The Evolution of a Flash Developer
Tobias Cornwall's Games
In the old days of the Net, Flash was king. My memories of the Internet in the 2000s and early 2010s were forged by apps made with this platform.
Back in those games, I had not only been already introduced to RPGs via the Final Fantasy series, but also had been introduced to Newgrounds. And when I found out that some of the games available on Newgrounds were attempts to imitate games that were available on console, then the hunt was on. Emphasis on "attempts," as most of the RPGs that I found on Newgrounds were pretty lackluster.
This is what led me to Mardek.
On the surface, this game was set up almost exactly like a Final Fantasy game; there are swords, magic, it's set in a world protected by elemental crystals, the works. However, it still possessed an identity of its own, mainly in its irreverent writing style. Nearly every NPC dialogue or flavor text, and even the occasional story cutscenes, had some fourth-wall-breaking joke or immature gag. I distinctly remember one area that lampooned the TSA and post-9/11 paranoia.
Even the plot sets the game apart from its inspirations: I can't think of a Final Fantasy game where the hero has an alien ghost inhabiting his body.
Another thing that made it stand out to me was that it was divided into three chapters, rather than released as a single standalone installment. There were three chapters, and the third one in particular was so expansive, so close to a console game, that I could not believe that it was all made by one person. I was so blown away by all of this, that I barely even noticed how hard the vector-based character portraits and UI graphics clashed with the 8-bit overworld sprites.
Most importantly of all, it was one of the few Flash RPGs that I played that wasn't some extremely basic turn-based slugfest. Little wonder that it became one of the most popular RPGs on Kongregate, one of the sites that hosted it.
Since the creator, who I only knew as pseudolonewolf, said he was planning for the game to have eight chapters in total, I found myself waiting with bated breath for future installments. At the same time, though, I wondered how the creator would be able to effectively build on such an already expansive game. Sadly, those chapters were not meant to be; years passed with little word from him, and the game drifted off to the back of my mind.
One day in either 2015 or 2016, I found out about an Android game called Taming Dreams.
This game was about a boy who suddenly finds himself with a god inhabiting his body--wait a minute, this is almost the same premise as Mardek! In fact, it is Mardek, just reimagined!
That was what led me to the creator's official blog, and boy, has he changed over the years. First off, he was going by his real name, Tobias Cornwall. Secondly, his life seemed to have led him on a more spiritual path; I distinctly remember his rather unique take on how the human mind works, which definitely showed in the game.
However, that same blog was where I found out that he had created other games before developing Mardek. I figured that something with this level of polish could not possibly have been his first project.
But with the recent death of Flash, these early projects are unfortunately lost to the sands of time.
...Or are they?
Sections:
- First Steps
Call it a hunch, but I think that Cornwall wouldn't mind these games being totally forgotten.
- Bigger, More Epic Things (Deliverance)
This game won't make you squeal like a pig, but it might just make you groan from boredom instead.
- Beast Mode (Raider/Beast Signer)
If you want to know what both these games have in common, it's that they broke from his usual formula, but not by too much.
- The Main Event, Part 1 (Mardek Chapter 1)
Even more than a decade after release, it still holds up, right? Right?
- The Main Event, Part 2 (Mardek Chapter 2) (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)
I don't want to piddle all over someone's magnum opus, but this game is very much a product of its time.
- The Interim Period