OK, maybe there’s not really that much to it, but this is the story behind my latest game Doeo, which might or might not interest you. But as is you who clicked your way here I am going to assume you don’t mind reading about the minuscule details of the developing of a rather minuscule game.

Long story short: Doeo is a rip-off of Takahiro Miyazawa’s wonderfully crazy game “Moai no Su”, featuring pretty much identical game mechanics but instead of brown moais (you know, those odd Easter Island statues), pink “doeos”. Since I first played it on Shockwave’s Japanese site in February 2007, it’s been featured on Jayisgames and become known to a somewhat broader audience.

Broader as in broader outside of Japan, because “Moai no Su” has not only been featured on a Japanese TV show but was also one of four winners in the Indies category of the Japan Game Awards 2006 (an earlier, less advanced version of the game, nonetheless).

So, ripping off an award-winning game hardly known outside of Japan, that IS rather sneaky, I have to admit. To make things worse, I actually started working on Doeo the very same week Moai no Su was released on Shockwave, and at first thought I would be able to finish it in a week. Ah, how many times have I not overestimated my productivity. In the end, it took a whole year before I sent out a somewhat finalized version to different gaming websites.

By that time, I had also sent a long, apologetic mail written in super-polite Japanese to Miyazawa, asking him if he wanted me to commit harakiri or not over my disgraceful idea theft. Miyazawa turned out to be quite the gentleman and did not even use a single bad word to describe my disgraceful behavior in his reply. He even invited me out to go drinking next time I’m in Osaka, which I might actually have to pick up on. It could make for an interesting interview…

So what qualities does Doeo actually possess, that “Moai no Su” does not? Well, I am rather happy with the difficulty option in Doeo, based on an idea my dear friend Pelle came up with (yes, of course, that Pelle, of Pelle & Ponta fame. Also the very same man who engineered the Raitendo “pling” sound). Ah, so even that part I got from somebody else… Ehehe.

Another unique quality to Doeo is of course the soundtrack on the first level. Can you recognize the genre? Well, as you obviously guessed, it is taken from the soundtrack of a 1960’s Japanese softcore adult movie. The author was a certain Shoji Yokouchi (dead since 1996) and if you give it a minute, you might actually be able to find it online somewhere. The movie itself, on the other hand, will probably be harder to find.

One last piece of trivia: the first level is based on one of my dear father’s paintings called “The Waiting Room of Paradise” (view it online here). If you’re interested in buying a print, I might be able to get you a good price..! OK, that’s all you get, go out and play now.