Good luck Perth Game Jammers!

Published on January 29, 2010 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

The second ever Global Game Jam is on this weekend and everyone here at Let’s Make Games would like to wish all participants the very best of luck. ;)

For those of you who don’t know about the phenomenon that is Global Game Jam, here’s a quick summary: 48 hours of unadulterated creative energy poured into collective game development at breakneck speeds by teams all over the world!

Here in Perth, the local site is being hosted at the Joondalup Business Centre. Setup begins at 5pm tonight and submissions must be in by 3pm on Sunday (the event officially ends at 6pm on Sunday – leaving some time to actually play the games!).

Thanks to the efforts of Simon Wittber (aka. Different Methods), Perth is very well represented as a regional centre for game jamming. Perth was the only Australian location for the first Global Game Jam (at which point Simon had already organised two previous local game jams). This year, the Perth site is also being supported by local game developers Rockethands and Subversive Games.

For more information, see: the Global Gam Jam website; the list of participants for the Perth site; the local event schedule; and the official website for the Perth site.

Star Hammer expands in 2010

Published on January 8, 2010 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Black Lab Games has just sent out a press release announcing that Star Hammer is now a series AND it includes a new turn-based strategy game: Star Hammer Tactics!

Star Hammer has really been shaping up over the last 12 months and we’re looking forward to see what happens with the (new) franchise in 2010. ;)

Here are the press release and gallery of new screenshots:

PERTH, AUSTRALIA – January 6, 2010 – Black Lab Games is pleased to announce a new game in the Star Hammer series, Star Hammer Tactics, is in development and slated for release in early 2010 for the Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Indie Games.

Star Hammer Tactics is a fast-paced turn-based game of tactical space battles that anyone can learn to play in minutes. In the single-player campaign mode, players will assume the role of a naval strike group commander as they defend the planet Novus from the marauding alien menace known as the Nautilids. Alternately, challenge a friend to a duel to the death in the local multiplayer mode – customize your fleet, then compete for glory and bragging rights!

Featuring a rule set that is deliberately simple whilst still allowing for maximum strategic depth, Star Hammer Tactics is sure to engage and entertain gamers of all persuasions. Achieve victory by outwitting your opponents, and then blasting them to little pieces!

More details, including the latest screenshots and video are available from the Star Hammer web site by visiting www.starhammer.com

About Black Lab Games

Black Lab Games is a boutique game development studio specializing in modern downloadable games with a hint of nostalgic flavor. Headquartered in the city of Perth, Western Australia, the company was established in 2008, and began active development of it’s first title, the episodic Star Hammer action series, in early 2009. For more information about Black Lab Games, please visit www.blacklabgames.com.au

Contact: Paul Turbett (paul@blacklabgames.com.au)

Fizzy “Biggest Game of 2010″ competition

Published on December 8, 2009 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

Fizzy.com, the flash game site operated by Sydney-based 3RDsense, has announced a game development competition for 2010.

Game developers can sign-up to the Fizzy GDN (Game Developer Network) to have Fizzy.com distribute their titles, earning them a share of advertising revenue and sales. Like similar sites, game developers retain their own intellectual property and the agreement is non-exclusive (games can be posted elsewhere as well).

The Fizzy Biggest Game of 2010 competition is a year-long competition based on revenue earned through the Fizzy GDN. In a nutshell, the game developer that makes the most money from a game through the Fizzy GDN (between January 1 and December 31 2010), will be awarded an additional $50,000 first prize at the end of the year.

fizzy_game_competition

It sounds like an interesting promotion to provide some additional incentive for developers to distribute their flash games via Fizzy.com (and to increase their catalogue of titles). Are any local developers already on Fizzy.com? Or planning to sign up in the near future?

Thanks to Doug for sharing this news!

AussieAppSale.com looking to promote local iPhone apps

Published on December 8, 2009 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .

Our very own Anthony (primarily of Rockethands fame) has started a campaign to promote locally developed iPhone games over the holiday period.

AussieAppSale.com will launch later this week, but the teaser is already up and it’s looking all Australian and awesome:

Screenshot

If you are Australian game developer with an iPhone title on the iPhone App Store, you’re invited to be part of the sale. More details are available in this post to the local PIGMI mailing list… which I’ve included below for convenience:

Hey guys! It’s Anthony from RocketHands here. I just wanted to let all of the iPhone developers on PIGMI know about AussieAppSale, a website I’m organising to help promote Australian made iPhone apps over the Christmas season.

It’s free to participate, all we need is:

* A high-res copy of your App’s icon and its link in the iTunes App Store (typically http://itunes.com/apps/appname),
* That over the promotion period (December 11 to January 2) your app will be on sale,
* And that you’ll help share the love and promote our campaign and fellow aussie developers whenever possible!

Placement on the site will be a first-in-best-dressed deal, so please make sure to get back to me as soon as you can! The deadline for the first round of submissions is Thursday 10th, though there will be subsequent additions throughout December if you don’t get back to us straight away.

If anyone is interested or has any questions, please let me know!

-Anthony

It’s great to see these sort of initiatives coming out of Perth. :D

Spinfast Cricket 2.0 released

Published on December 8, 2009 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Local game development studio Spinfast have released an update to their iPhone cricket game with a whole bunch of upgrades and a bowler expansion.

Here are a few snippets from the official announcement:

Incredible Graphical Upgrades! We’ve remodelled the players and environment, added new animations and an umpire. Improved all game textures and added an “Advanced graphics” mode.

Use a unique gesture-based bowling system that allows you to control line, length, spin (left/right/top/back) and swing, all with a single gesture!

And here are some images (more on their website):

SpinfastCricket-2.0_Main-menu-upgrade

SpinfastCricket-2.0_SendingOneDown

Congratulations Spinfast! :D

Sandbox releases Adrenaline Snowboarding

Published on December 1, 2009 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Note: Our next event isn’t going to be for a few months, so we’ve decided to post more local news articles to the website. Please contact us with any local news or press releases concerning the Perth game development community!

Perth iPhone developers Sandbox Software have just released their first iPhone game: Adrenaline Snowboarding!

Here’s a gameplay video showing off some hot 3D graphics:

Here’s the pitch from the developers’ Touch Arcade forum thread:

Sandbox Software is pleased to announce Adrenaline Snowboarding, our first title for iPhone!

Get it from the App Store now: Adrenaline Snowboarding

Take on the role of an extreme snowboarder and shred down the slopes, grind rails and bust out huge aerial tricks. Score big to compete against your friends, or others from around the world.

Features:

* Multiple courses
* Variety of characters including a gnarly looking robot!
* Massive jumps
* Rail grinds
* Mid air grabs and tricks
* Intuitive tilt and touch screen controls
* Online high scores with custom leaderboards
* Adrenaline pumping soundtrack
* Listen to your iTunes music while you play
* Much more coming really soon!

And here are some screenshots:

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IMG_0018
IMG_0018
IMG_0018

I guess the only thing left to say is: Congratulations Sandbox Software on the release of your first iPhone game!

iParty 2.0 photos

Published on November 29, 2009 in Uncategorized. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , .

iParty 2.0 was a great success with around 100 people attending!

Thanks to everyone who attended (you make organising these events worthwhile), our volunteers (Stewart, Brett, Alex, Saxon, Steve, Nigel, John, Sam, Simon, Anthony), and our sponsors (Different Methods, the Innovation Centre, Subversive Games, Rockethands, Black Lab Games, and Reveries Virtual World):

sponsors

Special thanks also to all companies that contributed to the showreel (apologies to Binary Space for not getting their “Class 3 Outbreak” teaser in) and to Game Pride for bringing along some laptops to demonstrate their latest game “Boo!”. Thanks also to Ben, who took most of the photos.

Here are some photos from the night in chronological order:

It’s time to iParty!

Published on November 27, 2009 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

iParty 2.0 is finally here.

Here are the details:

  • 6pm – 9pm TONIGHT (Friday, 27 November)
  • Innovation Centre, Technology Park (see map below)

And now for a few notes…

What should you expect tonight? You’ll be met by the organisers and volunteers at the glass-enclosed reception area (nametags will be waiting for those that have RSVP’d). Drinks and snacks will be served throughout the night and raffle tickets will be available for a prize draw at the end of the night. Over in the main party room (the Enterprise room), a video projector will be showing off some recent work from local game developers – who you can meet up with for a chat! There will also be a few tables setup for people to demonstrate their work live. (If you have something to demonstrate, try to arrive a little early – around 5:30pm – so that we can get you setup).

And now for some statistics…

We have: around 600 fancy snacks (sushi, spring rolls, mini-sandwiches, tempura, korrokke, karage), around 400 drinks (juice, soft-drinks, beer, and wine), around 80 RSVPs, 6 raffle prizes, 1 awesome show-reel, 4 tables for demonstrations (bring your laptop!), 12 volunteers in matching t-shirts, and a million butterflys in our collective tummys.

And now for some thanks…

Thanks to everyone who has RSVP’d. Feel free to bring your partners and invite other game developer types (it’s not too late). We’re planning on around 100 people. Those who work nearby should feel free to stop by from 5:30pm (so you don’t have to wait around!).

Obviously we’d also like to extend a HUGE thanks to our sponsors: Different Methods, the Innovation Centre, Subversive Games, Rockethands, Black Lab Games, and Reveries Virtual World:

sponsors

Finally, here’s a map that shows how to get to the Innovation Centre (so that everyone can actually make it there! – click for a larger image):

innovation_centre_map

It’s going to be awesome. :D

2 days to go!

Published on November 25, 2009 in Uncategorized. 5 Comments Tags: , , , .

iParty 2.0 is in just two days time (Friday, 27 November) and everything is coming together: Paul is compiling the video showreel; Minh is taking care of food, drinks, and pretty much everything else; We have a bunch of people helping out on the night and I’m bringing the volunteers’ t-shirts – fashionably modelled here:

DSCF4760

We’re planning for around 100 people (based on 44 confirmed attendees on Facebook and around 30 RSVPs via email or the contact page; we usually get around 50% more people than RSVPs), and we will have food and drink to accommodate. If you know game developers, related industry professionals, or game development students who aren’t attending – please spread the word and ask them to come along!

That said, it’s always better to have better numbers. So if you haven’t yet RSVP’d, but expect to attend (I’m looking at you James and Cameron), please RSVP ASAP!