Reporting on the games made in Canada and the creators behind them
London Ontario studio Tiny Titan Studios has released their endless runner RPG Dash Quest on iOS platforms today. The game is free to play as you "use Spells and Items while you dash through hordes of enemies on your way to challenging boss battles!"
You can check out the trailer below:
The launch trailer for our upcoming endless running RPG hack and slash game, Dash Quest! For more information please visit our facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/tinytitangames
The developers behind Cally's Caves 3 announced today that an free expansion pack will be coming to the game next week. The expanions, titled Melvin’s Prototype Factory, will include a new 34 level zone, new weapons, new enemies, as well as some bug fixes.
You can check out the full breakdown over at developers blog. They also made note that another free expansion is planned for before Christmas, with an announcement of their next project after that. Make sure to download the game on iOS, or Android for free today.
As announced earlier in the week, Cryptark is out now on Steam Early Access. Click here to check out their Steam page and buy the game, which has a 15% discount during launch week.
Also announced today was Alientrap will be bringing the game to PlayStation 4. Jesse McGibney took to the PlayStation Blog to make the announcement as well as explain the game with a trailer (which I think is the same trailer as a few days ago):
Cryptark is a high-speed roguelike shooter that takes you into the lives of a band of space mercenaries. Your goal? Fulfill your freelancing contract by boarding and disarming the dangerous remnants of an ancient alien flotilla. Complete objectives to get paid, upgrade awesome weapons and gear, and finally gain access to the flagship known as the Cryptark to recover mysterious alien technology
Cryptark is a 2D sci-fi rougelike shooter where you take on the role of a heavily armed privateer seeking to earn government contracts by boarding deadly alien space-hulks. www.Cryptark.com
As mentioned, Cryptark is out now on Steam Early Access, and will be available for PlayStation 4 next year.
Far Cry Primal, which was announced earlier today, is being worked on by Ubisoft Montreal with Ubisoft Toronto helping out.
We are incredibly excited to be collaborating on this with our friends/family @UbisoftMTL! https://t.co/FjJDXlca2G
— UBISOFT TORONTO (@UbisoftToronto) October 6, 2015
Ubisoft Toronto last worked on Far Cry 4, and Assassin's Creed Unity. With Far Cry 4 they helped with the Shangri-La part of the game, but their involvement with Far Cry Primal is unknown right now. Back in July, IGN speculated that they were working on a new IP, which could still be true. You can check out the full trailer below:
Rise above extinction in Far Cry Primal, coming February 23, 2016. Please SUBSCRIBE and visit our official channels for exclusive access and the latest information on all things Far Cry: http://farcrygame.ubi.com http://www.youtube.com/farcrygame http://www.facebook.com/farcrygame http://www.twitter.com/farcrygame https://instagram.com/farcrygame/ About Far Cry Primal: The award-winning Far Cry franchise that stormed the tropics and the Himalayas now enters the original fight for humanity's survival with its innovative open-world sandbox gameplay, bringing together massive beasts, breathtaking environments, and unpredictable savage encounters.
Far Cry Primal will be out February 23rd 2016 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
Independent developer Alientrap announced today that their Rougelike sci-fi shooter Cryptark is out on Steam October 7th (this Wednesday!). You can check out a full description and trailer of the game below. I got a chance to play Cryptark at Bit Bazaar earlier this and it's a lot of fun, with a cool art style.
Cryptark is a 2D roguelike shooter that challenges players with boarding and neutralizing procedurally generated alien starships to earn income for their Privateering enterprise. Purchase improved equipment and weapons to tackle more dangerous targets, but be cautious as failure will result in a loss of investment and profit. The decaying alien arks will defend themselves from intruders with a wide arsenal of cyborg monstrosities, robotics, and security systems, all obstacles that must be surpassed to achieve victory, the destruction of the ship’s central System Core.
http://store.steampowered.com//app/344740 http://www.cryptark.com/ Cryptark is a 2D sci-fi roguelike shooter where you take on the role of a heavily armed privateer seeking to earn government contracts by boarding deadly alien space-hulks. Each of the ancient derelicts is a hornet's nest of cybernetic drones and security systems you must you must traverse.
Make sure to follow the developer on Twitter, and let us know in the comments if you plan on picking up the game on Steam.
With the release of Metanet Software's N++, players are busy working on user generated levels. Metanet Software has been going over some of their favourite, and took to the PlayStation Blog to go over some more.
There are some screenshots below, but make sure to check out the full post here.
The developer behind the iOS and Android platformer Cally's Cave 3 recently wrote a developers blog about how much their latest game cost. The final number may come at a surprise (it was to me).
After breaking down the costs by software costs, licenses, marketing, development and assets, we get to the final number of $689 dollars.
'And all for a total budget of $689. The lesson that we’ve learned after shipping 3 games is that if you really love games and want to make a game, money isn’t going to be the thing that stands in your way, willpower is. Do whatever you have to do to make it happen, and please, share your game with us so we can try it!'
It's an interesting read for anyone who is thinking of making games on mobile devices. Cally Cave 3's developer stresses that it shouldn't be money getting in the way. You can check out the full article, and breakdown here. Make sure to download the game for free on iOS, or Android.
Sago Sago, the independent developer focused on developing apps for children, announced they have their latest app, Sago Mini Babies, releasing October 8th for iOS devices.
Introducing the Sago Mini babies. Boys and girls love caring for these adorable characters. Feed Robin her favorite mush, play dress-up with Jinja, change Harvey’s stinky diaper, then take a dance break with Jack. With cute animations, adorable giggles and even some tears, these babies are a lot of fun.
Coming October 8, 2015!
Tom from 13AM Games met with the gang over at Nintendo Life about Runbow, including what's next for the title, and what the reception has been like for the game. Most interestingly Tom is asked if there is a chance for a 3DS version:
Nintendo Life: "What about the 3DS? Are we see going to see any portable love for Runbow?"
Tom: "It's something we're looking into. It's something as a studio we're looking into. Most of us have 3DS's, and we're on them all the time. It's something we're looking into. It's definitely something we want to do"
You can check out the full interview below.
Runbow on the 3DS? It might not be as crazy as you think! The current Wii U version takes a set of classic gaming tropes, throws them into a mixer and adds a severe dollop of friendship-destroying insanity. It's difficult to play and not be grinning from ear to ear or vowing vengeance on your so-called friends.
DrinkBox Studios, the developer behind the upcoming Vita hack n'slash Severed, has been blogging about developing the game. Their latest post is about testing out Severed and analyzing the results:
'Chris and Dave here. This week we start our first internal playtesting for Severed! A DrinkBox mantra is to playtest early and often. Basically this means harassing family, friends, and amazing volunteers to play our game.
The average playtest is streamed to the entire studio so many members of the team will be able to watch in real time. Despite this, we feel very strongly about the benefit of logging playtest data – this is information recorded to the Vita in the form of a text file while somebody plays Severed. Log data is really good at giving the macro view of a playtest session, which can help us as a studio tune the game for maximum ultra uber fun.'
It's a pretty interesting read for anyone looking into game development, or how studios test their products before launch. You can check out the full post here. Make sure to follow DrinkBox Studios on twitter so you can keep up to date on Severed.
I met up with Alex Rushdy, Creative Director for 13AM Games, at the Tokyo Game Show, about Runbow launching in Japan, the reception since releasing Runbow in North America, and post launch plans, including hints at DLC.
Check out the interview below:
Thanks to Alex for chatting with me. We didn't know we'd both be in Tokyo, hence the lack of preparedness. Tokyo Game Show was a lot of fun, and everyone I saw playing Runbow seemed to be enjoying themselves. Make sure to give Alex and 13AM Games a follow on Twitter.
As announced earlier in the month, Gastrobots from XMG Studios is out now on iOS devices.
Gastrobots is a cute arcade-puzzle game where you -- an adorable space-robo-cowboy -- save the Food Galaxy from being eaten by greedy space-robo-critters the only way you know how... Wranglin'!
http://bit.ly/GastroBots Gastrobots is a cute arcade-puzzle game where you -- an adorable space-robo-cowboy -- save the Food Galaxy from being eaten by greedy space-robo-critters the only way you know how... Wranglin'! Get it on iOS September 24th!
Congrats to the gang at XMG Studios for the release! Have you download the free to play game yet? You can do so here!
Sound Shapes, partly developed by local developer Queasy Games, celebrated its third anniversary this past week and is doing so in a big way.
First, if you're not aware, the game is free this month with PlayStation Plus. After the the month, or if you're not a PS+ member, the game is on a permanently sale for $9.99, which gets you the game on PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, and PlayStation 4. There is also cloud saves, and separate trophy lists (triple platinum!). The game's DLC is also half off for the rest of the month.
You can check out the PlayStation blog post to see some of the bonus albums by some developers and composers, as well as some tips on how to see the user generated content.
Congrats to everyone involved! Make sure to follow the game on Twitter for all the updates.
This past week Ubisoft Toronto, the biggest game developer studio in the city, celebrated its fifth birthday. I went up and dug out this old article announcing the studio opening up back in 2009. It's funny to read the rumour at the time was they were going to work on Assassins Creed 3 (which made sense, since the producer of the first two games Jade Raymond was named President of the studio). The studio had gone on to make Splinter Cell: Blacklist, as well as help out with Far Cry 4, and Assassins Creed Unity.
Celebrating five remarkable years and a future full of possibility! Our team loves this special walk down memory lane pic.twitter.com/om29t2cHV0
— UBISOFT TORONTO (@UbisoftToronto) September 18, 2015
They are doing a major hiring push right now, since its rumoured they are working on a new AAA game. Congratulations guys and here's to another five (and more) years!
Developer NVYVE Studios released a new trailer for their open world survival horror game P.A.M.E.L.A. The trailer shows gameplay with Pamela (I'm assuming) talking about how shitty everything has become.
"Play as a Sleeper, awoken from cryosleep in Eden, a fallen utopia wrought with death and danger. Meet PAMELA, an omnipresent AI overseer who is left alone watching over the once-vibrant city, now reduced to a silent monolith gliding across the ocean. She will fight by your side as you struggle against Eden’s tortured citizens."
P.A.M.E.L.A. is an open-world, utopian survival horror game coming to PC in 2016. Get more info at http://www.pamelagame.com. If you'd like to see us on Steam, vote for P.A.M.E.L.A. on Greenlight here! http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=498592198 Explore and survive in a Utopian future, ravaged by humanity's misguided pursuit of perfection.
P.A.M.E.L.A. is planned for a 2016 release on PC. Make sure to hit up the games Steam greenlight page to vote for the game, and follow the developer on Twitter. We'll have more from NVYVE Studios and P.A.M.E.L.A. as it becomes available.
