Are you ready to TACKLE the holidays? Gift Suggestions for the Compleat Intergalactic Fisherman
Did you know that more record danger fish have been caught with Galactic Bait & Tackle lures than any other in the galaxy? It's true! GB&T lures are your best shot at a galactic record and belong in every intergalactic fisherman's tackle bay!
Since its introduction, the Amber Zebra Chub quickly acquired its reputation as the best new multimedium jigging lure in the galaxy. --Incorporating all of the positive benefits of the Mini Chub into a larger, more pugnacious body shape has intergalactic anglers talking!-- Developed for nebular danger fishing, the Amber Zebra Chub has a more pronounced action. Its impulsed nuclear thruster produces a sharp "snapping" motion and causes the Chub to circle faster and faster as it closes in on unsuspecting prey!
The Amber Zebra Chub --Santa says lower the price to only 2199 credits!
Whether venturing into an uncharted plasma cloud or plumbing the murky depths of Muul, the Flame Trout Five is ready to rip through the thickest nebular dust and wiggle weed. This little bully is versatile enough to deploy no matter the conditions, including ion storms! Swimming aggressively with an undulating motion, a tantalizing variation of the classic Flame Trout action, the Flame Trout Five is out there to pick fights with the biggest of space bass and other major sport and danger fish!
The Flame Trout Five --Now holiday priced at only 1299 credits!
The Hammer is a unique seeker bait specifically designed from tip to tail to create some awesome danger fishing action! State of the art biomechanics coupled with cold-fusion technology allow this uncanny lure to react instantly and discharge a powerful stun bolt with every twitch of the control beam. Its action is a cross between a subsurface interdimensional "skipper" and a good old fashioned predator AI. You can make the responsive and deadly Hammer swim, circle, skip and splash in and out of any liquid environment --or even time itself!
The Hammer --A festive bargain at only 1499 credits!
Quantities are limited so don't delay! Order today!*
Also Joseph Smits just posted a nifty review of Brainpipe for GamersInfo.net. In his creatively written critique, Joseph asks Have you ever heard anyone tell you about an experience in which they felt more than themselves? Hmm... I think he's on to something. To see where this is leading, read the article --or better yet, play the genuine article!
Ripcord out.
October 5, 2009
Hot news: Hands-On Mobile has just released the demo for the PSP version of Brainpipe! Up until now only PC and Mac gamers could share the freaky fun --but no more! PSP gamers, be sure to teleport here to read more about it.
Also --and let's keep this one close to the vest for now-- there is an iPhone version of Brainpipe coming and it's coming soon, so be preapred to unhinge, iPhone gamers. This is the game that no psyche can survive intact. You have been warned.
Ripcord out.
September 29, 2009
Free Strange Adventures? Could it be?! Is it true?!
In the 22nd century, colony ships were programmed to search for earthlike planets along trajectories calculated to visit stars with the best likelihood of habitable worlds. One such ship with its crew and passengers in cryostasis traveled over 2300 light years before a suitable planet was found.
Hope is a temperate world located in the Glory system on the edge of a vast nebula often referred to as the Purple Void. The nebula is unique in that it contains many unusual star types and other peculiar phenomena.
Over 100 years have passed since the colonists first arrived. It is a new beginning of deep space exploration. Technology has improved and mankind is no longer dependent on slow cryoships and robot probes. This is the setting of Strange Adventures In Infinite Space.
Strange Adventures is a space roguelike with action, graphics and sound. It's an instant space opera with starship combat, deep space exploration, ship and flotilla customization, lifeform and artifact hunting, friends and foes (most of whom are disgusting aliens), a randomized "universe" so every game session is different --all playable during a lunch break, hence the tagline Explore the Galaxy in 20 Minutes or Less!
And there's more. Soup du Jour, first released for PC in 2007, is available for the low low price of free as well --which is really cool because it's one of Digital Eel's weirder games with rubbery physics and downright rulebreaking gameplay. Is it a toy, a game or whattheheck? You decide, and by the way, Soup du Jour is great for younger gamers. Nab it here or stop by the Soup du Jour website for more information about this unique, simple to play and crazy fun game!
Ripcord out.
September 5, 2009
SPACE LUDO ARRIVES
Family Games from Beyond are Landing on Our Tabletops!
Soon there will be Eat Electric Death!, that we may once again know the battle ecstasy of cardboard combat.
But in the meantime Space Ludo is here, a kinder gentler "screw-your-neighbor" boardgame playable by two to four players.
Space Ludo is, well, Ludo, a traditional race and capture game enjoyed around the world. If you've never played it by that name, you've certainly played one of its precursors or variants. Ludo is related to Parcheesi and both are simplified descendants of the ancient Indian cross and circle game, Pachisi.
Space Ludo offers an addicting blend of luck and strategy. Dice are involved yet crucial choices occur frequently. The rules are simple yet the game is always interesting and pleasant to replay. Space Ludo adds a deathmatch element, wormholes and other cool optional rules --and that wild 'n' wacky Weird Worlds/Phosphorous art-- to expand and enhance the game in trippy ways.
Space Ludo costs money but not much and it's the cutest little microgame you ever saw when you get it set up. Really. Very pretty. It's also a terrific souvenir of the Weird Worlds universe that you won't want to miss!
Space Ludo is printed, packed and shipped by The Game Crafter, an online on-demand self-publishing service for paper games that anyone can use. Note: if you're interested in creating and publishing your own paper games yourself, check it out.
Of course, nothing beats the real thing-- Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space, brought to your hard drive by the mighty Shrapnel Games, Masters of Strategy. Whereas Space Ludo merely tantalizes, Weird Worlds grabs you by the throttle and thrusts you into space combat versus disgusting aliens with unsettling names like Pranja and Slordax. --You may think you know fear. You may think you know danger. But you don't know fear and danger together like you will when you play Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space! (By yours truly, Digital Eel, and, as I said, brought to you by the meta-groovy Shrapnel Games. Oh yeah.)
PS: Be sure to check out Let's Play Games, the Digital Eel "one boardgame per week" project page for more cool games and stuff. Not surprisingly, it's updated weekly.
Ripcord out.
August 17, 2009
Did you play our little hidden object game below and find the Muktian? Good! Ever wonder what a Muktian sounds like? No? Well you're going to find out right now. Click this button to hear the Muktian interstellar emissary, his bearers and the slime trail they leave behind. Yes, you can actually hear the slime!
Ripcord out.
Happiness is a warm particle vortex cannon. Independent Games Festival 2006 Award Winner!
August 10, 2009
It's Muktian Download Day! "Procession" by Phosphorous
Muktians are slimy underdwellers from a mysterious planet located deep within the Purple Void. Don't know what I'm talking about? YOU need a star spanning adventure, and how! So how do you get one immediately --when you need it the most? Play Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space (simply every sentient being is doing it), hang out with slimy Muktians (and worse) and save the galaxy during your lunch hour! Zap!
Ripcord out.
August 5, 2009
There can be only two!
(Winners, that is.)
Shrapnel Games and game forum PwnEm.com have teamed up to allow two lucky winners to win their very own copy of the full retail version of Brainpipe: A Plunge to Unhumanity. The contest, which runs until August 22nd, is very easy to participate in. Simply join the BRAINPIPE contest thread at PwnEm.com and either comment about a song that describes the game or a song that describes how you feel when you play the game. It doesn’t matter if it’s Rachmaninoff, Warbringer, or The 1910 Fruitgum Co., it’s all about how the music and game tie together for YOU.
Full details of the contest can be found on the PwnEM.com site
right here, so check it out, post your impressions and good luck!
And just when you thought you'd heard enough noise today, here comes a surprisingly noisy interview by Omaha Sternberg of iGame Radio. Are you ready? Take out those earplugs! It's called Phosphorous Talks Brainpipe, and listening to it may just curve your spine. (Just.) Click the play button to learn dark inner secrets about Brainpipe and Digital Eel from Mr. Phosphorous himself! (Having trouble playing the interview? Download it here.)
Note: This is a 5:24 second edited segment of a much lengthier interview conducted by Omaha Sternberg for broadcast on March 12th, 2009. You can listen to that as well as other Digital Eel iGame Radio features here. Also, many thanks to Omaha and iGame Radio for kind permission to mangle their material for the cause. What's the cause? Fun of course!
Have a happy and safe 4th of July weekend, folks!
Ripcord out.
June 15, 2009
ESCAPE FROM THE ORDINARY
Take the plunge to unhumanity! Reveal your alien brain! Independent Games Festival 2009 Award Winner!
Join Le Chef in his kitchen and play a matching game like no other!
Happiness is a warm particle vortex cannon. Independent Games Festival 2006 Award Winner!
Boldly blow up stuff where no one has blown up stuff before!
YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO!
June 11, 2009
IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE.
IT CHANGED LITTLE BILLY.
"As BrainPipe began, and my eyes settled on my game surroundings, I asked myself one question: 'What in the world is this?'"
- Jamie Skelton, Helium
"You get sucked into the mesmerizing setting immediately, and you will not want to blink or turn away for even an instant."
- Bob Mandel, Adrenaline Vault
"(The) combination of atmospheric ambient music and classic arcade-style sound effects compliment the trippy visuals perfectly."
- Joseph Vanburen, HarryBalls.com
"The subtle doppler effect on the constant and schizophrenic audio-visual assault positions you squarely inside the game in ways that most struggle at."
- Brandon Boyer, Offworld
"Digital Eel makes deep games about weird stuff, going so far as to name one of their better games Weird Worlds. Then they went ahead and outdid themselves."
- the99th, Play This Thing!
Nuff said! Learn more, get the demo and reveal your alien brain here!
June 10, 2009
EVERY DAY IS
FREE GAME DAY
AT DIGITAL EEL!
In direct response to the worldwide economic crisis Digital Eel is compelled to remind everyone that free games can (in these uncertain times) mean the difference between gaming and not gaming, and not gaming is no fun, so why take chances? Remember, Plasmaworm, Dr. Blob's Organism, Big Box of Blox and Goblin Slayer are all free and freely distributable --and no strings attached either, like DRM junk, ads, registration or anything like that. Simply download, install and play. Just like the old days. --Enjoy!
Jokers, bombs, frogs, fireballs, slot machines, boulders and more!
Digital Eel's Big Box of Blox is a stacking and matching game taken to outrageous extremes! The rules are simple. With easy keystrokes carefully arrange the three-blox-high columns as they fall. Match blox in each column to eliminate rows. The gameplay is very easy going at first glance -but there's more!
Why just simply stack blox? What if you could smash them, blast them, squish them or mutate them? Digital Eel's Big Box of Blox introduces jokers, bombs, hidden blox, frogs, fireballs, slot machines, "wild" blox, boulders and lots of surprises to keep your eyes, ears, brain and fingers happy and challenged. (And that's a tall order so check it out!)
Blast feisty one-celled organisms before they getcha! Independent Games Festival 2004 Double Award Winner!
Dr. Blob's Organism is a lightning-fast shooter game where players blast feisty one-celled organisms as they try to escape from a petri dish.
Each level -each new dish- introduces powerups (like freeze, lightning and multiguns) and special blob abilities (like force field, regeneration and frenzy) to amp up the fun and increase the challenge throughout the entire game!
The disturbingly addictive Snake game.
Plasmaworm is an easy to play -but challenging to master- arcade game for all ages.
It's best described as a modern relative of early computer games such as Snake, TRON Light Cycles
and Pizza Worm (DOS). The full version of the game includes 20 different levels of increasing perplexity playable
in solo or two-player modes. You can also create your own psychedelic plasma, music and levels
using the built-in editors. Cool!
A print and play boardgame of fantasy combat underground!
Goblin Slayer is a quick easy to play boardgame of heroic adventure and underground combat for two players. One player controls the evil denizens of the "Cave of Woe", an innumerable tribe of goblins (and an optional "guest star") who jealously guard a fabulous object. The other player controls Stormbeard the dwarf, armed with his legendary battleaxe, who must explore the cavern complex, acquire the ancient artifact and escape alive. Not so easy!
May 27, 2009
Hot off the hyperpress: BRAINPIPE for Mac updated... New patch released for OS X version... This is the one you've been waiting for... More details to follow...
We like to call it the frisky patch. It lets you get slippery and frisky at high speeds (and who doesn't want to do that?). This is an ESSENTIAL Mac version update, so grab it now --or click here to go to the Brainpipe site and poke around a bit.
Ripcord out.
May 17, 2009
Phosphorous Lets Slip the Fish of War! Subsurface Defenders of Oceans in Peril
Download a larger, higher quality version for your video collection here.
May 5, 2009
The Music is Back!
Back by popular demand. Cool tunes from the Purple Void. Music for aliens. Songs in the key of weird. To start the playlist, click the first, or any, selection. Also, look forward to more sonic oddities from the Mystery Kitchen --and by The Nightmare Band-- coming soon!
Weird Worlds: The Single Void Probe Blok Atak Weird Worlds: The Soundtrack Dr. Blob Forest Clam Dance Plasmaworm I was a Teenage Haircut
April 24, 2009
Hold it Bert --Brainpipe Nabs an Ernie! Plus a Long Overdue Update!
Here's the scoop from Bytten.com: "Every year, at around Easter time, Bytten pays tribute to selected indie games in the Bytten Ernie awards which reward independent games that stand out of the crowd."
This year, Bytten has bestowed the Best In-game Audio award upon Brainpipe (Zing!), and we're honored and very appreciative of their recognition, and for being included on such a great roster of indie games. Thanks guys!
Here's what Bytten has to say about Brainpipe's soundscape:
A cacophony of bizarre, sometimes soothing and sometimes unnerving samples over an evocative and swirling composition of background tracks. Sound effects that not only react to the action on-screen, but are important to the player in terms of timing and spacial awareness. Brainpipe is noteworthy as a game not only because of the degree to which the player interprets and utilises the in-game audio during play, but also the quality of the audio itself, which is excellent.
Also, a big Digitally Eelish thanks goes out to Meagan VanBurkleo of GameInformer for featuring Brainpipe in GI's annual Indie Week IGF overview. Listed among the likes of cool indie games like Blueberry Garden and CarnyVale Showtime, again, we're honored and grateful for the recognition of what may be our weirdest game! Be sure to check out the Brainpipe Indie Week feature here.
Lastly, you may have noticed that Digital Eel has been rather quiet over the last couple of weeks. Well, we were hit by two viruses: one, a nasty Trojan Horse malware nightmare which eventually took down our main computer, and two, a real virus --the flu kind-- which took Ripcord down for a while longer. The good news is that everything is back to normal (and Ripcord is up and feeling lots better), so updates should appear in a more timely fashion again. Thanks to all for your patience!
The Independent Games Festival at the Game Developers Conference in trippy San Francisco, California. For the indie awards show, aliens tastefully festooned the IGF logo with writhing cilia and black tentacles.
2009 IGF Award Winners Announced BRAINPIPE scores!
Amazingly, considering the sheer number of entries, some terrific co-contenders and the rather daunting presence of game industry insider judges, our trippy little game, Brainpipe, scored the Independent Games FestivalExcellence in Audio award, a catch-all accolade that includes both music and sound effects. Neat!
Getting this award was pretty special and meaningful for us for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that we all worked on the sound and music together, which was more fun than humans should be allowed to have and very productive of fresh and unusual sonic ideas. Three heads can be better than one in this regard, and "With a little help from your friends" is no cheap cliche.
Go read the semi-official Gamasutra announcement here.
We'll be posting the obligatory Digital Eel GDC Mystery Tour 2009 pictures sometime within the next week. Be sure to check back from time to time so you can experience just a smidgeon of our GDC/IGF road trip adventure via the miracle of the internet and a couple of cheap cameras. Also, this way you won't get any on ya.
Ripcord out.
March 13, 2009
Direct from the Mystery Kitchen: The heart, the heads and now The Voice of Digital Eel: Omaha Sternberg interviews Digital Eel artist (and designer and musician) Phosphorous on iGame Radio. This is a rare treat, folks, and Phos really lays it down, whatever that means, so click here to listen to part one of Omaha's Gaming the IGF 2009 podcast!
March 12, 2009
UPDATE YOUR PIPE AND VOTE!
BRAINPIPE Patch Released for Mac & PC
Attention joystick brainpipers! Be sure to grab the BRAINPIPE version 1.0.1 patch because it corrects a joystick calibration error just for you! Please note: the patch is only necessary if you purchased the full version of the game before today, March 12, 2009.
Did you know that YOU can directly participate in the Independent Games Festival awards from afar? Yes, you certainly can and now's your chance! Click this link to go to the Audience Choice award page and cast your vote for your favorite finalist game in this year's competition. You can even download demo versions of each game to help you make your decision. How cool is that?!
Of course, we encourage you to vote for BRAINPIPE, a true indie game created by us, Digital Eel, a completely non-funded development group who create games for no other reason than as a labor of love. Yeah! So, let's share the love, which is always a good thing to do. Vote for BRAINPIPE today!
Brought to you by Phosphorous Enterprizes, a wholly pwned subsidiary of Worldwide Eel, Incorpolated.
February 23, 2009
The viral conspiracy to infect unsuspecting computer users and uncover hidden aliens among us continues to run rampant over the face of the Earth.
Brainpipe has been released for Mac gamers!
Yes, you heard right. The game that melts minds --the game that plays like having sex with Yog Sothoth-- is now available for Mac users, as well it should be! But wait, there's more! There is absolutely no way to escape playing Brainpipe because the Mac Demo has been released as well. Aren't you glad we warned you!
MacPipe, as we like to call it, offers the same exact eye-watering, ear-tickling, wrist-wriggling and out-freaking experience as the PC version but the cool thing is that you don't have to have a PC to play it! Ha ha! Take that, you Windows people, you!
Brainpipe utilizes the concept of sophisticated unsophistication (or is it the other way around?): an almost effortless one hand/one click interface (so you can casually eat a sandwich while you play) so simple that...you know what I'm going to say...even lower lifeforms, like human males, can do it. Brainpipe also sports goinking eyeball buttons, a somewhat unnerving feature which certainly no other game has!
A simple and intuitive interface*
10 levels of ramping perplexity
8 pleasurably distracting obstacles
Striking 3D graphics (Ow, my eyes!)
Immersive stereo sound & music
EELMIX sound management
Supports mouse, joystick and gamepad play
Allows windowed mode (but not Windows)
No pesky DRM
*Designed by simple and intuitive, but mostly simple, people.
Be sure to stop in at Shrapnel Games, take a gander at the trippy Brainpipe page and download MacPipe today! If you do it quickly enough you won't even have time to think about the irreversible effects the game might have on your psyche and indeed, your physical form. What do we mean by this? Play Brainpipe and find out for yourself! Come on. The first one's free. Are ya chicken? We dare ya!
The makers of Brainpipe wish to thank the F'Tang emissary, Galprefect Hoon, K'Kek "the smorbler" Klug'G and the Phantom Federation for undying support, technical advice, psychedelic coercion, sensory deprivation implants and regular mind control transmissions. Without their timely interference humanity would almost certainly remain human.
As Brainpipe began, and my eyes settled on my game surroundings, I asked myself one question: "What in the world is this?"
Indeed, what in the world is Brainpipe? Well, as we've said, it is not of this world. Its origin, once only known by a select few earthlings in key posiitions chosen by the "Masters", is the Purple Void near the rim of our part of the galaxy. Fortunately....or not, its true and shocking purpose has been exposed by none other than ourselves, Digital Eel.
We did submit to telepsychic stimulus from beyond in order to bring this knowledge, and dire warning, to mankind. However, we have also been warped by the experience (imagine creating an electronic game via mental transmissions from an alien focus group) and so, we must offer Brainpipe for sale. Risky, yes, but this is a displacement activity we engage in so we don't go completely insane.
Thanks to Jaime for bestowing a 4/5 rating on Brainpipe, and for taking time to play it and share his impressions. We can only hope he "came back" afterward. Thanks to Helium as well, and to the fine folks posting comments about Brainpipe below Jaime's review. We can only hope you all came back too.
Alas, it is a dim hope.
Ripcord out.
February 4, 2009
Adrenaline Vault just posted Bob Mandel's Top casual PC games of 2008 review and hey, along with a whole bunch of other cool games, Brainpipe made the list --but only barely, having been released in December of last year. Whew, that was close!
Bob uses words like gorgeous, elegant, sumptuous and wonderful to describe what is essentially an alien mind control virus disguised as an innocuous, if trippy, computer game. Talk about irresponsible. He should be waving red warning flags and calling the National Guard!
Note that Mr. Mandel does go on to say that You get sucked into the mesmerizing setting immediately, and you will not want to blink or turn away for even an instant. See! It's obvious isn't it? He's been playing the game and is becoming one of them, if it hasn't happened already, and he's trying to recruit you!
Take heed from examples like this, folks. Brainpipe is a mindwarping "trip" not to be trifled with. Uh-uh. No way. So get it here!
January 25, 2009
Hyperweb Headline News:Brainpipe was awarded 4 out of 5 Balls by Joseph Vanburen in his recent HarryBalls.com review. Joseph thinks playing Brainpipe is like traveling through the Matrix on acid. He also mentions that the combination of atmospheric ambient music and classic arcade-style sound effects compliment the trippy visuals perfectly.
Unfortunately, while these pronouncements are very positive and may well be accurate, I must say at this point that we have lost Joseph. Yes, it's true (and it can happen to you). He's been sucked into his own brain by subconscious titillation of the trippocampus. The only hope for him now is to keep playing Brainpipe (as if he has any choice) until he reveals his hidden self --a liberating yet terrifying experience!
Ripcord out.
January 12, 2009
Just piped in from beyond the Electric Membrane: As seen on boingboing, Offworld and Brandon Boyer have posted The Offworld Guide to the 2009 Independent Games Festival, a comprehensive overview of all 22 main competition IGF finalist games. Definitely check this article out because it's ALL there including mini-reviews, links to demos, game pages, videos and lordy knows what else. You can even see a nifty Brainpipe movie on page 1, but be careful because even just seeing a fuzzy video version can french fry your trippocampus! (And we wouldn't want that to happen. Would we?)
January 7, 2009
2009 IGF Competition Finalists Announced
Cool news! Brainpipe was just nominated by 2009 Independent Games Festival judges for the coveted Excellence in Audio award. This is nifty recognition this time because Iikka, Phosphorous and myself, all of us, created the sfx, the music and the sound system (EELMIX) together. The Indie Games Festival award winners will be announced at the festival itself, part of the Game Developers Conference, on Wednesday, March 25, 2009, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. If you happen to be there, be sure to stop by the IGF area and say hi. In the words of John Lennon, we'd love to turn you on!
January 1, 2009
So Brainpipe has been out for a few days --what's the buzz? Well, Jim Rossignol of Rock, Paper, Shotgun describes it as being a game of lysergic excellence, while the99th of Play This Thing says playing Brainpipe is like having sex with Yog Sothoth.
Obviously the message to be gleaned so far is Do not play this gameif you value your sanity, not to mention your mortal soul. In other words, if you're the kind of person who craves dangerous knowledge and believes that psychedelic vision is reality, you'll love it!
Back by popular demand. Cool tunes from the Purple Void. Music for aliens. Songs in the key of weird. To start the playlist, click the first, or any, selection. Also, look forward to more sonic oddities from the Mystery Kitchen --and by The Nightmare Band-- coming soon!
Amazingly, considering the sheer number of entries, some terrific co-contenders and the rather daunting presence of game industry insider judges, our trippy little game, 
Direct from the Mystery Kitchen: The heart, the heads and now The Voice of Digital Eel: Omaha Sternberg interviews Digital Eel artist (and designer and musician) 
