Fishlabs Entertainment is a German-based gaming studio that scored a hit with the Galaxy on Fire series for iOS. The latest, most popular iteration is Galaxy on Fire 2, which Fishlabs has kept fresh with updates and extra content since launch. Players fight pirates, loot, mine asteroids and perform several other Elite-style tasks. The latest update is called Valkyrie, which debuted as I chatted with Fishlabs at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco last week. The HD update makes the game look stunning. Even iPhone owners will benefit, as those with the standard version get Valkyrie's HD graphics for free. Valkyrie meets fan requests like larger ships and a new storyline, which Fishlabs says will run as long as the game content is available. Galaxy on Fire is a gorgeous game, and Fishlabs says it's ready for the new iPad. As soon as they get hands on the new hardware, they'll "optimize the assets" and be ready to go. They are excited about the new quad core processors, but for Galaxy on Fire itself, Fishlabs probably won't add any extra features. Instead, they'll just make the game look better. "We'd rather use the hardware to improve the visual quality," I was told. Fans can expect another DLC pack coming soon. Supernova, which will have its own unique storyline and graphical updates. By the year's end, Fishlabs expects to release another new game they're not ready to discuss. "A free-to-play title set in the Galaxy on Fire universe" is all I was told. Fishlabs is doing quite well. Space-trading simulators have a limited audience. While Galaxy on Fire is an excellent game, it might not appeal to casual gamers. But Fishlabs continues to prove that as long as you have a dedicated and interested audience, you can assemble a successful franchise on Apple's platform.Fishlabs sets the Galaxy on Fire with Valkyrie update originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 12 Mar 2012 08:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments read more..
Tuesday, 13 March 2012
Game Developers Conference-Fishlabs Entertainment-Galaxy On Fire-Game Content
Tatem Games Goes Freemium-Carnivores Game-Gym Membership-Popular Games-Farming Games
I last talked with the folks of Tatem Games at last year's GDC. The Ukraine-based developer has had a few hits on the App Store already, and this year Tatem Games tells me it's headed onto other platforms. For example, the popular Carnivores game is heading to Android and aiming for release on a major traditional console very soon. On iOS, Tatem has also been caught up in the freemium trend and is working on an engine to develop its own original freemium titles. The first one of these is called Dream Gym, and I got to see a few nonplayable demos of it. It's a freemium time-based title, very similar to Farmville and other popular games, but instead of growing a city, farm, or community, you're growing muscles. Dream Gym is a workout title where you level up both a character and the gym itself, doing various exercises over time to earn XP and money. Tatem has some interesting plans for monetizing the game beyond players as well. There is advertising built in to Dream Gym, and Tatem is hoping to get some in-game advertising funds, perhaps by selling space on in-game billboards and posters. The "workouts" in the game were also all designed by a real-life exercise trainer, so players could follow their 3D avatars and do the same exercises to work out for real. Doing so could lead to real-life rewards; Tatem's rep suggested the game might offer a gym membership for leveling up or similar partnership ideas. If you're not a fan of the freemium farming games, you might not like Dream Gym, but the gym and fitness tie-ins should be interesting. It's set to come out by May or June this year on iOS. Tatem is also planning to publish a completely free title called Fill the Bag: Crazy Catering, a simple arcade game originally developed as a prototype for the company. It's a simple but addictive game where you fill the trays of a series of schoolkids just by tapping on the ingredients each one asks for, then tapping on the kids themselves. It's cute and fun, and Tatem says it will periodically update the app with season-styled skins, both as a gift for fans and to promote the company's other games. Tatem has a few other plans in place for the future, including publishing an iOS game called Epic Stand. It was originally developed for Flash (and you can see it in action online), and it should be out on iOS sometime in April. Clearly, Tatem is keeping busy. We'll keep an eye out for Dream Gym and see how the next few titles from this already quite experienced foreign developer turn out.Tatem Games goes freemium with Dream Gym and more originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 13 Mar 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments read more..
Monday, 12 March 2012
Collectible Card Game-Hothead Games-Soccer Game-Birch
Hothead Games is actually an old company by most iOS standards: As marketing director Oliver Birch told me at GDC last week, the company is actually turning six years old this week. Previously, they mostly made PC and console games (most notably the Penny Arcade Adventures, and Ron Gilbert's Deathspank), but recently, Hothead has been pushing more and more towards Apple's App Store, and Birch says that while Hothead definitely "supports all of the games we've got out there, really, we're all about mobile now." Which makes sense -- between the collectible card game Kard Combat, Jetpack Joyride-alike Sea Stars, and the excellent Gem King (formerly known as Kickin' Momma), Hothead already has a nice run of iOS hits. And the company is now looking to follow all of that up with a new game, out now, called Big Win Soccer. Big Win Soccer is probably unlike any soccer game you've played before -- in fact, it's more of a collectible card game than anything else. The idea is that you have a team of players (represented by cards), and you can activate various stats and abilities on them (also represented by virtual cards). When you play a game against someone else online, you don't directly control the players. Instead, you watch the game play out, and the various abilities and stats you chose to represent your team go into the final outcome. After the game, you can earn coins, which can be used to buy and win even more cards, making your team stronger and better. It's ... an interesting idea, though if you're turned off by the trappings of freemium games, you will find plenty of them here: You have a certain amount of energy to play with per day, and can't play beyond that point, and of course the collectible card system is also driven by (optional, admittedly) in-app purchases. Hothead wants you to spend money, it's clear. While there is a card game to be had here, the strong suggestion to supplant your normal play with money is always there. In its short life on the App Store so far, Big Win Soccer has been a huge success, so much so that Birch says the game melted a few of the company's servers (I don't think it literally turned wires to liquid, but Birch wasn't clear). The overwhelming demand for the game on its server software means that Hothead hasn't publicized the game's launch much, but apparently it hasn't had to, given how many players are trying to log in. Reviews for the title are stuck down around two or three stars only, but most of the reviews talk about the servers going down, not the actual gameplay itself. If the game turns out to be a success, Hothead is all ready to follow up: Birch also showed me Big Win Hockey, and it's probably a safe bet that Hothead will expand the line as much as it can, allowing fans of all sports to play their favorite games through the various card collecting mechanics. Birch also showed off a few other titles, each at various stages of development (including one which isn't quite ready for the press yet, he says). Zombie Air is Hothead's next release -- it's a freemium title that also plays sort of like Jetpack Joyride, but instead of just an endless run game, it actually consists of quite a few different levels, as zombies take to the air to fly in customizable planes across a post-apocalyptic United States. The game has a fun and cartoony look, but the freemium model is very evident here as well -- Birch said Hothead is using a lot of the "learning from Sea Stars" to put this one together. So Hothead clearly has a nice slate of titles ready to go. When the company was working on the console, Birch explained, they used to take twelve to eighteen months to put games together, and these days, "we can make a game now in weeks." Is that such a good thing, though? Deathspank and the Penny Arcade Adventures were both interesting, original titles, not bogged down by the trappings of freemium, and Hothead's latest titles, while very well-produced and colorful, don't skimp on the monetization. B read more..