Entries Tagged as 'free stuff'

board game design class - sept & oct ‘10

a free board game design class will begin in september this year at the baltimore free school, letting participants turn their own ideas into reality as board games, card cames, miniatures games, and more.  four sessions of in-class instruction, exercises, and playtesting will be followed-up with tuesday evening board game happy hours at a local pub where students can play their own designs alongside their published favourites (more news on that later!).

for more info, see below or e-mail boardgames@let-off.com.

poster for board game design class

Tags: baltimore, board games, free stuff, game-making by editor
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new game: pigeon power

today marks a milestone in let-off studios history: the release of our first-ever collaborative video game.

 pigeon power was advertised quite some time ago as a 2010 release, but only now has it been completed (that is, it’s months overdue). to make a long story short, our editor celebrates his birthday during february, and he wanted to celebrate by creating a video game project with contributions from all of his party guests.  people arrived with their potluck dishes and spent time making audio recordings, colouring pictures, and drawing original artwork.

the rest of that weekend and the following week, steve (our editor) cobbled together all the materials and sound effects, and came up with the bare bones to a video game.  although his goal was to finish the game by the end of the month, other projects and obligations had the upper hand, and pigeon power was set off to the side…but not any more!

the initial release of pigeon power is now ready for the public.  here’s a description:

join esther the pigeon on a journey of self-discovery and self-improvement, and adventure!  Esther goes where no pigeon has gone before in an effort to fulfill her destiny!

you can download pigeon power here. the game is designed to be played on windows machines, but will work on mac and *nix machines using a windows emulator.

below are some screen shots from the game.  features include:

  • completely hand-drawn, scanned artwork.
  • entirely original sound effects and background music.
  • five levels of platform action and adventure.
  • features “real life” baltimore locations.
  • a light-hearted storyline and narration keeps players oriented on the next objective.
  • suitable for all ages!

pigeon power screen one

pigeon power screen two

pigeon power screen 3

pigeon power screen 4

pigeon power screen 5

Tags: baltimore, free stuff, game-making, illustrations, personal by sycla
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videogame review: Hanuro Hawk - Enhanced Edition

from the editor: i’ve completed a review of the shoot-em-up (or “shmup”) game hanuro hawk - enhanced edition by HitmanN, now posted over at the daily click.  you can download the game here.  hanuro hawk - enhanced edition also appears on the april 2010 edition of klikdisc. if you are a member at the daily click, be sure to leave constructive comments and critique.

hanuro hawk screen 1
PRESENTATION: 8 / 10
Hanuro Hawk - Enhanced Edition is a clean and professional shmup. I actually think of it as the first-ever “elegant” traditional-styled shmup made with MMF2 I’ve played so far. Not to confuse that with “boring,” of course; the game is a fine piece of work. [Read more →]

Tags: free stuff, game-making, writing by editor
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in development: pigeon power

from the editor:  in a second website update notice, also in development is let-off studios’ first-ever collaborative video game project.

guests at a recent gathering of friends in late february 2010 contributed sound effects and drawings to be used in an undetermined software project.  in the following week, the staff of let-off studios worked to digitally-transfer all the data into the multimedia fusion 2 software, and somehow come up with a working video game concept.   in PIGEON POWER, Esther the pigeon embarks on a mission of adventure and self-discovery that changes her life forever, and even alters the destiny of all pigeon-hood for eons to come.

PIGEON POWER is scheduled for release in late march 2010, marking roughly a month of full development time: all resources, game concept, and software development and testing.

crappy screenshot (actually a digital photograph of a gameplay screen) attached.

leaked screenshot - pigeon power

Tags: baltimore, free stuff, game-making, illustrations, personal by editor
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new zine: notes on ishmael

soon to be released from let-off studios is a series of notes based on daniel quinn’s novel ishmael.  it is a fiction novel widely touted as a “life-changing book” by many of those who read it.  the editor of let-off studios took it upon himself to take copious notes, not just on the summarization of the book, but also on its thematic and cultural content.  this zine will present these notes, serving not necessarily as a cliff’s notes version of quinn’s book, but more as an accessible, expansive companion to the work with an undeniable personal touch.

principal writing and composition is complete; this zine is slated to be published by mid-spring 2010, and will be a free publication available via download from let-off.com, as a hard copy distributed to various locations in baltimore, md, u.s.a., or delivered through postal mail by request.

Tags: books, free stuff, writing by editor
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feedback requested: the baltimore bicycling manual

the most recent version of the baltimore bicycling manual (the latest let-off studios zine project) has been released! this is an all-ages appropriate zine detailing what to expect and how to go about bicycling in charm city, in development since summer 2009.  updates and changes for version 2 include:

–>new layout (very solid and hopefully easy to read)
–>more content
–> ‘buying a bicycle’ section added
–> bike-related pictures and graphics
–> updated lists of local bike shops & contact information

YOUR FEEDBACK IS REQUESTED!  please take the time to download it, read it, and let the editor know your thoughts on how to make it even better.

click on this link to view and/or download version 2 of the baltimore bicycling manual.

the final version of the manual will be released before the end of the year.

Tags: baltimore, cycling, free stuff, writing by editor
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what three decades have taught me

i found this while packing up for the upcoming move.

last year, for my thirty-first birthday, i wrote a short chapbook and gave it to a number of my friends.  i also ended up giving a number of them away at the first art show in which let-off studios participated.  below is more or less the complete text of the book.  each page of ‘what three decades have taught me’ is separated by a “///”.  each page has a single phrase of collected dubious wisdom garnered during my earlier days.  it’s not that long. [Read more →]

Tags: free stuff, personal, writing by editor
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