Tag: Funding »

It’s hard to work up sympathy for one of nature’s most efficient aquatic killing machines (a few species, anyway), but I think it’s do-able. Sharks might not be cuddly, and they have been known to attack and/or kill people, but that’s no reason to hunt them to extinction. Especially for some overpriced soup. Which is why WildAid, The Discovery Channel, and Gameloft have joined forces for Shark Week to raise awareness and do a bit of fund raising through Shark Dash.

For the rest of the month and a few weeks in August, players of both the iOS and ad-supported Google Play versions of Shark Dash will be able to purchase special “limited time only” content – most notably a new skin for Sharky – for a monetary show of support. Proceeds will go toward raising awareness and hopefully reducing the demand for shark fin soup; a luxury dish with rapidly growing demand and a rapidly diminishing source. Over 70 million sharks per year, in fact.

The special content will be available until August 18th, and I urge anyone with the means to do their part. Sharks may not be cute, fuzzy, or huggable (I sure as heck would never go swimming with one, except possibly a whale shark), but they don’t deserve to die out over something like this.

Kickstarter is a great place to find new, upcoming games for iOS but sometimes it's hard to sort through all the projects to find one really worth pledging those hard earned dollars. We think Emerge by independent developer, Lucas Best, could be one of those worth funding.

Emerge involves a ball jumping from platform to platform. There are other games that do this but what's unique about Emerge is that the game takes place in a 3-D environment. The players will jump from platform to platform until they reach the next "tier" of existence. There will be a score system based on jumping on correct and incorrect platforms. In addition to a level mode, a free-play mode will be included where players jump on platforms until they miss the correct platform.

The developer, Lucas Best, is a recent graduate of Duke University (Spring 2011) with a degree in Computer Science and Visual Arts. His project needs $50,000 pledged by Saturday, June 9th. The money will go towards software (3D modeling software), paying artists for artwork, and advertising for the game. Rewards for pledging include the usual like in-game content, t-shirts, and recognition (App Store description).

Take a look at the video below and the Kickstarter page here.

m-spacemedia, makers of the unexpectedly fun Asteroid 2012 3D, have unleashed another game onto an unsuspecting App Store. This time it’s a pattern-based reactionary puzzle game. Think Simon, but with cubes. It’s a lot like that. Players will have to match the sequence of flashing cubes in order to keep going, but the patterns get faster and more complex the longer they last. Anyone familiar with the concept knows just how crazy it can get.

Floozled is available on the App Store right now for free. But more importantly, 50% of the ad revenue earned from this game as well as Asteroid 2012 Free-D and Honeyrun HD Free will be donated to the James Whale Fund. The proceeds will be donated at the end of July, with the money being used to fund kidney cancer treatment and research, so there’s still plenty of time to download and contribute by tapping on an ad or two. After that, a new charity will be chosen for August through October.

"This is an ongoing push to help raise money and awareness to smaller charities helping those when they need it most." – Mark Muller

m-spacemedia has already raised close to $50 with close to three months left. Those interested can follow the fundraiser's progress or donate directly here, and details about the charity can be found here. Anyone want to see if we see if we can add a digit or two (or more) to that number?

It’s hard to avoid the daily (sometimes hourly) Twitter updates and Facebook posts informing you that a friend has “checked-in” at Starbucks. Apps and services like Foursquare and Gowalla have taken the mobile market by storm with millions of downloads and as many users sharing their locations in order to earn points and become the virtual “mayor” of a specific spot.

If you’ve never used such a service, it’s easy enough to disregard these ventures as pointless playthings for those with too much time on their hands. However, this appears not to be the case if news from Booyah Inc. is true across the location-based mobile app market. The company has recently closed a $20 million round of financing which sees prominent investor, Jim Breyer, join its Board of Directors.

Booyah is the creator of MyTown, a popular location-based social game where users “virtually” buy their favorite stores and locations. As they do so they earn points, charge rent on owned locations, unlock rewards and earn cash to be spent in real locations. The New York Times said “MyTown Turns the Real World into Monopoly” however it appears that the money to be made by developers in this market is very, very real. MyTown is currently played by over 2 million users and is growing at a rate of 100,000 new users week over week, according to a Booyah Inc. press release. MyTown has also passed 60 million check-ins and 250 million virtual item impressions per month with users spending an average of 70 minutes using the app each day. What DO these people do for a living?

This latest injection of funds is to be spent on igniting and accelerating the company’s “real and digital world offerings” which doesn’t offer much insight. However, with Jim Breyer, the Director of Wal-Mart Stores and Dell on board, we’re willing to bet some significant retail-based features are soon to be available for MyTown players. Breyer is also on the board of companies including Brightcove, Facebook, Etsy and Marvel Entertainment.

“Booyah is at the epicenter of the fastest growing markets today--mobile, social, and interactive gaming,” said Breyer. “Not only are they a next-generation entertainment company, but they are bridging the gap between consumers and businesses. The Booyah management team has both the passion and talent to innovate and create a wholly unique experience.”

If you’re yet to try out MyTown for yourself, it seems like now might be the time to get involved. The app is available for free on the App Store with a number of In App Purchases available.