Tag: Reliance Games »

Reliance Games and Dreamworks have announced that a third game in the Real Steel series of mobile fighting games, Real Steel Champions, will be making its way to iOS this March.

Based off of the Real Steel movie, this new entry in the series will feature ten new arenas, a new Tournament mode, and for the first time in the series will allow players to create their own custom robot. Custom robots are crafted from a combination of parts, including those from fan favorites Atom, Noisy Boy, and Midas, as well as boxing moves, which players can customize in order to destroy each opponent strategically and swiftly.

Real Steel Champions is set to fight its way into the App Store this March.

Reliance Games has announced that their new single-player, 3v3 tag-team fight-fest, Ultimate Robot Fighting, is coming soon.

Robots with artificial intelligence have freed themselves from their human masters and have dominated the world’s most popular sport: robotic arena combat. You can control 45 different battle machines with a variety of fighting styles across nearly 250 challenges. The game uses cel-shaded animation and real-world-inspired environments to make you feel like you're right in middle of the the action.

You'll be able to battle it out in Ultimate Robot Fighting this Thursday, December 4.

With The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 out this weekend, Who Wore it Best? pits two Hunger Games tie-ins, Girl on Fire and Panem Run, against each other in a brutal and pointless fight to the death. I wonder where we got that idea from?

Drone: Shadow Strike, by Reliance Games, is a new flying combat simulator where you become the special ops drone operator. The game offers four campaigns with over twenty missions and 270 challenges. You will guide your choice of seven drones through enemy fire to take out the target.

“Drone: Shadow Strike is the perfect fusion of action and simulations,” said Manish Agarwal, CEO of Reliance Entertainment Digital. “While a few military games have short drone segments, this is the first time a full title explores this type of strategic aerial combat. Players can play to their own combative styles across missions while they defend, escort allies, ensure survival and immerse into real warfare. The controls were designed with a focus on extreme precision.”

You will be able to pick up Drone: Shadow Strike this October on the App Store for free.

Reliance Games is set to bring the next chapter of The Hunger Games to mobile devices. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire - Panem Run lets users experience the movie's setting on their favorite iOS device, and lets them compete with each other to see who can claim the highest score. The game is expected to be available this November.

“With its epic story of struggling for survival, The Hunger Games franchise lets us recreate the competitive world of Panem in a social mobile game,” said Manish Agarwal, CEO of Reliance Games, in a press release. “In partnering with Lionsgate, we’ll build a community of Hunger Games fans, teaming up to face unique challenges together as they run through the Districts of Panem.”

Reliance Games Sure does love robots. Then again, who doesn't? And with Labor Day fast approaching it's time to share that love on the cheap.

Starting today, Real Steel will be on sale for $0.99 through Monday, September 2. Not just the game itself, either. The extra in-app purchase packs will be going on sale as well. And that's just one half of it. Pacific Rim will be totally free from Sunday, September 1 through Monday, September 2. Check out the full list of discounts below.

Robots!

8/30 - 9/2
Real Steel will be $0.99
- Abandon will be 50% off
- Starter Pack will be 33% off
- All Robots Pack will be 25% off
- All In One pack will be 20% off

9/1 - 9/2
Pacific Rim will be $0.00

"Being a Ranger means preparing for the rigors of protection of the citizens of Nova Prime" says Eric Marlow. "It’s the full experience of being a Ranger that we wanted to show the player, and we hope they can not only enjoy the game, but also develop a deeper understanding of After Earth."

148Apps speaks with Eric Marlow, Vice President of Global Studios at Reliance Games, about their latest title, After Earth - The Mobile Game. In the interview, we learn more about the game, how it's tied to the film, and what it is that makes the game unique. We also learn about the process Reliance Games went through in creating it and how they worked closely with the movie studio to capture a familiar After Earth experience that fans can appreciate.

148Apps: Tell us a little bit about After Earth – The Mobile Game?

Eric Marlow: After Earth – The Mobile Game is an action/adventure game released on mobile for iOS and Android devices. At its core it is a runner, but we’ve adopted a number of things from the film so that the player is presented with new challenges that will keep things interesting.

How does the game tie in with the film?

It was very exciting to work with Sony and Overbrook (Will Smith’s production company) on the game. They were both quite active in not just supplying us with background information about the movie, but also in helping to craft the look and feel of the experience. The goal was to create something that was part of the After Earth film universe, but also to dive into new territory. One of the first design parameters was that we didn’t want just a traditional script-based movie game. We wanted to explore the lore behind After Earth. And as we found out, the backstory was quite deep!

The film’s writers created a chronological timeline for events that happen in After Earth that span over 1000 years. All options were fair game in developing the environments and situations as long as it matched the direction set by the film’s reference materials. In fact, at one of our last design meetings, it was mentioned that we have to be very solid in what we want to show, as what we make will become canon to the After Earth story. It was really cool to realize that.

What's unique about the game? Is it just another endless runner?

This question is where we started our design discussions. Our team was eager to not only offer an experience that was tied to the upcoming film, but also create a bolder, fresher experience that goes beyond simply running.

One of the biggest additions to the game was allowing the player to use the cutlass – the weapon of choice for a Ranger.

You'll also battle The Ursa, a genetically engineered monster that was created to wipe out the human race that “infested” Nova Prime. Ursas are unique in their ability to smell fear, and the true measure of any Ranger is to control their fear so they can become a “ghost” – or invisible to the Ursa. This is something that we included in the game as well – a “fear meter." This fear meter acts as a shield as you move through the game. Your fear will increase as you perform poorly, but your fear will reduce when you do well.

As a Ranger you will be tasked with a number of missions that are taken from the backstory of After Earth. These missions allow you to explore new parts of the After Earth mythology, including unseen parts of Nova Prime. We even take you to a new world where secret R&D is conducted on the Ursas so we can learn how to defeat them. To get to this point you will have to use your wing suit when jumping off cliffs, zipline down treacherous mountains, use the Skipjack to navigate quickly through city streets, and even master wall-running techniques to leap over deep canyons.

Is it the chicken or the egg? Do you have game ideas that you make fit with a licensed property, or does the property inspire the way the game will work?

It’s a little of both. In the instance of After Earth – The Mobile Game, the concept just seemed to fit. We were even happy to see the film’s trailers featured running. It just drove home the fact that we made the right decision. We are also working on another game (soon to be announced) where the entire set of film characters and action fit perfectly into a typical game progression mechanic. In those instances it’s really easy. But not every game reveals itself so effortlessly. So in some instances, we need to work with the studios to explore areas of their universe not touched by the films. The good news is that most studios these days understand that the game is really an extension of the movie experience, so producing a script-based game is no longer what they want.

How much access do you have to the source material that you're basing the game on, like with After Earth? How much does it influence the direction of the game based on it?

This will vary depending on the studio, but in most instances we will have access to 3D assets such as character models, sound effects, and the film’s bible. The bible usually contains all the pertinent backstory, design elements, color palettes, character bios, set piece descriptions, etc. The film’s musical score is usually not part of the deal, as that is handled separately. But having said that, we’ve found that studios are willing to give us a listen to the film’s score and it allows us to be inspired by the soundtrack. That’s a big win for us as the entire game aesthetic just becomes an extension to the film.

Licensed games don't always have the best reputation for quality. Why do you think that is? How do you think that developers working on licensed titles can improve on that?

Games based on movies always had criteria that the game comes out commensurate with the movie. That means that there are immovable deadlines to hit if you are to release the game on time. With PC/Console games, this is complicated by the fact that their development timelines are much longer than say a mobile game might be. If you back up 18-24 months from a movie’s release date you might find that the script is not finished, principle photography may not be completed, the CG assets are not yet available, and the music isn’t finished. So leveraging these assets becomes a big problem. The situation does improve with mobile games, as the development timeline is shorter and the film’s assets are mostly completed in this timeframe.

The best way to improve is understand how long it takes to make the game you want, and give yourself enough time prior to the film’s launch. Having solid project plans that includes all the steps you need to include (making sure to include things like country testing, marketing, and approvals) is step in the right direction.

We'd like to thank Eric Marlow for providing us with his insight on the process he and his team went through in the creation of After Earth.