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.

###

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.

Graceful Explosion Machine Release Date Announced

Vertex Pop announced on their Twitter page today that Graceful Explosion Machine will be available on Nintendo Switch on April 6, 2017 for $12.99.  Last week we posted about how this game was doing at PAX East, so it's great to have an official date!

Happy 2nd Birthday TorontoGameDevs.com

Two years ago today the dream was born. What started as a Twitter, then became a tumblr, was then transformed into the website you see today (with most things remaining the same).

Just want to thank everyone for their constant support. We have big things planned for the future. Subscribe on Youtube, follow on Instagram, and consider becoming a Patreon - good times ahead.

Mirage: Arcane Warfare. Closed Beta Live Today

Mirage: Arcane Warfare by Torn Banner Studios has announced that their Closed Beta goes live today, and if you pre-order the game, you can get access to the beta testing.  There is a standard edition and a special edition: the special edition including an original game soundtrack, an HD Fan Pack, and Chivalry: Medieval Warfare Complete Edition.

Pre-order Mirage on Steam to play the Beta - on NOW! http://store.steampowered.com/app/368420 Get 10% off of all Mirage pre-orders if you own Chivalry: Medieval Warfare on Steam. Pre-orders grant Beta access for you - and a friend too! Mirage: Arcane Warfare is $29.99 USD and will release May 23, 2017.

The official release date is set for May 23, 2017.  You can check out the game's Steam page here.

Capybara Games Collaborates with Cartoon Network On "OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes"

Capybara Games has announced that they are teaming up with Cartoon Network to create a console game based on the series "OK K.O.!  Let's Be Heroes."  Ian Jones-Quartey created the short "Lakewood Plaza Turbo", and Cartoon Network released a mobile game (OK K.O.! Lakewood Plaza Turbo) for iOS and Android based on Jones-Quartey's shorts.  Now Capybara Games will work to create a new console game.

“OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes is set in Lakewood Plaza, a mall for heroes, where K.O. and his kooky crew of friends are always working to outdo each other as they try to level up and thwart their evil foe Lord Boxman’s plot to destroy the plaza.”

— http://www.capybaragames.com/

Rima: The Story Begins

"Rima: The Story Begins" is a modern 2D platform game developed by UP Entertainment Ltd.  It consists of many supernatural characters including: Rima, a small mutant blue-green algae; Razgon, a giant dragon and the main antagonist; and Ilathen, the Goddess of Ila.  Rima is tasked with restoring major elements to bring life back to the land as the land has been seized by Shadow.  Check out some screenshots below.

“In this humor-filled adventure game, the player controls Rima, a small mutant blue-green algae in cyan who is on a mission to save his homeland seized by Shadow. Rima has the ability to run and jump but needs to learn a lot more as he interacts with his environment. The player helps Rima to collect new abilities, Life Plants and upgrades as he jumps from different platforms and solves various puzzles.”

“Rima: The Story Begins" will be available on the App Store and Google Play this summer, with a planned Steam, PlayStation, and Windows Store release in the Winter.  If you want to keep up to date, you can follow them on Instagram @u.p.entertainment

Castle Pixel Releasing Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King This Month

Here's one that almost snuck by us, but the developer behind Rex Rocket will be releasing their next game, Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King, later this month on Steam. The Zelda inspired game has players controlling Lily, Knight of the Rose:

Slash your way through monster-infested dungeons to save the Kingdom of Blossom from eternal darkness. Collect unique weapons, spells, and more during your journey to take down powerful bosses and solve clever puzzles.  Be part of a vivid, dynamic story passed down from grandfather to grandchildren by influencing the course of events yourself!

Explore a huge open game world in classic action-adventure fashion as Lily, Knight of the Rose! Slash your way through monster infested dungeons to save the Kingdom of Blossom from eternal darkness. Collect key items such as bow and boomerang on your journey to extend your fighting capabilities and solve dungeon puzzles.

Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King releases on Steam on March 28th. You can check out the Steam page right here.

Party Minigame 'Use Your Words' Coming Next Month

We found out about party game Use Your Words late last year, and now we won't have to wait much longer to play the game on Steam, Xbox One, and PS4. (Wii U users will have to wait a little bit longer it seems).  According to a tweet, players will be able to be funny again April 4th.

Use Your Words is a party multiplayer game which has players using their smart-phones in different minigames (listed below). Check out the trailer below, and see you April 4th!

• Sub The Title: Watch a short clip from a foreign film, then write your own subtitle! Fans of Mystery Science Theater 3000 will love making the actors onscreen say whatever they want in a variety of monster movies, martial arts movies, and some just plain weird films from the past.
• Blank-o-Matic: Fill in the blank to complete the sentence! Instead of waiting to have the funniest card in your hand, write an answer that matches your sense of humor! We've hired some of the funniest writers around to set up the jokes perfectly so that even Grandpa can crack off a zinger or two.
• EXTRA, EXTRA!: Write a hilarious caption or clickbait headline for a ridiculous photo, in a take on the classic "caption this" game!
• Survey Says: Go with your gut in this rapid-fire game show style "lightning round"!

We're releasing April 4th on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Steam!
(Wii U coming soon!) pic.twitter.com/nSWGGgtgtU

— Use Your Words (@UseYourWords) March 24, 2017

Coming Spring 2017, it's Use Your Words! The party game for funny people and their unfunny friends! Get more info at http://useyourwords.lol Pre-order it for Steam at https://store.useyourwordsgame.com Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/useyourwords And like us on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/useyourwordsgameSBG

Yuuuuge Runbow Sale Going On Right Now

Our friends over at 13AM Games have announced a huge sale for Runbow. You can pick up the 9 player party platformer on Wii U, Steam, and Humble Bundle for 50% off.

Runbow is on sale! Tons of single player content, online, 50% off. On sale on #Steam, Humble, & #WiiU! #pcgaming https://t.co/6IE0BZumj9 pic.twitter.com/uAG3cM7hr1

— 13AM Games (@13amgames) March 23, 2017

We don't know what's next for 13AM Games, but the sale goes until April 5th. If you're looking to Switch* up your wardrobe a little, you can see similar savings on their official store.

*That's me being funny.

GRIP available on Steam

GRIP is available on Steam, and it looks like a pretty sweet racing game.  All the vehicles in GRIP have armour and weapons, and it looks really intense.  The creators at Caged Element are planning a console version this year (which I will be all over as soon as it's available).  Check out the screenshots and trailer below.

GRIP is now available for purchase on Steam Early Access! Visit the store page here: http://store.steampowered.com/app/396900/ We'll be updating the game frequently, so be sure to check the page for news! You can download a true HD version of this trailer here: http://www.cagedelement.com/grip/video/GripTrailer3.mp4 http://www.twitter.com/gripvideogame http://www.facebook.com/gripvideogame http://www.gripvideogame.com http://forum.cagedelement.com We appreciate the praise and support we've gotten from all of our fans so far.

Let's Talk Float - Indie Game from GalacticThumb

Hey everyone, I downloaded Float on iOS and wanted to share some quick thoughts.  Don't forget to subscribe to TorontoGameDevs on YouTube.

Heather from TorontoGameDevs.com downloaded Float from Galactic Thumb and wanted to give her thoughts on the indie game. Remember to subscribe and leave a comment! Website: http://www.torontogamedevs.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/torontogamedevs Patreon: patreon.com/torontogamedevs Store: designbyhumans.com/shop/TorontoGameDevs

Float by GalacticThumb

Our friends at GalacticThumb have released Float on iOS.  In Float, you tap around the flower to move it through various obstacles, and it can be quite challenging.  Each level has different aesthetics and music and I am really enjoying it.

Float is a beautifully crafted game that offers calming and meditative yet challenging gameplay, with unique aesthetics and music for each stage. In Float you have to tap around the flower to maneuver it through obstacles. The closer you tap the further the flower moves.

Graceful Explosion Machine Getting Love on Reddit from PAX East

Graceful Explosion Machine by Vertex Pop is set to release in April, and check out all the love that it’s getting on Reddit from its’ appearance at PAX East.  There is definitely hype growing for this game, and I can't wait to play it myself on the Switch and see all the combo variations.

Graceful Explosion Machine is a side-scrolling shooter.  You are the pilot of the Graceful Explosion Machine; a fighter ship battling your way to get home.  Your ship has four weapons with combos and you can travel over 30 levels across four unique worlds.

Graceful Explosion Machine is coming soon to Nintendo Switch™ http://vertexpop.com/gem

Kings of Pool From Uken Games Out Now On iOS And Android

A game that has pretty much taken over most of my evenings was released on iOS and Android a few weeks back. Kings of Pool from our friends at Uken Games is a free to play billiard game that lets players create their own club and battle others online (make sure to join the TorontoGameDevs group!). You can download the game for free on iOS here, and Android here. Follow them on FaceBook is stay up to date on everything involving the game.

Metanet Software Would "Love To Bring [N++] To Switch"

Found this while browsing Reddit, but a fan asked Metanet Software on their FaceBook page the chances on a N++ Switch port. It sounds like they want to do it, but would just need help from Nintendo with porting, and cost.

"Just to clarify, we said we would LOVE to bring it to the Switch -- we still need to get Nintendo on board and find a team to help port it, and find the money to help pay for that :)

We think N++ would be so awesome on the Switch, so we're really hoping this works out! The more support we get from fans and players, saying they want N++ on the Switch, the better -- hopefully Nintendo will see understand how many people want this to happen and we'll be able to get the ball rolling."

Start tweeting at Nintendo, or emailing their support if you want to see N++ on Switch.