Games by Neil Thapen
S.T.A.C.K.E.R.
Download from itch.io
Three years ago, in 1986, an explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant scattered deadly radiation across Europe.
100000 people were hastily evacuated and a Zone of Alienation created around Chernobyl.
Soon stories began to leak out of the Zone - of mutated animals and men, of the earth and sky twisting into weird shapes, and of alien objects with wonderful powers that would drop out of thin air.
For these, people would pay well. So scavengers were drawn to the Zone. Men drifted there from across the USSR, to make a living gathering what they could from this lonely, hostile new world. These men became known as "Stackers".
Features
- Loot, drink, smoke and fight your way through three levels of irradiated hell
- Overcome dogs, soldiers, swamps and fanatics with rocket launchers
- Discover the perverted secrets of Soviet science
- Struggle with outdated 80s equipment
- Have your wishes granted in the mysterious heart of the Zone
- "...it’s a quiet joy to see how all these mechanics of a more traditional shooter are worked into Tetris ... pretty funny and terribly well executed" -
Kieron Gillen, Rock, Paper, Shotgun
- Interview on 1UP
Made for the TIGSource Bootleg Demakes Competition, 2008
Tools used: Game Maker, GraphicsGale, Audacity, Windows sound recorder
Pink Trombone
Play online (best on a multitouch device)
Interactive articulatory speech synthesis. Talk or sing with your fingers.
- "The 'QWOP' of speaking." -
Digg
- "As far as gaining a basic understanding of speech and phonetics, and specifically how speech organs actually work, this is the best “hands-on” education you’re likely to get." -
DigitalTrends
2017
Doodal
Play online (flash)
A freehand fractal doodling program.
- highly recommended - freeindiegam.es
- "...delightful and intuitive"
- Boing Boing
2013
Tools used: AS3, FlashDevelop, Pixel Bender
The Clatter of the Keys
Download
"Boston, Nov. 1928 —
IDEA — to use Dr Freud's method of free-association
to explore what lurks in my unconscious mind.
Surely this must be a lucrative source of material
for stories of the weird and strange. I will allow
myself until midnight."
Features
- Explore the unconscious in a 1920s type 'em up.
- Journey deep into the weird, without leaving your desk.
- Discover how many cents you can earn in four minutes.
- "...Typing of the Dead was one of the silliest but most addicting games on the Dreamcast. Tasked with eliminating zombies as they approach, you have to type out the word or phrase above their head to shoot them. What happens when you take that concept and mix it with Space Invaders and Lovecraft?"
- James Murff, Big Download
- One of 1UP's 101 Free Games for 2009
Made for the TIGSource Commonplace Book Competition, 2008
Tools used: Game Maker, GraphicsGale, GIMP, Audacity
Storm over the Desert
Made with unsilentwill (art) and Javet (music).
Download
Play Online (takes a while to load)
Guide your squadron of tanks to defeat the evil armies of Satan Hosain
(uses the cursor keys, X and C).
A remake of a game from the Action 52 collection for the NES.
- Freeware Game Pick, IndieGames.com
Made for the Action 52 Owns project, 2010
Tools used: AS3, Flixel, FlashDevelop, GraphicsGale, Audacity
Current projects
Mods
Theatrum Orbis Terrarum
Homepage
A graphics mod for Paradox Interactive's grand strategy game Europa Universalis III.
- Inspired by the look of early atlases
- New textures and pixel shaders
- Hills and forests are shown on the political maps
- A more stylized, more informative terrain map
- Stationary water, smaller flags and less glaring terra incognita
- New font
- Dynamic minimap, which changes to show what has been discovered
- "... a great improvement over the original map because in a game that is so dependent on an historical feel, the Paradox designed map seemed a little out of place."
- Troy Goodfellow, Flash of Steel
2007
Tools used: HLSL, GIMP
Pieces of games
Venus Patrol
Download
A prototype for a third person, mouse-controlled flight sim.
It's 1960, and a squadron of the Royal Interplanetary Air Force has been stationed at New Adelaide
in the Venus mandate, to show the flag, keep an eye on the natives and protect refinery workers from the oversized wildlife.
No women, shameful food — but amazing opportunities for a spot of shikar!
Made for the TIGSource Cockpit Competition, 2009
Tools used: Python, NetBeans, pyglet, NumPy, Open Dynamics Engine, OpenGL, Wings 3D, GIMP, Audacity
gluten-free
Play online (graphics may be squashed)
A tiny thing in Flash about mixing. The remains of an idea for a game about making bread.
Made for the TIGSource Adult/Educational Competition, 2009
Tools used: Actionscript 3, FlashDevelop, GraphicsGale
Jam games
(Typically made in three hours; sometimes finished later.)
The Baron's Volcano Party
Dance the conga and avoid furniture.
Made with Terry Cavanagh, increpare and Kekskiller,
on the themes “centipede”, “voodoo”, “herrensuppe” and “speed.”
Play online
BIGJAM, July 2009
The White Game
Stack up coloured blocks. Disjoint colours overlap. Overlap red, green and blue to make
a white block, clearing the line. For the theme "game inspired by an album cover".
Play online
BIGJAM, August 2011
MSLCMD
A version of missile command, made with Stormcloud,
for the theme "Sega Dreamcast VMU specs". That is,
48 x 32 resolution, with two colours. Cursor keys move, space fires.
Play online
TIGJam UK, June 2010
Raindrops
Try to avoid the depressing rain. For the theme "Delicious Suicide".
Play online (press space to start)
BIGJAM, August 2011
Fast Noodle
Not a finished game, but the mechanic could be interesting. Press down to suck up noodles, left and right to move,
and use the mouse to rotate noodles with the chopsticks.
Made for the theme “Chinese fast food.”
Download
BIGJAM, July 2009
Sound sound
Clap in rythm to destroy the approaching shapes.
Made with increpare, on the theme “audio only”.
On increpare's site
TIGJam UK, January 2010
Lightbulb
Press space to turn the light on and off, to lure the moths out of the window.
Made for the theme “lightbulb”.
Download
TIGJam UK, January 2010
