From the press release:

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.

Heroes of Kalevala Video is a post from: Thumb Gods

So Konami is licensing the Unreal Engine from my neighbors, Epic Games… for a horror game based on the Saw films. Does this seem weird to anyone else? Ok… I guess I associate Konami with Lost in Blue and DDR, not bloody gory games.

CARY, N.C., June 24, 2010 – Epic Games, Inc. announced today that Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. has licensed its Unreal Engine 3 for “Saw II: The Game,” an upcoming third-person survivor horror sequel developed by Zombie Studios for Xbox 360(R) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation(R)3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC.

Based on the fictional universe of the “Saw” movie series, “Saw II” takes place between the first two films and introduces a new twist on Jigsaw’s sinister traps and puzzles in the most intense look into the “Saw” universe ever. “Saw II” features a new combat system, clever ways to fight off enemies using the environment, and highly realistic graphics powered by the latest Unreal Engine 3 technology.

“Licensing Unreal Engine 3 was an easy decision for us,” said Careen Yapp, vice president of acquisitions and franchise development at Konami. “The engine’s new and improved features, time-saving tools and exceptional support system make it the best choice for the ‘Saw’ property.”

“I’ve used other game engines, I’ve written my own, I’ve used middleware and I’ve shipped sequels for franchises using other studios’ tech set, and I prefer Unreal Engine 3 over all of them,” said Mark Long, chief executive officer of Zombie Studios. “The quickest way to reduce risk is to use a known, proven toolset. With Unreal Engine 3, I can promise publishers what I can deliver, and I deliver on time. Every time.”

“Saw II” will be Zombie Studios’ ninth title and fourth franchise shipped with the Unreal Engine.

“It’s always rewarding to support repeat customers with our engine technology,” said Mark Rein, vice president of Epic Games. “Konami is a fantastic publisher, and Zombie has great success shipping Unreal-powered games, so we’re eager to see how the new ‘Saw’ game unfolds.”

“Saw II: The Game” is scheduled to be released globally in fall 2010 to coincide with the release of the film, “Saw VII.” To download “Saw II: The Game” screenshots, the logo or trailer, visit http://www.konami.com/GamersNight/.

Konami Licenses Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 3 for “Saw II: The Game” is a post from: Thumb Gods

DragonQuest IV Trailer is a post from: Thumb Gods

I’m not sure if I like the anti-gravity app or the ‘adult’ app best.

There Really Is An App For Everything is a post from: Thumb Gods

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.

Love Survival Kit (Yes, Really) is a post from: Thumb Gods

I think there’s a lot of potential in a cute virtual pet game for the iPhone. A good one would blend all the adorable options of a Tamagotchi (remember those?), with the ease of an iPhone interface and touchscreen, and a great game would let users exchange items or let me bring my virtual pet to play with your virtual pet if we were in the same place.

It got me thinking about another virtual pet game for the iToy.  Pocket Creatures is a cute virtual pet, the video reminds me of making a monster in Black & White or training a Sims pet.

Via A ‘Pet Puppy’ For Your iToy | DIYgamer, Pocket Creatures

Pocket Creatures is a post from: Thumb Gods

Speaking of Capcom announcements….

City of Industry, Calif.—June 7, 2010—InterWorks Unlimited Inc., the
fastest-growing distributor of innovative gaming peripherals, today
announced they have extended their official license deal with leading
worldwide developer and publisher of video games Capcom Entertainment,
Inc. to develop Resident Evil® Darkside Chronicles and Resident Evil®
Umbrella Chronicles and other Capcom® game-branded peripherals for use
with this generation’s gaming consoles.

“Resident Evil® is one of the most successful franchises in video game
history,” said Michael Kidakarn, Executive Creative Director of
InterWorks. “Our products must achieve the design and technical
sophistication that gamers expect from the Resident Evil universe. We know
fans will be proud of the final product along with future inventions we
have in the works for popular Capcom brands.

“InterWorks has come up with some innovative ideas that will enhance the
gameplay experience for Capcom gamers,” said Seon King, Senior Director or
Licensing at Capcom. “We are excited about the new products and looking
forward to hearing the response from gamers.”

The next products to launch will be the Resident Evil Darkside Chronicles
and Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles Magnum and Knife Kit, continuing
upon the success of the Resident Evil Darkside Chronicles and Resident
Evil Umbrella Chronicles Shot Blaster for the Nintendo Wii™. Both will be
featured at the InterWorks booth at the upcoming Entertainment Expo in Los
Angeles, June 15-17, 2010.

Capcom and InterWorks Extend Official License for Gaming Peripherals is a post from: Thumb Gods

I mentioned the  Bounty Hunter class in the upcoming SW:TOR game a while ago. Now they’ve just announced some more about the Sith Warrior class, as well.

Champion of the Dark Side

An unstoppable force of darkness, the Sith Warrior is entrusted with the task of destroying the Empire’s enemies and enforcing Sith domination across the galaxy. The Warrior channels the destructive emotions of fear, anger, and hatred to purge weakness from body and mind and become a being of pure, brutal efficiency.

Destined to eradicate the incompetent chaos created by the Jedi, the Sith seek to rule the galaxy through power and intimidation. The armies of the Sith Empire are trained to accomplish this task, but they require the leadership of bold Sith Warriors—loyal and mighty overlords—who will drive them to conquest and victory.

Via Star Wars: The Old Republic game site.

Sith Warriors is a post from: Thumb Gods

I’ve posted about Tiger Eye: Curse of the Riddle Box and about The Game Composer’s Blog before, and today’s post over at the Game Composer’s Blog was just awesome. Sayre’s latest post transcribes a podcast he did about Tiger Eye, with an alien, Bigfoot and Frankenstein’s monster.

ALIEN: Welcome back, humans. One of your kind is now with us. Behold Matt Sayre!

MATT: Thank you, Alien. I’m happy to be here.

BIGFOOT: (English accent) Welcome, Mr. Sayre.

FRANKENSTEIN: Urrrgh!!

MATT: Hi, Bigfoot and Frankenstein’s monster.

BIGFOOT: Oh, go ahead and call him “Frankenstein”. He’s grown accustomed to that particular appellation.

MATT: Great. I will, thanks.

FRANKENSTEIN: Gyee.

ALIEN: Begin this interrogation by giving us the history of your project and the human faction that has created it.

MATT: Tiger Eye: Curse of the Riddle Box is a new hidden object puzzle adventure game based on the paranormal romance novel Tiger Eye by Marjorie M. Liu. The game basically covers the first half of the book. You play as Dela Reese, a young woman traveling in China. She finds a mysterious riddle box and once she opens it she discovers an ancient warrior, Hari, who has been trapped within for centuries. He is cursed to serve as a slave to whomever possesses the box. You try to rid him of the curse and deal with the Magi, the antagonist who is responsible for the curse and who wants his riddle box back.

Our team, PassionFruit Games, was formed specifically to make this game and, we hope, all its sequels. Tiger Eye is the first in the Dirk & Steele (the psychic detective group Dela belongs to) series of books and it’s an exciting series, perfect for video games. The members of PassionFruit Games previously worked at Her Interactive (I did contract work for them, the rest were full-time), where they worked on the Nancy Drew Dossier series. Unfortunately, the Dossier series did not pan out (even though Resorting to Danger won Yahoo’s 2009 Hidden Object Game of the Year award) so the team was laid off. The day after being laid off, however, we were already planning this new venture. And last month we shipped TE: CotRB!

I kind of want to quote the whole thing, actually. And also I want to subscribe to the Alien, Bigfoot and Frankenstein podcast.

Via Tiger Eye: Curse of the Riddle Box Postnatal « The Game Composer’s Blog

An Alien, Bigfoot and Frankenstein’s Monster on ‘Tiger Eye: Curse of the Riddle Box’ is a post from: Thumb Gods

RainBlood, an RPG from Chinese indie developer Soulframe, has just been released in English translation. Bloodrain uses hand-drawn environments and characters (with a little help form RPGmaker) to create a plot-heavy RPG set in fictionalized China. In this single-player game, players will enter the town of Pang to uncover mysteries involving a plague on the city and hidden loyalties as they fight monsters and avoid would-be assassins. The game takes place in one day in Pang, but flashbacks, interior stories and a complex overall storyline promise to make the game more of an interactive novel than a button-masher.

I’m pretty excited to check it out, I love RPGs in general, and usually indie storylines prevent my friends from having to listen to me whine endlessly about how the game could have been better with more character development.  I also love Chinese myths, but after two years of living in  China, my Mandarin is still basically confined to reading a menu or buying a train ticket, so I’m pleased to see the release of the English version.

There’s also a sequel to Rainblood already in the works.

Rainblood is a post from: Thumb Gods