iGame Radio

Got a PR from Virtual Programming about a new game that they’re releasing for the Mac…Galactic Assault: Prisoner of Power. Lot’s of he-man war words there. But it doesn’t look like an FPS, but rather an RTS from the screens. The storyline seems to be based on Inhabited Island, which I find is actually called Prisoners of Power, a Russian Sci-Fi novel by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky in the 70′s. The book setting is amusing, actually:

The novel is set in the 22nd century of the Noon Universe. Mankind is the prevalent race in the Galaxy, capable of interstellar travel. Human social organization is presumably Communist…

There is no state structure, no institutionalized coercion (no police etc.), yet functioning of the society is safeguarded by raising everyone as responsible individuals, with guidance of a set of High Councils accepted by everyone in each particular field of activity.

It is a society of highly morally evolved individuals that has solved all of its material problems, knows no crime, feels no threats (except possibly from unchecked scientific exploration) and spends much of its efforts in scientific research (space exploration done mostly by volunteers), arts, education and caring for the young. Teachers are the most honorable profession.

Wow! That must mean the majority of the world’s population has been eliminated. Based on my years of reading Fark, I ain’t seeing this happening anytime soon. But wait, it gets better…because the plot includes a member of this advanced civilization landing on a more primitive (read: 20th century tech) planet, and finding himself in the capital of a totalitarian state:

The population is governed by the oligarchy of Unknown Fathers through brutal police and military repression. The city is grim and polluted. Ordinary populace leads the life of privation and misery.

I was intensely amused by the description because it seems to be pinging on the whole “Founding Fathers” thing in our country. But I think that the Soviet censors didn’t appreciate that, since they picked up on the satire of the Soviet society that the book is. Actually, a read through the whole plot and analysis of the book is quite fascinating, and I think I’ll pick up a copy and read it before I play the game. I wonder how much of the plot and setting actually survives into the game?

Next version of the iGame Radio redesign preview is up to look at. Just click on the Theme Switcher widget on the right hand column and choose bookpro_steel.

Changes this time around:

1. Added icons for social networking sites, such as twitter, Flickr, LinkedIn. More will be added (like, for the Facebook site).
2. Rearranged where stuff was in the right-hand column. When widgets are removed, things will be compressed.
3. Added ability to see links without having to mouse over them.

As always, I’m looking for feedback, so don’t hesitate to click and type. I’m especially interested if the placement of the social networking icons works for folks.

BURIEN, Washington – May 13, 2009 – The iGame Radio Logo Contest has only nine days left before the submission deadline, but has already reached seven sponsors, five logo submissions, and a prize package worth $770. Launched in February, the logo contest seeks everyone with an itch to draw, paint, or move those pixels to create the right design for a new logo for the iGame Radio podcast…the original Mac gaming podcast. The deadline is May 22, 2009.

The prize package of $770 features software and hardware from sponsors MusicSkins, PopCap Games, Howling Moon Software, Creaceed, Griffin, Codeweavers, and Omni Group. Prizes include CrossOver Mac Pro, OmniGraffle 5 Pro, TuneBuds mobile, and Peggle for the Mac. All prize information is included on the website.

All logo submissions are currently located on the iGame Radio Flickr site. “We’re really thrilled with the variety of submissions we’ve received for this contest,” said Omaha Sternberg, host and producer for iGame Radio. “This shows the wonderful diversity and creativity within the Mac community.” Ms. Sternberg encouraged everyone to comment on each submission, as all contestants are allowed to make minor changes to their submissions before the deadline.

Contest information, including rules for format and submission, are located at the iGame Radio Logo Contest page. The contest will run until May 22nd, after which the logo will be chosen through a public vote over a week long span. The prize package currently valued at $770 will be offered to the grand prize winner, but all entrants will gain a free t-shirt of their choice from the iGame Radio Café Press store.

For more ideas, come to the iGame Radio site at http://www.igameradio.com/. There you can listen to the podcasts, read blog posts about the game industry, and subscribe to the rss feed for iGame Radio.

Next version of the iGame Radio redesign preview is up to look at. Just click on the Theme Switcher widget on the right hand column and choose bookpro_steel. We’ve made some changes that fix the titles to blog posts and smooth out the positioning of the column to the right. Still some more changes to make before we’re done. And, as always, I’m looking for feedback, so don’t hesitate to click and type.

PopCap announced today that they’ve released Peggle for the iPhone and iPod Touch. For a mere $4.99 you too can play the game that merges elements of pinball and pachinko, as you fire a metallic silver ball upwards and watch it ricochet off of arrangements of orange and blue.

Wait, what the hell is Pachinko? Go look it up. Then you too can ask how Peggle can be a game that merges elements of pinball and pinball and video slot machines…and someone who stutters.

I think I need a mocha.

I’d like to give a big shout-out to my newest sponsors to the iGame Radio logo contest: Creaceed, Griffin Technologies, and Codeweavers. Thanks so much for your donations to the prize package. I know that the winner will enjoy everything you’ve donated!

If you want to see the design preview for iGame Radio, you can now take a look by clicking on “bookpro_steel” in the Theme Switcher widget located in the right-hand column. We still have work to do, but this gives you an idea of where we are headed. I’m looking for feedback, so please let me know what you think, and what you’d like to see more of.

Transgaming announced yesterday the release of the Mac version of Tale of Tales’ Indie horror game The Path. Inspired by the legendary tale of Little Red Riding Hood, The Path takes sandbox gaming to new levels. The player controls six sisters, the Red Girls, each of a different age and with a different personality, who will each meet their wolf in a sinister, foreboding, and beautifully rendered forest. The Path becomes a game more about what the player does, then the goal at the end.

The Path is available for $9.99 GameTreeOnline.com. You can listen to an iGame Radio interview with the folks from Tale of Tales here.

Grubby Games, the Indie game developer that has brought you games like Professor Fizzwizzle and the PAX10 2008 finalist The Amazing Brain Train, has taken another step up. April 30th, Big Fish Games announced that they had acquired Grubby Games. Many of Grubby Games apps have appeared on the Big Fish Games site, and with Grubby Games’ support of the Mac as well as Windows and Linux platforms, I hope we can look forward to more great Mac Indie style games from Big Fish now.

 

Episode 74 is posted. Cory Tamas and I chat about the state of Mac gaming. Plus, a review of Justin Ficarrotta’s award winning game Laserface Jones vs Doomsday Odious, and Transgaming’s PuzzleQuest: Challenge of the Warlords for the iPhone.

Laserface Jones vs. Doomsday Odious by Justin Ficarrotta


PuzzleQuest: Challenge of the Warlords for the iPhone by Transgaming