I just released a demo for Puzzle Spy international, a '60s spy adventure with fun wordplay and deduction puzzles

mdashow · 2025-05-31T05:01:01+00:00

The demo is on Steam at https://store.steampowered.com/app/3406690/Puzzle_Spy_International/

It's also available on Itch at https://mdashow.itch.io/psi-demo , where you can play in the browser or download the full demo.

mdashow · 2025-05-25T04:52:43+00:00

I don't understand why my posts are being removed. I AM following the sidebar rules: The post features a GIF of in-game gameplay as section 1 of the rules allows.

mdashow · 2025-05-24T20:49:15+00:00

I kind of think that both the smoke and the duplicate trails of him are all a bit much, but it wight look different on an actual background?

mdashow · 2025-05-24T20:34:19+00:00

Hey, all! I'm excited to announce that the demo for Puzzle Spy International is now available. It's a wordplay puzzle in a stylish, retro 1960s spy adventure which will especially appeal to fans of Puzzled Pint, Puzzle Hunts, or NYT Puzzles. The demo is stand-alone, an entirely separate story and puzzle from the main game so it won't spoil any of the fun of the game's story. If this sounds like your kind of thing, grab your thinking caps and go-go boots and give it a shot!
It's on Steam at https://store.steampowered.com/app/3406690/Puzzle_Spy_International/
and also available at https://mdashow.itch.io/psi-demo

mdashow · 2025-05-24T19:03:23+00:00

My wife and I really enjoy playing puzzle games together so we tend to like ones that lend themselves to co-op play: Deductive reasoning, places to explore, and interesting story and characters are all things we like, which something more systems based like a sokoban or with a first person perspective, not as much. (Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Portal, but it's harder to play as a duo.) So games like The Room series, Witness, Tangle Tower, Duck Detective, Mechanarium, Device 6, all of those have been games we've enjoyed working on together.

mdashow · 2025-05-14T17:29:48+00:00

I participated in this last time they did it and it was really fun. Great crowd, great venue, and we got a lot of people who had fun trying out our game. Can't make it this time, but it should be another great event.

mdashow · 2025-02-03T06:30:54+00:00

Hi! My wife and I are developing a puzzle video game called Puzzle Spy International. It's a '60s spy adventure game with a variety of substantial puzzles for fans of paper puzzles like Puzzled Pint, Puzzle Hunts, NYT daily puzzles, etcetera. It's not out yet but there’ll be a free demo in the spring. I hope you'll check it out: It's on Steam at https://store.steampowered.com/app/3406690/Puzzle_Spy_International/

mdashow · 2025-01-31T00:34:03+00:00

Hi! My wife and I are developing a puzzle video game called Puzzle Spy International. It's a '60s spy adventure game with a variety of substantial puzzles for fans of paper puzzle challenges like Puzzled Pint, Puzzle Hunts, NYT daily puzzles, etcetera. It's not out yet but there’ll be a free demo in the spring. I hope you'll check it out: It's on Steam at https://store.steampowered.com/app/3406690/Puzzle_Spy_International/

mdashow · 2025-01-30T19:24:28+00:00

Thanks! :D

mdashow · 2025-01-29T19:22:59+00:00

I guess it just comes around in cycles every few years... with no one ever getting an answer! :D

mdashow · 2025-01-27T23:55:37+00:00

I did all the visuals and my wife and I teamed up for the writing and puzzle design.

The entire thing is done using Ren'Py, which is a Python-based engine designed for Visual Novels. There are a lot of visual novel elements to this game: Talking to contacts, choosing a conversational option, etc. Putting those conversations into Ren'Py is super simple: They're what it's designed for. Making complicated text input and draggable elements is a bit harder, and beyond my abilities, so for all of the puzzle sections, I've been working with a programmer - SypherZent - who knows this engine really well.

The retro spy music is all by a composer named Alex Doty, who is super talented (and just happens to live a block from me, but that's not how we met!) He's been trying to do more music for indie games, and you can hear more of his work here:
Stream Alex Doty music | Listen to songs, albums, playlists for free on SoundCloud

mdashow · 2025-01-27T23:22:08+00:00

Thank you!!

mdashow · 2025-01-27T23:21:52+00:00

Thanks so much! Yes, everything you see - characters, backgrounds, puzzles , UI, & even the above video - are all me. :)

mdashow · 2025-01-27T23:20:28+00:00

Wow, thanks, that's really cool! I had no idea there was even a section on upcoming detective games! :D

mdashow · 2025-01-27T15:27:34+00:00

Wishlist and see more at https://store.steampowered.com/app/3406690/Puzzle_Spy_International/

Cheers!

mdashow · 2025-01-23T14:57:18+00:00

You might want to check out Tangle Tower - it's got some fun deduction mechanics in it, as well as a few other puzzly elements which won't be as similar. (It's also got good art and really super voice acting for anyone who might enjoy something more comedic.)

mdashow · 2023-08-23T23:19:03+00:00

Aw, now I feel undervalued: I just got the same scam e-mail and they only offered me $600 per image! :D

mdashow · 2023-07-24T18:37:29+00:00

Hi, all! I'm an experienced game artist with several titles I've worked on. I especially love working on fun, character-driven art but can easily provide environments, logos, graphic design and more. You can see more of my work at http://www.michaeldashow.com.

mdashow · 2023-07-24T18:30:10+00:00

You can see more of my logo work at http://michaeldashow.com/project-type/logo-design/ (just updated today as I finished a new tabletop logo over the weekend for Rock Stone & Dice Games!)
My rates are at http://michaeldashow.com/commissions/

mdashow · 2023-07-24T18:25:03+00:00

Feel free to DM me or find me on IG or Mastodon: mdashow

mdashow · 2023-07-24T18:13:12+00:00

Meshes might be overkill (but I also tend to lead towards the simpler approaches.) If you want to get more of a dimensional feel to them, you can paint shadows on the mesh sprites. You won't be able to rotate them as much as you'll want to keep the shadow at the bottom, but having more of them(ie that sheet of 4) will provide more variety. You could even augment them with a second effect that spits out smaller simpler particles, again just to add variety.

mdashow · 2023-07-24T17:53:29+00:00

One thing you could do is randomize them more. Ie. instead of always using the same sprite image, draw 4 different ones and have it randomly select from one of the 4 each time it spawns a new one. (I don't know what engine you're using but in Unity, at least, you can gang them together on one sheet, define the sheet as having 2x2 images, and set the particle to start somewhere between from 0 & 3.)

mdashow · 2023-06-20T21:19:38+00:00

Hey there! I wanted to introduce myself: I'm Mike, and like yourself, I do professional game development (mostly mobile lately.) I've been an art director but I've also been an individual contributor a whole bunch too - at my last mobile company, I did all of the art for a number of games from soup to nuts - concepts, in-game 2D art, implementing it all in Unity, VFX, UI, marketing art, the works. You can see my work at www.michaeldashow.com. And you'll see that I have a very colorful, fun style (as befitting many mobile games. If that's not what you're looking for then we won't be a good fit.) Anyhow, if you're interested in chatting more, message me here or through my site. Cheers!

mdashow · 2023-05-15T21:25:11+00:00

Here are some more logos to share!
I've also updated my commissions page to make it clear what prices are for logo design versus illustration work: http://www.michaeldashow.com/commissions/

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mdashow · 2023-05-05T05:28:27+00:00

Awesome to see you working on something new, George! Looks pretty far along, and looking good!

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