Retro Game of the Day! Ghostbusters (Genesis)
Friday, October 29, 2010
Retro Game of the Day! Ghostbusters (Genesis)
Thursday, October 28, 2010
iPhone App Game Development Blog #39
iPhone App Game Development Blog #39
Time to spit out another one of these! I feel like I just wrote one, but I guess it has been nearly a week and a half. So then, let's get into it, shall we?
I am going to break from the usual format, for a change, and just sort of spout about what's been on my mind. I like keeping things structured, but the way things have been progressing lately, the usual structure is not so pertinent anymore. And as this is just a blog at the end of the day, sometimes it makes sense to just have a brain-dump.
Things have been awfully interesting on the iPhone development scene lately, in many ways; quiet in several others. Surprisingly, following a tremendous lead-in the first part of the year (GTA, SFIV, lots and lots of high-profile releases) things have really cooled off with the major players dipping their toes into the scene in a manner which has kind of surprised me. They have the manpower, the money, and the wits to take over, and instead it's sort of been sloughing off, and I can't figure out exactly why. I guess there is some disinterest on the part of the heavy hitters now that the novely has worn off, and that's strange; the money is still there (and coming fast and furiously), the user base keeps growing exponentially, and the platform in general is just getting trendier than ever. A good bit of that seems to be rubbing off on the competitors as well (Android) and of course no one seems to care, but now the Windows Phone is available as well.
So what gives? Where is everyone? Why the malaise?
As an independent, I say it is fine, as it gives us a lot more room to have any kind of a profound effect in some fashion or other, and that's been happening to degrees. But it really does feel like this Sword of Damocles situation in a way, there will be this huge throwdown whenever those bigger, established studios decide to stop pussy-footing around, come in and "take over." I have a pretty decent finger on the pulse of this industry, and the only real excuse I can think of it short-sightedness/politics/lethargy. Whatever. The longer they are absent, the better off the rest of us players will be.
For indies, we struck a powerful blow when Matt Rix's Trainyard app suddenly rocketed far up the charts, enjoyed a moment at #2 on All Paid before settling into the lower end of the Top Ten for the longer haul. That was huge, I can't help but wonder if Cut The Rope hadn't yet surfaced if he could have grabbed that top spot, as he'd unseated even the reigning champ Angry Birds! Here's this one guy who made the game all by himself, his singular app released so many months ago (near the time our last one released), and he took over the world for a few minutes there (and obviously is still raking it in). I hope to see his app sitting up there in Top Ten-land for a long time to come :)
Also of note, our buddies at Retro Dreamer have released their new app Linkoidz this past week. Of course I was eager to get my paws on this title, as it is very inspired by a time-honored favorite Magical Drop (which does already exist on the iPhone, albeit in poorly executed form). Linkoidz makes short work of that title and is enjoying a lot of attention right now, I wholeheartedly recommend a pickup if you are a fan of quality action-puzzlers. Simple interface, splendid execution, and quite addictive.
Last bit of scene news will be to mention that Chillingo got bought up by none other than EA, which was a surprise to some and not much to others. For whatever reason, I had them pegged as Activision-bound (I am sure they were talking to everyone, hell everyone is always talking to everyone else) but I guess this was the one that bit. ATVI will get theirs soon enough I am sure. Even more interesting is the fallout from this, as none of Chill's games are coming with.. just their stupendous network. Angry Birds, the crown jewel, has since seen a chart-topping Chillingo-less update (Halloween edition) which has the layman's head scratching "didn't Chillingo make the previous game?" being that it was pretty heavily branded as such.. anyway, everyone from all camps are making out like gangbusters from these deals, so at the end of the day it's hard to feel bad for anyone.
BIZDEV - and what's up on the homefront, you may wonder? A fellow emailed me recently "so, is Headcase still making games?" It's an awfully good question, and while there's the most general of blanket answers available ("yes!") the honest reality which shouldn't be a surprise is, that things are moving so slowly in development that they might as well not be going anywhere. Anyone who is familiar with the ins and outs of any kind of smalltime development knows how this goes, all too well - unless you have a dedicated base, it's nigh-impossible to see something as complex as a full project through to appropriate completion. Even for seemingly small projects, lack of production really is a death knell. This is not trivial! In this operation, it's my job not only to do much of the brainstorming, raw asset creation and management, but also the connection to the outside world (which I've often related is quite a sizable and laborious job in itself). But at the end of the day, shepherding a brand is utterly useless when there's no new product to put out there.
It's very difficult. There's few things I enjoy more, in this world, then being on a development staff (large or small) and making something that's awesome, that makes people happy, that is alive. It's a charge unlike any other that I have experienced in my 35 years. But the big lesson is, it's just not that simple. There's politics to contend with. Personalities, money, hopes and dreams and plans. Until that flow comes in, things sound rad on paper but unless you are that true "do-everything-machine," you are just a half-realized concept. It pains me to see my game out in the world, but know that it's hobbled in certain ways. Products released 6 months, a year ago, and further out are already on such a different playing field than what is coming out now or with the next wave (and the generations pass quickly!)
I don't know what will happen. I have purposefully kept quiet about the deeper, stressful nature of this stuff ("will I get to continue as I'd like to in this capacity?") Bottom line - I am confident in my abilities. I have a head full of great ideas for the future. For the time being, I am doing all that I can to keep myself active in this industry, and work better towards that goal. Thanks for reading and supporting :)
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Retro Game of the Day! Stormlord
Retro Game of the Day! Stormlord
Sunday, October 24, 2010
iPhone App Development Vlog #5
Headcase Games iPhone App Development Vlog #5
SHOW NOTES:
transcript at http://luminaria.wordpress.com/2007/0...
"Born into this" written by Charles Bukowski
FreeAppTracker - developer submit
Thanks for supporting Headcase Games!
Want to win ANY Free App of your choice for your iPhone, care of Headcase Games (LINK)
Friday, October 22, 2010
Retro Game of the Day! Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
Retro Game of the Day! Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
Castlevania III is an excellent and, strangely, often overlooked entry into the series. The design has it's detractors, but overall it's an excellent complement to the first game and a title which still holds up quite well. In some ways it seems like a good candidate for a 16-bit re-style, but honestly I like how it looks and feels just fine. Any fan of the series must play through this game!
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Retro Game of the Day! Junction
Retro Game of the Day! Junction
Monday, October 18, 2010
Retro Game of the Day! Shadow of the Beast
Retro Game of the Day! Shadow of the Beast
iPhone App Game Development Blog #38
iPhone App Game Development Blog #38
Well hi there!! Yes, it's true, I don't get to stick my head in here and say hello as often as I like. Things are extraordinarily busy lately (they're never dull) and it's been murder on getting to things like community discourse. I have been spending a ton of time trying to find some manner of gig or other to pay the bills since I need to pay my rent, between that and keeping the lights on at Headcase it gets really tight at times. But I am still here :)
180 for iPhone - We've been working hard to get our update out the door. As usual I must stress that the game is not going to be a huge departure from the already-existing version, we had some tech issues to address and it's likely that the only really noticeable change for most folks will be the new icon. A new binary just got submitted this past evening, so with some luck it will turn around and we can breathe a sigh of relief! Following the update there will be a huge amount of activity on my end, as there is quite a bit of promoting to do. Our game is not new anymore, but I need to "act like it is" for the last time. It's hard to know what to expect for the fallout from this coming promotion, the details of which will be revealed soon, so I am going to be optimistic - either way I am happy, because following this period I can move on with things and concentrate on something different!
This final 180 promotion will be a big deal for us and I am seeking to recruit help from any interested parties. I need to finish assembling the plan, and will announce it in here shortly (this week?) Any help from anyone is welcome - whether you've got resources that are amazing or merely modest, I can find stuff for you to do :) Details to come.
Bizdev - As noted in the intro, I have been spending a ton of time seeking out some paid work, and my other iPhone development has been sort of crawling along as a result. I have got some time in for the project code-named "3," and I've recently recruited a buddy to help move that along. That project needs to get wrapped up and moved into the promotion & release phase asap so that whatever's next can get underway. I am sitting on a lot of great ideas for projects, but they all stay in the Deep Freeze until their time comes.
FreeAppTracker.com - Our new website is chugging along. I think it's been live for about a month now.. this is taking a good bit of work to maintain as well, but I am happy so far. If you enjoy the site, please mention it to your friends - and if you are a dev with a free app to plug, hook up with us and we can feature it for you (for free) and help you to promote! With the coming 180 promotion I am expecting to get an increase in traffic for this site, so it is something to keep in mind. At some point we will feature ads for other (paid) apps by fellow indie devs, but if you're eager to get on with that then contact me.
What Else is Going On - Ohhh boy, the world's all crazy right now. Lots going on in game news, we've got Cut The Rope finally knocking Angry Birds out of 1st place in the app store. Very interesting, and I wonder how long it will sit there? Supposedly they made $1 Million off this 0.99cent app in a little over a week. This is crazy. Also, fellow indie developer Matt Rix made huge waves when his app Trainyard got some serious steam out of nowhere and blasted all the way up to number 2, where it exhaled for a moment, before getting in comfy at number 3 where it seems to be sticking around for awhile. This is a huge deal for all us little guys with apps that have been sitting out there for awhile, it just goes to show that a well-made production can be discovered and change the world. Of course, there are so many instances out there, that it's hard to expect a similar chain of events could be possible to repeat any time soon.
This brings me to a point I want to bring up, the notion that the app store is such a crazy place right now. It really is, we've all shuffled into this weird new world and everyone wants a piece of it, and most folks aren't gonna even snatch a morsel. We've reached a point where competition is so tense, and systems feel like they are getting pretty figured-out; most little guys will not have much hope of gaining any real ground unless drastic (and expensive) measures are taken. You can not just have a good game to sell anymore. You need to go out on a limb and do lots of other things to promote, and it's becoming more work to do that than merely putting together a nice game. If you've been a moderately successful dev (with a decent body of work and some amount of fandom) then you are probably a bit hooked up and plugged in by now, and you can just keep churning things out and getting some return. But if you are brand new and hoping to strike it rich, and have never dealt with any kind of marketing or networking, then it's going to be a nightmare. It's probably been at this stage for over a year now, realistically.
I think we'll see a lot of the bigger companies finally start to make some real movement in dominating the app space following the holidays, and indie devs will fight for increasingly smaller mindshare. Indie is not going away, but it will become much harder to get noticed as this happens. This will help glaze over some of the usual garbage apps that usually fill up the store, but it will probably also force smaller devs to embark on bigger and more ambitious projects before they are ready (if you've worked in the mainstream game industry, this might start to sound very familiar!) The app store scene has been wonderful, ultimately, as it has fostered this wonderful potential for creator-owned (and controlled) content, and I fear that the days might wind down before they've really been given a chance to shine. We will see what happens!
On that note, Angry Birds released on Android the other day. 1 MILLION DOWNLOADS in a day. Madness.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Retro Game of the Day! Electrocop
Retro Game of the Day! Electrocop
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Retro Game of the Day! Volfied
Retro Game of the Day! Volfied
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