Derek Yu
Encyclopedia
Derek Yu is an independent game developer, game artist
, and blog
ger.
While he may be best known for his early work on freeware titles such as Eternal Daughter
, Yu continues to make games. An early exposure to the Nintendo Entertainment System
explains why older titles provide him with inspiration.
.
that was developed over a two year period.
, was a response to Jack Thompson's
open letter "A Modest Video Game Proposal
".
and was part of the two-man team that released it, Bit Blot.
(at times a long-distance one, as the two live in separate countries), Aquaria is a side-scrolling video game
that takes place underwater. It won the Independent Games Festival's
2007 Seumas McNally
Grand Prize, was available as a download, and was also sold in a Humble Indie Bundle
.
reminiscent of the 1983 Spelunker. It will be available through Xbox Live Marketplace in the future.
Game artist
A game artist is an artist who creates art for one or more types of games. Game artists are responsible for all of the aspects of game development that call for visual art...
, and blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
ger.
While he may be best known for his early work on freeware titles such as Eternal Daughter
Eternal Daughter
Eternal Daughter is a freeware action-adventure game created by amateur developers Derek Yu and Jon Perry and released on June 21, 2002 under their former pseudonym Blackeye Software.-Story:...
, Yu continues to make games. An early exposure to the Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
explains why older titles provide him with inspiration.
Blackeye software
Early in his game-creating career he was associated with a freeware game website solely distributing its own wares, including Diabolika and Eternal DaughterEternal Daughter
Eternal Daughter is a freeware action-adventure game created by amateur developers Derek Yu and Jon Perry and released on June 21, 2002 under their former pseudonym Blackeye Software.-Story:...
.
Eternal Daughter
Eternal Daughter (2002) is a platform gamePlatform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
that was developed over a two year period.
I'm O.K.
A platformer that Yu helped create, I'm O.K - A Murder SimulatorI'm O.K - A Murder Simulator
I'm O.K – A Murder Simulator is a video game which was released as a free download by a group of people proclaiming themselves to be "3 alcoholics and a foreign exchange student" calling themselves "Thompsonsoft"...
, was a response to Jack Thompson's
Jack Thompson (attorney)
John Bruce "Jack" Thompson is an American activist and disbarred attorney, based in Coral Gables, Florida. Thompson is known for his role as an anti-video-game activist, particularly against violence and sex in video games....
open letter "A Modest Video Game Proposal
A Modest Video Game Proposal
A Modest Video Game Proposal is the title of an open letter sent by activist/former attorney Jack Thompson to members of the press and to Entertainment Software Association president Doug Lowenstein on October 10, 2005...
".
For-profit games
Yu has worked on several games sold outside of traditional distribution channels. He helped create the award-winning 2007 AquariaAquaria (video game)
Aquaria is a 2D sidescrolling action-adventure computer game designed by Alec Holowka and Derek Yu, who together form the independent game company Bit Blot, which developed and originally published the game. After more than two years of development, the game was released in 2007 for Windows...
and was part of the two-man team that released it, Bit Blot.
Aquaria
A collaboration between Yu and Alec HolowkaAlec Holowka
Alec Holowka is a Canadian independent game developer, co-founder of an independent game company Bit Blot, and Infinite Ammo where he works as lead programmer, musician and game designer...
(at times a long-distance one, as the two live in separate countries), Aquaria is a side-scrolling video game
Side-scrolling video game
A side-scrolling game or side-scroller is a video game in which the gameplay action is viewed from a side-view camera angle, and the onscreen characters generally move from the left side of the screen to the right. These games make use of scrolling computer display technology...
that takes place underwater. It won the Independent Games Festival's
Independent Games Festival
The Independent Games Festival is an annual festival at the Game Developers Conference, the largest annual gathering of the indie video game industry. It was founded in 1998 to assist and inspire innovation in video game development and to recognize the best independent video game developers...
2007 Seumas McNally
Seumas McNally
Computer game programmer Seumas McNally , was the founder, president and lead programmer of independent game development company, Longbow Digital Arts...
Grand Prize, was available as a download, and was also sold in a Humble Indie Bundle
Humble Indie Bundle
The Humble Indie Bundles or Humble Bundles are a series of game bundles, that are sold and distributed online at a price determined by the purchaser. The games are multi-platform, DRM-free, and independently developed, and buyers can set the revenue split between the developers, charities and...
.
Spelunky
Spelunky is a platform gamePlatform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
reminiscent of the 1983 Spelunker. It will be available through Xbox Live Marketplace in the future.