Love'em or hate'em, Spike TV's annual video game awards (now re-branded 'VGX') have become a pretty popular winter destination for new game reveals. The seedy, Axe-smelling yang to E3's yin. This year's event didn't disappoint, with Telltale Games announcing not one, but two new projects - complete with teaser trailers.And thanks to the magic of the internet, we can share those trailers with you in but a click of your mouse. :)The first is confirmation of the recently rumored Game of Thrones project. Dubbed Game of Thrones - A Telltale Games Series, this 2014 project will be based on the HBO TV series rather than the books themselves. This is almost a reversal of sorts from their Walking Dead series, which retained the visual stylings of Robert Kirkman's comic book rather than the grim and gritty reality of the AMC TV show.
Can you believe it's almost been a year since Temple Run 2 first hit the App Store? I know, sometimes it feels like I've been running through those ancient ruins for most of my life! Well to commemorate this grand achievement today, Imangi Studios will be rolling out one of the biggest content updates that Temple Run 2 has ever seen since its initial launch.The greatest draw of today's title update is the new inclusion of a water slide mechanic, which sends our hero careening down a slippery log-flume of sorts right in the middle of his harrowing escape! In addition to that, you'll also find a few holiday-themed items sprinkled over top, such as new artifacts like the Candy Cane, Stocking, Holly, Present, and Wreath, as well as an all-new character who dresses in red and has been known to say "Ho-ho-ho!" once or twice in his life."And to round out the total package, you'll also have a few new collectable masks to work towards earning while you play. So needless to say, water slides and Christmastime seem to make the perfect pair, and in that regard, Temple Right 2 will be ringing in the holidays just right! The new content is said to be going live in the game as of this morning, and will be available on both iOS and Android versions of Temple Run 2.
As if internet users weren't paranoid enough about everything they do online being monitored by government officials, it was now revealed today that secret high-ranking government agencies have also been commissioning spies to infiltrate another place that hits a little too close to home: online fantasy games. That's right, according to several classified documents that were leaked by ex-NSA contractor, Edward J. Snowden, ProPublica and The New York Times are both reporting that even online games are no longer safe from the government's prying ears and eyes.The classified government documents claim that online gaming uses most of the technologies that criminals or terrorists would need to make their illegal transactions, such as fake names and voice chats: the idea being that these shady individuals could essentially use an online gaming server as a front to conduct their businesses, where no one would even expect it. So government officials from the C.I.A., F.B.I., and even the Pentagon began creating their own player avatars in games like World of Warcraft and Second Life to do some snooping of their own, through collecting player data, monitoring communications, and even trying to recruit informers. Seriously."And what did the government find out from all of their deeply classified gaming efforts? Well, not a whole lot it would seem. None of the reports seem to indicate that any potential terrorist threats had been squashed due to the online gaming surveillance. However, it was also briefly mentioned that the government found a benefit in being able to identify gamers with backgrounds in fields like engineering and science for potential future recruitment within their agencies. So the next time you find yourself in a strong leadership role in a World of Warcraft quest, keep in mind that a government agent might be sizing up your skills for possible real world recruitment!
It's no secret that kids in the U.S. are lagging behind in the STEM subjects - also known as science, technology, engineering and math - when compared to their counterparts in other countries all over the globe. The reasons why are common fodder for both polite and political debate, but rooting out the cause pales in importance compared to finding a solution.Fingerprint thinks it can help. The San Francisco-based company believes in its approach, combining first party content and the curation of top educational games from developers all over the world, all served up on its own platform. Some big brands are on the Fingerprint bandwagon too, tapping it to help create their own mobile kids networks."But that's the macro picture. When it comes to the specific area of STEM learning, Fingerprint already has an impressive group of offerings that attack the problem from different angles. Games like Equator and Cosmic Reactor turn math into a multiplayer affair, while Not Lost in the Universe teaches about renewable energy sources in the course of an interactive story. Other apps tackle business, math, geography, biology, and more, all tested by children and approved by experts before it hits Fingerprint Play.The company has apps that teach letters and language skills as well, but according to Chief Creative Officer Michael Chanover, the more technical subjects have emerged as a primary focus. "We know with the increase in importance in the educational system in the U.S. and beyond how important STEM is becoming," Chanover said to Gamezebo. "We know, especially in America, there's a great big gap to fill with regard to STEM education, opportunities and jobs. It's something we all see as important. And with the mobile content that we develop, the curriculum that we have in a lot of our games, we believe that we're really helping bridge that gap."
Developer Rezoner "Rezonerd" Sikorski participated in last month's 0h Game Jam, and his result is Hotline Trail, a top-down endless racing game where the route is only visible a short distance ahead. As the route reveals itself, players must make lightning-fast adjustments in order to keep from falling off of the track.Hotline Trail features a trippy 80s vibe that may remind many of Dennaton Games' 2012 title, Hotline Miami (currently available for 50% off on Gamezebo Deals!). While not nearly as violent as its alleged inspiration, Hotline Trail relies more on the unknown, rather than violence, to keep the player on edge. Two players can play the game at the same time using the Arrow keys and the WASD keys separately.
If you're thinking about making mobile games - and if you're thinking about doing it with Corona SDK - Gamezebo Deals has an offer that you'll want to jump into asap. Normally $100, you can sign up for the "Mobile Game Development Made Easy" course for just $49.99 right now.The course is designed for intermediate level developers who already have some experience with Corona and mobile development in general, so beginners will want to give this one a pass. For everyone else though, this might just be the crash course you need to get your games up and running with Corona.For more information on course specifics, and to sign up, click here to visit deals.gamezebo.com.
There's no question that the free-to-play model is here to stay in the gaming industry. After all, there's no better way for developers to get more people to check out their latest game than by using that alluring "Free" label. And for gamers, well who doesn't love getting free games? But then of course, the big question for free-to-play developers quickly arises: "How do I get users to actually spend money while playing my game?" The sad truth of the matter is that for many of today's smaller game developers, getting a lot of people to play their games for free doesn't necessary put money in their bank accounts. But luckily for them, Playnomics is here to help bridge that gap: by introducing their innovative PlayRM suite that serves as a platform for developers to analyze their users' in-game spending and staying habits, while effectively creating marketing campaigns to cater to these different individual monetization segments.I recently had a chance to send some questions to Chethan Ramachandran, the co-founder and CEO of Playnomics, and find out some more about the latest additions to the PlayRM suite, how the company sees the relationship between game developers and their high-value users, and of course, how the future of free-to-play games factors into the equation. Well for starters, Ramachandran chocks up the challenge of creating a free-to-play game that is constantly able to draw in monetization from users over long periods of time as being dependent upon two overarching industry problems. This realization ultimately led Playnomics to introduce two brand new features into their PlayRM suite in order to address these problems head-on: the Acquisition Value Predictor and the Churn Predictor."The first problem, as he tells me, is that "games must buy new users constantly to remain profitable." What's more, developers will tend to waste precious money and resources on marketing these new-user channels, only to bring in more players (acquisitions) who are unlikely to even spend anything in the long run. One way that the Acquisition Value Predictor aims to alleviate this problem is by displaying each player's Lifetime Value rating (or LTV) only a few days after they initially start playing. This way, the marketing team can quickly shift their efforts to key in on these higher-value users, as a result of determining the overall ROI of each player source or channel. The AVP also predicts the likelihood of player spending for a 90-day period after they've entered into a game, and it continues these predictions throughout the entire lifespan that a player stays with the game.
How is everyone doing out there in the world of free games and sales today? Still recuperating after the biggest sales weekend of the year? Yeah, us too. But even though things may have calmed down a bit around here after the craziness of Black Friday Madness last week, that's certainly not to say we don't have a few new gaming deals to send your way all the same!Why in fact, you're pretty likely to find some amazing new deals everywhere you look on the internet this week: from huge discounts on some of our favorite iOS games to be released this year, to big savings on adventure games over at GOG.com, and even a new Humble Bundle with the word "Jumbo" in its title, so you already know that it's going to be a good one! And even your old pal Gamezebo is hosting a great deal or two to round out the total package."Will you be cashing in on any of the great savings listed below? Let us know in the replies, and while you're at it, don't forget to point out any other cool deals that we may have missed!