Nothing like a fine piece of classic RPG-related news to start off your Thursday morning, right? Well hold on to your chairs and your HP meters for this one: Final Fantasy VI will be heading to iOS and Android smartphone devices at some point this winter!Square Enix director and producer Takashi Tokita revealed the exciting news to Kotaku this morning, along with an assurance that the game will also receive a few enhancements along the way to your mobile device, similar to the approach that was taken with the well-received Final Fantasy V. More than just a mere port with touchscreen controls, the upcoming Final Fantasy VI on mobile is expected to come with sharper visuals, and a slight tweaking to the overall battle system in an effort to eliminate some of the past required grinding."And as if already reading everyone's minds who would be reading this news, Tokita was also forthcoming to share his thoughts about the potential mobile release of the colossal fan-favorite Final Fantasy VII: "If this Legacy project works out well, we would like to one day be able to work with VII." Let me hear a resounding, yes please!
I'm sure at one point or another in your mobile gaming career you've undoubtedly heard the many tales of caution that proclaim how important it is for developers to localize their mobile apps for sale in other markets and expand on their success. But of course, even if developers do take those initial steps towards bringing their games to other countries and mobile markets, there's always been that one glaring hurdle that's managed to keep so many games landlocked in their own native grounds: the elusive language barrier. Luckily, a new translation service called Ackuna is looking to make the prospects of localization a whole lot easier for small-studio game developers going forward.I recently had a chance to speak with Michael Duke of the marketing department at Ackuna, and learn some more about the company's take on localization and how their own translation services are crafted to help you achieve your own mobile development goals. According to Duke, what sets Ackuna apart from other more machine-based translation options out there today is the unique sense of community that the service provides. Users will be able to monitor the quality of work throughout the entire translation process, and fine-tune their own localization efforts through community feedback, advertising, and networking. The groundwork for Ackuna was actually put it place about two years ago, when it first began as a mere side project of the company's prime translation agency, Translation Cloud. In these humble beginnings, Ackuna functioned as a simple means of proofreading a machine-translated text for its interested users."But as the popularity of the project grew, Ackuna soon adapted in order to directly connect its users with the freelance translators themselves at Translation Cloud, before setting its sights on assisting the localization efforts of mobile app developers. Having just come out of its beta period this past September, Ackuna currently supports 22 different languages, with some of the most popular translations being English to Spanish, English to Chinese, and a number of other European languages, such as French and Italian. To help ensure that most mobile app developers are covered no matter their platform, Ackuna also supports a range of 10 different file formats, including the popular Apple iOS strings, Android XML, Blackberry resource file, and Java configuration file, as well as more uncommon ones, like YAML (Ruby), Microsoft Office spreadsheet, and Open Office spreadsheet.
We cover plenty of new games here at Gamezebo every week, but the number of games we've already covered that show up on new platforms? It's staggering. This Wednesday and every Wednesday, Gamezebo is rounding up the games that aren't quite new, but might be new to you depending on your platform of choice. And who doesn't love new(ish) games?This week's highlights include venturing into a snarky cave on iPhone and iPad, using your virtual chainsaw to end the zombie apocalypse on PC, and managing some tycoon-worthy transportation networks on Android."
Jane Jensen, creator of the original Gabriel Knight series from way back in the early 90s, has a pretty exciting announcement this week for fans of the classic line of point-and-click adventure games: her development studio Pinkerton Road has officially acquired the Gabriel Knight licensing rights from Activision. And what do you think they've been doing with those newfound rights over the last year or so? Why, recreating the original Gabriel Knight adventure from scratch to commemorate the game's 20th anniversary!The Gabriel Knight saga follows the harrowing adventures of the titular bookstore owner and struggling novelist, as he makes his way through the voodoo-infested swamps and back alleys of New Orleans, and outwits the evil legion of shadow-hunters known as the Schattenjägers. Set for release at some point midway in 2014, Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers is being completely reinvented from the ground up under Jensen's acute oversight, with full retina display visuals and new voice acting performances for when the game launches on PC, Mac, iPad and Android."This will be Jensen's first Gabriel Knight-related project since the creator left Sierra Online in 1999, and she couldn't be more excited about getting to revisit one of her most beloved creations in this manner: "I'm thrilled to be back at work on Gabriel Knight and to bring this classic game to a new generation of players," Jensen says. "It's going to look and feel like a brand new title. But never fear, 100% of the original Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers is here. I hope both existing fans and new players will love it."Any long-time Gabriel Knight fans out there who are overjoyed by this news? Any newcomers who can't wait to be introduced to this true classic point-and-click adventure for the first time? Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the replies, and check out the upcoming remake's official website for more Gabriel Knight goodness!
It's award season for the gaming world once again, and I don't even have my tux pressed yet! Today we learn all of the inspiring new winners from the latest IndieCade international festival of independent games, where the motto of "Play. Create. Inspire." goes hand in hand with the great sense of discovery that this gathering of both gamers and developers alike has always managed to achieve. This year's big winner of the IndieCade Grand Jury Award, which is awarded outside of the regular game categories and chosen for an all-around achievement in excellence, went to Quadrilateral Cowboy from Blendo Games, an intriguing cyberpunk adventure about espionage and digital hacking. Past winners of this coveted award include Moon Stories, Fez, and Unmanned."This year's IndieCade awards also saw the premiere of two brand new award categories: The Media Choice Award, as chosen by the majority of media members themselves, and The Trailblazer Award, which is presented to an up-and-coming developer who manages to really bring something new and innovative to the world of video games.In speaking about the latest Red Carpet ceremony and the 14 total 2103 award recipients, IndieCade CEO Stephanie Barish says "It is an honor to identify these amazing projects and we are proud to provide a platform which helps distinguish these games and their creators."
As the gaming industry as a whole moves further and further into the modern age, an increasing rift begins to emerge between those golden games of old, and the shining stars of this current touchscreen generation. So whether you want to live in the past, or fearlessly forge ahead into the future of gaming, then there's sure to be something that everyone can find and enjoy during this wonderful sales weekend!A lot of this week's free games and sales are focused on combining the classics with some of today's modern greats, serving as a wonderfully discounted timeline of sheer awesomeness. For instance, you'll be able to snag some old-school adventures like Fallout and Fallout 2, while keeping current with the times as you also pick up the likes of Bioshock: Infinite and Borderlands 2. You can find some of the coolest new iOS games around like Lili and Kid Tripp, while at the same time have a blast from the past with MDK and MDK 2."Now covering two different times in the gaming world is certainly no easy task, so if there were any deals on new games or old that I may have missed, be sure to let us know in the replies below!
GAMEVIL has announced today their acquisition of esteemed and successful global developer and publisher of mobile games, Com2uS. The recent deal, which reportedly cost GAMEVIL a cool $65 million, puts the Korea-based company in control of the majority of Com2uS shares. So what does this deal mean for us gamers? It means lots of great new mobile experiences are surely on the way as GAMEVIL strives to become the top gaming company on a global scale today!This is certainly one of the most substantial acquisitions in the mobile F2P market that we've ever seen, and going forward, both GAMEVIL and Com2uS plan to leverage off of one another's successful user bases, GAMEVIL Circle and Com2uS Hub, respectively. GAMEVIL is most recently reaping the benefits of games like Steel Commanders and Dark Avenger, while Com2uS has been hard at work with the upkeep of games like Heroes of War and Golf Star; so both companies already know a thing or two about making great mobile games on a more widespread scale.For more information on the future of GAMEVIL and Com2uS' newfound partnership (A.K.A. the mobile F2P mega-studio of greatness), be sure to keep those browsers pinned on Gamezebo, as we'll provide you with all of the subsequent updates as soon as we hear them.
NimbleBit have done some pretty amazing things in short time that smartphone gaming has been a thing, though none of their subsequent releases have managed to reach quite as high on the popularity scale as 2011's Tiny Tower.Now, more than two years after their top game's release, NimbleBit are taking us on a tower-building adventure in a galaxy far far away. Star Wars: Tiny Death Star will, as the official press release puts it, let players "live life on the dark side and join Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader on a mission to attract Galactic bitizens, run intergalactic businesses, and build an all-new Death Star."This isn't the first collaboration Disney had made with a popular studio in recent months. My Muppets Show was a re-working of My Singing Monsters, tackled by the game's original developer Big Blue Bubble. And let's not forget Imangi tackling games like Temple Run: Brave and Temple Run: Oz for the House of Mouse.There's no word on an exact release date for Star Wars: Tiny Death Star quite yet, but Disney are saying that we can expect a worldwide release "soon." Though if you ask me, it can't be soon enough. JUST LOOK AT THOSE LITTLE JAWA BITIZENS!!