Countdown To Stage Select: Kitfox Games

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Continuing with out countdown to this weekends Stage Select, let's take a look at Kitfox Games.  According to Stage Select "Kitfox Games is a Montreal-based studio showing Moon Hunters, an action RPG about building a hero’s mythology in a 1-4 player action RPG. Your decisions reflect your personality, which then becomes your legend."   Moon Hunters is looking like a really cool multiplayer action game.

http://www.moonhuntersgame.com/

Make sure to check out the game and studio next week. You can check out all the updates on Moon Hunters by following the developer on Twitter.

Sunday May 31st: Toronto GameDev Job Postings

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Last week I posted about some local job postings in and around Toronto. I said I would do it every Sunday, and here we are!  If you're looking for GameDev jobs, make sure to check these out.

Torn Banner Studios - Senior Multiplayer Level Designer, Environment Artist, and Animator

You can click the link above to see the positions, but here's a little info on Torn Banner Studios. You'll also be able to check them out at Stage Select next weekend.

"At Torn Banner we understand that long, hard hours are not conducive to being a happy, healthy person. Combine this idea with a flat studio structure and profit sharing and you've got ideals that promote a positive, low stress environment to help us create awesome games. As a small team of developers, each individual has a huge impact on the final product that we put out, so we put emphasis on being open with each other, giving/receiving critical feedback, and not letting an false sense of authority cloud our vision. The more eyes and input that we have from different disciplines and personality types, the better our releases will be. Profit sharing, 4 weeks Paid vacation, A no crunching policy, Relocation assistance, Flexible schedule, Monthly learning credit, Weekly happy hour, Healthcare & benefits"

Sago Sago - Software Engineer

"Sago Sago is looking for a full-time software engineer to join our team. The software engineer will be responsible for writing and maintaining the common code that handles analytics, cross-promotion and other non-game elements. The engineer will also support the game development team by managing developer tools, the code repository and build automation system."

Digital Extremes - UI Programmer, Web Developer, Programmers, + More (in London Ontario):

There are a lot of opportunities at Digital Extremes, make sure to check out the site:

"Why choose Digital Extremes? Ingenuity, diligence, highly skilled, specifically trained. With stealth precision, this team of ninjas have infiltrated the F2P market. Can we control the natural elements, shape shift or walk on water? Hell no. But we can develop kick-ass videogames. We are masters of our own weaponry. What is your superhuman skill? Do you have what it takes to join this elite team? Bring it. Recruiting now."

If you're a Game Dev and want me to write about your game, or post your job openings you can reach out to me on Twitter, or email.

Countdown to Stage Select: Torn Banner Studios

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Similar to what I did with Bit Bazaar, I'll be doing a Countdown to next weeks Stage Select Gaming Expo.  We'll start with the developers behind the Chivalry franchise.  Most recently Chivalry was updated with a Shark pack (you read that right).

Chivalry Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/219640/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChivalryGame Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Chivalrythegame Website: http://www.tornbanner.com/chivalry/esrb/ Depth Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/274940/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/depthgame Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DepthGame Website: http://www.depthgame.com/

"Torn Banner Studios is an exciting independent video game company located in Toronto, Canada. Passion and innovation are the core elements of everything that we do. We are people that truly love games and are lucky enough to be following our dreams, thanks to the incredible support from our community. We want to go places other companies are afraid to go, because we believe great games begin with the passion of a small group of diehard fans. Those fans have the deepest understanding and appreciation for the subject they love and a vision for how it should be presented in a game. We want to breathe life into that vision and allow more people to appreciate it. We want to take on the challenging ideas that when done well create truly powerful and unique games that are remembered. You say it can’t be done? We say bring it on."

According to their site, Torn Banner Studios has a Unannounced Unreal Engine 4 Game in development as well, so who knows what we'll see at Stage Select.

 

Toronto Developed Games To Play On The Subway/Bus

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Let's be honest. The TTC sucks. You will often find yourself sitting in a crowded bus, streetcar, or subway that just isn't moving.  This is where protable gaming devices come in really handy.  Here are some great games developed in Toronto (or surrounding areas) that can be played in quick fashion.

Noodles - Developed by Lummox Labs - Buy it Here.

Noodles is best described by its developer: "a relaxing, simple, addictive puzzler. Tap to spin noodle pieces, and connect them all together." Players will rotate tiles to make everything connect, and most levels (especially at the 5X5 level) can be beaten in a minute or two.

Blitz Block Robo - Developed by Nexus Game Studio - Buy it Here (Android / iOS)

Blitz Block Robo comes from Barrie developer Nexus Game Studio and makes the typical match puzzle game a bit more hectic. "Blitz Block Robo is an action puzzle game with a fresh new take on the typical match puzzler. Simple, yet challenging, control the game grid by sliding blocks, matching colors of any amount to earn points or chain together with special blocks for massive combos."

Alto's Adventure - Developed by Snowman - Buy it Here.

I wanted to put an endless runner on this list, and they don't come much better or beautiful than Alto's Adventure.  Even if you're making a great run, you can always just complete challenges. "Join Alto and his friends as they embark on an endless snowboarding odyssey. Journey across the beautiful alpine hills of their native wilderness, through neighbouring villages, ancient woodlands, and long-abandoned ruins. Along the way you'll rescue runaway llamas, grind rooftops, leap over terrifying chasms and outwit the mountain elders – all while braving the ever changing elements and passage of time upon the mountain."

Honorary Mention: Bloxiq - Developed by Blot Interactive.

All the previous games I've mentioned are on phones or tablets - but what about the PlayStation Vita? Enter Bloxiq. However, I do have a confession: I have not played Bloxiq yet, still waiting for a non-Borderlands 2 Vita bundle.  However when a developers describes their game as the "Demon’s Souls of puzzle games" then you've peaked my interest.  Give this one a shot if you're a Vita user and give some love to the developer on Twitter.

Rogue Legacy Now Available On Xbox One

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Indie Developer Cellar Door Games have announced their rogue-like platformer Rogue Legacy is out now on Xbox One.  The game is already available on a variety of other platformers, so this gives you another method of playing the very excellent game.  It also comes with a 20% discount with Games for Gold.

Rogue Legacy, the critically acclaimed genealogical rogue-"LITE", has arrived on Xbox One. Every time you die, your children succeed you. Each child is unique; one could be colorblind, while another could be dyslexic. But that's okay, because nobody's perfect. So if you've ever wanted to play as a bald ninja dwarf now's your chance!

Who will be picking up Rogue Legacy on Xbox One? I didn't get a chance to beat it on Vita, but I did die a lot.

Guacamelee Leads Humble Nindie Bundle

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Nintendo and Humble Bundle have announced the first ever Humble Bundle for console/portable, The Humble Nindie Bundle.  If you are not familiar with Humble Bundles, they are a collection of indie games, bundled together for a heavily discounted price with some of the proceeds going to charity.  You have the option to pay what you want, while also distributing the payments across the developers, charity, and Humble.  

The Humble Nindie Bundle is lead by Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition from DrinkBox Studios.

Get it at https://www.humblebundle.com/?utm_source=hbvid Indie hits on Nintendo consoles! We've teamed up with Nintendo to bring fans a bundle full of Nintendo 3DS and Wii U indie games! Pay what you want for Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition, Woah Dave!, and Mighty Switch Force.

Make sure to check out the bundle here - currently there is a promise of more games to come.

Square Enix Highlights Dragon of Legends On Collective Page

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Remember when the developers behind Halcyon 6 just absolutely destroyed Kickstarter? No doubt that part of the reason was they were backed by Square Enix on their Collective page, which helps promote independent developers trying to get funded.

Enter, Dragon of Legends, which has now made its way onto Square Enix Collective. Square Enix simply asks if you would fund this game if it went onto Kickstarter.  

"After creating your own custom character and selecting a faction, you will set out on an epic quest to conquer evil and save the lands of Havamal from impending doom, or succumb to the darkness and act as an agent of destruction. You will have your own background, racial history, and character specific storyline that will provide direction, and motivation behind all of your actions. Along your adventures you will acquire new equipment and learn powerful skills to aid you on your path, and you will be constantly interacting with other players from around the world. In order to defeat the most complicated and challenging dungeons, you must strategically coordinate your efforts and work effectively as a team to reap the rewards. You can band together with like-minded players in clans and guilds and wage war against other rival factions - or even turn on your own."

Make sure to vote for Dragon of Legends on their Square-Enix Collective page, and follow them on Twitter.

Rocket 5 Studios Releases Wheels of Rage

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Indie Developer Rocket 5 Studios announced today their newest game, Wheels of Rage, has been released on the Cartoon Network's website.  The game is based on The Amazing World of Gumball television show.

"In Wheels Of Rage, you take on the role of Gumball’s mom Nicole Watterson as she attempts to avert family disaster while racing around town to get the last minute items she needs for Gumball’s surprise birthday party. Money is tight, so if you want to get Gumball the perfect birthday gift you’ll need to start up a taxi service, win street races and deliver pizzas for tip money. All while making sure that Gumball doesn’t find out about the party and that Richard doesn’t burn the house down."

If you're located in USA then you can play the game here.  Once the game is available in Canada, I'll be sure to post about it again. Make sure to give lots of love to Rocket 5 on Twitter.

Hand Eye Society Offers Additional Way To Support Toronto Developed Games

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Big shout out to Metroidvanias.com who pointed out to me a new program over at Hand Eye Society, which helps support Toronto Developed Video games.  For only 7 dollars a month you can get the following:

Pretty awesome! The first game is Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition from DrinkBox Studios.  Also for a limited time if you sign up for a whole year you will get a Hand Eye Society t-shirt and Superbrothers art.

Make sure to check out the Hand Eye Society for full details.

Sunday May 24th: Job Postings

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Going to try to start something here. Every Sunday, I'll write about recent Job postings I come across.  It's worth noting that the Studios page is a great place to look for jobs at game developers in the city, and surrounding areas.  If you're hiring and want to be featured just hit me up on Twitter, or email me at stephenlcrane@gmail.com.

Here are a few of the ones I'll highlight this week. You can click on the company name for a link to their site.

Sinking Ship - Game Artist/Animator:

"We are looking for full-time Game Artist/Animators to work on character, environment, and interface art and animation for a variety of 2D and 3D games and apps for kids. The Game Artist/Animator will work directly with our Developers and be a key contributor to all stages of development from concept to launch."

Sinking Ship - HTML 5 Game Developer

"We are currently seeking a HTML 5 Game Programmer to help produce online / mobile experiences for our properties and join our growing Sinking Ship Interactive team. We are looking for a self-starter who is excited to learn and improve his or her skillset in the ever-evolving medium of the web and mobile."

DrinkBox Studios - Bookkeeper/Office Manager:

"Drinkbox Studios is currently seeking a Bookkeeper & Office Manager to help with a wide variety of tasks. This position is located in downtown Toronto near Queen/Bathurst. Salary based upon experience ($40,000 – $60,000). Position will be a 3 month contract with the possibility to become full-time."

Ubisoft Toronto - Programmers, Animators, Artists, and More:

Ubisoft is the biggest video game developers in Toronto. It's safe to say they are constantly hiring awesome talent. If you're looking for work in the video game industry, bookmarking this page would be a big help :)

Big Blue Bubble - System Admin, Customer Service Representative, Programmers and More (In London Ontario):

"We are the largest and most successful independent mobile games company in the nation, we rank among the fastest 50 growing technology companies, and we have more accolades than wall space to display them. Big Blue Bubble delivers sheer mobile entertainment immersion through engaging, social, free to play games. We bring the most talented, creative, and zany people together with a singular vision of creating the best player experience possible."

That's it for this week, but there are more for sure! Best of luck!

 

Toronto GameDev: 3DKupkake

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It really does seem there are a lot of students creating their own games these days. I found out about lot of them at LevelUp back in April.  If I'm not mistake, games like Runbow, and Quench started off as student projects as well.

Next up in student games is 3D Voxom, from the independent developer 3DKupKake. Voxom looks like a really interesting twin stick shooter:

"Gameplay The game was inspired by popular franchises such as Geometry Wars and Tron. The play takes control of a ship and is attacked relentlessly by tiny viruses that sprout from the super virus that is virtually indestructible. The player will destroy the super virus many times, only to have it heal itself and continue its attack. Destroying the super virus increases the score multiplier but also causes the tiny viruses to speed up and become more difficult to attack. The goal is to try to get to the high score list, the highest of all time is at the center of the arena."

Uploaded by 3D KupKake on 2015-05-01.

Make sure to give the developer a follow on Twitter, and keep your eye on Voxom.

Toronto GameDev: Haven Games

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I thought I would take this time to display one of the newer formed developers in Toronto, meet: Haven Games!  A group of three working on Space Booty, which I found a tweet that shows off some gameplay.

"What is Haven Games? We are an independent game studio located in the heart of Toronto, Canada. All three of us live together and eat, sleep and breath games. Most of our time is spent either ordering pizzas, or working on a local multiplayer couch-competitive game very seriously entitled Space Booty"

Make sure to give them a follow on Twitter, and I'll be posting more about Space Booty as it continues to be developed.

Steam Concept Page Up For Dragon Of Legends

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Developer Thrive Games have posted up a Concept page for their upcoming MMO Dragon of Legends.  The page right now is for the concept for the game, and you can provide feedback to the developer. It's definitely a page to keep an eye on as development moves forward.  I've posted the trailer below:

CLOSED-BETA SIGN UP: DRAGONOFLEGENDS.COM / THRIVEGAMES.NET --------- OST PREVIEW: https://soundcloud.com/thrivegames FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/thrivegames TWITTER: http://www.twitter.com/thrive905 Dragon of Legends is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) for PC, Mac, and Mobile platforms; heavily influenced by the mythic cycle of Gaelic Ireland and Norse mythology, where the lights of faeries border the realms of darkness.

Make sure to keep up to date on Dragon of Legends because it's looking really great, you can follow the developer on Twitter here.