Everyone wants a spouse with a good goblin voice.

On This Episode:

• Carter chats with Josh Presseisen of Crescent Moon Games to talk about Ravensword: Shadowlands, the studio’s new open-world RPG. Topics include the long development time of the game, just how big the world is, and the game’s voice acting, including a much better role for Josh’s wife as compared to the original. As well, we talk published title Last Knight, along with some of the titles that alternative label Forest Moon Games is publishing as well.

Episode Cast:

• Host: Carter Dotson
• Guest: Josh Presseisen, Crescent Moon Games

Music:

• “Beatnes7 (Theme to The Portable Podcast)” by The Eternal – Download on iTunes here:
• “Nanocarp” by The Eternal

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Apps Mentioned in this Episode:

$6.99

Ravensword: Shadowlands

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-12-20 :: Category: Games

Josh Presseisen, founder of Crescent Moon Games, is taking a big leap by launching a second publishing label for new types of games that he and his company thought were really interesting, but didn’t fit with its portfolio. Thus, Forest Moon Games was born. Titles published by Forest Moon promise to be an eclectic bunch, but according to Josh Presseisen, “the label will focus on casual, 2D, experimental (some 3D), pixel and retro games. This was largely influenced by many of the submissions I received at Crescent Moon Games, that didn’t fit the style of Crescent Moon.”

Crescent Moon is largely known for its specific style of games both in their look and play style. They primarily boast 3D graphics, and play with some core gamer elements, though titles like Paper Monsters and Mutant Storm are of course very different when compared with each other, yet still published by the same company. However, there’s often a visual style between the games that is shared, that gives them a kind of cohesiveness that other publishers like Chillingo lack.

However, don’t expect all of Forest Moon’s games to look the same. Josh Presseisen claims that “Forest Moon Games will have a consistent quality but not sure share the same look as Crescent Moon.”

Games start launching this fall under the Forest Moon label. They include Invader Eliminator from Underground Pixel, known for Holiday Havoc and Pastry Panic. Relic Rush is another pixel art game from Jason Pickering, an action-puzzle game. 300 Dwarves from Nimbi Studios will feature hand-drawn graphics, non-linear progression, and of course: dwarves. J.A.M. from Neptune Interactive promises to be a “shoot-em-up with style.” There are 6 titles planned for this fall, and more in the future.

The selection process is quite simple for Josh Presseisen: “I am picking the ones that I like the best. I get a lot of submissions, so I do have to sort through them and see which fit with my vision for the new label. If a game is fun, polished, and interesting or unique – then it has a good chance of fitting in on Forest Moon.”

This is hardly the end for Crescent Moon either, as Josh Presseisen plans on continuing to publish games under that label. These include Topia, The Last Knight, and a couple of followups to previous popular titles.

Crescent Moon’s titles have always been noteworthy because they have had a polish to them that often does come from having an outside publisher that can step in to the process, and Josh Presseisen is often very hands-on with the visual work that he brings to the table. It will be interesting to see what gamers will get with new titles from the same braintrust, but with a different goal.

Hearts alive!

On This Episode:

Host Carter Dotson and Josh Presseisen of Crescent Moon Games discuss the publisher’s role in the games they release, as well as some of their recent titles. As well, they discuss the free-to-play trends in iOS games, along with the ways that Crescent Moon titles implement in-app purchases.

Who We Are:

Music:

“Beatnes7 (Theme to The Portable Podcast)” by The Eternal – Download on iTunes here:

How to Listen:

Apps Mentioned on This Episode:

$2.99

Raid Leader

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-02-09 :: Category: Games

$0.99

Paper Monsters

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-01-26 :: Category: Games

$2.99

Ravensword: The Fallen King

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2009-11-17 :: Category: Games

$0.99

Deadlock: Online

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-07-21 :: Category: Games