Deirdra Kiai Productions

I’m going to grad school!

Squinky — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 19:28:10 +0000

This week seems to be full of grand announcements. For starters, I just released a game, which people seem to be enjoying, so that’s quite happy-making. Of course, some of you are probably wondering what’s going to come next after Dominique Pamplemousse, and it’s your lucky day, because now I can make the good news official: starting this September, I will be moving to Santa Cruz, California to get my MFA in Digital Arts & New Media!

I’m really excited about this direction my career is going to be taking. I’m going to get to work with/around people who made such neat interactive narrative games as Prom Week, Façade, and Blue Lacuna, and also with artists of other disciplines: filmmakers, musicians, makers, theatre people, you name it. I’m going to learn a lot of things, expand and refine my craft, and all around become a better artist. [1] It’ll be kind of amazing.

Plus, I’ve missed living in California ever since I interned at Telltale 7 years ago [2] so it’ll be wonderful to be back there again!

Footnotes:

Not that I necessarily think you have to go to school to be a better artist. But still! ↩
Holy crap, has it been that long? ↩

Dominique Pamplemousse is OUT!

Squinky — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 07:02:15 +0000

Because on the one day the entire internet is a joke, I prefer to be completely sincere.

Come and get it!

Pamplemousse Releases April 1!

Squinky — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 21:48:06 +0000

Hear ye, hear ye! Today, I am proud to announce that Dominique Pamplemousse has now passed Apple’s review gauntlet. As such, I now have an actual release date: Monday, April 1, 2013! [1]

You’ll be able to buy the game either from the App Store if you’re going for the iPad version, or directly from me if you want the desktop version. Both will run for $4.99 USD.

Oh, and if you contributed to the Indiegogo campaign and requested a copy of the game, make sure you check your email later today…

Footnotes:

No, this is not a joke. ↩

An Introvert’s Guide to Surviving GDC

Squinky — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 21:30:12 +0000

Yet again, that enormous annual conference for all the game developers in the galaxy is soon upon us. You know the one. I will, of course, be there, volunteering and also demoing the newly App Store-submitted Dominique Pamplemousse to as many willing people as possible. [1] Exciting!

Anyway, here’s a thing I’ve noticed in the several years I’ve been a GDC attendee. When it comes to what a lot of people on the internet think of as the best parts of GDC — namely, ZOMG NETWORKING! and PARTIES! — I often feel at odds. I’m an introvert, which means that while I don’t necessarily hate being outgoing and sociable per se, [2] I generally find most kinds of social activities to be draining, to the point of needing to rest and recover afterwards. Apparently, I’m not alone. So, here’s my list of ways in which I, personally, try to get the most out of GDC. Your own mileage, as they say, may vary. But if you’re the kind of person whose reaction to spending a week in close proximity to tens of thousands of people is more “eep!” than “yay!” then maybe some of these tips will help.

(more…)

Footnotes:

Here’s hoping that by the time GDC is actually happening, Pamplemousse will have passed review and I can finally announce a proper release date. ↩
I actually quite enjoy annually meeting up and talking at length about videogames with people I otherwise only interact with online, and probably wouldn’t even go to GDC if I didn’t. ↩

This thing’s getting ready to sing…

Squinky — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 23:49:45 +0000

Well, it’s finally that stage of the project. Dominique Pamplemousse is now an actual playable game from beginning to end. All the scenes are in, all the puppets are doing what they’re supposed to, and all the music sounds great. In other words, the game is now that much closer to release! Huzzah!

There is, of course, a bunch to do still before I can finally put this game up on the internet and let people buy it in droves. Namely:

Testing! Soon, hopefully in the next week or so, I’m going to release beta builds for Windows, Mac, and iPad. The latter is going to prove to be the trickiest, but with the help of such nifty apps as TestFlight, maybe it won’t be terrible. We shall see.
Distribution! Pamplemousse is definitely going to be available for sale directly from me and on Apple’s App Store. Where else would you all like to see it? Steam? Desura? Android marketplace? By all means, do let me know!
Marketing! And publicity! The Indiegogo campaign was part one, and now part two is soon going to have to begin in earnest. To be honest, this is the part that’s the most scary and draining for an introvert like me, but just like the Indiegogo campaign, it’s something I’m glad I’m learning to do.
And of course, getting all the Indiegogo contributor goodies ready and sent off to all you wonderful people! I know you’ve been waiting patiently.

So, yeah. Lots to do still, and it’s a little nervewracking to take this thing I’ve spent all this time building myself and start showing it to other people. But I’m really, really proud of the game so far, and I’m quite excited that it’s nearly done. It’s going to be amazing.

12/12/12 update!

Squinky — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 23:55:23 +0000

Ack, it’s December! In other words, it’s nearly the end of the year, and Dominique Pamplemousse still isn’t done yet. But it’s getting there!

So, here’s the thing. I’m now doing contract work in an addition to being an indie developer. I’m contributing content to a really cool interactive narrative project that I hope to talk more about in the future, when I’m allowed to. But suffice to say, it’s an excellent opportunity and I’m super excited to be working on it. I’m also trying to get some new things lined up for next year, which I’m also looking forward to. The downside, of course, is that these things have all been taking up more of my time, which I was initially focussing on Pamplemousse. Not all of my time, mind you. But definitely some. So it’s taking a little bit slower than I initially thought.

I have definitely made progress, though, and I promise you all that this game will get done in a reasonable time frame, if only because I really, really don’t like leaving things unfinished for years. So, here’s a slightly more detailed progress update:

(more…)

IFComp 2012: Changes, Lunar Base 1, Kicker

Squinky — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 18:46:50 +0000

Hooray, last bunch of reviews for the IFComp! The lucky remaining games are “Changes”, “Lunar Base 1″, and “Kicker”.

(more…)

IFComp 2012: Sunday Afternoon, J’dal

Squinky — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 19:44:29 +0000

Next up in IFComp reviews, we have “Sunday Afternoon” and “J’dal”. Only three more left after these ones, and I’m all done. Whew!

(more…)

Talking About Pamplemousse

Squinky — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 20:10:34 +0000

Once again, it’s been a little while since I’ve posted about Dominique Pamplemousse, considering that most of the stuff I’m doing on the project these days has been of the “siddown and do yer werk” variety. However, I did recently find some time to chat with Dan Cox of Indie Game Radio about such assorted topics as Kickstarter vs. Indiegogo, adventure games and storytelling, The Neverhood, how I’m building this game, and how it would be funny to write a game about crowdfunding.

You can check out the interview here.

IFComp 2012: Murphy’s Law, Escape From Summerland

Squinky — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 00:12:36 +0000

Couple more IFComp reviews today. “Murphy’s Law” and “Escape From Summerland”. Have at ‘em, folks.

(more…)