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.

Adventure Town-Building Game 'Dwarrows' Now On Kickstarter

I've been a big fan of Dwarrows from Lithic Entertainment since coming across it earlier last year.  They have now officially launched their Kickstarter to help out with the final stretch of completing the game, which is a 3d town building adventure game.

The peaceful Wood-Elves have fled their homelands to escape a great flood. The Elf Queen Solatia, aware of their plight, has secured some lands in a far away country and an old Keep where they can rebuild.

Assigned to help these woodland folk rebuild is The Royal Company of Colonizers, an elite group of expert gatherers and builders. Three of the most storied of these colonizers have been chosen for this mission, The Dwarf: Dwilben the Gatherer, The Gnome: Gloia the Builder, and The Halfling: Horbir the Explorer.

Uploaded by Lithic Entertainment on 2016-09-07.

NOW on Greenlight: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=642051488 Official Sites: http://www.dwarrows.com http://www.lithicentertainment.com https://www.facebook.com/LithicEntertainment https://twitter.com/LithicEnt Dwarrows is a peaceful town-building game that borrows from the Action Adventure genre. Take control of three uniquely skilled characters to leave the confines of the town, explore the lush forest surrounding it, and work together to solve puzzles.

You can check out the full Kickstarter here, where you can get a copy of the game for as low as $15 dollars (which will be lower than the launch price).  Make sure to also follow the developer on Twitter and FaceBook and keep an eye on this colourful, charming adventure game.

Ballistic Tanks Releases on Steam

Indie developer Kirk Lucas sent me a message on Twitter letting me know that his action tank game, Ballistic Tanks has released on Steam.  The game contains over 50 maps, and 4 player local multiplayer:

Ballistic Tanks is the best tank game you've played since the 80's. It is an intense arcade shooter where you destroy tanks in a frenzy of bullets, lasers, and explosions! Play a challenging solo/co-op arcade mode or compete with up to 4 friends in a variety of multiplayer game modes.

Ballistic Tanks is the best tank game you've played since the 80's. It is an intense arcade shooter where you destroy tanks in a frenzy of bullets, lasers, and explosions! Play a challenging solo/co-op arcade mode or compete with up to 4 friends in a variety of multiplayer game modes.

You can pick up the game right now Steam for $5.49, and follow Kirk on Twitter.

Ballistic Tanks is out! https://t.co/6QYEgxf1GR Help support by purchasing and getting the word out!! #indiedev #indiegame #gamedev pic.twitter.com/AaCU4AfXAj

— Kirk Lucas (@kirknetic) September 20, 2016

Ubisoft And National Bank Announce Indie Series

The other night, Ubisoft Toronto had an Open House to celebrate its 30th anniversary as a studio (Ubisoft Toronto itself is 6 years old).  In celebration, they announced the Indie Series. An annual competition that can net Indie developers $50,000, and mentorship from Ubisoft. 

Ubisoft opened its first Canadian studio in 1997 and its first studio in Ontario, Ubisoft Toronto, in 2010. The company takes an active role to develop a passionate and creative ecosystem in Ontario where studios, small and large, collaborate to make the Canadian game development industry shine on internationally. Making games is difficult and presents many challenges: financially, creatively, and more. This is precisely why we want to connect with our colleagues, share knowledge and expertise, and together, ensure Canada continues to grow as a game development leader worldwide.

You can check out the full details on the main website, however there are some restrictions, such as being a studio between 2-50 people, and have received funding before.

ROM and Pop Machine Creative's Game Astro-Miners Out Now On PC

Astro-Miners, the game created by Pop Machine Creative Games in partnership with the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum), is officially out and can be bought right here for $4.99.

A short trailer for our game, Astro-Miners. Available for Mac and PC, Sept. 2016 @ astrominers.ca

Astro­Miners is a kid­ friendly video game that puts players in the role of an Astro­Miner in the not ­so­ distant future. In this 2D sandbox adventure, the Earth is running out of raw materials and humans have begun mining asteroids for their rich resources. As the Astro­Miner, players navigate the inside of three different types of asteroids in order to collect valuable resources, while also learning about rocks, minerals, and space exploration.

You can check out the full press release here, as well as an article over at BrutalGamer, and follow the game/team on Twitter.

Join The TorontoGameDevs.com Extra Life Team

For the past two years I've been participating in the Extra Life, which is an annual event where gamers around the world play games for 24 hours, raising money for hospitals. Usually people stream, and do social media for the event as well.

If you're interested, the event takes place November 5th (although you can do it any day that works for you), and you can join Team TorontoGameDevs.com!  Personally I'll be playing a bunch of Toronto developed games, but I'll post the full list closer to the date.

I'll be posting about this more, but I'll be streaming it on Youtube and/or Twitch, and tweeting along as well. You can also donate here.

Severed Out Now On Wii U

Following its release on PlayStation Vita, and then iOS, Drinkbox Studios have released Severed for Nintendo Wii U today. You can pick up the game for $13.49 right here, or on Wii U.

Take control of a one-armed warrior named Sasha, wielding a living sword on her journey through a nightmare world in search of her family. Swipe-based touch controls will let you solve puzzles, find secrets, and do battle with a host of disturbing monsters. As the journey goes on, you’ll unlock new abilities, ascend an RPG-style upgrade tree, and tease apart the mysteries of the dark fantasy universe Sasha finds herself in.

#SEVERED is now officially available on #WiiU! pic.twitter.com/weh9lsnGTd

— DrinkBox Studios (@DrinkBoxStudios) September 22, 2016

We're still waiting on the 3DS version of the game, which is expected to hit this year.

Jazzpunk: Director's Cut Out Now On PlayStation 4

As previously announced, Jazzpunk: Director's Cut is out now on PlayStation 4 and can be downloaded from the store for $19.99 (currently on sale for $15.99).

Jazzpunk is a comedy adventure set in an alternate reality Cold War World, plagued with corporate espionage, CyberCrime, and sentient martinis. Gameplay is inspired by spoof comedy films and cartoons of yesteryear, with a focus on weird gadgets, exotic locales, and open-world style exploration.

Jazzpunk: Director's Cut is coming to PS4 September 20th 2016. Suppository and Eye Drop forms delayed until 2045. http://jazzpunk.net Blast off to the year 1959B! Set your video terminals to AMAZEMENT!

CEIM - INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT - SEATTLE

Martin Brouard, formerly of Frima Studios reached out to me over email today and let me know that the CEIM, and Martin are organizing some events for Canadian Indie developers, starting with a trip to Seattle. I've copied the full details below:

It's a week in Seattle (October 9th to 15th), because Steam Dev Days is on October 12th and 13th.

I've also booked a full afternoon at the Nintendo Headquarters on October 10th, and the ID@Xbox Team at the Microsoft Headquarters on October 11th.

October 12 and 13 is Steam Dev Days

Friday October 14th ID@Xbox is holding out a mini dev summit for those who are part of their program and I've booked the whole morning with the Amazon Dev relations team for those who are interested.

Each dev will be able to spend some time showing their new stuff or talk business and network with all these first party people plus we'll be a big bunch of cool devs so we can make new friends :-).

The way it works is that there is a registration cost of 450$ (Only if you are selected of course).

You pay your transportation to and from Seattle and CEIM will reimburse 50% of the cost (up to 325$).

You pay your hotel and food and CEIM will reimburse 200$ per day (so 1200$).

You pay your Steam Dev Days pass and CEIM will reimburse 50% (so +-60$).

This is limited to one person per company.

I've attached the forms that Martin sent to me, but if you're interested make sure to contact Pierre Moisan at pmoisan@ceim.org.

File 1

File 2

IO Reboot Out Now On Android Phone

Omar Chehab from University of Toronto reached out to me over email (Steve@torontogamedevs.com!) to let me know about his "infinite puzzle game" IO Reboot is out on Android phones.

"Easy to learn, hard to master... IO is an infinite puzzle game that progressively challenges the brain to train Focus, Attention, Multitasking, Visualization, and Balance. Compete worldwide and view your ranking against everyone else."

You can get the game for free on Android phones right here.

Mirage: Arcane Warfare Close Alpha Announced - New Gameplay Trailer - Delayed Until 2017

Torn Banner Studios have been busy working away on Mirage: Arcane Warfare. They've posted a of content, and developer blogs for the game since its announcement, and have now announced a Closed Alpha will be happening shortly:

And now we’ve got some news for you: the Mirage Alpha is coming this September! The Mirage Closed Alpha will be subject to the requirements of a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA).

If you previously signed up for the “Beta” of Mirage on our website, you’ll be first in line for invitation into the free Alpha (which, for all intents and purposes, will have the same content as what was going to be tested in the original “Beta” signup).

Torn Banner Studios also created a 12 minute gameplay trailer for PAX West, while also delaying the game until early 2017.

We have also decided to move the release date of Mirage to Q1 2017 – a few months later than originally planned. The full release of Mirage will be preceded by a brief Beta testing period

Sign up for the Closed Alpha, coming September 2016: http://miragearcanewarfare.com Watch new Mirage: Arcane Warfare gameplay footage from PAX West. Mirage: Arcane Warfare arrives early 2017. Vypress: https://youtu.be/o_M4P5qDV74?t=42 Tinker: https://youtu.be/o_M4P5qDV74?t=177 Vigilist: https://youtu.be/o_M4P5qDV74?t=317 Taurant: https://youtu.be/o_M4P5qDV74?t=384 Alchemancer: https://youtu.be/o_M4P5qDV74?t=528 Obliterate your enemies with powerful magic or silence them with a sword in Mirage: Arcane Warfare, a multiplayer FPS from the creators of Chivalry: Medieval Warfare.

If you want to sign up for the Alpha, make sure to visit the Torn Banners website. Until then, let's all follow the game and studio on Twitter.