A look at Iji 0.3 (with captions) - Remar Games 

Don't remember it being promoted, advertised, or discussed very frequently outside of 2008. It'd help to get the word out a lot.

Personally, I think it got more attention than I had anticipated simply because there weren't as many indie games around back then. Nowadays there are so many games that it's harder for anyone to stand out, which is especially tough when you want to make a living on them (like we do at work). Like in any media, it feels like a tiny minority of games gets the majority of the press, and if you're not one of those lucky few you either find a small dedicated fanbase or immediately go under. It's a bit disheartening that every game I make has less and less people playing it, but on the flipside it's become easier for everyone to make games and express themselves, and that's a great thing! For maybe ten years I've been thinking of not making games anymore and do something better with my time, but so far I've kept going for the same reason I started making them - because I want to. Personally I think those are the best kinds of games to discover and play. You just know when someone put their heart into something, whether it's free or not. I hope that shows in my games too, even if the quality is hardly the most professional.

I agree. The best games are made because you want to express something and not to pander to a mass audience just for audience sake. Doing it for yourself and not for others always lends a quality to games that lots of games can't replicate. I love Iji and really am glad you made the game. Hope you keep making games in the future :)

You released your game near the end of the 2000's, which puts it with other PC classics like IWBTG and Eversion. While fan content for the game is very few and far between (especially of the tasen, good job endearing them in my eyes), you've managed to avoid the "terrible fanbase" pitfall/meme that a certain some indie games with passionate followings today got, so you got off rather lucky there. Either way, I really wish I found out about Iji back then.

Thank you for your kind words, there are many games that are special to me too. Cave Story is what made me finish Iji, and Tyrian has always been my benchmark for secrets due to the ludicrous scope of its hidden content and attention to detail (hence why there are several Tyrian references in Iji). I wanted to talk more about it in the video, but I'm sure everyone who's worked on a big project knows what it's like to run out of steam. Motivation comes and goes on its own, but sometimes I forced myself to work on Iji. At one time I had extreme back pain due to sitting in my chair working on it for so long, I just couldn't anymore. I had to listen to my body and stop for the time being. I know it can be hard to get ahold of me online as it's stressful for me to always be available, but the guilt I feel when I don't work on a hobby game for a long time (or don't release anything on my homepage) is also unnecessarily heavy. I had to skip NMS this year due to mounting stress, as I can't do everything I used to before I had a job. Working hard feels great when things get done, but there's a physical and mental limit, and it can't be ignored. Also a note that may sound a bit cheesy: new game makers are often told to start small and gradually take on bigger projects, and I often think so too, but without dreaming big and working hard to achieve that, games like Iji (one of the first Game Maker projects I started!) would never have been made. Sure Iji's amateurish and rough around the edges, and I made several smaller games during my pauses from it, but there's something really boring with being told that you can't just set out and make the project of your dreams. If I had waited with Iji until I had the skills to pull it off better - if I had waited until I could accurately determine that it would be "impossible" to make - I wouldn't even have started. So: good luck on your projects! :)

*Thanks for this wholesome reply* and I guess that waiting for too long is more of a taking a step backward, because going back to the project that was left for too long, checking the lines of code and references to get the hang of it again, and re-checking all of the files with ideas, to do's, fixes to apply etc. wastes a lot of time that could be put in to good use. If there was at least some consistency there wouldn't be need to check all of the triggers, switches and variables. Guess that will be another thing I'll need to work on in the next projects, but lets not go way too ahead of time, thanks once again and have a good day Daniel :)

The empire is listening. orig00.deviantart.net/ef06/f/2018/246/c/4/stovl_by_puffolotti4iji-dclymd6.png

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Thanks buddy!

I often start adding secrets in a game if I'm getting bored of making it, or just because I see a potential place to add one, as a way to see what else can be done with the mechanics of the game. Sector Z was always intended to be the biggest secret (until the full game added even more stuff).

interesting. i hope we can get to see more behind the scenes tidbits about iji's developement!

I wrote a bit about how it was made in the official game guide on my homepage, in the trivia section. Considering that my coding style is "just make it work no matter how messy it is", and I primarily code in Game Maker, I don't think I have many useful tips for beginners. :p Most of Iji (and any game) is just boring, hard work, but it's worth it when it feels like it's starting to come together.

Wow, thanks for replying! Totally forgot it was there. Hacking stuff together until it works can be problematic, but please don't be too shy/ashamed/etc - this happens all the time, even in industrial applications. And although GM probably fell out of fashion nowadays, and the gap between developers and users/gamers is ever widening, some short stories on development (finding some strange bugs, unconventional techniques used, level design decisions, even where you find aspiration) could still be interesting, although I do get your point. I'm really fascinated with what you manage to create - both alone and/or within such a small team in Ludocity - and it's really sad that your work remains relatively obscure. Irregardless, please continue doing whatever you think is best; there is still quite a number of people who do appreciate.

Well, I did try to plan the code a lot better when making Strawberry Jam, which was a difficult game to keep simple. Having NPCs pathfinding in 2D and talking to each other (while the player was running about doing all sorts of things with the environment and story triggers that could teleport the NPCs) required a hack or two in the end, though. I held a presentation on the design of Ittle Dew 2 that you can find among my videos. I'm not usually one for showing my face or voice online, so there's no guarantee there will be more videos like this until I hold another presentation (but I was too stressed to attend No More Sweden this year so that will have to wait until next summer).

This. The lag I get in some sectors now makes it practically unplayable and it is such a shame since this used to be a yearly tradition of mine...

Version 1.7 ported the game to a newer version of Game Maker, but unfortunately it has its own compatibility problems with some computers. As for a remake or complete rewrite, this is going to sound a bit blunt since I've been asked this so many times, but I'd rather not spend 5 years of my life and spare time doing something I really don't want to do. There are so many things I would much rather do and create. I'm 34 years old now and have worked full-time at Ludosity for around seven years, which takes up most of my day-to-day motivation and creativity, so my spare time is more precious to me than ever. Sorry. :

@@remargames You dont look 34y. You are doing great lmao

free palestine israle invade palestine the land of palestinian for 100 year

You can toggle the outfit on or off in the Extras menu, in the main menu.

@@remargames Heck yeah, thanks! Love your games! :)

Not in many years

The story of Iji - or, as for me, a story of Tasen - is over. But there are still Komato Empire lingering everywhere in the galaxy... I agree with Remar that, if Iji-2 is to live, it must be a whole new story, a whole new gameplay and new heroes. (Well, not completely new - we still have Ansaksie. Wanna show someone that cool pose she's practiced?)

Who need Iji 2 anyway if we have Ani-Toonspiracy(cuz we're continues Iji here)?

@@Artakhor Who

An Iji remake would be much more appropriate, although it's more unlikely imo

Eu também!

Unfortunately, the only way to translate the game is to download the source and make the changes manually in registered Game Maker 7, as the 1.6 translations did in GM5.3A (though they also had to replace the text drawing functions). Due to the time and work involved, I can't be of much help besides explaining where all the different pieces of text are stored, but I'll of course put any finished translations on my homepage.

The oldest one is the alpha demo in Scrap Pack 2 which you can find on my homepage. There used to be a second alpha demo, but it was lost somewhere along the way.

@HKJ I see. So it was a different game.

maybe in 3D

Amei

Sim esse game é muito bom cara...bem a frente de seu tempo para falar a verdade!

Of course, who doesn't?

It's made in Game Maker 5.3A, which is a program from 2004 that uses DirectDraw, which is obsolete in modern DirectX. Windows will ask you to install it on modern computers, though there may be some slowdown depending on your system.

Turns out RU-vid messes up URLs that you click in video descriptions. I changed the link to the Resources page instead, so you can download it from the bottom of the Source codes list there.