… You can surely find out from this article. Written by Greg J. Smith, full version can be found here.

Leaving the biggest imprint on me are the works of Polish graphic novelist Mateusz Skutnik. Skutnik is the author of the Submachine series of games, each of which finds you escaping from an elaborate, explorable puzzle box. Captivity is a familiar theme in this genre of games, known as escape the room games in the point-and-click world. This gameplay style evolved from Robyn and Rand Miller’s 1993 classic Myst, which shaped the game industry as much as SimCity and Doom.

The Submachine games could all be described as immersive labyrinths. In each of these first-person sleuthers, the player must navigate through a series of abandoned research facilities and ruins in hopes of finding a means to freedom. Stranded without instructions, maps or context, the story forms via notes and transmissions picked up along the way. The Submachines demand an eye for pattern recognition, and the intricacy of some of the puzzles can be quite maddening. Adding to the ambiance is an eerie score and impressive sound design. There are a number of recurring motifs including typewriters, radios and pipelines that visually unite the games. Be warned, these puzzle boxes are habit-forming.

Another newspaper printed an article about Pan Blaki graphic novel album, to be released in september. Is there some kind of a buzz already emerging?… lol…

Polish language below.

~~~~

Dziennik Bałtycki, Wydanie z dnia 13 Sierpień 2007

Jestem, więc myślę

Pan Blaki, w codziennych sytuacjach niespiesznie snuje rozważania o kłamstwie, nudzie, sławie, dobroci i szczęśliwym trafie…To filozofia w pigułce, przemawiająca do każdego.

Mateusz Skutnik i Karol Konwerski w 2005 roku stworzyli komiks”Blaki”. Jego bohaterem był – jak sami mówią: Niewielki, wiecznie czymś zatroskany facecik, który sprawia wrażenie, jakby całe życie spędzał na rozmyślaniach. Bowiem, Blaki myśli dla samej przyjemności myślenia.” Zatroskanego facecika pokochali czytelnicy. Nie trzeba więc było długo czekać. W Wydawnictwie Znak jesienią ukaże się komiks “Pan Blaki” inspirowany książką znanego filozofa Leszka Kołakowskiego “Mini wykłady o maxi sprawach”. Kawałek piersi kurczaka, kiełki bambusa, kieliszek białego winna są w stanie sprowokować Blakiego do refleksji na tematy filozoficzne. Gotując obiad zauważa: Nuda jest zjawiskiem, którego najpierw musimy doświadczyć, a dopiero potem mówić o jego istnieniu… Przypadkowość nie jest lekarstwem na nudę. Wizyta w Urzędzie Skarbowym skłania go do refleksji o wybaczaniu. Branie kredytu w banku, parzenie herbaty, zakupy… to czynności tak zwyczajne, że aż banalne. Jednak, stanowią znakomity punkt wyjścia do rozważań o sprawach najważniejszych. Pan Blaki, uwikłany w prozę życia nieustannie próbuje dociec prawdziwej natury rzeczy. Z jego refleksji i spostrzeżeń wyłania się subtelne przesłanie, do dzisiejszych, pędzących na oślep, czasów: Zatrzymaj się, zastanów. Bądź uważny. Może świat stanie się ciekawszy, a ty odrobinę lepszy?

– Dlaczego czytelnicy tak pokochali filozofującego Blakiego?

– Wydaje mi się, że jest to filozofia przyziemna, codziennego dnia – odpowiada autor rysunków Mateusz Skutnik. – On tak naprawdę rozmawia o rzeczach zwyczajnych. O tym co mu się wydarza i to analizuje. W związku z tym przemawia do wielu ludzi, którzy się z nim utożsamiają. Dlatego natychmiast łapie ciepły, dobry kontakt z czytelnikiem, który może się utożsamiać z jego problemami.

– Jakie komiksy czytał pan w dzieciństwie?

– Wychowałem się na klasyce: “Tytus, Romek i Atomek”, “Hans Kloss” i “Kajko i Kokosz” – czyli święta trójca polskiego komiksu peerelowskiego. Komiks wydaje się, że jest jedną z prostszych form do przekazania jakichś historii, jeżeli ktoś ma coś do opowiedzenia. Jest nawet taka teoria, że jeżeli ktoś nie czytał komiksu będąc dziecięciem, później trudno mu czytać rysunkowe opowieści będąc dorosłym.

– Dlaczego został pan autorem obrazkowych historii?

– Tę formę znam od dzieciństwa i czuję się w niej, jak ryba w wodzie. Nie jestem w stanie napisać opowiadania, książki czy zrobić filmu (bo komiks można porównać do pewnego rodzaju filmowej opowieści), ale w komiksowej historii się odnalazłem. Kiedy pojawia się nowa historia, którą chciałbym opowiedzieć czytelnikom postaje komiks.

– Czy prawdą jest że Tomasz Bagiński (nominoway do Oskara za “Katedrę”) zamierza zrealizować film oparty na komiksie “Kinematograf” z tomu “Rewolucje”?

– Jak najbardziej. Myśmy się już dwa lata temu spotkali w tej sprawie. Tomek jest niestety, bardzo zapracowanym człowiekiem i nie ma zbyt wiele czasu. Nie ukrywam, że byłby to film artystyczny zrobiony, jakby “po godzinach”. Ale jesteśmy umówieni.

– Powiedział pan w jednym z wywiadów, że nie ma ciśnienia na sukces i będzie tworzył mniej.

– W Polsce nie da się tak naprawdę zarabiać na komiksie. Więc to jest swego rodzaju hobby, choć jednocześnie to tworzenie sztuki. Ale ja się z tego cieszę, ponieważ zarabiam na zupełnie innych rzeczach, a komiks zostaje jako ta forma hobbystyczna-artystyczna, którą spokojnie, niespiesznie uprawiam dla przyjemności. Nie muszę tego robić, żeby zarobić na chleb i nie muszę stać się sławnym dzięki komiksom.

Grażyna Antoniewicz

Well, the title says it all. Completely unexpectedly DMT became a hit, so I guess I owe You some kind of continuation. A series perhaps. Well, at the end of the first game we can clearly see that main character walking down the brigde, escaping the Daymare, but he’s heading towards some more locations. That was an open path for me to continue. Appears we didn’t leave the Daymare, only some small City Hall square. Who knows what lies on the other side of the bridge?…

Um, right, the official homesite:

…DayMare Town…

Today mochibot counted that there were 294,558 players of Covert Front episode 1 on August the 2nd. That’s well over quarter of a million in a single day. I’m impressed, Karol is impressed, we want to thank You and assure You that we’re working on the second episode. Need a proof? Take a look:

Ok, so now as the game hit the net and we got a huge response from the players, there are few main big questions that appear in almost every comment that need to be answered:

Q: Where was the code for opening the dining room clock?

A: It wasn’t too hard to find. ArcadeTown wanted this game to be slightly less difficult than the Submachine series, so it is. Look closely at the paintings in the main hall. There it is.

Q: Why isn’t the game finished?

A: Well, it IS finished, since it’s just an “episode 1” as clearly stated in the title of the game. You got the order to search the house, collect the evidence and escape. That was all acomplished in this episode.

Q: When is the next part coming out?

A: I can’t give you any specific date. But – Karol is already finishing the story for the second episode. The engine is ready, developing an episode with all graphics takes about a month. So go figure the date for yourself. ;)

Q: How many episodes are there going to be?

A: We have stories prepared for four episodes (prepared meaning – we have a concept of what’s going to happen, they’re not yet written though). That’s when the whole von Toten story will end. After that we’ll see if there is a pressure to keep this going on on different missions, or maybe we’ll come up with something completely different and new.

>>>>>>>news flash<<<<<<<

I just found out that the world premiere of Covert Front will be on july 18th. Sorry for desinforming you about the release date, but I was just talking about finishing date of this game, not publishing. Right now it’s out of my hands, so please be patient. This week will pass very quickly. :D

>>>>>>>/news flash<<<<<<<

What if World War 1 started in 1901?…

This is a screenshot from a new game that I’m currently working on. Can’t tell you much details on that stage of development, but it’s a point and click spy story allright. I’m guessing it will be finished by the end of June, so stay tuned for something completely new (not submachine).

… and with some good material. Of course it was a rather laid back two week break from everything, but on the other hand I came up with an idea of creating a silent ‘revolutions’ comic to match previously made ‘the ordinary day’. Those two combined give a printable material, that will probably be printed in one pocket sized mini album. I must say that there is a dose of pure pleasure in sitting in an cafe on the portugese beach, sippin’ tea, spending about an hour daily on creating a hand made comic album. It was supposed to be 24-page album, but turned out I couldn’t fit the story that came up to my brain on that number of pages, so it’s a 32-page comics. It’s all black and white for now, needs to be watercoloured before printing, which I’ll do ‘I have absolutely no idea when’, but eventually… Anyway, here is the first and the second page from that album:

I’m off to Portugal for a two-week vacation.

See you on may 16th.

m

p.s. – the drawing is from Blaki2 comic album;

THE LABORATORY
Once you are inside the attic:
1. click on the pocket of the lab coat
2. pick up the NAPHTHALENE
3. click to your right twice
4. pick up the FIRST SECRET off the chair
5. pick up the CHIMNEY BRUSH
6. go back outside
7. use the chimney brush on the chimney
8. go back inside and pick up the GREY KEY from the fireplace
9. pick up the RUBBER TUBE hanging from the ceiling
10. click to your left twice
11. pick up the GOLD KEY from the coat rack
12. click left again and pick up the GAS HANDLE under the table
13. use the grey key to unlock the door
14. descend the stairs and pick up the SECOND SECRET on the landing
15. descend the stairs
16. click to your left
17. click on the computer and press the green ping button
18. continue ping-ing until “M” signs off
19. pick up the PRINTOUT from the printer
20. pick up the THIRD SECRET near the garbage can
21. click to your right three times
22. pick up the LIGHTER
23. descend the stairs and pick up the BEAKER from the landing
24. descend the stairs
25. pick up the TWO NOTES from the table
26. pick up the FOURTH SECRET from the fallen chair
27. click to your right and pick up the CD
28. go up the ladder
29. pick up the tester (vial) of IRONTRIOXIDE
30. click to your right and pick up the SCREWDRIVER and the SIXTH SECRET
31. place the gas handle on the pipe
32. connect the rubber tube to the bunsen burner
33. pick up the FIFTH SECRET at the base of the pipe
34. go back outside and climb up onto the roof
35. click to your left and use the screwdriver on the VALVE (wheel)
36. pick up the valve and go back inside
37. descend the stairs to the bottom floor
38 click to your left and open the bathroom door
39. pick up the SOAP and the SIXTH SECRET
40. place the wheel on the pipe
41. place the beaker on the grate
42. use the hammer on the pipe cap
43. turn the wheel to fill the beaker with WATER
44. click to your right three times and go up the ladder again
45. turn the gas handle and the lever on the bunsen burner
50. then use the lighter to start a flame
51. put the beaker on the burner
52. put the soap, irontrioxide, and naphthalene in the beaker
53. pick up the ACIDIOXIDE
54. pick up the EMPTY TESTER
55. return to the bathroom and fill the tester with water
56. click to your right four times
57. unlock the door with the gold key
58. lift the little box by ringing the bell
59. use the acidioxide on the code panel and click to the right
60. use the portal to enter the code for the ancient section: 104

THE ANCIENT SECTION
1. click to your right then descend the ladder
2. click the horizontal and the vertical levers
3. click to your left
4. pick up the STONE KEY and the SEVENTH SECRET
5. click to your right to return to the levers
6. reset the levers
7. now click the two diagonal levers
8. click to your right and pick up the KNIFE and the BLOCKADE
9. ring the bell to lift the box
10. return to the levers and reset them
11. click all but the vertical lever
12. climb up the ladder
13. take TILE D and insert the blockade and stone lever in the slots
14. descend the ladder and press the vertical lever
15. climb up the ladder and take TILE C
16. climb up the stone column
17. use the knife to free TILE A
18. return to the levers and pick up tile A
19. reset the levers and press all but the horizontal lever
20. climb up the ladder and click to your right
21. pick up TILE B
22. return to the levers
23. descend the stone wall
24. pick up the EIGHTH SECRET from the statue’s eye
25. place the tiles in the slots
26. press the button
27. return to the portal
28. climb up the stone wall
29. pick up the COIL
30. click to the left and pick up the NOTES
31. return to the portal and enter the code for the looping trap: 690

THE LOOPING TRAP
1. click to the left
The coordinates for the rooms are as follows:
(-1, 1) ( 0, 1) ( 1, 1)
(-1, 0) ( 0, 0) ( 1, 0)
(-1,-1) ( 0,-1) ( 1,-1)
2. set the coordinates and click the button near the bottom until you hear a loud clang
3. now go find the machine that has opened and click on the red button
4. repeat until you’ve opened all 4 machines
5. pick up the NINTH SECRET (-1,0) and the NOTE (-1, 1)
6. go to (-1, 1) and pick up the ORB
7. return to the portal and enter the code for the basement: 529

THE BASEMENT
1. click right twice
2. pick up the TENTH SECRET
3. put the coil in the charger and pull the lever
4. take the charged coil and climb down the ladder
5. use the charged coil to power the two machines on the left or right
6. you will have to recharge the coil between uses
7. when both machines are powered, turn on the laser in the middle
8. pick up the ELEVENTH SECRET (near laser) and the NOTE
9. charge the coil one last time
10. go upstairs and put the cd in the claw
11. click right and put the orb on the pedestal until it breaks
12. pick up the CHEST KEY and the NOTE
13. read the notes to get the code for the brick room: 551

THE BRICK ROOM
1. pick up the TWELTH SECRET
2. click to your left and pick up the NOTE
3. turn off the water
4. return to the portal and enter the code for the lighthouse: 462

THE LIGHTHOUSE
1. click to your right and pick up the THIRTEENTH SEECRET
2. click to your right again
3. use the hammer to break the padlock (takes a few hits)
4. take the TURBINE
5. click left three times and pick up the NOTE
5. return to the portal and enter the code for the ship: 800

THE SHIP
1. use the lighter to light the lamp
2. pick up the FOURTEENTH SECRET near the base of the lamp
3. click right and ring the bell
4. use the screwdriver to remove the metal plate
5. pick up the FIFTEENTH SECRET
6. use the knife to cut the metal wires
7. click left twice
8. pick up NOTE
9. climb up ladder
10. use lighter to light lamp
11. click right
12. climb up ladder
13. pick up SIXTEENTH SECRET
14. place turbine in shaft and close the lid
15. climb down ladder and push button to raise gate
16. click right and pick up NOTE
17. use chest key to unlock chest
18. pick up GOLDEN ARM
19. return to the portal and enter the code for the tomb: 770

THE TOMB TRAP
1. pick up NOTE
2. examine writing on the wall
3. enter the number of points for each shape in the portal: 043
4. click left twice
5. pick up the NOTE and the SEVENTEENTH SECRET
6. read through the notes
7. click right
8. use tester to pour water on the white thing
9. pick up GOLDEN SCEPTRE
10 return to portal and enter code: 728

END GAME
11. pick up EIGHTEENTH SECRET
12. return to the lighthouse: 462
13. click left and pick up the NINETEENTH SECRET
14. return to portal and enter code for the ancient section: 104
15. click right and climb ladder
16. smash the cracked block with the hammer
17. pick up the TWENTIETH SECRET
18. return to the portal and climb up stone wall
19. place coil in machine
20. click left and turn on the lamp
21. look through telescope
22. return to portal and enter code: 452
23. place arm and sceptre on statue
24. click through the right door and pick up the TWENTY-FIRST SECRET

Today a TV crew came by to shoot a material for a tv show apparently about me. Short, like 10- minute show took us about three hours of shooting. We had a good time though, was nice to cooperate in putting this all together as they were willing to throw in my ideas according the setup, questions, and basically all visual side of the show. It will be aired this sunday, however it’s rather local TV, so don’t expect this show coming to you anytime soon. But it was fun.