I spent some time on 2/17/10 compiling a spreadsheet of my top 100 videos, their aprox viewcount (rounded down to closest 1000), sponsor, developer, and whether the video was featured in-game or not. From there, I tabulated the top sponsors and the top developers (only calculated devs with 3+ videos in top 100, unless they have 800k+ views).

I have 450+ total videos, so this is less than 25% of my total videos… but these 100 account for over 22 million of my 27+ million views, so they are a fairly accurate representation of the whole. Obviously, the farther down the list you look, the less accurate it is (like LegitGames having 1 video on there, but they have 2 others that just missed the cut).

Any questions or additional data you guys would like to see? I did not include the raw list of top 100, nor did I do any analysis of in-game vs not in-game. And TITOL2 is not counted in this list for Armor or jmtb.

I’m a pretty relaxed guy… when people ask if I’m happy living in LA or if I’ll be happy when I’m back in Philly… I don’t really have an answer. I’m content to live anywhere there is high-speed internet. I’m pretty ehh either way, and I don’t really have a good response. The same is true for flash games. I’ve thought about what my favorite game is, and I don’t really have an answer. I find more enjoyment out of beating games than from the graphics or story, and I rarely replay games after I’ve beaten them.

I guess if I really had to pick, FFR would of course be tops. Excluding that though, I’m really not sure. Perhaps the best way to tell what games I truly love is by analyzing which games I anxiously await a sequel to. That list would include (but not be limited to): TITOL, TBA, Electric Box, Reemus, and Super Stacker. I think on Electric Box I’m swayed by the thought of video views… as it’s not an absolutely amazing puzzle game. I’m also a fan of games like Portal: Flash, SHIFT (although enough sequels already), Chronotron, and Timebot.

As you can see, and as would be expected, the games I like the best are ones with strong puzzle elements but also have a skill component. To me, that adds the challenge of solving and the ability to work towards optimization all in one.

What game(s) would you call your favorite and why?

I was just chatting with some of the fine folks in Kong chatroom Impossible is Nothing (IiN from now on) about how I didn’t know what to write about. Everyone was working on optimizing Wake Up The Box, which just got badges… so we moved on to discuss optimizing other games. Nudge was just released on Armor, so I challenged anyone to beat it in 24 hours without using my walkthrough… since even with the help of Rubix and 3 other people, it took us over 2 days to beat it.

I pulled Rubix in to back me up on how challenging a 24-hour 1st time completion of Nudge would be, and we started to reminisce about how amazing it was when we finally beat the final level (which took over a day, working together on strategy). To beat it, we had webcams set up so we could see each other’s strategies and discuss them in real time. When we did finally beat it, it was on Rubix’s machine, with me lending a 2nd pair of eyes through the lens. I’m pretty sure it was my best gaming moment to date. Not because it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done (I doubt it was)… but because of the massive undertaking it was, how god damn long the level wound up being, and because it was completely a team effort. It was pretty euphoric. (Here’s the level solved, if you want to see how crazy it is.)

From there, we moved on to discussing our favorite optimization games and creativity amongst game design within the Armor in-house dev team. Bix and I desperately want a 3rd TBA game and Zerris won’t ever shut up about how his Seppukuties levels are a gift from god (and to be fair, they’re really awesome).

So please share with me any gaming experience you’ve had that was as good as sex (and if you’re a virgin, just imagine what sex would be like). Also feel free to stop by IiN and say hello if you’re into high-end flash game strategy discussions and optimization.

Coming soon to a Candystand near you is Nudge, a tasty morsel of Atomic Cicada puzzley goodness. It starts off as your standard “push” puzzler… move the object through the obstacles and to the exit. Sometimes baddies will try to stop you. But then it throws some new stuff at you. Purple and Green blocks that mirror your horizontal or vertical movements? That’s been done once or twice before, but is still fresh. But you may be asking yourself, “Self, why is this game called Nudge?” And that is what sets Nudge apart from other similar games. If you are 1 block away from a purple or green block, and you move towards it, it will Nudge you back a space. So you wind up not moving, but the blocks move a whole row. This creates a whole new world of possibilities for level creation.

Atomic Cicada is known for hard puzzle games, such as Minim or Grid. Nudge fits the bill. As I told Candystand’s Head of Game Development, Dave, “Nudge is hard. Really hard. Kick your grandma in the kidneys hard. But it’s still fun. As if grandma were a cartoon of herself.” You’ll be pulling your hair out, but you can’t stop playing because of the cute little creature you control and the catchy background music and sound effects.

Lastly, because I know you’ll want to explore the Nudge world a bit more, and create devilish puzzles yourself… Nudge comes complete with a level editor.

Look for Nudge soon of Candystand.com, and for my walkthrough of it at the same time! Here are a few more teaser screenshots of the game to whet your appetite:

-Tass