Digital Eel is a self-funded

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

video game development Video game development (sometimes shortened to gamedev) is the process of creating a video game. It is a multidisciplinary practice, involving programming, design, art, audio, user interface, and writing. Each of those may be made up of more speci ...

team located in the

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington area. Digital Eel is best known for its '' Infinite Space'' series of space

roguelike Roguelike (or rogue-like) is a style of role-playing game traditionally characterized by a dungeon crawl through procedurally generated levels, turn-based gameplay, grid-based movement, and permanent death of the player character. Most ro ...

History

The group was formed in 2001 by Rich Carlson (level design at

Ion Storm Ion Storm, L.P. was an American video game developer founded in Dallas, Texas in November 1996 by John Romero and Tom Hall, both formerly of id Software ; a branch in Austin, Texas was opened in 1997. In April 1999, Eidos Interactive acquired 5 ...

and

Looking Glass Studios Looking Glass Studios, Inc. (formerly Blue Sky Productions and LookingGlass Technologies, Inc.) was an American video game developer based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The company was founded by Paul Neurath with Ned Lerner as Blue Sky Produ ...

), Iikka Keränen (level design at

and

Valve A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or Slurry, slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically Pip ...

) and Bill "Phosphorus" Sears (digital artist at KnowWonder and

GameHouse GameHouse Inc. is an American casual game developer, publisher, digital video game distributor, and portal, based in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is a division of RealNetworks. GameHouse distributes casual games for PC and Mac com ...

). In April 2013, Digital Eel announced plans for the third installment of the Infinite Space series, ''Infinite Space III: Sea of Stars'', and turned to Kickstarter.com to

crowdfund Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance, to fund projects "without standard financial ...

the project. Funding was successful. On June 21, 2024, a retrospective soundtrack compilation album, ''The Weird Musical World of Digital Eel'', was officially released on

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

. Each track is a suite or medley of music from a different Digital Eel game.

Developers

* Rich Carlson – design, sound, music and art *Iikka Keränen – design, code and art *Bill "Phosphorus" Sears (deceased) – artist, music and design *Henry Kropf – code, macOS expert *Chris Collins - code, macOS expert, Android expert

Games

*''Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space'' (Android, iPad, iPhone, 2021) *'' Strange Adventures in Infinite Space'' reissue (Linux, macOS, Windows, 2020) *''Goblin Slayer Third Edition'' (boardgame, 2019) *''Protagon'' ( VR game,

HTC Vive HTC Vive is a line of Virtual reality, virtual and mixed reality Virtual reality headset, headsets produced by HTC, HTC Corporation. The brand currently encompasses headsets designed for use with Personal computer, personal computers as well a ...

Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

, 2017) *''Infinite Space Battle Poker'' (card game, 2016) *''Pairs: Infinite Space'' (card game, 2016) *''Infinite Space III: Sea of Stars'' (

Mac Mac or MAC may refer to: Common meanings * Mac (computer), a line of personal computers made by Apple Inc. * Mackintosh, a raincoat made of rubberized cloth * Mac, a prefix to surnames derived from Gaelic languages * McIntosh (apple), a Canadi ...

, 2015) *''Eat Electric Death!'' (boardgame, 2013) *''Infinite Space Explorers: X-1 Expansion'' (card game, 2012) *''Infinite Space Explorers'' (card game, 2012) *''Data Jammers: FastForward'' (Windows, Mac, 2011 & 2015) *''Space Ludo'' (boardgame, 2009) *'' BrainPipe: A Plunge to Unhumanity'' (Windows, Mac &

iPhone The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...

, 2008 & 2009) *''Goblin Slayer'' (boardgame, 2008) *''Soup du Jour'' (Windows &

iPad The iPad is a brand of tablet computers developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple that run the company's mobile operating systems iOS and later iPadOS. The IPad (1st generation), first-generation iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010. ...

, 2007 & 2011) *''Eat Electric Death!'' (boardgame, 2007 but publisher defaulted) *'' Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space'' (Windows, Mac, 2005, 2006, 2011 & 2014) *'' Diceland Space: Terrans vs. Urluquai'' (setting, ship types & art, tabletop game, 2005) *'' Diceland Space: Garthans vs. Muktians'' (setting, ship types & art, tabletop game, 2005) *''Independent Games'' (

Independent Games Festival The Independent Games Festival (IGF) is an annual festival at the Game Developers Conference (GDC), the largest annual gathering of the independent video game industry. Originally founded in 1998 to promote independent video game developers, ...

30-game compilation CD-ROM that featured ''Big Box of Blox'', ''Dr. Blob's Organism'', ''Plasmaworm ''and '' Strange Adventures in Infinite Space'' Windows, 2005) *''Mac OS X Boiler Plate Special'' (Mac, 2004) *''Digital Eel's Big Box of Blox'' (Windows, Mac, handhelds, smartphones, 2003–2008) *''Dr. Blob's Organism'' (Windows & Mac, 2003) *'' Strange Adventures in Infinite Space'' (Windows, Mac & handhelds, 2002-2020) *''Plasmaworm'' (Windows, July 17, 2001)

Reception

Digital Eel is best known for its ''Infinite Space'' series of space roguelikes, '' Strange Adventures in Infinite Space'' (2002), ''Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space'' (2005) and ''Infinite Space III: Sea of Stars'' (2015). Strange Adventures and Weird Worlds pioneered the roguelite subgenre, inspiring later efforts like '' FTL: Faster Than Light''.

Awards

*Excellence in Audio: Brainpipe ( IGF, 2009) *Best In-game Audio: Brainpipe (Bytten, 2009) *Innovation in Audio: Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space ( IGF, 2006) *

Seumas McNally Grand Prize The Seumas McNally Grand Prize is the main award given at the Independent Games Festival (IGF), an annual event that takes place during the Game Developers Conference, one of the largest gatherings of the indie video game industry. It was first aw ...

finalist: Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space ( IGF, 2006) *Quest/Adventure Game of the Year: Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space (Game Tunnel, 2005) *Innovation in Visual Art: Dr. Blob's Organism ( IGF, 2004) *Innovation in Audio: Dr. Blob's Organism ( IGF, 2004)

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.digital-eel.com/ Software companies based in Seattle Indie game developers Video game companies of the United States Video game development companies Video game companies established in 2001 2001 establishments in Washington (state)