Well into a post-talk Q&A session, "Alien Hominid" programmer Tom Fulp hit upon what sounded like a fairly good rule of thumb when it comes to creating mainstream video games.

"We came to the conclusion killing kids is not acceptable in console games," Fulp said.

Fulp was dryly describing what he said was the only major concession made by his team — now known as the Behemoth Company — as they transformed "Hominid" from a cult Flash game to, well, a cult console game. In the original web-based version, "Hominid" spoofs "E.T." by making the game's "Elliot" the Hominid's first victim. In the console game, he's a buddy who supplies power-ups and the like.

Such is progress for Fulp, whose discussion of his brainchild Friday night served as the official opener of the SXSW Interactive Festival, drawing about 150 to the free presentation.

His speech peppered with observations of what parts of the development process were "cool" and which parts tended to "bum" them out, the Drexel University grad took mild shots at a console game industry that has grown to overemphasize the sequel and movie tie-in games over truly original creations, even while he provided insights into his own game's transformation.

"There was not a lot of planning, not a lot of storyboarding," said Fulp, who began featuring the original "Hominid" on his site, newgrounds.com, in 2002. "We'd just try to make it cooler and cooler, and kept making more and more bosses until it felt 'complete' enough to be a console game."

Next up for Behemoth? A new game, but not an "Alien Hominid" sequel. At least, not yet.

Until then, he says the modest Flash games on the Internet are where you can find the true cutting edge of video gaming.

"The mainstream is producing more and more sequels," he said. "The web is where the new characters are being created."