Tampere, Finland – July 1, 2010 – 10tons Ltd announced today a brand new game called Heroes of Kalevala. Heroes of Kalevala is a village-building match-3 game. The game world is inspired by Finnish national epic Kalevala. The game will feature state of the art match-3 mechanics, an extensive village building meta game, and several hero characters from Kalevala for the player to meet.
“We’ve always loved match-3 games that are original and provide polished playability. We created a tiny match-3 game called Ice Breaker way back in 2004 and now we wanted to revisit this classic genre.”, said Sampo Töyssy of 10tons. “Our goal was to create a modern match-3 game with all the best parts from existing games seasoned with some new twists. We also have an original meta game that interacts heavily with the match-3 game. Since the whole team is from Finland, it’s been fun and interesting to create a game that draws inspiration from Kalevala.”
Heroes of Kalevala will be available for iPhone and iPod touch around August 2010. More platforms will be announced later. Heroes of Kalevala is developed with the support of the MEDIA programme of the European Union.
I have to admit I installed this on my iTouch as soon as I got the press release. Because it has the potential to be cutely fun or be The Rules horrific, and either way, I have to check it out.
wikiHow, a collaboration to build and share the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual, just launched its newest iPhone and iPod Touch app, wikiHow’s Love Survival Kit. Available now for free download on the App Store, the Love Survival Kit follows wikiHow’s hugely successful Emergency Survival Kit, which has more than half a million downloads to date. Packed with articles for every love scenario, from casual dating to serious relationships, and everything in between, wikiHow’s Love Survival Kit will have you looking for love (tips) in all the right places.
The Love Survival Kit’s practical articles help people gracefully navigate tricky dating and social situations, or just kill time by learning fun and charming tricks. A modern approach to etiquette – complete with video tutorials – the Love Survival Kit covers a broad range of relationship categories and subjects, such as:
• Love and War including: How to Catch a Cheating Boyfriend, How to Date Multiple Men/Women at a Time, How to Play Hard To Get, and more
• Kissing including: How to Kiss, How to French Kiss, How to Deal with a Bad Kisser, How to Get Rid of Chapped Lips, and more
• Awkward Situations including: How to Deal with Someone’s Bad Breath, How to Escape the Friend Zone, How to Get Rid of a Stalker, and more
• Breaking Up including: How to Break Up Over the Phone, How to Break Up Over IM, How to Get Over a Break Up, and more
• Dating Skills including: How to Flirt, How to Play Footsie, How to Read Body Language, How to Have a Great Conversation, and more
• Charming Tricks including: How to Fold a Dollar Into a Heart, How to Open a Beer Bottle with a Dollar Bill, How to Open a Champagne Bottle with a Sword, and more
• Additional How-To Categories including: Best Foot Forward, Relationship Fixes, Relationship Skills and Tying the Knot
wikiHow Founder Jack Herrick commented: “I started wikiHow to help people by offering practical education. One of the most surprising things I’ve seen is how many people want to use wikiHow to secretly improve their love life. So the Love Survival Kit was created to fulfill this need, delivering the best of our romance and relationship advice in one free app.”
Which gets me thinking… I wonder if there’s a Worse-Case Scenario Handbook app yet.
Go back to school with the upcoming Facebook game Fantasy University! Discover exciting career options like Dodgebrawler, Emomancer, Slackninja, Cheermonger or Mathemagician! (Player classes based on everyone’s favorite RPG stereotypes, crossed with everyone’s favorite college stereotypes.)
You can sign up for the beta here, or check out Fantasy University’s Facebook info page, or Professor Lackpants’ online lectures to learn more. Edit: You can also read a preview of FU here.
I’m just waiting for my FU school pride sweatshirt to arrive.
ELANTHIA (a seriously non-fictitious place) Fantasy University, the country’s finest Adventuring College, announces the opening of its new term slated for July.
The University, notorious for its financial troubles, was deemed “too big to fail” by the Elanthian Education Department and was subsequently bailed out with a generous, albeit undisclosed, endowment.
“We’re delighted, simply delighted!” said Thaddeus Lackpants VIII, a professor at the school, at the press conference held earlier today. “The entire faculty and I are committed to our students receiving the finest Adventuring Education that delicious government funding can provide!” he added, a pile of Fubars tumbling out of his beard onto the floor.
The University justifies its new financial stability by touting its record of producing Class-A Adventurers. Many of its alumni have gone on to long, spectacular deaths, such as Dodgebrawler extraordinaire Randy McDandy, who put up a valiant effort against the fabled Badgerdragon before being summarily consumed and digested.
Opponents of the school, however, call the bailout “an affront to common decency,” and refer to F.U. by its initials with a bit more fervor than is socially acceptable.
Press release via VerticalWire, screenshots are my own.
A press release for Evony landed in my mailbox today. My previous experience with Evony involves wondering why there are bra advertisements on gaming sites. I put on my magic BS-reducing journalist glasses to read it, and here’s what it said:
Evony, the free-to-play gaming sensation, today announced its official one year anniversary, inviting the 19 million people who clicked the boobie ads looking for softcore to join in the celebration. First launched in May 2009 with Evony: Age I, Evony has enjoyed a warm reception from its growing fan base, especially those who haven’t got girlfriends or live in areas without Victoria’s Secret catalogs. The game’s unexplainable success is expected to continue with the April launch of Evony: Age II, the expansion that boasts a suite of new features and enhancements, and even more intrusive boobie advertising on all your favorite gaming sites.
In May of 2009, what started with only two servers and a clever vision to create a browser game designed to be played secretly while pretending to work, has evolved into a MMO phenomenon that’s anything but subtle.
“This is an amazing moment for the Evony team, all made possible by a community of game sites and games bloggers running Google Adsense, and a community of potential game players who are easily distracted by boobs,” said the Vice President of Operations at Regan Mercantile, LLC. “Our goal with the Evony franchise is to make sure we don’t accidentally attract any female players or mature adults by mistake.”
The recently launched Evony: Age II features new quests involving historical heroes and cities, a redesigned graphical interface and innovative panty photos for the upcoming advertising campaign.
The game is available on Passionfruit’s website, at three different price points. A $6.99 version is just the game download, $9.99 includes the game, strategy guide, Tiger Eye wallpaper and a seven-minute song from the game, and a $12.99 platinum collector’s edition includes all of that, plus more music and the sheet music for the Tiger Eye theme.
Sign up before May17th to get into the Land of Chaos beta! From the press release:
burda:ic, a leading publisher of online games worldwide, today announced the start of registration for the Closed Beta Test of strategic action MMO LOCO – Land of Chaos Online. Interested players have until Monday, May 17 to sign up for their chance to participate in the CBT, and full registration details can be found at: www.loco.alaplaya.net/closedbeta
The Closed Beta Test will feature 12 heroes from LOCO’s 30-character roster, including Octavian, Atin, Foxlady, RandyRozz, and more. Three maps will be available for use in both the Annihilation and Battle Modes: the “Forest of Chaos,” the “Crimson Plains,” and the “Lair of the Ancient Dragons.” The CBT will also feature a first look at LOCO’s Guild and Enchantment systems, so sign up today if you want to be one of the first players to explore the Land of Chaos!
To leaf through the Book of Heroes and learn more about the warriors from LOCO’s two factions, the Army of Hell and the Forces of Nature, visit http://loco.alaplaya.net/chronicles
For more information about Land of Chaos Online and the upcoming Closed Beta Test, head to http://www.loco.alaplaya.net
Just saw the announcement from Majesco (the people behind Cooking Mama, Gardening Mama, and Crafting Mama) that they’ll be working on a new Martha Stewart game. I really like the Martha Stewart cookbooks (what’s not to like about easy recipes and gorgeous food photography?), but I thought the related TV show and magazine were pretty disappointing. I don’t have high hopes for the game, I expect it to be more of the underwhelming-spinoff variety, but I’m ready to be proved wrong!
And even if it’s not the greatest game ever, the fact that there’s a Martha Stewart game at all says something good about breaking the stereotype that all games are slobs living in their mom’s basement.
From the press release:
NEW YORK, NY and EDISON, NJ, April 20, 2010 -Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. (NYSE: MSO) and Majesco Entertainment Company (NASDAQ: COOL), an innovative provider of video games for the mass market, today announced a strategic partnership to develop and produce interactive electronic games based on MSLO’s expansive portfolio of award-winning lifestyle content. Under the terms of the partnership, Majesco receives the exclusive worldwide rights to publish these games.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with the Martha Stewart brand to bring sensibility to the video game market,” said Jesse Sutton, Chief Executive Officer, Majesco Entertainment. “Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia offers a vast wealth of content and has a passionate following. Branching into the interactive entertainment space is a natural next step, and Majesco Entertainment is proud to be the exclusive partner.”
“Majesco Entertainment is well respected for bringing consumer-friendly titles to the mass market and has a proven track record of tapping the interests of family and non-traditional video game players,” said Martha Stewart, Founder, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. “Women are increasingly engaged in social gaming. We feel confident that this new offering will delight loyal customers who are active in the space while introducing a new generation to the brand.”
I posted this on DIYgamer this morning (I also posted a review of Puzzle Bloom, but I’m not entirely sure what I was thinking, posting a review on a day where I’ve been totally swamped with iPad games press releases) but it’s worth mentioning here as well.
Republic of Fun, my neighbors here in Raleigh, NC*, are releasing Pinheads Party, a new Cranium-meets-iPad multiplayer game at the App Store today. Although the Republic of Fun’s manifesto decries genre-ism and the casual gamers vs. core gamers divide this looks like an all-ages casual game to me. (Sorry, el presidente, but without some genre descriptors, I’m left telling you all that it’s um, blue. And pretty!)
“We are more than excited to have Pinheads Party available for the launch of iPad,” says Mike Rasmussen, el presidente, Republic of Fun. “As a gaming device, we believe iPad is where it’s at, and that with our wildly fun games, Republic of Fun can enjoy great success in the App Store. This revolutionary device has really opened up our minds to the limitless gaming possibilities that it affords.”
I’m not sure if GameCrush is trying to be a gamer dating site (like SoulGeek or World of DateCraft) or a way for awkward gamer guys to pay girls to play games with them, and I’m not going to find out because the site’s down due to an overabundance of sign-ups. No word on whether those would-be beta GameCrushers are lonely guys or broke girls.
Here’s the press release:
SAN FRANCISCO – March 23, 2010 GameCrush, now available in public beta, introduces an entirely new interactive social gaming experience allowing gamers to meet, match and pay to play online games with other users (PlayDates). GameCrush is the only online service that allows gamers to choose a companion to spice up their favorite online games. Both Players and PlayDates define the experience they want- either “flirty” or “dirty”, choosing from some of the most popular console titles and casual web-based games. To register for free, visit www.gamecrush.com.
On GameCrush, players can find their perfect PlayDate through browsing their profiles and chatting live with them. Players can then purchase a live one-on-one private gaming session, complete with two-way video and text chat.
Designed to appeal to female and male gamers alike, GameCrush offers games to suit a variety of tastes, from casual web-based games to the hottest console titles like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Halo 3, Gears of War 2 and Grand Theft Auto IV. Initially games are available on GameCrush’s own exclusive video-enabled gaming platform and on Microsoft’s Xbox LIVE network. In addition, GameCrush will soon be available for platforms such as Sony’s PlayStation 3, World of Warcraft, and other online gaming environments.
GameCrush delivers comprehensive social tools that allow PlayDates to post profiles complete with picture galleries, video clips, blogs and text chat. PlayDates can make up to $30 or more per hour while having fun playing online games. After a game session is completed, Players rate their gaming experience, and top-rated PlayDates are rewarded with enhanced site promotion and additional benefits.
WeMade Entertainment, a leading online games developer and publisher, today announced the start of open beta testing for the first-ever online Digimon game, Digimon Battle. Based on the popular Digimon anime series, Digimon Battle allows players to become a gifted Tamer and partner with a good Digimon in the battle to save both Earth and Digital World from the rampaging evil Digimon. Aspiring Tamers can sign up for the open beta and start playing when the servers open at 5:00pm PDT, here: www.digimonbattle.com
The story of Digimon Battle is based on the original animated TV Series, Seasons 1 – 4 (“Digimon Adventure,” “Digimon Adventure 02,” “Digimon Tamers” and “Digimon Frontier”). The classic anime characters are brought to life in the online game as players select a Tamer character, either Takato Matsuki, Henry Wong, Rika Nonaka, or Jeri Katou, and set off with their Digimon and human friends, using the Digivolution system to help their Digimon companions grown stronger. There are three types of Digimon Partners and seven types of Captured Digimon for players to find and tame in the world. Players and their Digimon level up by winning battles, and players can progress from a Rookie Tamer to the powerful Brave Grade. During the open beta, only the Normal Digivolution system, where players strengthen their Digimon partners by leveling up, will be available. In addition, the maximum level will be limited to 50.
“Digimon fans have been waiting for a game that provides exciting, interactive hands-on battling and we are proud to deliver,” said Kevin Seo, CEO of WeMade. “The beta is only the beginning. We will have many new content updates in the coming months that will add new Digivolution systems, Digimon classes, maps and the action-packed Battle Mode where players can battle each other to determine the best fighters.”
To commemorate the launch of the Digimon Battle open beta, WeMade is hosting a Triple Play Event Bundle, which includes three individual events running from March 17 to April 7. Now is the time for players to get in the game and get a head start! The first event called “Mega Mission” is where players are encouraged to “digivolute” their partners to the Mega Stage for a chance to win up to 500 WeCash, plus Gold Drills, Excalibur Swords and one week of Deva Aura! In the second event called “Check In and Cash In,” players are encouraged to check in to the game every day in order to achieve a 100% attendance record and cash in for the Mysterious DigiEgg! In the final event called “DB Happy Hour,” players can receive 30% EXP Buff for free when they log in on March 20 and 21 from 11:00am – 2:00pm Server Time.
For more information about Digimon Battle and to join the open beta, please visit www.digimonbattle.com
Legacy Interactive has released a new batch of screenshots from their upcoming PC and DS game, House M.D. This game will be available for both formats in the spring of 2010.
From the press release:
Interview/Physical Exam
House: Where were you when you collapsed? And don’t say “Florida,” because I despise clichés.
Henry: I was in Malaysia, shooting an episode of my Emmy award-winning show, Globetrotting!
Blood Draw
Trevor: Wow, either I’m really brave, or that was incredibly minor!
Chase: It was incredibly minor. Also, your arms are numb because of the paralysis.
Intubation
Foreman attaches the nasal mask respirator to Trevor’s face.
House: Good work, Foreman. You just earned your ‘Saved a Douchebag’s Life’ merit badge. (to Taub) Taub, watch him. Let me know if he exhibits any weird symptoms, like emotional growth.
Taub nods, stays by Trevor’s bedside, and monitors his vitals.
Tiger Eye: Curse of the Riddle Box also officially marks the launch of PassionFruit Games and represents a unique moment in the history of gaming. Although a market for romance themed video games has existed abroad for years, these games are essentially unknown in the U.S. Tiger Eye: Curse of the Riddle Box will be one of the first romance casual games to hit the U.S. market when it goes on-sale in April 2010.
In discussing PassionFruit Games’ decision to launch their company with Tiger Eye: Curse of the Riddle Box, Melissa Heidrich, Studio Director, expressed her enthusiasm for reaching out to romance readers: “The majority of casual gamers are women aged 25-65, who report they play casual games mainly to escape. Interestingly, those same attributes apply to romance novel readers – so it’s surprising that there are currently so few romance casual games on the market. That’s why we’re excited to bring Tiger Eye to life as interactive entertainment.”
For Marjorie M. Liu’s fans, it will be a great chance for them to experience a game written by, designed by, and created for women. Mari Tokuda, one of the designers translating Marjorie’s novel into game form, says: ““There just aren’t many romance games in today’s market. And, for many women, romance novels are not interactive enough. That’s where we come in – we are giving players a chance to experience the romance through fun gameplay and sensual cut scenes that further the relationship. This game will really appeal to players who want a storyline and those who want to BE the smart, down-to-earth romance novel heroine. And of course, we’ll have a sexy leading man heavily featured in the game. A game like Tiger Eye is one of the most engaging ways for readers to experience characters’ relationships.”
Fans will also be able to experience things that weren’t in the book and to search for hidden objects, play minigames, listen to a film quality soundtrack, and solve puzzles, all the while following the storyline as the main characters’ relationship deepens emotionally and grows in intimacy, though there will not be explicit sex scenes.
PassionFruit Games acknowledges the challenges of turning a popular book into digital entertainment and of adhering closely to the book’s storyline. In their quest to stay true to the novel, all members of the team—from artist to programmer—read Tiger Eye, as well as other novels in the Dirk & Steele universe, to get a feel for the “essence” of the game. The producer and lead designer held regular video conferences with Marjorie to go over the latest design ideas and Marjorie herself wrote the script for the game and is involved with the game every step of the way, giving input on scene art, character design, and voice actor selection.
Says Marjorie, who is well known for her New York Times bestselling Dirk & Steele and Hunter Kiss series and for co-authoring the hugely popular Dark Wolverine Marvel comic book series, about playing the game’s early build: “I was amazed by the beautiful cinematic cut scenes and the way players could actually experience things my characters had done. It’s an incredible feeling to not only see favorite characters brought to life but to experience life through their eyes as you progress through the game.”
The Tiger Eye novel, which Publishers Weekly praised as a “first-rate debut” and “a striking paranormal romance,” tells the story of Dela, a woman with psychic abilities who buys a riddle box in Beijing’s Dirt Market and opens it to find an ancient warrior, Hari, bound to serve as a slave to the person who has opened the box. The action moves between China and the U.S. and PassionFruit Games will mirror this international scope through two games, the first to take place in China and the second in the U.S. PassionFruit games also plans to involve readers in the release of Tiger Eye: Curse of the Riddle Box with the chance for a select few fans to be Beta testers and with fan voting on looks for the character, Long Nu.
TayKrOn, the folks who did the PC game Slide Colors, as well as bunch of Kongregate games, announce the launch of Slide Colors for the Xbox. I reviewed Slide Colors fir Indie Game Mag a few months ago, and my IGM review was quoted in the press release announcing the XBox version. The XBox version will cost 80 Microsoft points, which is a dollar in non-stupid currency, so it’s well worth checking out this match-three.
SubSoap, behind Faerie Solitaire (did I mention how much I liked this game?) are planning the launch of an episodic sequel. I thought the original Faerie Solitaire was adorable and I can’t wait to see the new features.
The major difference between Neverdie Studios’ upcoming Next Island and other online worlds seems to be the time-traveling mechanic. Instead of opening up new areas of the map, players can travel to other times for other resources and items (which reminds me slightly of character “revelations” in Slayer Of Dragon).
From the press release:
New York – Dec. 4, 2009 – Next Island, a new free-to-download and free-to-play virtual world developed on the Entropia Universe platform is now accepting sign-ups for its open beta expected mid January. The first 1000 players who sign-up now at www.nextisland.com will get a virtual goods starter pack and will have the opportunity to help shape the development of this new online world.
Envisioned as a beautiful and exciting paradise, Next Island is designed to attract the rapidly growing virtual world community looking for the next world to explore and the opportunity to turn virtual enterprise into real-world cash, as well as new users to the virtual world gaming experience.
“We are truly excited to welcome experienced virtual world entrepreneurs as well as those who have never created an online avatar before to visit Next Island,” said David Post, founder, Next Island. “Our online paradise will captivate players with its unique time travel gameplay, real money economy and superior graphics.”
I don’t often post press releases in their entirety (and I get a bit annoyed with publicists who think I should) but I loved this one and wanted to share. The games aren’t bad, either.
Santa Claus Presents The Indie Video Games Advent Calendar 2009
Santa’s Office, North Pole (December 3, 2009) – Santa Claus announced today the indie xmas advent calendar is available for every merry indie gamer out there. Santa’s official advent calendar is featuring unique and innovate indie video games at www.indiexmas.com
The Indie games advent calendar features 24 doors, which can be opened one-by-one. Behind each door, gamers find one or more fun indie game to play, and trailers or demos to watch. Naturally, the indie advent calendar is only available in Christmas time.
When Santa was asked about the fun factor of these games, he replied with a warm “Ho ho ho!” laughter and continued eating porridge.
To follow the Santa’s official indie advent calendar, please visit www.indiexmas.com.
About Santa Claus:
Santa Claus, also known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or simply “Santa”, is a legendary figure who, in many Western cultures, brings gifts to the homes of the good children during the late evening and overnight hours of Christmas Eve, December 24.
This is what adventurers have been waiting for: On November 25, 2009, the games publisher burda:ic will start the Closed Beta phase for the eagerly anticipated free-2-play online strategy game highlight Avalon Heroes. Starting immediately, all registered members can sign up for the one-of-a-kind Closed Beta at alaplaya.net/pages/ahcbapplication. With a little luck, this means that they will already get to marvel at the impressive skills and weapons of the game characters before the release date. Moreover, in the official Closed Beta forum at avalon.alaplaya.net/forum, players will be able to find more detailed information and share what they experienced in the game.
I’m almost embarrassed by how much I love Cooking Mama 2: Cooking With Friends, I even love when I mess up and Mama reassures me that she can fix it. And I can’t wait to play the next Cooking Mama. From the press release:
Mama is back in the kitchen whipping up 80 new recipes – including mushroom quiche, tulip chicken and more. Players use the stylus as an all-in-one cooking utensil to chop, grate, roll, slice, spread, sprinkle and more through over 200 manic mini-games. Eight gameplay modes allow them to shop for fresh ingredients, create custom culinary concoctions, compete with up to three friends in timed challenges and more. Additionally, players can send friends items they grew in Gardening Mama and use them to make meals in Cooking Mama 3: Shop & Chop!
James Patterson’s Women’s Murder club has been a successful series of novels, a TV show and a series of casual mystery PC games before coming to the DS. The new Women’s Murder Club: Games of Passion seems designed for a casual DS gamer to tuck her into her purse, instead of a Patterson mystery novel. Most of WMC is played with the DS turned sideways, using the read-only screen to display a list of objects to find, instructions, or images to accompany the action in the interactive screen, which creates a book-like format for more of an interactive novel feel.
WMC follows the usual pattern of story cutscenes, hidden objects and minigames. The hidden objects casual adventure game is a pretty crowded genre, so it’s hard for a new game to really stand out. Probably the most unique characteristic was the James Patterson characters. Players solve crimes and meet with the WMC ladies as Patterson’s detective Lindsay Boxer, and supporting characters with solid personalities made this more that just a reskinned HO game.
The story progresses via cutscenes and dialogue options. Players have some choices for what to say, but it was more of a quiz on recent plot events. Believable banter makes the cutscenes worth reading, and the linear storyline makes it feel like reading a novel, not being hemmed
Random side note: The mysterious Chinese markings found on the victim actually do say bu zhong, Not Loyal. My Chinese literacy is just good enough to be completely thrilled with the developers for using real words when dramatic red scribbles would have acceptable. (It always cracks me up when I see upside-down characters or random other words.) Good work, THQ.
A lot of the game was hidden objects, whether it was tidying a crime scene or looking for clues, but this was a particularly bad HO. The small DS screen doesn’t really lend itself to searching, and players search a picture that’s larger than the screen, for maximum squinting-at-the-screen annoyance. It was also the Highlights magazine type of hidden objects, instead of the cluttered-room HO. It felt oddly childish to look for giant peace signs and lightning bolts, especially on crime scenes with mysterious dead bodies. The game does mix up the hidden objects a bit by giving players a clue instead of a list of items, but still gives the feel of an activity book more than an adventure game.
The story leads to several minigames, which were much more engaging than the picture find. When I got the Women’s Murder Club press release, I was pretty excited to see the game included a science lab minigame, and the puzzle’s gameplay didn’t disappoint.
One of the minigames was a mah-jong game, which is also accessible under an icon that says China (This character is a different zhong, an object lesson on why I am not so good at Chinese!). I usually consider mah-jong games to be computer solitaire 2.0, but I found something charming in the tiny tiles and stylus interface, and ended up playing this minigame more than I’d expected.
Women’s Murder Club: Crimes of Passion offers a solid storyline and characters from the popular novels to fans of the hidden objects mystery.
2BeeGames, the leading online community for independent games, has officially announced that their second Indie Game Competition has begun on August 1st. The grand prize winner will receive $10,000 and will enter negotiations with Zoo Games, Inc. for a multi-platform publishing contract.
Aspiring game designers everywhere are invited to create and submit a new, original title starting August 1st until September 15th. Throughout the six week submission phase, participants are encouraged to combine creativity and a passion for gaming towards the development of a new game. Once finished, the game can be submitted to the 2BeeGames.com website for judging. The 2BeeGames community, aka “The Hive”, will play and rate the contestants’ games and vote on their favorites along with a panel of judges. Finalists will be announced in October and a winner will be chosen November 3rd.
In the first 2BeeGames Indie Game Competition, rising developer Cipher Prime beat out intense competition to win $10,000 and is currently negotiating a publishing deal for its upcoming title, Auditorium, a unique and ethereal audio-visual puzzle game. Now, the call for the next game to shake up the indie gaming scene once again has gone out to be answered.
In addition to the second Indie Game Competition, 2BeeGames.com is hosting an “8 Weeks In 8-Bit” contest, where gaming fans are encouraged to submit original works of art inspired by the 8-bit gaming era. The first week of the contest called for gamers to create and submit the ultimate “8-bit Hero,” and the winning designs are up for display on 2BeeGames.com today. There will be a new theme for each week of the contest, with eight different opportunities to win great prizes from “8 Weeks In 8-Bit” sponsor, GamersGate.
For official competition rules and news on the second 2BeeGames Indie Game Competition, as well as information related to “8 Weeks of 8-Bit,” please visit: http://www.2BeeGames.com.
I blogged about the last set of winners, and I can’t wait to see the next winners!
After Women’s Murder Club: A Darker Shade Of Grey, and Women’s Murder Club: Death In Scarlet comes a new WMC, Women’s Murder Club: Crimes of Passion, this time for the Nintendo DS and DSi. I think the portable DS system, with the stylus-driven games, is perfect for casual gaming, and I’m seeing more and more story-based casual games coming out. I’ve been carrying the Sims (or Sims Castaway!) in my purse, and I also saw a Nancy Drew game for the DS the other day.
From the Women’s Murder Club: Crimes of Passion press release:
“When I dreamed up the ladies of the Women’s Murder Club, I knew they were women of action; women on the go,” said James Patterson. “I never dreamed they could come to life like they have in the Nintendo DS version. This new game gives fans a chance to become a member of the Women’s Murder Club anytime, anywhere.”
And by “anytime, anywhere” I think he means “while waiting at the airport”.
I was lucky enough to get a look at some screenshots from the upcoming game. I had to include this one, because there just aren’t enough science-themed puzzles in games targeted to women!
Obligatory hidden objects minigame. It works well in a mystery-solving game, but I just don’t see what’s fun about squinting at the screen.
Nintendo DSi users will get a special feature that uses the camera, (can’t wait to see how they integrate that) but the game will also be available for the regular DS.
From the creative minds that brought you Home Sweet Home and Masters of Mystery comes a brand new adventure! Big Blue Bubble proudly announces the release of Legacy: World Adventure!
Travel the world as Emily King, an intelligent young woman with a yearning for adventure and a craving for knowledge. Help her reclaim her family legacy in an electrifying race around the globe, to win the illustrious Grand Adventurers Expedition! Legacy: World Adventure will challenge your Match 3 abilities and heighten your World Fact knowledge with exciting clues and stunning imagery!
So climb aboard our airships for the race of a lifetime, clever mini-game action, and hundreds of world facts that will push your skills to the limits!
Featuring…
• International Adventure Storyline!
• 30 Real World Locations!
• Hundreds of World Facts!
• 3 Different Types of Match 3 Gameplay!
• 5 Challenging Mini-Games!
Legacy: World Adventure supports 98/ME/2000/2003/XP/Vista. Download it from www.bbbarcade.com TODAY!
I’m a bit late posting this because every time I went to get another screenshot or check a fact, I got sucked into playing a few hands of Faerie Solitaire.
Faerie Solitaire from SubSoap is a new casual game, mixing a cute fantasy story with basic solitaire. I’ve said before that the best games have simple rules, with many variations and strategies. In Faerie Solitaire, you are given a foundation card, and you can either play one card higher or one card lower than the foundation card. A played card becomes the new foundation card, and you do it again. You could easily teach a child to look for a number one higher or one lower than the selected card.
As you play more hands, different hands have a different card layout, including special layouts with unavailable cards in thorn patches or ice. Special cards and events pop us randomly as well, offering bonuses and minigames. The random element made the solid solitaire game that much more addictive for me.
Because the hidden object games have a finite pool of backgrounds and items, it soon became more of a memory game than a hidden objects game. Which is great because I think hidden objects are overdone, they start to feel like filler because they’re the default of the casual games genre.
I sometimes find it annoying when there’s a lot of game to be unlocked. In some cases, it seems like a tacit aknowledgement from the developers that some parts of the game are good and some parts are lame, and to make the game longer, you’ve got to grind through the lame to get to the good bits. When I reviewed GardenParty World, I talked about how not needing a game for the system of working at a dull minigame to earn spending points. GardenParty World is hardly the only offender here, I was also frustrated by unlocking the chance to play indentical levels in Fashion Solitaire. But Faerie Solitaire had a system of power-ups and unlockable features that kept me excited about the next add-on without leaving me feeling like the developers had greyed out most of the game.
In their Faerie Solitaire press release, Subsoap promised strong production values. They delivered, there are no awkward cutscenes or grammatically painful instructions, the usual hallmarks of an indie studio. But what really ties it together is the movie-score music.
This is not an all-encompassing story game but I don’t think it’s meant to be. You won’t be daydreaming at work, thinking about getting home to play Faerie Solitaire. This is a quality solitaire game that had my boyfriend looking over my shoulder. Drawing in other people to kibbutz is a mark of a great solitaire game!
LOS ANGELES, Calif.– March 17, 2009 – Independent video games developer Zombie Studios has reached an agreement with Fox Atomic, a unit of Fox Filmed Entertainment, and production company Union Entertainment to develop its military action franchise “Blacklight” as a feature film, comic book series and video game. The announcement was made jointly by Zombie CEO Mark Long*, Fox Atomic President Debbie Liebling, and Union President Richard Leibowitz.
An original property created by Zombie Studios,“Blacklight” is a covert military action epic set twenty-five years in the future. The three companies will work together on a movie and comic book series to be produced by Fox Atomic and a multi-platform video game that will be produced by Zombie.
Both the film and the video game will be written by Jason Dean Hall, a veteran writer whose latest film, SPREAD, sold at Sundance to Summit. He is also writing projects for DreamWorks and Universal.
“We are excited by the huge potential “Backlight” has to succeed across multiple platforms — theatrical features, comics books, and video games,” said Liebling,“it offers us a remarkable franchise opportunity for film.”
“From the start, I have envisioned’Blacklight’ as a story that spans all of the forms of media I enjoy most,” stated Long.“It’s an ambitious project and I’ve been fortunate to find partners at Fox Atomic and Union who share that same vision. We are cooperating on the comic, game and movie at levels that are unprecedented in the industry.”
“’Blacklight’ plays to Union’s strengths as a film and game production company, allowing us to help bring a great property to consumers in both media,” added Leibowitz, a producer on the project.
Richard Leibowitz will produce and Dmitri Johnson and Dan Jevons will executive produce for Union. Mark Long, in addition to developing the video game, will serve as an executive producer on the feature. Zak Kadison and R. Eric Lieb will oversee for Atomic.
The“Blacklight” film, video game, and comics will feature the same characters and high caliber military action, but with unique, intersecting storylines that complement each other. No release dates for any of the properties have yet been announced.
*Is it just me, or would “Zombie CEO” be one of the best titles ever?
Subsoap(TM) (www.subsoap.com), an up and coming developer of
casual games, today announced the launch of Faerie Solitaire.
The game is a fantasy-theme casual card game that’s full of adventure,
mystery, and wonder. Featuring 360 exciting levels, including Hidden
Object mini games, 8 worlds to play through, and hundreds of hours
of gameplay entertainment. Faerie Solitaire is the next triple-A
casual title, and is available exclusively at Subsoap.com.
Rescuing Lost Faeries
In Faerie Solitaire players will travel across the land of Avalon
in search of magical faeries who have been trapped by some
mysterious force. A move away from what is currently popular in
the casual space, Faerie Solitaire’s strong production values
and compelling gameplay will surely please solitaire fans.
Is it just me, or does that sentence make it sound like other casual games have no production value and boring gameplay? I’m not saying there aren’t a bunch of dull match-3s floating around the internet, but I’ve played some amazing casual games, like Funky Farm 2, Crayon Physics, and Nancy Drew: Lights, Camera, Curses!, just to name a few recent ones that had me addicted. I hope Faerie Solitaire will be one of them!
Subsoap also plans to launch a new casual gaming portal sometime this year.
Women’s Murder Club: A Darker Shade Of Grey, a new casual game based on James Patterson’s best-selling novels, is available starting today from MSN Games. Here is the press release, and some exclusive screenshots!
NEW YORK, NY – February 24, 2009 -I-play, the world’s leading multi-platform casual games publishing division of Oberon Media, announces the exclusive launch of the second casual PC game based on the best-selling Women’s Murder Club book series by James Patterson. Women’s Murder Club: A Darker Shade of Greymakes its debut on MSN Gamestoday, where it will be available exclusively for two weeks. Created by best-selling author James Patterson, in collaboration with I-play’s award-winning team of designer Jane Jensen and producer Robert Adams, this new title delivers another original story and thrilling adventure to follow the massive success of its predecessor, Women’s Murder Club: Death in Scarlet.
“We are pleased to again collaborate with MSN Games on the exclusive launch of Women’s Murder Club: A Darker Shade of Grey”, said Don Ryan, Chief Operating Officer, Oberon Media, I-play’s parent company. “Millions of casual gamers, and James Patterson fans alike, made Women’s Murder Club: Death in Scarlet an interactive gaming hit! Now, James Patterson and the I-play team have created an addictive sequel that will have users riveted with the new Women’s Murder Club storyline through hours of spine-tingling game play.”
A casual adventure game based on Patterson’s massively popular Women’s Murder Club novels, Women’s Murder Club: A Darker Shade of Grey is available exclusively for download at MSN Games until March 10. MSN Games will be offering Women’s Murder Club fans exclusive content including a sneak peek of the first ten chapters of James Patterson’s not-yet-released novel “The 8th Confession,” desktop wallpapers, Windows Live Messenger icons and jigsaw puzzles created from in-game scenes and characters. Additionally, players purchasing the game via MSN Games will have access to Women’s Murder Club trivia questions and quizzes. The game is available for PC download for $19.95.
Women’s Murder Club: A Darker Shade of Grey isthe sequel to the tremendously successful Women’s Murder Club: Death in Scarlet seek-and-find mystery game. The adventure begins when a brisk morning jog ends in tragedy for a young military cadet. The famed heroines of Women’s Murder Club are called to the scene and eventually led to a prestigious but secretive military academy in South Carolina. Users will follow Lindsay and Cindy from California to South Carolina as they interrogate suspects and investigate esteemed military personnel. Along the way, players will attempt to reveal the truth and track down the killer by solving challenging puzzles using instinct, fact and forensic evidence to expose years of corruption, cover-up and conspiracy.
Women’s Murder Club: A Darker Shade of Grey is filled to the brim with new features including an all new Women’s Murder Club storyline; character dialogue; ten thrilling investigations unveiling a story of mystery, adventure and sordid secrets; twenty-five challenging puzzles; a point system to track progress within the game; and breathtaking art of locations that lead gamers to delve deeper into this interactive adventure. The game is being developed and published online by I-play and will be published at retail by Elephant Entertainment, a division of THQ Inc.
One more screenshot of what looks like a forensics minigame. Awesome!
“We are more than excited to have Pinheads Party available for the launch of iPad,” says Mike Rasmussen, el presidente, Republic of Fun. “As a gaming device, we believe iPad is where it’s at, and that with our wildly fun games, Republic of Fun can enjoy great success in the App Store. This revolutionary device has really opened up our minds to the limitless gaming possibilities that it affords.”
. Romance games are a wildly popular genre in Asia, but in the US, they’re hard to find and usually pretty second-rate games. (
Faerie Solitaire
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