GameSpasm

The idea hit Dan FitzGerald in the shower last December: What about a dog sledding game? The Chicago native had been toying around with various prototypes based around a lobbing mechanic, but nothing stuck quite like this. Ideas started pouring in, and he enlisted his girlfriend of three years, Lisa Bromiel, to work on the art and help shape the exciting nugget of an idea into a fully realized video game - a concept that evolved into Dog Sled Saga.

It was the first time either had embarked on anything quite like it. FitzGerald studied communications in college, and had spent time doing contract video production (including trailers for other video games) and web design in an effort to get deeper into the gaming scene. Bromiel, meanwhile, is a trained artist with a focus on material art, though she hadn't consistently worked in digital illustration. As confident as they were about seeing the concept through to completion, they didn't have much insight as to going from making an original game to actually presenting it as a purchasable product. Well, at least until Rami Ismail came to town.

Ismail, the business and development half of Dutch indie studio Vlambeer (Super Crate Box, Luftrausers), stopped in Chicago in February to give a talk as part of DePaul University's Visiting Artists Series. FitzGerald and Bromiel attended, expecting to hear anecdotes about creating their beloved games, or the painful cloning saga that marked the development of Ridiculous Fishing.

Instead they got a real lesson - Indie Game Business 101, if you will - defined by the lecture's catchy three-word title: "Monetize That Shit."

Continue reading Indie, but not alone: How Vlambeer's advice helped guide Dog Sled Saga

Indie, but not alone: How Vlambeer's advice helped guide Dog Sled Saga originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 24 May 2013 18:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments Tags: android, Chicago-Game-Scene, Dan-FitzGerald, Dog-Sled-Saga, Dog-Sledding, indie, iOS, ipad, iPhone, kickstarter, Lisa-Bromiel, mac, Mobile, PC

The first rule of iPhone is that it never, never goes on sale. The second rule of iPhone is that when iPhone does go on sale, it’s only last year’s model, or even older. The third rule of iPhone is that when this year’s model goes on sale, a new model is coming soon.

Best Buy is putting the iPhone 5 on sale starting Sunday. Two plus two equals ?

According to a report by AllThingsD, Best Buy is planning to offer $50 off the iPhone 5, 4S, and 4 models starting Sunday and lasting for four weeks. The electronics retailer is also planning to offer discounts on older Android smartphones from Samsung and HTC … but not the just-released and hot-selling Samsung Galaxy S4.

Rules aside, it’s not completely unheard of for iPhone to go on sale. And Apple has been experimenting lately with discounts (excuse me, incentives) in price-constrained markets such as India. But if it’s not the sign of the iPhone 5S showing up next month, it’s certainly the footsteps we’re hearing from the not-too-distant future.

Apple is certainly getting ready to release the 5S, with screens reportedly entering mass production in June, and one report saying actual phones hitting the market not too much later, in August.

Which, if correct, means we still have three months to wait.

However, analyst Brian White of Topeka Capital Markets has predicted a June announcement and a July ship date for iPhone 5S, as well as a new, cheaper iPhone Mini, which he says will be available in multiple colors.

photo credit: Incase. via photopin cc

Filed under: Business, Gadgets, Mobile

Tags: android, Apple, Best Buy, business, cheaper iPhone, Discounts, Gadgets, Galaxy S III, Galaxy S4, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5S, iPhone Mini, Mobile, samsung

The first rule of iPhone is that it never, never goes on sale. The second rule of iPhone is that when iPhone does go on sale, it’s only last year’s model, or even older. The third rule of iPhone is that when this year’s model goes on sale, a new model is coming soon.

Best Buy is putting the iPhone 5 on sale starting Sunday. Two plus two equals?

According to a report by AllThingsD, Best Buy is planning to offer $50 off the iPhone 5, 4S, and 4 models starting Sunday and lasting for four weeks. The electronics retailer is also planning to offer discounts on older Android smartphones from Samsung and HTC … but not the just-released and hot-selling Samsung Galaxy S4.

Rules aside, it’s not completely unheard of for iPhone to go on sale. And Apple has been experimenting lately with discounts (excuse me, incentives) in price-constrained markets such as India. But if it’s not the sign of the iPhone 5S showing up next month, it’s certainly the footsteps we’re hearing from the not-too-distant future.

Apple is certainly getting ready to release the 5S, with screens reportedly entering mass production in June, and one report saying actual phones hitting the market in August.

Which, if correct, means we still have three months to wait.

However, analyst Brian White of Topeka Capital Markets has predicted a June announcement and a July ship date for iPhone 5S as well as a new, cheaper iPhone Mini, which he says will be available in multiple colors.

photo credit: Incase. via photopin cc

Filed under: Business, Gadgets, Mobile

Tags: android, Apple, Best Buy, business, cheaper iPhone, Discounts, Gadgets, Galaxy S III, Galaxy S4, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5S, iPhone Mini, iPhone on sale, iPhone sale, Mobile, samsung

The first rule of iPhone is that it never, never goes on sale. The second rule of iPhone is that when iPhone does go on sale, it’s only last year’s model, or even older. The third rule of iPhone is that when this year’s model goes on sale, a new model is coming soon.

Best Buy is putting the iPhone 5 on sale starting Sunday. Two plus two equals ?

According to a report by AllThingsD, Best Buy is planning to offer $50 off the iPhone 5, 4S, and 4 models starting Sunday and lasting for four weeks. The electronics retailer is also planning to offer discounts on older Android smartphones from Samsung and HTC … but not the just-released and hot-selling Samsung Galaxy S4.

Rules aside, it’s not completely unheard of for iPhone to go on sale. And Apple has been experimenting lately with discounts (excuse me, incentives) in price-constrained markets such as India. But if it’s not the sign of the iPhone 5S showing up next month, it’s certainly the footsteps we’re hearing from the not-too-distant future.

Apple is certainly getting ready to release the 5S, with screens reportedly entering mass production in June, and one report saying actual phones hitting the market not too much later, in August.

Which, if correct, means we still have three months to wait.

However, analyst Brian White of Topeka Capital Markets has predicted a June announcement and a July ship date for iPhone 5S, as well as a new, cheaper iPhone Mini, which he says will be available in multiple colors.

photo credit: Incase. via photopin cc

Filed under: Business, Gadgets, Mobile

Tags: android, Apple, Best Buy, business, cheaper iPhone, Discounts, Gadgets, Galaxy S III, Galaxy S4, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5S, iPhone Mini, iPhone on sale, iPhone sale, Mobile, samsung

DmC and Enslaved developer Ninja Theory revealed its latest project this morning, an iOS and Android free-to-play brawler called Fightback. The game is being published by EA subsidiary Chillingo, which says it has a "a striking 80s action movie vibe."

Going by this screenshot, Fightback is a skils-orientated, side-scrolling beat-em-up. The meter at the bottom indicates a three-star score based on points accumulated by skill moves like 'Skull Splitter' - think Bulletstorm, perhaps, but with more punches and kicks, and maybe a Blood Dragon vibe. It looks like you can use guns too, though. Also, is that a Japanese love hotel?

"Mobile and tablet gaming is a phenomenon that we just couldn't ignore as a studio and we're very proud to be working with one of the industry's heavy-weights on bringing Fightback to market," said Ninja Theory Product Manager Dominic Matthews. "Ninja Theory has always strived for the highest production values and that absolutely remains the case in this exciting new space."

Chillingo is showing off Fightback at E3 next month, and expects to launch it this summer.

Ninja Theory teams up with Chillingo on iOS, Android F2P brawler Fightback originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 24 May 2013 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments Tags: android, chillingo, Ea, fightback, iOS, ipad, iPhone, Mobile, Ninja-Theory, release-date

DmC and Enslaved developer Ninja Theory revealed its latest project this morning, an iOS and Android free-to-play brawler called Fightback. The game is being published by EA subsidiary Chillingo, which says it has a "a striking 80s action movie vibe."

Going by this screenshot, Fightback is a skils-orientated, side-scrolling beat-em-up. The meter at the bottom indicates a three-star score based on points accumulated by skill moves like 'Skull Splitter' - think Bulletstorm, perhaps, but with more punches and kicks, and maybe a Blood Dragon vibe. It looks like you can use guns too, though. Also, is that a Japanese love hotel?

"Mobile and tablet gaming is a phenomenon that we just couldn't ignore as a studio and we're very proud to be working with one of the industry's heavy-weights on bringing Fightback to market," said Ninja Theory Product Manager Dominic Matthews. "Ninja Theory has always strived for the highest production values and that absolutely remains the case in this exciting new space."

Chillingo is showing off Fightback at E3 next month, and expects to launch it this summer.

Ninja Theory teams up with Chillingo on iOS, Android F2P brawler Fightback originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 24 May 2013 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments Tags: android, chillingo, Ea, iOS, ipad, iPhone, Mobile, Ninja-Theory, release-date

When you start at 100 percent, there’s nowhere to go but down. Even so, Apple CEO Tim Cook’s approval rating among Apple employees is still very, very high.

Apple’s been through some tough spots historically. And while anyone who remembers the “beleaguered” days of the late 90′s and early 2000′s can’t think that the company is in too much trouble right now, with the stock losing hundreds of billions of dollars and Google’s Android taking massive mobile market share, there’s definitely a sense that Apple’s best days might be in the rear-view mirror.

But Cook has maintained 90-plus-percent approval ratings internally, according to Glassdoor:

That’s just a shade below Steve Jobs’ lifetime rating of 97 percent.

In addition, Apple employees are still pretty happy to be working at the iconic Cupertino company. Employee satisfaction, which reached a peak 80 percent in the middle of 2012 when Apple’s stock soared to over $700, has only dropped slightly to 78 percent.

Which doesn’t mean that working at Apple is easy. Or, that working for Tim Cook is easy.

Cook looks for early hours, according to one Apple manager in Cupertino, who said he was “a CEO who demands work before 6 AM every day, and ‘accountability without control.’” And another Apple employee, an engineer, complained about work/life balance at Apple … or rather, the lack thereof.

“No work life balance is to be expected while working at Apple. Weekly management reviews and expectations from management is that you are reachable after work hours.”

The upcoming Worldwide Developer Conference will be an interesting test for Cook, and Apple. After basically telling the world not to expect any new products before fall, an iOS7 reveal will likely be the big news at the developer-focused show … and well as, possibly, announcements about developments in Apple core services like music and media.

Those announcements have to be good enough to reassure the Apple faithful within and without the company that Apple is still the leader in mobile operating systems and ecosystems, and can still amaze and delight its customers.

And its team members.

Image credit: Dean Takahashi

Filed under: Business, Enterprise, OffBeat

Tags: android, Apple, apple stock, approval-rating, business, ceo, enterprise, mobile market share, Offbeat, tim-cook

When you start at 100 percent, there’s nowhere to go but down. Even so, Apple CEO Tim Cook’s approval rating among Apple employees is still very, very high.

Apple’s been through some tough spots historically. And while anyone who remembers the “beleaguered” days of the late 90′s and early 2000′s can’t think that the company is in too much trouble right now, with the stock losing hundreds of billions of dollars and Google’s Android taking massive mobile market share, there’s definitely a sense that Apple’s best days might be in the rear-view mirror.

But Cook has maintained 90-plus-percent approval ratings internally, according to Glassdoor:

That’s just a shade below Steve Jobs’ lifetime rating of 97 percent.

In addition, Apple employees are still pretty happy to be working at the iconic Cupertino company. Employee satisfaction, which reached a peak 80 percent in the middle of 2012 when Apple’s stock soared to over $700, has only dropped slightly to 78 percent.

Which doesn’t mean that working at Apple is easy. Or, that working for Tim Cook is easy.

Cook looks for early hours, according to one Apple manager in Cupertino, who said he was “a CEO who demands work before 6 AM every day, and ‘accountability without control.’” And another Apple employee, an engineer, complained about work/life balance at Apple … or rather, the lack thereof.

“No work life balance is to be expected while working at Apple. Weekly management reviews and expectations from management is that you are reachable after work hours.”

The upcoming Worldwide Developer Conference will be an interesting test for Cook, and Apple. After basically telling the world not to expect any new products before fall, an iOS7 reveal will likely be the big news at the developer-focused show … and well as, possibly, announcements about developments in Apple core services like music and media.

Those announcements have to be good enough to reassure the Apple faithful within and without the company that Apple is still the leader in mobile operating systems and ecosystems, and can still amaze and delight its customers.

And its team members.

Image credit: Dean Takahashi

Filed under: Business, Enterprise, OffBeat Tags: android, Apple, apple stock, approval-rating, business, ceo, enterprise, mobile market share, Offbeat, tim-cook

It's not that there are too many indie games; it's that there aren't enough hours in a day to play all of them. The Joystiq Indie Pitch curates the best indies to play now and watch out for in the future.

What's your game called and what's it about?

Bam fu is a two-, three- or four-player game on one device where you tap on pebbles - a fancy word for the buttons in this game - as quickly as you can to make them your color. Other players are trying to do the same and the colors change in a cycle, so the pebbles will definitely not stay on your color for long. The game goes on with you trying to reclaim your pebbles as fast as you can, until all, or almost all, pebbles are your color. That's when you win.

What's the coolest aspect of Bam fu?

We think that the coolest aspect of the game is that you can play it with everyone. Any gender, age or language; literally everyone!

The rules are so simple that it doesn't take more than a second to get them. In fact, we are yet to find a player who doesn't skip the the tutorial. Plenty of thought has gone into small details to keep things simple. For example, we are using the fingers on the hand to count your points, so it's immediately clear that you play to five.

We have also made the game accessible to colorblind players, which was a challenge for a game than distinguishes between players by color. This is why the pebbles were designed to point toward a player's corner.

Continue reading The Joystiq Indie Pitch: Bam fu

The Joystiq Indie Pitch: Bam fu originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 23 May 2013 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments Tags: android, bam-fu, Fingle, Game-Oven, indie, iOS, ipad, iPhone, joystiq-indie-pitch, Mobile

It's not that there are too many indie games; it's that there aren't enough hours in a day to play all of them. The Joystiq Indie Pitch curates the best indies to play now and watch out for in the future.

What's your game called and what's it about?

Bam fu is a two-, three- or four-player game on one device where you tap on pebbles - a fancy word for the buttons in this game - as quickly as you can to make them your color. Other players are trying to do the same and the colors change in a cycle, so the pebbles will definitely not stay on your color for long. The game goes on with you trying to reclaim your pebbles as fast as you can, until all, or almost all, pebbles are your color. That's when you win.

What's the coolest aspect of Bam fu?

We think that the coolest aspect of the game is that you can play it with everyone. Any gender, age or language; literally everyone!

The rules are so simple that it doesn't take more than a second to get them. In fact, we are yet to find a player who doesn't skip the the tutorial. Plenty of thought has gone into small details to keep things simple. For example, we are using the fingers on the hand to count your points, so it's immediately clear that you play to five.

We have also made the game accessible to colorblind players, which was a challenge for a game than distinguishes between players by color. This is why the pebbles were designed to point toward a player's corner.

Continue reading The Joystiq Indie Pitch: Bam fu

The Joystiq Indie Pitch: Bam fu originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 23 May 2013 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments Tags: android, bam-fu, Fingle, Game-Oven, indie, iOS, ipad, iPhone, joystiq-indie-pitch, Mobile