is great game for me although I know every trick and obstacle.

I want to know what other people think of this game and did my effort pay off.

Why is the game good?

Game has many features that some people will not reckognize on first sight, funny, realistic, interesting and even relaxing situations like it is Crazy Game.
When I play the game I have feeling like I am a movie director, I have the law in my hands. Most interesting fact is that the whole game was made in reality and only like that reveales its scenario. Special sound effects make the game humoristic and even more interesting.

Animator's thoughts

2006-08-14T21:47:00.000-04:00

well I'm pleased the day has finally arrived for public release. I'll be interested to hear what people out there think of this.

It's hard (maybe impossible) for me to play this game as I would any other since I was invloved in creating the look of the characters and the way they move. Therefore I can't help but have a slightly biased eye as I play along. Just as I'm slapping a flying serve I'll think to myself "hmmm - I'm quite pleased with that arm action" - or "hehe - that's a nice flapping of the tie!"

So it is - I can't have the experience of seeing this fresh - so that's why I really wonder what people make of it :)

My personal favourite moment?

Well - I love the way the Toadies die - that sudden flash of anxiety in the eye - then the crumple into mud - yes, I'm pleased with that. almost worth wasting a subpoena or two I'd say :D

subpoenapower.com BETA launched

2006-08-14T03:02:00.000-04:00

I am proud to announce that the much promised, if not threatened, launch of the BETA version of "Subpoena Power, the game" launched late last night, August 13th. For the next few days only a few of us will be taking the tour, polishing the brass.

This is a BETA release folks, so please report any bugs to judge@subpow.com.

Thanks to all who have labored over this baby. This is only the beginning.

Subpoena Power mailing list

2006-07-28T22:56:00.000-04:00

I have created a mailing list just for Subpoena Power. Subscription is a double opt-in process. There is a form over on the right. Just enter your email address and watch for the confirmation e-mail. You must confirm or you will not be added to the list.

It is getting closer fan-weenies!

It looks promising that all of the features will be completed by the end of next week. Tom is busy with the writers creating the words; the good words to get out the words about this fantastic game.

The feedback is very postive and we can hardly contain ourselves. But we must keep checking and re-checking, every little thing. Thank you all for your feedback and suggestions. As soon as wee complete the game you can start to tell everyone and anyone!

SubPow v0.72106 Released!

2006-07-23T02:12:00.000-04:00

We are rocking and looking forward to hearing back from you all who get to have a sneak peak before we go live on August 7th.

The bugs have been exterminated after updates, upgrades, and many hours of testing. Expect some minor tweaks of the certificate graphics and a exciting ending End-Game animation, as well as some bonuses for those players who get to at at least 300 Honest Tribunes.

Read the new, improved Instructions. Check out the FAQ but most of all play the game. Hard to believe but I actually learned alot about the U.S. Congress by playing Subpoena Power (I was shocked that only 15% is female and this is true in both the House and Senate).

Thanks to you all that are taking the time to give us a review during this stage.

A Quick Update

2006-07-15T01:42:00.000-04:00

Over the past two weeks we have been busy implementing Stage 2 of the Beta version of Subpoena Power, the game. I am hoping that we will be ready to start testing the game early next week.

We've added levels and awards, and the Judge talks to you at each level (which is quite cool). It really IS an educational tool as well as a game that a gamer will be able to get into.

The math of it all makes my brain overheat, but Tom and Ermin have a handle on the blood and guts of the game. And Cindy and Carl have been doing amazing work on the graphics. It is a thing of beauty, and even I enjoy playing it.

I will let you know when it is ready for you to play!

The Beta Phase Continues

2006-07-02T00:26:00.000-04:00

There is more to games than just having fun, but that is a good place to start.

I am wondering how does a game hook players in the first 5 minutes of their first visit? Intuitive game play? Curiosity? Enough to keep you occupied and come to some kind of conclusion within 15 minutes; something to bring you back? Why do you play a particular game in the first place? A friend recommends it?? You see someone else playing it? Why do you play a game once and never try again? Why do you keep playing a game?

There are 535 people in the United States Congress; 435 Representatives in the House and 100 Senators in the Senate. Wouldn't it be nice to know WHO is honest and WHO are the scoundrels? Wouldn't be great if you could do something that could make the potential for GOOD in Congress increase?

Well that is what Subpoena Power, the Game is all about and we are still tweaking it. Things are still developing so there will be some changes. We're adding steps of achievement in the early part of the game where players get tips on the goals and game play. We've set levels where you will receive awards "suitable for framing" too. But what happens at the end? How to you acknowledge a player making it to serving all 535 of the politicians in Congress?? They'll have a certificate to prove it!!

The goal of the game has always been to determine who is good and who is bad, and to do whatever is necessary to encourage honesty by eliminating the temptations of corruption (the Lobbyist's money).

The game ends when you have served 535 subpoenas and the High Score will be the highest number of Honest Tribunes. I know I resisted it with my "I don't play games" attitude but SubPow just keeps getting more and more interesting to me. Maybe it will be ready to launch by my birthday, August 7, that would be a great birthday present!

Intuitive Game Play

2006-06-28T01:36:00.000-04:00

The next phase. Ermin is programming the WINNING pages now and I have asked gamer Ed Klutcharch to help us make the game play more "intuitive". I don't even know what that means yet! But it is exciting!

I do understand that after 5 or 10 minutes players lose interest; more needs to happen. More needs to happen faster!

Fast, fun, furious, five minutes!! I think most people need to get to a new level after 15 minutes! That'll get them back for more!

I have suggested a "Can't take it anymore" button that appears after 5 minutes of game play. If chosen the player gets a "gun" but also a swat team of men in white coats descend upon the board whose goal it is to shoot you with a tranquilizer gun, put you in a straight-jacket and take you out. Game Over! But what a way to go!

Somehow making the game easier to understand, levels, yes this may be needed to get players started. Welcome to the team Ed. We look forward to your full report!

Buttons, Buttons, who's seen the New Buttons?

2006-06-19T02:23:00.000-04:00

We are almost ready for prime time!

We adjusted some of the potential for slowdowns; everything is fixed. I added the Credits, About Us, FAQ pages and links to the Instructions and NoEvil Productions from the game board.

I tested it on a variety of machines and found that on my Old Apple G4 the game was sluggish. Ermin has a solution which we will implement over the next few days. Overall I am confident that the game is running well on most systems and computers, especially since PCs have been set up to play games for alot longer than Macs.

Please invite your friends to test the game out; people you trust will give you their honest opinion. This week and next we will be added a membership function that will include awards for achievement. We want the ability for members (all free of course) to SAVE games and track "High Score" so that we can award prizes every month too. Membership will facilitate that.

I find myself watching Tom to get tips and tricks, since I have seen him win (it's set to win at 100 honest tribunes for the beta test period) twice. I am just not that good with the keys. But I still enjoy playing SubPow more than I have ever liked playing any game since Pong.

Bugs update and new buttons

2006-06-15T00:35:00.000-04:00

We added SKIP to the Intro animations, PAUSE and EXIT to the game, today.

We noticed that the feather sfx (chicken squawk) is looping and that is all I can find today that is not working.

Yes I think we need more towels; maybe the towels should come automatically when you get 20 bad politicians, instead of having to go to the Judge to convert these points.

I love the feature where you turn in evidence points to the Judge for more subpoenas, but PLEASE give me more towels so that I can play the game longer than 15 minutes. Please.

Tuning Time

2006-06-13T00:13:00.000-04:00

I Have been playing the game quite a bit for the last couple of days and changing the values of certain variables.
The Instructions are succinct and do not explain the significance of the Lobbyist's briefcase, but it has an important effect on the game. ( It will need to be explained somewhere I suppose, along with the worth in evidence points of the characters.)
Each Congressman or Senator is either good or bad. At the beginning the probability of the outcome is set at 20%-80% ( good-bad). Each time you catch a lobbyist WITH his briefcase those odds change by 5% in favor of good. 20-80 goes to 25 -75. Then when you catch another lobbyist it changes again by 5% to 30-70 . And etc. to a limit of 80%- 20%. (The best odds we offer).
If The Lobbyist drops off his briefcase, but the Special Prosecutor ( you) finds it then the odds stay the same - no gain, no loss. BUT IF the Lobbyist drops it and the Sycophant finds it before you do, the odds change by 20% in the wrong direction. If, for example you had caught 6 Lobbyist with case and gotten the odds to 50-50 one completed hand-off of the bag of money will knock you right back to 20 -80. So even if you don't get the Lobbyist in time, keep looking for those hidden cases because they are worth more than just some evidence points.

Let me know how hard it is. Do we need more towels?

Mozilla Bug Fixed

2006-06-12T23:38:00.000-04:00

Who knew that the DOCTYPE attribute could cause so many browser problems! Thanks to Ermin for pointing out that Google.com does NOT use DOCTYPE.

So SubPow works now on WIN and Mac versions of Firefox, Mac Safari, Windows Internet Explorer and Opera. This is good!

Now we can play to see HOW the game plays. We set the win to 100 Honest Tribunes and Tom was the first to win tonight! Adn it ain't easy. We have decided to make the game a "High Score" game, with no real win. There is an endless flow of new politicians, so you can just play forever, well at least until you lose, which I seemt o do within 15 minutes!

Thanks Tom for making it a real challenge. Now I want to add a way for the Special Proscecutor to get their hands on a gun!!

Full Screen Game

2006-06-12T00:17:00.000-04:00

Wow what a day! Turns out that Internet Explorer for Windows takes over events; ie the ESC button is used by IE. So we have to figure out another way to do a QUIT button. In fact we are thinking about a PAUSE and RESUME feature as well.

Tom has been playing with the variables in order to balance the challenge and the fun of playing the game. He's made it harder and now I am losing every game. But I still get to play it for about 15 minutes or so before I lose.

In order to fix the problems we were having with the keys not working in the game if you clicked outside the Flash area (which is pretty easy to do) we created a full screen Flash browser window, now it works brilliantly in IE v6 on PC and I would love to get feedback about how it works on Firefox or any/all other browsers.

It has always worked on Mac OS X Safari and Firefox, but that is because these browsers do not have the "focus" issues. I always insist that everything we use works on all platforms, all modern browsers, and of course since 85% of the known Internet universe works on some flavor of PC/Internet Explorer, this is most important. But as a Machead I also insist that it works brilliantly on my machine. I no longer worry about Mac OS 9 or earlier, nor Windows98 or earlier. WinXP and OS X have been around now for over 4 years, almost 5. We can safely design for them and reach 80% of our audience, maybe more since it will be Broadband users who play online games.

What do you think?

link from blogspot

2006-06-11T16:02:00.000-04:00

the link from the Blogspot page takes you to "supow.com" which is something totally different in chinese! - just needs the "b" inserting

Couple of observations

2006-06-10T21:25:00.000-04:00

Just a couple observations, the instructions button is the rough, and when you mouse over it it shows the cleaned up version.

Also, I don't know if it was intended, but when you jump and press up from the bottom floor, you get to the top without the stairs or elevator. The same from the top, you can jump and press down and go back to the main floor.

I'll keep playing to see if I find any issues :) Looks good so far.

Cin

Internet Explorer v6.0.26 bug found on PC

2006-06-10T19:58:00.000-04:00

We have programmed the ESC (escape) key to be able to exit the scene but this does not work on a PC yet.

The keyboard strokes do not work on a PC if you click anywhere outside the game area on your browser. To get it to work again just click anywhere inside the game frame. This is just a workaround for testing. This will be fixed.

SubPow launches Beta

2006-06-10T19:33:00.000-04:00

I am pleased to report that SubPow is currently in Beta testing.