Block Droppin' Out August 24th

They were looking for Beta testers not to long ago, and now it looks like Block Droppin' is ready for the masses. Rocketship Park's puzzle game will be available on iPhone and iPad August 24th as a free download.

"Block Droppin' is a fast-paced puzzle game of sliding tiles and falling blocks. Players race against the clock to make shapes in the upper playing field, and then drop those shapes into the well below to clear lines. It's the sort of experience that blends classic concepts into something wholly unique and (we believe) has the potential to secure a permanent spot on the homescreens of puzzle loving gamers."

St. Catharines Developer 'Rocketship Park' Is Born

Friend of the site Jim Squires, and indie developer (and Toronto Blue Jay fan) Shane McCafferty announced this morning the creation of their new studio: Rocketship Parkl  According to the press release (which you can see below), Rocketship Park will focus on creating emotional experiences "that best reflect the team's unique design philosophy."

The studio's first title, Block Droppin', will be a puzzle game about "discovery, assembly, and organization" and be released on iPhone and iPad. For more, make sure to follow them on Twitter, FaceBook, and Instagram!

Press Release follows:

St. Catharines, Canada – 29 March 2017 – After several years of successful collaborations in different mediums, games industry veterans Shane McCafferty and Jim Squires today revealed the launch of Rocketship Park, a new games development studio based in the heart of Niagara. Shane and Jim bring with them a combined 20 years of experience in the industry. Shane has previously led development on a variety of hit games including Starseed: Origin, Crobble, and Word Forward, accruing more than six million downloads across a number of projects. Jim brings a wealth of experience from his work as a consultant, journalist, public relations specialist and entrepreneur.

Rocketship Park is just one of a growing number of game development studios in the Niagara Region, joining the ranks of Phantom Compass, PixelNAUTS, Creative Bytes and Falling Squirrel as a games company that calls St. Catharines home. “Being so close to Toronto, it’s all too easy to feel like we’re in the shadow of greater things,” says co-founder Jim Squires. “But that’s nonsense. While we’re proud to be a part of Toronto’s extended gaming family, the St. Catharines / Niagara area is booming with great talent and we’re honored to stand alongside them.”

Prior to the formation of Rocketship Park, Jim and Shane have collaborated on a number of projects including the Apple-featured 2016 word game AlphaPit and the weekly mobile gaming podcast The Elephant & The Irishman. The pair first met in 2015 at Cowork Niagara, a local coworking space that served as an accidental incubator for the company, taking Shane and Jim from freelancers to founders.

Rocketship Park will be focused on the creation of emotive experiences that best reflect the team’s unique design philosophy. “When you’re creating a game, you’re also creating an emotion within the player,” says Shane. “All too often, that emotion is either an afterthought or abandoned completely in the design process. At Rocketship Park our process starts with the feeling we want to create, and that feeling informs every decision we make.”

The studio will be revealing details about their first release, Block Droppin’, in the coming weeks, and has a number of other projects in development. Block Droppin’ will be a frenzied puzzle game about discovery, assembly, and organization for the iPhone and iPad. To learn more about Rocketship Park and to stay apprised of their activities, follow them on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and sign up for their newsletter at rocketshippark.com.

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About Rocketship Park:

Rocketship Park is a digital design studio focused on creating unique, emotive games that eschew derivative design. Founded in early 2017 by industry veterans Shane McCafferty and Jim Squires, Rocketship Park has several projects currently in development and are actively seeking the right partners to help bring these experiences to market.

New Trailer For Where Cards Fall - Coming Fall 2017

Snowman announced today that Where Cards Fall will be coming Fall 2017 iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac and PC. With the announcement they also delivered a new trailer which you can see below:

Where Cards Fall is a coming of age story where you build houses of cards to move through imaginative puzzles and bring vivid memories of adolescence to life. Coming to iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac, and PC in Fall 2017.

From the blog post, Snowman described the game a bit more in depth:

It may look cinematic, but what you’re seeing here is a real glimpse of our gameplay and story. In Where Cards Fall, you’ll build houses of cards to form and shape the world around you. These houses not only help you move through imaginative puzzles, but also bring to life vivid memories of adolescence.

This particular memory is of teenagehood in the suburbs. Filled with far more cacophonous uncertainty than the playful magic of the forests, the suburbs are home to a crucial question: who will you become? Would you rather remain comfortable at home, or venture into the world outside?

Where Cards Fall is expected to hit PC, Mac, and iOS devices this Fall, so in the meantime, make sure to download the studio's previous game, Alto's Adventure.

Caveman Cliff Becomes A Paid App On iOS

We've spoken about Toronto developer Shiny Talisman before, who have three releases to their name: Warp Looter, Gravtrav, and Caveman Cliff.  Gravtrav was released a few weeks ago, and now Caveman Cliff, which was originally a free to play game, but has been moved to being premium app costing $2.79.

In an email to me, developer Brad Kennedy said: 

"Without the paywall I was able to make some changes that really improved the game including taking down the difficulty early on to help ease the player in and getting them to the good stuff quicker, like the dino-might and whirlwinds."

Caveman Cliff. Ever want to battle pterodactyls with dinomight, whirlwinds and biceps as big as your head? Well now you can. Clear all the boulders off the cliff so that Cliff can make it his home. The pterodactyls want it too but you're quicker than they are! Another game by Shiny Talisman.

This paid version of the app includes no-ads, and no in-app purchases.

Caveman Cliff is a story about a caveman, named Cliff, who wants to live on a cliff. As levels are completed puzzle pieces will be earned. The revelation of the puzzles will guide the user through Cliff’s adventure as he struggles against the pterodactyls. New game mechanics will unlock in relation to what is happening in the story. Four gorgeously illustrated puzzles (30 levels) will need to be completed to find out how the tale ends for Cliff. Levels are completed by clearing the cliff of boulders. The pterodactyls want the cliff for themselves so they’re going to try and stop you. Things will go quicker if you pile boulders together creating boulder chains. These chains will also boost your abilities once they’ve been unlocked.

Caveman Cliff can be picked up on iOS right here, you can also follow the developer on Twitter.

Alto's Adventure Updated On iOS - Now Includes Haptic Feedback

Developer Snowman let me know that Alto's Adventure, the game that keeps on giving, has been updated to take advantage of iPhone 7's Haptic Feedback.

Thanks to the expanded Taptic Engine, we’ve been able to pinpoint exciting moments in a run and tie them to more precise vibrational feedback. Now, you’ll feel a nice jolt of satisfaction upon collecting a wayward llama or sliding over an ice boost. The golden burst of a super coin or powdery landing of a huge combo will hopefully be a little more thrilling.

We’ve even tried to give some consideration to calmer moments: reaching minumum & maximum zoom or snapping the perfect shot in Photo Mode will vibrate like a real camera, immersing you in the joys of being your own mountain photographer. The list goes on, but rather than spoil it all, we’re excited for players to stumble onto each new interaction and find their favourite ones.

You can pick up Alto's Adventure on iOS, if you already own the game the update is a free patch. While players enjoy the free content, we're still waiting to see more on Where Cards Fall from Snowman, and The Game Band.

Tiny Titan Studios Releases 'Tap Smiths' On iOS

The indie developer that brought us Dash Quest has released a new game last week, which players can download for free on iOS right now. Tap Smiths is a tapper RPG where you are a blacksmith building weapons and armour.

"It's hammer time! Race the clock to craft swords, armor and other wacky items as you upgrade your blacksmith shop in this exciting, fast-paced tapper RPG! Collect dozens of crazy Smith characters, like Agent Smith, Bat Smith and Dark Lord of the Smith, including rare Smythical characters with unique abilities! Challenge your reflexes and your memory as you master new blueprints to craft! Fast, reflex-based arcade action meets collectible cartoon craziness and roleplaying-style upgrades in this new release from Tiny Titan Studios! Do YOU have what it takes to save your grandpa’s business? Download Tap Smiths and get smithing!"

Check out Tiny Titan's brand new tapper RPG game, Tap Smiths. Collect unique Smiths, upgrade your shop, forge new items and much more! Available on iOS and Android soon!

You can download the game for free on your iPhone/iPad here, but also make sure to follow Tiny Titan Studios on Twitter.

GalacticThumb Releases Free-To-Play 'Cubicle' On iOS

Toronto independent developer GalacticThumb have released their next game on iOS.  Users can download the free to play game Cubicle, on the iOS store for iPhone and iPad. You can check out a video and some screenshots below, but make sure to download the game on iOS today, while an Android version will be coming out 'soon'.  Make sure to follow GalacticThumb on Twitter as well.

Cubicle is now available on the App Store https://appsto.re/us/EsiYcb.i Android soon!