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The Kiwi's Tale re-release

A new version of the Kiwi's Tale has been released. Again, this is another "release candidate" which isn't the final build, but has most of the stuff I wanted to add for the Earok 2011 Collection release.

  • Two player split screen co-operative has been added.
  • New "Easy Mode" option, which can be turned on or off at any time.
  • XBox 360 Control is better, including Digital Pad support.
  • Portuguese language option, thanks again Gui.
  • Stephen has added misc refinements to the graphics and levels.

Unfortunately there's no Mac version for this build yet, I'll release the Mac version (Maybe Linux too?) alongside the final release.

Grab it from the download page.

2010 download statistics

There are the statistics for game downloads for the last nine months of 2010, unfortunately I don't have any information for January through to March because that was before I migrated back to Hole in the Wall.

 

1. Derelict
7,239
2. The Kiwi's Tale
4,068
3. Blow Stuff Up
2,542
4. Firestart
160
5. WitchBlaster
42
6. Crap Flight Sim 2
29
7. Heart of ice
19
8. Guncat
16
9. TD 2192
13
Total
14,128

 

Not too shabby. I think the main reason why Derelict, The Kiwi's Tale and Blow Stuff Up have far higher download counts is because all of them are featured on freeware sites.

What is perhaps more interesting though, is the list of top ten countries by bandwidth downloaded:

 

Country
Bandwidth (GB)
1. China
64.90
2. Poland
50.11
3. US
46.84
4. Brazil
24.01
5. Germany
15.78
6. Italy
15.48
7. Mexico
15.22
8. Argentina
10.80
9. Chile
10.40
10. Spain
10.15

 

What really shocked me was that, of the entire list, there is only one English speaking country, and it is only in third. Four are Spanish speaking. I definitely plan to offer all of my games in Polish, Spanish, Portuguese (Thanks again Gui), German and Italian, but unfortunately since I can't support Unicode yet I may not be able to do Chinese translations.

Edit - Arran inspired me to add a list of top ten referrers. Here they are.

  1. www.tierradesoldados.com
  2. www.caiman.us
  3. www.freepcgamers.com
  4. www.baixaki.com.br
  5. www.arpegio.pl
  6. www.victorygames.pl
  7. www.4yougratis.it
  8. www.gamesload.it
  9. www.flashgames.de
  10. www.techsupportalert.com

"Improv", a Ludum Dare entry

 

"Improv" is the new Ludum Dare game by Matthew Gatland, and it is one of the most impressive 48 hour solo efforts I have ever played.

The game is a bit hard to describe in words. I found it sort of like a highly abstract, minimalistic Mirror's Edge, but not really. I wont tell you how to play it, it is probably best if you work out how to play on your own. The game only takes 5-10 minutes to finish, but it is time well spent.

Improv can be downloaded from the official Ludum Dare site.

 

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"The Brothers Mario" machinima trailer

The irony of the trailer is that it seems to have more references to the games that it is based on, than the Bob Hoskins version.

Blow Stuff Up re-release

Blow Stuff Up has now been re-released through the games page. This is still not the final release (I still need a manual and a 3D mesh to represent the Mechas) but it's close enough to the final version that I thought I may as well get it out there.

Thanks to Guilherme Chirinéa, this version has a Portuguese language option. This is the first time any of my games has a non-English option ever. With the language framework I developed, theoretically translations of any language that uses the Latin alphabet could be made.

Other notable new features include a launcher for setting resolution options, XBox 360 controller support and split-screen two player. Unfortunately at this stage an XBox 360 controller is required for the two player mode, but in future I may be able to develop a LAN mode for the game.

Also, since everyone asked - Crosshairs are now in the game.

I'll be working on The Kiwi's Tale next, and hope to get a new Release Candidate out in the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned.

Earok 2011 Collection: Preview video

Here is a video I put together for Wednesday's Auckland Game Developers meetup, which depicts some of the enhancements that I have made on the games for the Earok 2011 collection. Hope you enjoy.

Now, I just have to write the speech to go with it!

Earok 2011 Collection: Other games preview

Heart of Ice

None of the gameplay has really been altered so far, but I did a little bit of work on graphical enhancements, such as you can see future levels off in the distance (perhaps inspired by Apple's Time Machine). Also level transitions involve the camera zooming forward to the next room, rather than plain fade in/fadeout. Two player mode should be coming soon.

 

The Kiwi's Tale

Two player split screen co-operative is up and running. Introducing Zak, Nik's true blue Kiwi mate. Actually I'm not sure that blue, or at least that shade of blue, really works for him. But we do need something to differentiate him from the regular kiwi.

From our limited testing, the two player mode works pretty well, but there are still a couple of bugs left to iron out. For instance it is still possible to kill the other player by hijacking his vehicle!

On a related note, Michael has managed to get the XNA build of the game playable on an actual XBox 360. Awesome.

 

WitchBlaster

No two player mode or gameplay changes yet, but a few graphical enhancements. The native resolution of the game has been doubled, so I can use a higher res (and much better looking) version of the Witch sprite. However I am still hoping that Anthony can do some new Witch graphics for the game.

 

The next Auckland Game Developers Meetup will be a showcase of local indie games, so I'll try to have an updated showreel ready by then.

U.N. Amendment on LGBT rights

I don't normally post on politics, but I was so incensed by a recent vote by the U.N. to remove sexual orientation from their list of reasons to not execute someone (passing by 79-70) that I felt compelled to produce this map.

Nations that voted for the measure are highlighted in red. Nations that voted against the measure are highlighted in blue. Nations that didn't vote either way (Abstained, Absent, not part of the U.N.) are left as the default grey. IMO I think it's a pretty good depiction of the free world and the enslaved one. Just some thoughts:

  • I can only hope the EU never lets Turkey join until they stand up for LGBT rights.
  • However at least they didn't vote for the amendment, like Russia did. Looks like they have well and truly regressed back to the barbaric days of the USSR.
  • Disappointed to see South Africa on the list of those who voted for it. The liberal dream of the post apartheid era seems to be dead.
  • There also isn't a single African nation that voted against the amendment.
  • And there isn't a single Middle Eastern nation that voted against it either, except for the "oh so evil" Israel.
  • Every nation in North America, plus most in Central and South America (excluding the Caribbean) voted against it.
  • Asia/Pacific seems to be a pretty mixed bag. Glad to see the Indian Subcontinent generally voted against the amendment.
  • My belief that the Peoples Republic of China is untrustworthy was reinforced.
  • Recent actions by Fidel and Raul Castro made me believe that Cuba was finally turning it's back on homophobia. I guess I was wrong.
  • Surprised, but very glad to see Venezuela broke ranks with Cuba and Russia to vote against the amendment. My contempt for Hugo Chavez's government dropped marginally.
  • I can't say I am at all surprised to see Kazakhstan voted for the measure. Sasha Baron Cohen's satire appears to be justified.
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Earok 2011 Collection: FPS Preview

I spent most of today fine-tuning my First Person Shooters in preparation for the Earok 2011 Collection. This is what I have so far:

 

Blow Stuff Up

Largely just cosmetic changes since the previous release candidate, except for the addition of split screen multiplayer (At least one XBox 360 control required). Crosshairs were the most frequently demanded feature, and now they have been added. The difficulty has also been toned down slightly.

 

Derelict

XBox 360 controller support is mostly complete, but the major change is just the general UI. Unnecessary text has been removed, and has been replaced by status bars and icons. Also, control of the map view is far more user-friendly, closer to what one might expect from a Real Time Strategy game. The "story" is to be re-written almost entirely from scratch, split screen multiplayer could also come later.

 

Firestart

More or less all of the changes are cosmetic. A better use of lighting and textures (From a free pack of Sci-Fi models for Blitz3D) gives the game a much more polished look. The health bar has been replaced with a standard percentage counter. A few more gameplay and graphical refinements are required before this one goes in to public beta.

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November Auckland Game Developer Meetup

I didn't get to go to the October meetup due to Kirsty's awesome birthday dinner. Hamish Bode was MC this time.

  • Michael Schaeffers demonstrated the Windows 7 Phone build of our port of the Kiwi's Tale (The first time I had seen it live). I had a go of it on the emulator later, it's freaking hard due to the fact that jumps happen randomly. The control scheme might need a pinch of refinement before the game is released. He also talked about his curious project to make a Windows 7 Phone Shoot-Em-Up based around Conway's Game of life. The enemies are various "glider" shapes that travel down the screen and explode into interesting patterns when hit.
  • Matthew Gatland gave a hilarious and thought provoking Powerpoint presentation on his five week long mad dash to release Space Octopus Mono in time for the Windows 7 Phone launch.
  • Stephen Knightly talked about his time at the AnimFX conference, and some anecdotes from industry bigwigs in Maxis, Zynga (Farmville) and Popcap.

Stephen also gave a talk on the Employment Relations (Film Production Work) Amendment Bill and how it affects us. Long story short, the bill was added into law in order to convince Warner Bros. to produce the Hobbit in New Zealand after union difficulties. It essentially clarifies the difference between a "Contractor" and "Employee", so someone without a formal Employment contract would not be able to sue for Employment rights (Redundancy, Holiday pay etc). 

One of the more unusual provisions of the bill is that it defines a game developer as a film maker (go figure) and therefore covered by it's scope. No one seems to know for sure why the change was made, certainly there was no consultation with New Zealand game development studios. Stephen's IANAL advice was that, if you're not certain about your employment status, make sure you have an employment contract.