Tag: Iugo »

IUGO, fresh off of their entry into the freemium social gaming scene with Lil' Pirates, are releasing another social game. This one is for those who like their games nautical, but not quite so pirate-y. Welcome to Sunshine Cruise Lines!

The game puts players in charge of their own cruise ship, with the goal being to build the ship up to make it as big and popular as possible. The app starts with naming the captain, and the ship. Feel like naming a ship after elements of Norse mythology? Go ahead! Next, the player selects a starting point and destination. Cuba is a possible destination, no embargoes here in the world of Sunshine Cruise Lines! Along the way, players manage the cruise ship themselves, from restocking and filling vending machines to helping to break up fights amongst passengers until the ship reaches its destination. This is done by tapping on elements of the ship as time passes. Between cruises, the rooms on the ship can be rearranged or even changed entirely, while new elements can be purchased for the cruise ship.

The game doesn't just dump players into the middle of the ocean, however - there's are missions to accomplish in the game as well, going along with a storyline. These missions generally involve making it to specific locations, providing a guiding hand for progressing through the game. Sunshine Cruise Lines' premium currency are Cruise Bucks, which are used to do things like instantly travel to a location, reaping the rewards of traveling instantly. The game is a universal application, and it supports Retina Display graphics on compatible devices. The game can be played across multiple devices, but only when connected via Facebook; it does not happen through Game Center authentication. Sunshine Cruise Lines is available now from the App Store.

Aliens and hot chicks...sounds like an interesting combination, right? IUGO, developer of the Toy Bot Diaries series and Implode!, among others, is bringing us just that in their latest game, Daisy Mae's Alien Buffet. The main character is apparently a trailer-park-gal-turned-alien-hunter, and you'll be helping her catch some prey for her diner in this wacky dual-stick shooter. It's currently slated for a February release.

Oh, and the features list? It includes "purty graphics," "sassy costumes to unlock for Daisy Mae's hoedown," and "taunt" moves for stunning aliens along with your standard things like auto-save and leaderboards.

We've seen a lot of stuff from IUGO, but nothing quite like this. We'll let you know when this, er, "alien hoedown" hits the App Store. For now, check out IUGO's promo video.

IUGO Mobile Entertainment is one of the most well-respected independent studios on the app store. They have a variety of hits going back to the original Toy Bot Dairies, and have enjoyed recent success with Implode, which was recently in the top 5 paid apps in multiple countries. The last couple of months have been a particularly busy time for IUGO, with four big releases, all of which have just been discounted. There are in fact a whopping 12 games on sale for the holidays, a vast majority of the IUGO catalog, and here is the complete list:

A.D.D. $2.99 > $1.99
Cliffed $1.99 > $0.99
Freeballin' $1.99 > $0.99
Implode! $1.99 > $0.99
Toy Bot Diaries $1.99 > $0.99
Toy Bot Diaries 2 $1.99 > $0.99
Toy Bot Diaries 3 $1.99 > $0.99
Toy Bot Diaries Compilation $3.99 > $2.99
Toy Bot Mini Missions $1.99 > $0.99
Spy Bot Chronicles $3.99 > $1.99
Star Hogs $4.99 > $2.99
Zombie Attack! 2 $3.99 > $2.99

Cliffed, Implode, and Zombie Attack! 2 also received free updates within the last week, which added special holiday costumes and/or levels to the games. If you've had your eye on any of these titles, now is definitely the time to take the plunge, as the sale ends January 2010.

Interesting tidbit: iugo in Latin means connect. When put together with the acronym for mobile entertainment, you get 'connect me.' Very clever...

Game developer IUGO aren't exactly new to the store. Creators of both the Toy Bot Diaries series, and the hugely popular A.D.D Lite (which was unfortunately pulled from the store due to the full version being delayed in it's release), the studio has today announced the upcoming release of Implode!, a physics-based title they've been working on for quite some time.

Implode! is a physics based title with your aim being to create the biggest explosion for a building demolition, possible. Operating via touch and drag controls, you'll placing sticks of dynamite throughout a 'chalk-like' sketch of a building, aiming to impress. Using two different types of bombs (traditional bombs and blast bombs), you'll face all shapes and size of buildings and structures. The game will play out in 3 difficulties settings. Including: Casual, Veteran, and Expert, with each one adding varying structure shapes, for greater challenge.

The game is also said to have a online submission system in which you can submit any score online. IUGO says that online scores will be totaled from the sum of all your high scores you achieve within each level played. Each time you gain a score, you'll also 'graded' on how 'good' the demolition was, adding more re-playability for each of the levels.

While no official release date has been set for the game, IUGO says it's coming down the pipe as we speak and should be available "very soon" ..

Just in time for Halloween, Zombie Attack! is getting a sequel. For those of you who aren't aware, Zombie Attack! is a big, bloody 3D tower defense game where you, as the last survivor of the Ultimate Zombie Apocalypse, defend your 'fort' from the incoming zombie attack.

"Zombie Attack! Second Wave. ZA! SW or ZA!2 is slated to be bigger, better and bloodier than ever before! It still keeps to the “tower defense with a twist” game play but throws in new zombies, more weapons and multiple, elaborate maps. “ZA! is our top selling game to-date,” explains IUGO’s Director of Business Development Sarah Thomson.

Expect Zombie Attack! Second Wave near the end of the month/ early next month.

Check after the break for some Zombie loving screenshots!

Random musings of the app store.

Removal of EDGE from the App Store

[caption id="attachment_14714" align="alignright" width="111" caption="Hey Tim, why don\'t you actually make something?"]

[/caption]EDGE, a simply fantastic game, has been removed yet again from the App Store, due to a trademark dispute with Tim Langdell. For those who don't know, Langdell is a leech who hasn't made a game in over 15 years, instead making his living by suing any game with "edge" in the name. Good thing there's the IGDA, or international game developers association, whose mission is to "advance the careers and enhance the lives of game developers by connecting members with their peers, promoting professional development, and advocating on issues that affect the developer community" (from www.igda.org/about). Oh, wait, Tim Langdell is actually on the board of directors at IGDA! So yes, Langdell has attempted to trademark a commonly used word, and has succeeded largely in part to the fact that developers can't afford to fight costly legal battles and simply want to reach a settlement. Mobigame, EDGE's developer, hasn't given in yet, so kudos to them. Langdell may have bitten off a bit more than he can chew, however, as he is attempting to sue EA over their Mirror's Edge game. One can only hope that EA will cut Langdell down to size and clear the way for future edges.

Apple considering reorganizing App Store

[caption id="attachment_14715" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Eight of the top ten games are $.99"]

[/caption]In their quarterly report last Tuesday, Apple said, regarding the App Store structure: "We're always looking for ways to categorize apps differently and we have some ideas. We do it by type of apps and top selling apps, and we realize there is opportunity for further improvement and we are working on that. As for price, it's up to the developers to choose where to set the price. I would think as the installed base grows, it makes sense to have lower prices but that's totally up to the developer."

Part of the problem with the App Store is that top lists are organized by volume rather than revenue. This encourages "bargain bin" pricing, as obviously it is much easier to sell a large volume at a lower price. Since the top lists are organized in such a way that apps that make it there tend to stay there, they are all-important. It is very tough to make a profit selling a game at $.99, so this in turn encourages short development cycles with small budgets. Big IP's like DOOM will always sell at a higher price, but indy developers with AAA ideas may never see their ideas come to fruition due to over-inflated consumer expectations. If Apple decided to have a list by revenue, this would go a long way to curing the woes of the App Store, but it wouldn't completely fix it. Besides the top lists, the next best marketing tool for a developer is word of mouth, so regardless of price, it can be difficult for an app to gain traction. Apple's featuring method is arbitrary at best, and their review system is severely flawed, as only those who either hate or love an app review it, meaning an app's rating is basically dependent on its ratio of five star reviews to one star reviews. Perhaps both requiring users to "earn a reputation" in order to have their rating count and eliminating the rating prompt after deleting an app could go a long way to solve this. On top of this, however, there is currently no list for top-rated games, and Apple could and should implement this easily with a minimum number of ratings benchmark.

Social gaming network competition

The iPhone now has three notable high score networks: OpenFeint, ngmoco's Plus+ network, and Chillingo's recently announced Crystal. Ultimately, one will become the network for the iPhone. This will shape up largely like the Blu-Ray/HDDVD wars of old; consumers will not want to have their favorite games fragmented over three different networks, so war will be waged as developers choose which network to implement. I see Plus+ winning, as OpenFeint is largely about superfluous features over interface and usability (I don't want to chat with people in the middle of my game) and has no large developer backing it, and Crystal has yet to be started. Earlier is always better, and as third-parties start using Plus+ before Crystal is even in any of Chillingo's games, Plus+ will get a huge head start. Developers will always want to use whoever is "winning."

This week's sign of the apocalypse

[caption id="attachment_14716" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="This is what happens when Apple features Eviro-Bear for two straight weeks"]

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Enviro-Bear 2010 (App Info) has now been featured in some context for two consecutive weeks by Apple. Talk about a platform showcase.

Apps of the week

Because productivity is overrated, I chose two games as the apps of the week:

Star Hogs

After my immense disappointment with Worms, I was comforted by the brilliance that is IUGO's Star Hogs. Star Hogs doesn't try to be a Worms clone; instead, it brings many new well-implemented twists to the genre like ship/weapon customization and the unique energy system. The online component is fantastic, though there is a notable lack of online players (yet another reason why everyone needs to buy the game). Star Hogs might not have the visual appeal and charm of Worms, but it does just about everything else right, and therefore earns a spot as an app of the week.

Triazzle

Remember those maddeningly difficult wooden triangle puzzles? Well, that's what Triazzle for the iPhone is, but in this case, it's even better than the original. Back in the day, you would have to shell out $15 for one of those bad boy's, but on the App Store you can buy an unlimited number of Triazzle puzzles for just $2.99. Yep, that's right: infinite puzzles. This, along with exceptional graphics that "come to life" as you solve a puzzle, a great help system, and soothing music, makes Triazzle an app of the week.

[caption id="attachment_14717" align="aligncenter" width="200" caption="Now even better on the iPhone"]

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So that's it, the first Monday Morning App HQ. Hopefully I won't receive too much hate mail.