iGame Radio

If you are looking for a place to get your game project noticed, you might want to look at the Selected Projects program at Game Connection America. Held in San Francisco this year March 5-7th, Game Connection America is inviting devs for the first time to submit console, mobile and online games at any stage of development for consideration.
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What’s inside this episode:

• Host Omaha Sternberg and co-host Corey Tamas talk about the week’s news in Mac and iOS gaming. They discuss that big announcement that nobody could possibly have known before hand because Apple is so good at keeping secrets…oh, okay, we talk about the iPad 2 announcement everyone was talking about for months. Will it be a better gaming machine? Is it worth it to pick the new device up?
• GDC was a happenin’ last week. Omaha and Corey talk about what was hot and what wasn’t (hint: cars made of jelly) and who won the IGF awards this year.
• Indie Game Magazine has announced the purchase of GameTunnel. What that is and why you should care. Get in on the community spirit at the Kickstarter Promotion for the site.
• Omaha and Corey talk about games that were released and games that they played.
• Omaha talks about the iGame Radio poll results. You might be surprised at what the majority of gamers wanted Chell to wear.

Music Notes:

• Digital Droo produced our theme music here at iGame Radio.
• Rich Carlson featured music from Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space.
• Digital Droo featured music from Neon Tango.

 

What’s inside this episode:

• Host Omaha Sternberg and co-host Corey Tamas of MacGamer talk about the week’s news in Mac and iOS gaming. The Mac App Store launched with over 1000 apps, the majority of them games. Omaha and Corey talk about the launch and the store itself, and what they like and don’t like about the store. Also, does Microsoft really think that the phrase “App Store” is in the common domain?
• Doodlegate is come and gone…or is it. Omaha and Corey talk about the trademark dispute between Lima Sky and Acceleroto over the word “Doodle”, what it means for iOS game developers, and the response from the community. Also, Omaha talks a little about the basics on trademarks based on her own experience with them.
• EA and Gameloft have been trading barbs regarding EA’s $0.99 holiday sale on the iTunes Store. But does it really mean that EA “stifles innovation” as Gameloft claims?
• Omaha summarizes the IGF finalists this year.
• Omaha talks about the iGame Radio poll, and Omaha and Corey talk about games they’ve played and games that have been released.

Music Notes:

• Digital Droo produced our theme music here at iGame Radio.
• Digital Droo featured music from Active Lancer; pick up the Active Lancer soundtrack
• John Gatti for featuring music from El Ballo; pick up the El Ballo soundtrack

 

What’s inside this episode:

• Host Omaha Sternberg and co-host Peter Cohen of The Loop talk about the week’s news in Mac and iOS gaming. Valve announced Dota 2 last week, but now they are seeking to trademark the word “Dota”. This has caused confusion to some, anger to others. Omaha and Peter discuss the ramifications of this move, and how it might end.
• Ten years ago, Bungie needed money. They asked Apple, but Microsoft bought them. Rumor has it that Steve Jobs got pissed. What would Apple have been like if they had not turned Bungie down? How will this inform any decision Apple makes for rumored company purchases now?
• The Independent Games Festival (IGF) has released their submission list, and it’s almost 400 games long! Omaha and Peter chat about some of the games in the list, and why you might want to take a look too.
• Wolfire Games gave a hint about another Humble Indie Bundle. Will there be a HIB2? How will the Mac App Store impact Indie sales events like this?
• Omaha announces the results of last week’s iGame Radio poll, and Omaha and Peter talk about games released, soon to be released, and that they’ve played.

Music Notes:

• Digital Droo produced our theme music here at iGame Radio.
• Digital Droo for featuring music from Burning Monkey Solitaire.
• Rich Carlson for featuring music from Dr. Blob.

The 13th Independent Games Festival has released the list of games submitted for the contest, and the list is hefty indeed. Almost 400 games have been submitted this year, ranging from casual to RPG to shooters to music games, on desktop and mobile, all hoping to win an award.

A range of ingenuity is also represented. Some of the games don’t seem to really challenge much in the way of sound, design, graphics, mechanics, etc. But there are many that will make the judges’ lives difficult when it comes to decision-time. One that really caught my eye is the RPG Revenge of the Bitch. Meant to make fun of RPG and cultural stereotypes as well as well-known figures, one only has to view the trailer to get a true idea of just how weird this RPG is going to turn out. Sadly, it will not initially be released for Mac.

There are some well-known names to the Mac community in there as well, including:

• Amnesia: The Dark Descent by Frictional Games
• Achron by Hazardous Games
• Castle Vox by Sillysoft Games
• Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble by Mousechief
• Data Jammers: Fastforward by Digital Eel
• Din’s Curse by Soldak Entertainment
• Overgrowth by Wolfire Games
• Tasty Planet: Back for Seconds by Dingo Games

I’m sure there are other Mac games that I haven’t found…this was just a preliminary review of what caught my eye. Also, there are a lot of iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad games in there as well.

All in all, this is going to be the most interesting IGF ever. Even if you don’t go to the GDC, it would be worth your while to review the list and take a look at some of these games. You might find your next favorite within the mix.

UPDATE: Since both Supreme Commander 2 and a demo of the game had been released on Steam, I asked Virtual Programming whether they would be releasing either the Mac version or a demo on Steam as well as other download services (such as their deliver2mac service). I was told that they had no plans to release on Steam, and would only be releasing on deliver2mac and retail outlets.

Supreme Commander 2 was announced at GDC. Two months later, Virtual Programming announces it for the Mac. How’s that for a turnaround!

Supreme Commander 2, sequel to the highly-acclaimed strategy title released three years ago, involves the threat of war between the United Earth Federation, the Aeon Illuminate, and the Cybran Nation after an assassination of the newly elected president causes their tenuous Colonial Defense Coalition to break down. The game was originally developed for the Xbox 360 and Windows by Gas Powered Games and launched in March.

“We’re honored to bring this highly anticipated game to the Mac mere months after its arrival for PC and Xbox 360,” said Virtual Programming CEO Mark Hinton. “We can’t wait to follow the fate of the UEF, the Aeon Illuminate, and the Cybran Nation through Supreme Commander 2′s 21 missions.”

Supreme Commander 2 will be available as a digital download at Virtual Programming’s Deliver2Mac.com service and will also ship to retail as a boxed product. There are currently no further details on launch dates or system requirements.

 

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.

EDIT 2: Discovered today that TellTale will not be bringing Secret of Monkey Island: SE to the Mac…Aspyr is!

EDIT: Stupid me, I forgot all about the Fallen Earth MMOG announcement! Yeah, that’s right, the Fallen Earth Mac beta is available now. Check it out!

I want you all to understand how awesomely cool the news has been for Mac gamers from the GDC this week so far. We’ll be getting the complete rundown on tonight’s podcast from Peter Cohen of The Loop, who is manning the front line there in San Francisco. But for a brief rundown, here it is:

• OnLive has announced that they are going live come June 17, 2010. This is the on-demand gaming service that will be available for PC and Mac (and soon iPhone).
• Razer has announced that they will increase support for Mac drivers on all upcoming peripherals, including the Razer StarCraft II peripheral suite.
• Gas Powered Games, awed by Valve deciding to bring Mac support to Steam, has announced that they would be behind Mac support on Steam from now on: “We, as a developer, will include a Mac platform option in all of our proposals moving forward,” said Chris Taylor of Gas Powered Games. “We’re in 100% support of it. Absolutely.”
• TellTale’s Monkey Island: Special Edition and Secret of Monkey Island 2: Special Edition will be hitting the Mac as well. Not that this is a surprise…
• Khronos Group announced that OpenGL 4.0 has been released. More graphic goodness for us all!
• Bigpoint is making some significant news for the Mac. It announced that it had chosen the Unity platform for the upcoming browser-based Battlestar Galactica MMO. This means that Mac users should be able to play the game. Also, it announced leveraging the Unity platform to create a synchronous gameplay experience cross-platform, code-named Uniter, for the purpose of playing games on PCs and smartphones. Though the press release doesn’t specify, there is no reason not to include Mac and iPhone in there, and including iPhone but not Mac would be, well, kind of stupid. IMHO.

I’ll be grilling Peter tonight about it all. So stay tuned!

 

What’s inside this episode:

• A review of The Movies Superstar Edition by Feral Interaction. This baby’s got everything for the budding movie mogul. Just hop in and express your creativity.
  
• Plus, a review of Thor by Freeverse. This slide-scroll platform game pits a goofy god Thor against giants, the goddess Hel, even a serpent. And Thor just keeps running and running and running and…
  
• Finally, a review of the Phantom Mansion: The Orange Library, the second episode in the Phantom Mansion series. No, Hector is still stuck in the Mansion. And Omaha is still waiting for more difficult puzzles.

Show Notes:

• A great conversation with Peter Cohen of The Loop!
• Peter and Omaha talk about Macworld Expo 2010, and the game scene, or lack thereof.
• Peter is going to the GDC. Should you?

Music Notes:

• Digital Droo featured music from Active Lancer by Freeverse; the Active Lancer soundtrack is available at CDBaby.
• John Gatti featured music from El Ballo.

 

Part 2 of Gaming the IGF 2009. Includes an interview with Michael and Auriea of Tale of Tales, developers of The Graveyard, a finalist in the Innovation Category. Also, I interview Daniel Tabar of Data Realms, developer of Cortex Command, who won the Technical Excellence and Audience Awards at the IGF.