iGame Radio

Day 3 of PAX 09 is now available. Today I talk about what PAX was like, from the Expo floor, to the PAX flu, to Mac games. Also, interviews with the game designer for Puzzle Bloom, and the developer for Osmos.

What’s inside this episode:

• PAX 09 was a rockin’ success, from the huge number of booths, the large number of games coming out for the Mac and iPhone, to the awesome concert series. PAX is the gamer’s paradise! I talk about what the expo floor was like, what the games I played were like, and what PAX in general was like.
• I chatted up Jess Rahbek, the game designer for Puzzle Bloom, a unity based flash game. Be prepared to MAKE THEM PAY…and grow pretty trees, too. A PAX 10 finalist.
• I also interviewed Eddie Boxerman of Hemisphere Games, who developed Osmos. The first stage of Spore comes to mind…only now you eject bits of yourself as you ingest your enemies. All in a zen-like atmosphere. A PAX 10 finalist.

PICTURES!!! Images from PAX 09 taken from a camera that I obviously didn’t know how to use very well. Enjoy!

A view from the Expo floor.

More Expo floor goodness.

Booth babe from City of Heroes. Or, should that be The Booth Babe of Justice?

Warhammer Online booth.

Diablo III kiosks. Long lines…I got to play when I got in early on Friday ’cause I’m media and you’re not. :P

Blizzard WoW: Cataclysm kiosks. Never did get a chance to try the expansion out.

Line for Left For Dead 2. Ain’t his momma proud! >:P

Entrance to one side of the Expo floor.

Dofus 2.0 Booth.

I’m not sure which one is hotter. No, I’m sure. She is.

Booth for Fieldrunner, a PAX 10 finalist, and the only iPhone game in the PAX 10. Didn’t get a chance to interview them because they failed to tell me they weren’t going to be there on Sunday. Doh!

Day 2 of PAX 09 is now available. No commentary today either, just interviews. I’ll do all my commentary on Day 3. I promise. Really.

Got an important question about a Mac game or one that you hope will come out? Now is the time to ask it, and your Mac game spy (that would be me) will get the answer! Tomorrow is the last day. Post your question here or email me.

What’s inside this episode:

• I talked with Ryan of Big Fish Games about Faunasphere, where you can manipulate genes, lay eggs, and clean up pollution. I’m not sure, but someone put a member of the Green Party in with a scientist and let them breed! Serious fun without serious killing.
• Then I chatted with Thomas of Ankama about the face-lift of Dofus 2.0. We talk about the changes both on the surface and under the hood.
• Lastly, I help a cute little rusty robot find his girlfriend. Wall-eeeeeeeeeeee. No, this little robot lives in a far sader, far more humorous world. I don’t know how that can happen, but it works. Look into the world of Machinarium.

The first day’s coverage of PAX 09 is now available. No commentary today, just interviews…it’s too late for me to post anything else right now.

Got an important question about a Mac game or one that you hope will come out? Now is the time to ask it, and your Mac game spy (that would be me) will get the answer! Post your question here or email me.

What’s inside this episode:

• I interview the guys at Blizzard! Hear about the latest regarding WoW: Cataclysm and Diablo III.
• Next up: Runic Games and their stunning announcement that Torchlight will be coming to the Mac! Oh, yeah, and we talk about Torchlight too. :D
• Get your mind twisted with Mind Control! I certainly did in this interview, ’cause I still don’t really know what Mind Twist is all about. But maybe you can figure it out. It’s coming out for the iPhone.
• Finally, don’t let the switch get pulled on you. SwitchGames is a great game trading community. They don’t like to say “service” cause they don’t want you to think they are trading the games. But they’ll help make trading safer…for a price. ;)

Runic Games, developer of the action-RPG Torchlight, has announced a launched date for the game, as well as a Mac version in the works. In a press release sent out this morning, the launch date is set for October 27. The game will be available as a digital download for $19.99.

The company also revealed a Mac version of the game in the works. President and project director Travis Baldree and CEO Max Schaefer admitted that they have already been developing a Mac version for the game. “It was our intent to have a Mac version,” said Max Schaefer. The Mac port is at about the “midway point”, and is being performed by an unspecified third party.

Torchlight is an action-RPG with more casual gaming approach to play, enabling gamers of all skill levels to quickly immerse themselves into game play. A level randomizer creates unique adventures for each quest, with different monsters, treasures, puzzles and items for players to find, defeat, and unlock. Torchlight will also provide a full-suite level editor for players to create and share their own content and levels.

I’ve posted the PAX Walking List, my list of developers and publishers that I’ll be interviewing so far at PAX (well, the ones that I’ve got confirmed interviews for…still some I’m finishing up confirmations on right now). It’s over on the iGame Radio facebook fan page, and you can see who I’m interviewing.

You can also list out which questions you want me to ask during interviews, tell me who else you’d like me to hook up with, or what games you want to see screenshots from or get gameplay info about. Just hop on over there and make a reply, or you can reply in comments here.

Ankama has announced that they will reveal DOFUS 2.0, a revamped version of their popular tactical MMORPG for the PC/Mac at PAX this year. Five years after its initial launch, DOFUS has gained 20 million players, and Ankama has decided to release a new version, complete with more detailed graphics, new animations, and improved performance and gameplay. Nearly two dozen computers will be dedicated to DOFUS 2.0 play for the first time in the US.

I’ll be there to take pictures, play the game, and give feedback about this first-time event for my American audience. So make sure to check back here during PAX week, September 4 – 6.

The twenty examples of supreme gaming madness, the Omeganauts, were revealed recently in a press release secretly passed around in the gaming industry hierarchy by the folks of PAX 2009. These manly gaming demons (diluted 15% by estrogened succubi) will be faced with playing the most awesome games of our times. Yes, folks, in order to prove their gaming worth, they will be forced to play…

MARIO KART FOR THE WII!!!!

Was that a bit snarky?

Actually, the fact the Mario Kart for the Wii is in the list of games the Omeganauts contestants must play, along with Bookworm Adventures, Halo 3: ODST, and CONNECT FOUR (connect four??!) shows the strength of this particular gaming competition. It isn’t good enough for you to learn every AAA FPS title out there. You have to have flexibility, be able to play a wide variety of genres, think outside the box, to really prove that you are a true Omeganaut gamer.

The PAX 10 Independent Games Showcase list was announced recently.

Penny Arcade was pleased to announce today that The PAX 10 for 2009 are (in alphabetical order):

* CarneyVale: Showtime by the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Games Lab (Xbox 360)

* Closure by Tyler Glaiel and Jon Schubbe (PC)

* Fieldrunners by Subatomic Studios (iPhone/iPod touch)

* Liight by Studio Walljump (Wii)

* Machinarium by Amanita Design (PC)

* Osmos by Hemisphere Games (PC)

* Puzzle Bloom by Team Shotgun (PC)

* Tag: The Power of Paint by Tag Team (PC)

* Trino by Trinoteam (Xbox 360)

* What is Bothering Carl? by Story Fort (PC)

Notice all of those (PC) tags? A lot of them are also going to be available for the Mac (and some for iPhone). Specifically:

• Closure by Tyler Glaiel and Jon Schubbe (PC): You can see in their FAQ that Mac is a given…they are considering other platforms (iPhone?).
• Fieldrunners by Subatomic Studios (iPhone/iPod touch): The only solely iPhone game in the list. I’m interested in the decision process they used to determine this would be the game for the PAX 10…there are a lot of good iPhone games out there.
• Machinarium by Amanita Design (PC): I knew that this game would eventually come out for the Mac when I first investigated it for the IGF.
• Osmos by Hemisphere Games (PC): same as above for Osmos. IGF finalist, developer wanted the game to come out for the Mac, just wasn’t sure when.
• Puzzle Bloom by Team Shotgun (PC): This one I’m not so certain of. I mean, you go to the site, and you have to have the Unity web player installed to play it. Which gives the impression it was built on top of Unity. Which would mean it would be absolutely ludicrous not to have a Mac client. But people is dumb…

That’s 50% for those of you keeping score. I’ll be at PAX this year, and will give a report on all of the games, as well as interviews with all of the developers.

Last year’s PAX was awesome and draining and full of a lot of Mac and iPhone goodness, so of course I’m going to attend this year. Fully 6 months before the event, they have opened registration up. If you want to be a part of the goodness that is PAX, I highly recommend that you register early, because the number of badges will be limited this year. See you in September!

 

Last day of PAX 2008 coverage. Including interviews with Hal Halpin of the ECA and Chris Melissinos of Sun Microsystems about Project Darkstar. Also, rumors and commentary from the expo floor. We’ll see how many of them turn out true!