In Dog Sled Saga, a Kickstarted game for desktop and mobile devices, there are two things you should remember. A well-fed dog is a fast dog. A fast dog is a happy dog.
The pixilated brainchild of Dan FitzGerald and Lisa Bromiel, Dog Sled Saga is a mix of racing, reputation building and pet management. Players step into the boots of a musher climbing the racing ranks with the help of his or her dog sled team. But the concept behind the game is less about the sport itself, FitzGerald said, and more about the interaction with your pets.
"I would boil it down to the non-verbal pet relationship," FitzGerald said. "It is absolutely about getting familiar with an animal that can't talk to you. There won't be a lot of pop-ups that tell you about your dog, but there will be signs — [this...
A game even less likely to attract Western gamers' attention the day after the big Xbox One reveal: A new puzzle game released by Sony Computer Entertainment themed after the Yusha no kuse ni namaikida franchise, most recently released in the States under the title No Heroes Allowed!
Yu-Nama: The Puzzle, as it's called, is a basic kind of color-match game with a twist. You're tapping blocks on the screen to dig them up and allow space for monster blocks to fall downward. Slide them around to match up colors and create monster hordes to fend off the would-be heroes invading your territory. Beat 'em all, and it's on to the next level. Simple.
The game's available now on PlayStation Mobile across the world, and you can get it for both the PlayStation Vita and Android systems for only 600...
The launch of Kickstarter-funded retro remake Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded is being delayed until late June, developer Replay Games announced.
According to an official statement issued by Replay (via CinemaBlend), the game's original May 31 release date is being pushed back to allow for "additional polishing."
"Larry Laffer is one picky guy and he won't stop preening himself until every hair looks pristine," reads the statement "In order to show Larry as the true Casanova he is, and provide the best possible Leisure Suit Larry experience for fans, Replay Games has decided to hold off the launch of Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded until late June for additional polishing."
Replay founder Paul Trowe took to the official website to explain the decision to ultimately delay, adding that bugs...
Gravity Guy 2 (iOS, Windows Phone 8)
Everyone's favorite Gravity Guy returns! This time, instead of flipping gravity, you're raising platforms to propel yourself across gaps. Even though it sounds duller than the original, it's actually a good deal more engaging.
Trucker Parking Simulator (iOS)
Have you ever wanted to park a truck? Probably not. It sounds really scary. But there's nothing scary about trying to park a truck in a video game, because the worst that can happen is you end up having to restart a level. And damn if I don't find virtual truck parking really satisfying. Call the Teamsters union!
Can Knockdown 3 (iOS, Android)
Finally a game that lets you take down the efforts of carnies the world over! Best can physics I've ever seen.
Unity Technologies will grant indie developers free publishing tools for the development of iOS and Android games, the company announced today.
Beginning today, indie developers will have access to Unity's basic mobile tools and will be able to publish their games and apps for iOS and Android via the build menu. Publishing services for Blackberry and Windows Phone 8 will also be added in the future, and will be included in the deal without additional cost. The Unity license to publish on mobile platforms cost $800 before today's decision to release them for free.
"We were able to make Unity free for the web and for desktop computers a while ago, but have been dreaming of doing the same for mobile for what seems like forever," Unity CEO David Helgason said in a statement. "Mobile games...
Eve Online developer CCP is turning its focus to mobile development with plans to bring an app for the niche MMO to mobile platforms by next year; however, former executive producer Jon Lander told Touch Arcade it is still learning how to become a mobile development studio.
Speaking to Touch Arcade, Lander described his vision of small teams and quick turnaround times for prototypes of new ideas.
"We have an amazing opportunity to work with a persistent, sandbox world. Oh my God, just imagine some of the best mobile games out there ...," he said. The company has yet to announce what mobile concepts they may bring to life.
This follows his recent transition from CCP producer to head of the company's emerging mobile strategy. According to Lander, the company is not "a mobile...
Mobile game developer, publisher and service provider DeNA will publish 22Cans' Godus on Android, iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch devices, the company announced today.
Developed by Peter Molyneux's independent studio, Godus is a god game-style mobile title that is the spiritual successor to Molyneux's Populous. 22cans turned to crowdfunding platform Kickstarter last year to ask for £450,000 to develop the game. The Kickstarter campaign describes Godus as blending "the power, growth and scope of Populous with the detailed construction and multiplayer excitement of Dungeon Keeper and the intuitive interface and technical innovation of Black and White." The Kickstarter campaign closed at £526,563.
Godus is coming to Windows PC, Mac and mobile devices, and DeNA will be responsible for...
American McGee's Spicy Horse studio's new title based on The Wizard of Oz is titled OZombie, according to its official Facebook page.
Spicy Horse first revealed The Wizard of Oz-based game earlier this month, with the studio stating that "This is not, in any way, shape or form the title from 2004," referring to the game cancelled by Atari in 2004.
OZombie will feature Dorothy, Toto, Lion, TinMan and Scarecrow as a brain-loving bad guy. The game will be a cross-platform title for tablets, Windows PC, Mac and Linux, and will be based on the Oz series, which consists of 14 episodes.
A Kickstarter campaign for the title is underway and Spicy Horse currently has a second Kickstarter campaign for Alice: Otherlands. Which title gets developed depends if Alice license holder Electronic Arts...
The latest update for endless runner Temple Run 2 adds a new level fraught with peril and more chances for players to earn in-game loot, developer Imangi Studios announced today.
The new landscape, The Narrows, is a maze of obstacles. Players will have to dodge spinning saw blades, speed across a crumbling path, jump the seemingly bottomless pits scattered across the pathway and keep their eyes peeled for sudden sharp turns.
Players can also take advantage of new opportunities to earn free coins and gems for use in the game. More information is under the "Free Stuff" menu.
Nintendo announced a partnership with Sega to publish the next three Sonic the Hedgehog games exclusively for Nintendo's platforms — one title of which is still unannounced. New Super Luigi U will be released digitally and as a physical standalone at retail this summer. Nintendo will bring playable demos of its unreleased titles to more than 100 Best Buy stores during the week of E3. We went hands-on with Naughty Dog's The Last of Us and Dynamighty's CounterSpy.
Sega and Nintendo partnership spans three Sonic games, one unannounced
Sonic: Lost World coming exclusively to Nintendo Wii U and 3DS
Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games coming to Wii U
New Super Luigi U coming to eShop June 20, standalone at retail Aug. 25
Nintendo bringing playable, unreleased Wii U...
In the latest Runescape 3 developer diary from Jagex Games Studio, head of audio Mod Lord explains the creation of the game's score, sound effects, voice acting and the technology to support it.
"For the first time we are installing servers dedicated to Runescapes sound," said Mod Lord, Runescape 3's head of audio. "That means full CD quality music and sound streamed directly through to through your browser, with no performance impact on the game as we are no loner using midi."
The music of band Mo's Gold Teeth will also feature in the game. As member Robin Jones explains in the video, the band was contacted after a gig they played at a local pub.
New Runescape 3 music can be listened to on the game's Soundcloud page. Jagex Games Studio will release the free-to-play massively...
Dynamighty's debut title, CounterSpy, is a platforming game inspired by the bizarre mythologies of the Cold War, the art of Saul Bass and the aesthetic of the espionage genre from the 1960s, according to developer David Nottingham.
In a demo of the Cold War-era action espionage game, Nottingham showed Polygon an early build of CounterSpy where the player — working as a member of a politically-agnostic, non-government agency — has to enter a missile facility and sabotage the efforts of a hostile faction to stop it from launching explosive rockets. Each level has a countdown to the rockets launching, so players have disarm them as quickly as possible. But first, they have to navigate their way through the facility, performing stealthy take-downs and leaping into action through...
The second hero reveal trailer for Trendy Entertainment's tower defense action role-playing game, Dungeon Defenders 2, showcases the Man and Machine hero in action during the game's PvP mode.
Man and Machine's abilities include Pocket Rocket, which is good for far off enemies and Incendiary Grenade which is great when enemies are tightly packed. Commanding Shout will get "troops moving double time" and Frenzied Bombardment rains down damaging elements at a target. His hero spell is Smokescreen, which emits a low visibility haze.
The competitive mode is a multiplayer online battle arena where five players must protect their respective towers from other players. Alpha gameplay footage of Dungeon Defenders 2's cooperative mode was released in March and more information about it will be...
Angry Birds Seasons received a free "Abra-Ca-Bacon" update today on iOS and Android that adds portals to the seasonal installment of Rovio's bird-flinging franchise.
Check out the video above for a pitchfork portal prank and a look at how the teleportation devices have been incorporated into Angry Birds Seasons. The free update for the $0.99 app, its 36 levels and the new exploding AllakaBAM item are available now in the iOS App Store and on Google Play. Windows PC and Mac versions will "follow in the coming weeks," according to a post on Rovio's official website.
The update is Rovio Stockholm's first release. Last year, the company announced that Just Cause 2 and Battlefield Heroes developer Oskar Burman would head the Swedish studio.
A remastered edition of the original 1991 Sonic the Hedgehog launched on iOS and Android today, Sega announced on its official blog.
This remastered edition includes a "robust overhaul," according to the post. The title now features widescreen support and moves at 60 fps, as well as grants access to online leaderboards, achievements and a new Time Attack mode. Players can unlock Tails and Knuckles as playable characters and enjoy a completely remastered soundtrack.
Today marks the game's debut for Android. The title was released earlier this year for iOS, and those who have already purchased the game will receive a free update that adds the new graphics and features.
Sonic the Hedgehog is available on Google Play and the iTunes App Store for $2.99. The iOS version is compatible with...
Reddit user JBaker1225 made the most of his broken Nintendo Entertainment System, using a Raspberry Pi mini computer board to transform it into a game emulator ready for the living room.
In a thread on Reddit's gaming forum, JBaker noted that he followed this "Super Nintendo Pi" tutorial when constructing his system. After gutting the console, he created a framework to hold the Pi board in place using Gorilla Glue and several Lego blocks. To make turning the Pi on and off easier, he wired a circuit that would activate the Pi through the NES's buttons.
Using a dremel, he expanded the ports on the back of the NES and added adapters for Ethernet, HDMI and USB cords, then modified the NES controller ports to accomodate USB plugs.
Upon completion, JBaker was able to load up his "new"...
Candy Crush Saga developer King will launch its popular Facebook game Pet Rescue Saga for iOS and Android this summer, the company announced this morning.
Pet Rescue Saga tasks players with rescuing more than 10 small animals in need of assistance escaping block puzzles. Players can use special boosters to clear blocks, both individually and columns at a time, to maneuver their pets to safety and onto the next level.
The mobile version of Pet Rescue Saga will incude more than 72 levels and cross-play compatibility between the Facebook and mobile versions. Online leaderboards, scores and progress can also be saved across all devices.
According to a press statement from King, Pet Rescue Saga ia the third largest game on Facebook, boasting more than 6 million daily players. Candy Crush...
Chicago-based developer Phosphor Games and Paramount Digital Entertainment will release a World War Z first-person mobile game tie-in on May 30 for tablets and smartphones, according to IGN.
The first-person action game features touch controls, upgradable weapons and armor, 28 levels and puzzle-solving.
"We were excited to be able to use the cutting-edge Unreal Engine 3 to bring World War Z to life," Chip Sineni, Phosphor Games studio director said in a statement provided to IGN. "Our goal was to build Paramount a AAA game, and with that came all our favorite bells and whistles, like ambient occlusion lighting, multipass blended textures, and hordes of enemies to fight."
The World War Z film is an adaptation of Max Brooks' post-apocalyptic zombie novel published in 2006 titled World...
Gameloft is updating three of its top games — Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour, Dungeon Hunter 4 and Asphalt 7: Heat — with Google Play game services, the French studio announced today.
Google announced its game services program today at Google I/O as a suite of services designed to make it easier for developers to deliver Android games with the same feature sets as their iOS and Kindle Fire counterparts. Google's game services, which will be available on iOS devices and the web as well as Android, include leaderboards, achievements and cloud saving — all powered by Google Plus.
Gameloft updated Modern Combat 4, a first-person shooter, to support game services today. The company said in a press release that similar updates for Dungeon Hunter 4 and Asphalt 7 will be released "in the...
A new experiment through Google Chrome called Racer teams up Android and iOS devices to create a racing game across multiple devices, as demonstrated today during the Google I/O keynote speech.
The game works by linking several devices to create one racing track. Players control tiny cars by touching the screen to accelerate and releasing to brake; going too fast will cause players to fly off the track.
Racer is compatible with any device able to run Chrome, and players can enter current games by entering in individual race codes. The game can be played alone or with several friends.
Check out Racer's website for more info, or download it from Google Play.
The service uses the company's Google+ social network to power leaderboards, both social and public; an achievement system similar to the one on Apple's platform; the ability to save game states in the cloud; and real-time matchmaking. The entire suite of services also work across the Android, iOS, and "web" platforms, with the exception of the real-time matchmaking component with remains Android-only "for now."
While the most recent version of Android, dubbed Jellybean, shipped nearly a year ago, over 70 percent of all Android phones operate an earlier version of the operating system. Eager for developers to implement the service into their games, it was important that it work on as many Android devices as possible, a problem complicated by the platform's gradual upgrade cycle.
Greg...
Tokyo Game Show 2013 is accepting applications now for its new Indie Games Area and the Sense of Wonder Night 2013 project.
The Indie Games Area will take place on the exhibition site and will feature 50 exhibition spaces per day. Applicants for the Indie Games Area exhibition can download and submit a form from the TGS website. Submissions close Friday, June 14.
Featured at TGS since 2008, the Sense of Wonder Night presentation showcases game prototypes and concepts. Entry for SOWN is open to international submissions, amateurs, professionals, individuals and corporations. Finalists of SOWN will be granted space on the Indie Games Area. Applications for presentations can be submitted via SOWN's page on the TGS website and entries close on Monday, July 8.
TGS 2013 will encompass a...
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