Archive for » 2010 «
I’ve been playing ngmoco’s We Rule for iPhone the last few days. While I enjoyed collecting, upgrading and customizing (who doesn’t?), I began to get a feeling that this isn’t the kind of “game” I want to play. This post attempts to articulate the root of that feeling.
Update: I’m aware that We Rule is not the first game of this type, it’s just the first one that I’ve played. This post is more about the development philosophy behind We Rule, rather than about We Rule itself. more…
My life has been put on pause for a little while. This week my wife and I welcomed our 2nd son into the world! As we adjust to everything, most We Heart Games development has been put on hold. Once things level off, we’ll be back to our regularly scheduled program. 
On February 3rd I did a speaker chat for 360iDev. The chat is a really interesting forum for connecting with others. Everyone logs into a chat room and can type their questions and comments. I spoke into my microphone so that I could answer questions verbally. It felt a little one-way at first, but it was a great way to connect with everyone, and a lot of fun! If you haven’t checked one out yet, keep an eye on their site or their twitter stream for announcements of upcoming chats.
On the 11th day of April, 360 gave to me:
A bundle of raffled books
99 dollar discounted hotel
80 minutes to make an improv game (go Owen!)
40 packed sessions
FIVE HANDS FREE TRAINING SESSIONS…
4 awesome days
3 expert panels
2 sessions by Imangi
And an all-night Touch Arca-ade Game JAAAMMM!
(sorry, couldn’t resist)
And if you use the link below to register, I’ll buy you a drink! See you there.
Register for 360iDev
Music and sound effects usually get left to the end of a game’s development cycle, right when you don’t feel like working on it any more. My recommendation is to get someone professional to do it. One thing I learned from Adam Saltsman’s workshop (notes on this coming soon): I could spend 30 hours making music that is just “ok”, or I can get someone else to make something awesome in a couple hours.
But sometimes you need to get something in there, even if it’s just a placeholder, or you want to give your sound designer a starting point for mood and style. Here are a couple great tools for throwing together some music and sound effects, fast.
Update: As discussed in the comments, please note that it is difficult to overestimate the value of getting a professional to do your sound and music for you.
I’m honoured to be chosen to speak at the upcoming 360iDev conference in San Jose. I’m very excited about this opportunity, and can’t wait to meet all the other iPhone developers that will be there. The schedule looks incredible, and there are many slots where it will be difficult for me to choose which session to attend!
The organizers are holding a bit of a contest among the speakers to round up attendees… if you use this link to register, I could have my room upgraded to a suite. In which case I might be forced to have a party up there. Maybe a Sunday night icebreaker?
In any case, the conference is looking like it’s going to be pretty amazing. If you make it out, come say Hi, I’d love to meet you!
Some notes:
- There are less than 20 early (cheap) tickets left for 360|iDev. Register now and save $100.
- Keynotes by Mike Lee and David Whatley
- Sessions from community leaders like Marcus Zarra, Brent Simmons, Joe Pezzillo, and Henry Balanon to name a few.
- Don’t miss the parties! Get your room at the Marriott San Jose (bit.ly/360idevhotel) before they’re gone. The parties WILL be there after we leave Ebay!
We made a cake to enter the Great App Bake-off, over at App Cakes. Who knew apps could be so tasty?
Below are some pics of the process: more…
Our prizes for the Face Race Photo Upload contest are online! We’re giving away a whole bunch of awesome party games to those of you who upload the most Face Race photos to Facebook. The games are:
- The Settlers of Catan (including the 5-6 player expansion, Catan Seafarers and the Seafarers 5-6 player expansion)
- Ticket to Ride
- Carcassonne
- Things
- Killer Bunnies
- Bohnanza
- Bananagrams
- Dutch Blitz
