iGame Radio

Some of you may know the history behind the use of the word “Edge” and the hated name Tim Langdell. CEO, sole employee, and founder of the company Edge Games, Langdell owns the trademark for the word “Edge” in the context of video games, and has aggressively protected it throughout the years of his ownership (since 1990). This despite the fact that he himself hasn’t developed a game since 1994 (looking at the Edge Games website shows game in development that have been so for a long, long time).

Langdell’s most recent claim to fame, as it were, was in threatening legal action against MobyGames and other iPhone game developers for the use of the word in their games. Many buckled before him, but MobyGames fought back for a time. Then Langdell made the mistake of messing with EA and their Mirror’s Edge game. EA subsiquently filed a petition with the USPTO to have the trademark canceled back in September 2009.

A tweet combined with a document filing may lead to a clue about the final closure of this entire mess of two decades or more. Develop has reported that a document in circulation may show that Langdell is on his way to losing this trademark. The title of the document, “AMENDED CONSOLIDATED PETITION FOR CANCELLATION” points towards a pretty good indication that the cancellation is on it’s way to approval.

A tweet, since removed, by Dice employee Johan Andersson, also indicated that this was the case:

“Yay! We (DICE & EA + friends) have finally killed the idiotic ‘Edge’ name patent!”

If this trademark is canceled, does this mean that Tim Langdell will no longer be a threat to the game developer community? That’s hard to say, since someone with Langdell’s tenacity will always find a way to make an impact in the way that he chooses (cough::Thompson::cough). But I would say that his days of living the life of a Trademark Troll will be over.

If you are a game developer, educator, or member of the Texas business community, you might be interested in the first ever game education symposium planned for early April. Game On! Texas is planned for April 7th in Austin Texas, and will include Governor Rick Perry as keynote speaker. Governor Perry gave the keynote at the 2008 E3, and is continuing to push his agenda of a positive environment for game development in Texas.

This debut symposium is intended to bring game development, education, and business sectors within Texas together to inspire each other in the improvement of video game education programs and innovative teaching methods gleaned from game development methods. Perry has proposed a $160 million initiative to expand the number and scope of the Texas STEM programs (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) and hopes to work with game developers to create ways to inspire young people’s involvement in these academies.

Other guests of note include Warren Spector, president of Junction Point/Disney Interactive Studios; Richard Vogel, co-studio director of BioWare Austin, and Gary Gattis, president of Spacetime Studios and chapter chair for IGDA Austin. Featured games industry keynote speaker Alan Gershenfeld will present his talk, “Why Games are Effective for Impact Learning.” Gershenfeld is currently president of E-Line Media, chairman of Games for Change, and former senior vice president for major game publisher Activision.

Sponsors for the event include AMD, the Austin Chamber of Commerce, the City of Austin and The Texas Film Commission. Attendance is estimated at 200 guests, and will include games industry pros, educators and representatives have been invited from game companies, colleges, public schools, organizations and government agencies around the state of Texas. Texas is home to the third highest concentration of video game development companies in the US.

Registration for Game On! Texas is $95 per person. For more information, contact Leah Smith, Animation & Video Game Liaison Texas Film Commission, Office of the Governor.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains. — Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

It is a truth universally acknowledged that slaying shambling hordes of the undead is a fine way to spend one’s leisure time. — Pride and Prejudice and Zombies for the iPhone

You knew it had to happen. First, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Then Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, the graphical novel. Soon we will see a movie based on this book. And now, Freeverse has hit that all time mashup of mashups. A zombie game based on a zombie mashup.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies for the iPhone is the official zombie game based on the re-imagining of the classic Jane Austen book, Pride and Prejudice, about young Elizabeth Darcy as she lives out her life in Regency England battling it out with zombies and the social class structure. An action title with 2.5D graphics and Plus+ social networking support, the game will become available for the iPhone and iPod Touch in April.

Babeorella has been stranded on an asteroid filled with enemy robots. With nothing but her bikini and weapons at hand, she must defend against the metal menaces as they seek to defeat her. Filled with classic arcade gameplay, Babeorella includes distance-context based attacks, meaning that weapon availability will depend on the range you engage the enemy. You can also access upgradeable abilities, attacks, multiple enemy types, and unlockable outfits.

The game seems meant to be a play on the sexploitation films of the 60′s…even the name being an obvious take-off from Barbarella. So be prepared for plenty of tongue-in-cheek references to sex and bondage.

Developed exclusively for the iPhone and iPod Touch by DoubleSix, the game was launched today on the App Store and can be downloaded for $2.99. The game

Transgaming announced today the immediate availability of Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom for download from it’s GameTreeOnline.com site. Settlers 7 is the long-awaited sequel to the award-winning strategy game, The Settlers: Rise of an Empire, both published for the PC by Ubisoft. The game was brought to the Mac using Transgaming’s Cider Portability Engine and is enjoying a simultaneous release with the PC version.

Settlers 7 follows similar gameplay as previous games in the series, utilizing RTS and city-building tools to develop an entire kingdom from a village. The player has the choice of utilizing one of three paths of development for victory: Military, Science, and Trade. The game includes more than twelve different AI profiles with unique behaviors. One can also utilize the new online multiplayer mode in which players can both compete and co-operate with one another. Players can also generate and share content throughout the game.

Settlers 7 is available for $49.99 via both download and retail chains. An exclusive Gold/Collector Edition that is only available via download can also be purchased for $59.99. In addition to the standard gameplay, the Gold edition includes exclusive unlockable content, including one exclusive map, the original soundtrack of the game and additional castle forge elements for city customization.

The minimum system requirements include Mac OS 10.6.3…which has not even been released yet (if you are amongst the “lucky” ones to be testing out the beta, you may, or may not, want to actually try the game right now). Apple has been working on 10.6.3 since November of 2009, and there is no date at this time for when the update will be released.

Minimum System Requirements:

• Mac OS X 10.6.3 (Snow Leopard Only)
• Intel Core 2 Duo Processor (or better)
• 2GB RAM or more
• 8GB HDD or more
• Video card: ATI Radeon 2600+, Nvidia GeForce 8600+ with 256 VRAM+
• Keyboard and mouse
• Cards not supported: Intel GMA series, Intel x3100 series, Nvidia GeForce 7×00 series, ATI Radeon 1×00, ATI Radeon 2400

This game also includes the Ubisoft DRM that requires a constant Internet connection. The Mac version also requires that you are always connected to the Internet, logged into your account, in order to play the game. Any interruption in the server, your Internet connection, etc, will pause the gameplay.

Feral Interactive announced Brothers in Arms: Double Time for the Mac today, to be released on Friday, April 16th. Brothers in Arms: Double Time will be released as part of the Feral Legends series, and is composed of the first two games in the Brothers in Arms series: Road to Hill 30 and Earned in Blood.

Originally developed by Gearbox Software, the Brothers in Arms series is one of the most gritty and realistic battle adventures to come to the computer screen. Brothers in Arms: DT is set in WWII and based on the true story of a squad of soldiers from the 101st Airborne division of the US Army during D-Day. Players complete true-to-life missions based on the historical Mission Albany.

Brothers in Arms: DT utilizes the Four F’s (“Find, Fix, Flank, Finish”) within the game, which results in an intuitive command system. Players can order teams and tanks to move, lay suppressive fire, rally, find cover, and charge the enemy. Leadership, judgment, and determination is tested, and success depends on how well a player can command their squad.

The game is currently available for preorder for $29.95 (£19.95 in the UK and €24.95 throughout Europe).

Minimum system requirements:

• Mac OS X v10.5 or later
• 1.8GHz Intel Mac
• 1.5GB RAM
• 128MB graphics card
• DVD drive
• 8GB of hard disk space
• Supports the latest generation of MacBooks and Mac Minis with nVidia 9400M cards or better.

Flick Bowling 2, the sequel to the Freeverse iPhone game that let’s you bowl with a flick of the finger, is available today on the App Store. Defeat the evil deeds of Baron Von Schtopwatch with your exceptional bowling skills while you play as one of six historical figures with no attachment to historical reality, such as Cleopatra or Genghis Khan.

You can throw that ball in five different bowling alleys set in different time periods as well, despite that fact that most of those time periods never saw bowling alleys at all. Flick Bowling 2 features beautiful 3-D graphics and true to life pin physics. Simply position your player and flick across the screen to roll the ball. Add a hook to your roll by moving your finger left or right at the end of your flick. Earn awards and compare scores with Plus+ integration as well.

The game includes both hotseat and bluetooth multiplay modes, so you can face off against your friends. There’s also a fast lane mode, for you folks that can’t wait your turn. The game is available right now for $2.99.

It’s been a long-standing viewpoint in journalism that in order for the public to accept the views of journalists, they must retain a financially independent relationship from the market they are covering. Apparently, someone didn’t get the memo.

Two iPhone app review sites, TheiPhoneAppReview.com and AppCraver.com, have been accused by several independent developers of charging fees for app reviews without disclosing that fact on their websites. You can read the details of the controversy in the article and associated links, but that’s not what this post is about.

This post is about my thoughts regarding ethical reviews, and why paying for reviews is wrong.

Paying for a review is not technically illegal. However, it is a questionable practice and one that the FTC and the world of journalism looks down upon. And it is illegal when you don’t disclose the fact that you practice it. It means that the public can’t make their own decision about whether the review is fair or not, having not been fully informed of the details behind its creation.

I have two audiences that I focus on when I write a review for a game. I have my listeners, who want to know which games they should be getting and which ones they should be avoiding. I have to be honest to them when reviewing a game, because if I give glowing reviews to games that don’t deserve it, they will stop trusting me.

I also have game developers. They want to get publicity for their hard work, and reviews are one way to do it. I don’t ever charge for any reviews that I do. Most games that I review I do get for free (there are some games that I’ve actually purchased for one reason or another), and I have received freebies along with media kits, such as custom-made cookies, candy, or a t-shirt. They’re great, and make no impact whatsoever on my reviews. I mean, if I stopped receiving them because I did a review that a developer or publisher didn’t like, what would be the worst that could happen? I’d have to stop looking for places to put all of those extra t-shirts?

In fact, I consider that I do a bit of a service to developers, in that I am providing a critique of the game that will hopefully help them make the game, or future games, better. And many developers enjoy my feedback and have said so. In a way, I could even justify a fee from that standpoint.

But that isn’t what they are asking me to do. They are asking me to provide them with publicity. Asking it for free means that they get the best review I can give. They can’t ask for anything more for free. But if they pay for it, don’t I owe them the best publicity I can give them? After all, that is what they are paying for. The focus of the review shifts from the listener to the developer.

And that is why one should never charge for a review, nor should one ever pay for a review.

IMHO.

 

What’s inside this episode:

• An interview with Jared Steffes and David Ballard of Tap Me Games about iComplishments, a new social game advertising platform for mobile systems, and available now for the iPhone. iComplishments integrates advertising in new ways into gameplay, including achievements, powerups, even contests. Wait till you hear some of the ideas we had for that Tiger Woods iPhone game!
• A review of Firefly Night by Frozen Giant. Remember those warm summer evenings and capturing fireflies? Now you can collect them with your iPhone, and collect points too.
  
• Plus, a review of Mystery of the Crystal Portal by G5 Entertainment. A reinvention of the Hidden Object genre, this game seemlessly merges storyline and puzzle gameplay elements to make an interactive movie. Well, a turn-based one, anyway.
  

Show Notes:

• How many games for the Mac have been announced the past few weeks?? How many companies are now suddenly interested in supporting the Mac? WTF happened, people?!
• Valve. It’s them. They started it all. Omaha will talk about what might be Valve’s reason for drinking the Kool-aid, and where things might be heading.

Music Notes:

• Digital Droo featured music from Burning Monkey Solitaire.
• Rich Carlson featured music from Dr. Blob’s Organism.
• Digital Droo produced our theme music here at iGame Radio.

Square Enix has revealed their next RPG, and it’s for the iPhone. Chaos Rings is the latest from Media Vision, who has also developed the Wild Arms series. The game involves a tournament called Arka Arena, where five teams of two from around the world are forced to fight to the death. You choose two to control, traveling to dungeons, fighting enemies and bosses, and finally revealing the story’s conclusion.

The game’s visuals are quite impressive, as can be seen from the game site’s trailer. A mixture of 2D and 3D visuals, running from top down to 360 POV is available, with combat going fully 3D. The story can be seen a bit within the trailer as well, though what is going on you can only completely tell if you read Japanese. If you check out the Facebook page, the screens are in English.

Chaos Rings sports a pretty impressive pedigree, including character designs from Final Fantasy VII character designer Yusuke Naora, sound from composer Noriyasu Agematsu of Wild Arms and White Knight Chronicles, and production by Crystal Defenders producer Takehiro Ando. The game is set for worldwide release but there is not specific date mentioned. The Facebook announcement also mentions that the final touches are being made, but a twitter post notes that the game hasn’t been submitted to Apple yet.

(Via Kotaku)