NaturalMotion Games's CEO Torsten Reil spoke at last week's Gaming Insiders Summit. In a presentation titled "Building a next generation games company," he spoke little about the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, and more about the history of NaturalMotion Games and how the company is trying to prepare itself for further success down the road. The company has seen numerous successes and failures, but the one constant has been Reil's commitment to innovate and adapt.NaturalMotion's big break came in the form of their Euphoria physics engine, originally used in Grand Theft Auto IV, as well as later games. The company also began development on various pay to play games, from the Backbreaker series to mobile versions of various board games, such as Jenga. Releasing these pay to play titles wasn't really delivering the results that Reil and his team were hoping for, which lead to the 2011 release of NaturalMotion's first free to play game, My Horse. It was simply a game about taking care of (and interacting with) a horse."While My Horse wasn't the breakout success the company was hoping for, it taught Reil and his team some lessons about what players want out of their experience. Most importantly, players want to have some sort of emotional connection with what they're playing, especially a sense of ownership. This led to the team brainstorming ideas of how to implement this into a game. It eventually led to the creation of NaturalMotion's mobile hit CSR Racing. Reil explained how there were already quality mobile racing games at the time, such as Real Racing 2. However, none of the existing titles could pass the "Starbucks test" of being able to complete a race while waiting for your drink at a coffee shop.
You know what I've just realized? Every Friday I'm so concerned with telling everyone about all of the great new deals in gaming that are circling around, that I never once stopped and took the time to get to know you, the loyal reader. So how are you? What is your favorite color? What are your hopes and dreams?Alright, I'm sorry, I just can't do it. Call me selfish, call me what you will, but I'd much rather use this space to talk about all of the free and discounted games you'll be able to pick up this weekend instead! We've got some big price cuts on some of our favorite Worms games to come out recently, not to mention a brand new Humble Bundle with cross-platform Android support, and even the very first sales bundle on iPhone games!"So instead of telling me all about your hopes and dreams, why not just tell me about any great free games or sales I may have missed in the replies? And just in case you were wondering, my favorite color was green, and then it was blue, and now I say it is clear.
All is fair in love and My Little Pony. Well today, fans of the cult and cuddly TV show will be happy to know that a brand new title update has just gone live in the My Little Pony mobile game by Gameloft. The new update, dubbed Equestria Girls, adds a brand new dancing mini-game to the popular city-building and strategy game, and also serves as a tie-in to the recent My Little Pony musical film of the same name.As you get ready to dance your pony shoes off in the new mini-game, you'll get to interact with a number of the Equestria Girls characters themselves, including Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Apple Jack, and Fluttershy. In addition, you'll also have the chance to unlock 4 unique costumes for each respective character, which offer their own special in-game bonuses when applied to your ponies. The new Equestria Girls update to Gameloft's My Little Pony is live right now on the iOS App Store and the Google Play Marketplace. And just to get your quick My Little Pony fix in before you download the update, you can watch the official trailer for the new Equestria Girls content right above this paragraph! (Warning: the high amount of twinkling and all-around sparkly goodness in this trailer might be too intense for some viewers.)
With two successful Kickstarter campaigns and dozens of releases under his belt, inXile Entertainment's Brian Fargo knows a thing or two about the video game industry. Speaking at the Gaming Insiders Summit on Thursday, Fargo talked about the origins of Wasteland 2 and Torment: Tides of Numenera, inXile's efforts to constantly involve their fans, and how crowdsourcing looks to become permanent fixture in the industry, if it's utilized well.Together, Wasteland 2 and Torment both raised over $7 million. Fargo explained that the crowdfunding industry (combining all sites and projects, not just Kickstarter and games) is projected to bring in $3 billion this year. Fans of games and other projects are obviously demanding content and products that publishers aren't willing to support. As Fargo discussed, the only way to satisfy the desires of that crowd is to build something without the backing of a publisher. While he didn't directly condemn publishers, he did provide a good argument as to why crowdsourcing is the best route for developers, regardless of their history or affiliations.
Halloween has always been one of my favorite times of the year: and not because of all the copious amounts of candy to satisfy my ever-hungry sweet tooth, but because a lot of my favorite games love to pack on the scares in a Halloween-themed update! Well Kingdom Rush: Frontiers from Ironhide is the next in line to receive this spooktacular treatment, with a brand new campaign update that's set to go live on October 31, 2013.Dubbed the "Shadowmoon Campaign," the all-new Halloween content will add three brand new levels into the popular tower defense game, as well as two new heroes: Bonehart the skeleton dragon and Dante the vampire slayer. And yes, they both look as awesome as you would expect. In addition to some wonderfully creepy new areas to defend, you'll also have your work cut out for you against the game's new Halloween enemy types, including werewolves, vampires, and swarms of floating ghosts! Even though Halloween is still a few weeks away, you can take a peek at what the upcoming Shadowmoon Campaign is going to look like in the update's official trailer right above this paragraph. See it up there? Okay, good. And be sure to hit the replies and let us know what you're most excited about in this hauntingly new addition to the world of Kingdom Rush: Frontiers!
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 entering the Solstice Arena on PC, going on a quest to find the best Halloween costume on iPhone, and engaging in some good old-fashioned point-and-click horror on iPad."
Now that Clash of Clans has debuted on Android, mobile gamers on both sides of the iPhone/Android debate are able to jump into Supercell's strategic base-building fun. But like many free-to-play games, once you get deep enough into it, you may find yourself waiting 2+ days for certain buildings to complete.Do you wish you could still be building defenses during the downtime? Jump into any one of these titles and get started on another base-building adventure!All of the games listed below share mechanics that are strikingly similar to Clash of Clans. If you're a fan of one, chances are you'll be a fan of another. If we missed any, be sure to let us know in the comments.
Someone tell The Joker to wipe that ugly smile off his face, because Batman is making a return to mobile devices this month to knock some thugs around Gotham City! Coinciding with the release of the highly anticipated console game, Batman: Arkham Origins for mobile will be a highly stylized brawler game from NetherRealm Studios, the same developer who brought us such console tie-in experiences as Batman: Arkham City Lockdown and Injustice: Gods Among Us.In the game, players will take control of Batman once again as they battle against an onslaught of Gotham City's most deadly assassins. As players move through the gritty campaign, they'll be able to upgrade their character's skills and unlock a number of bonus power-ups and Batsuits through an in-game currency system. And like NetherRealm Studios' previous efforts, gamers who own the console version of Batman: Arkham Origins will be able to earn exclusive cross-promotional content by playing the mobile game as well.The free-to-play mobile version of Batman: Arkham Origins will be released for iOS devices during the launch window of its big-brother console game (which is currently slated for release on Friday, October 25, 2013), with an Android release to be expected just in time for the holidays.But until then, be sure to take a peek at the official gameplay trailer of Batman: Arkham Origins for mobile devices in all of its butt-kicking glory. I, for one, think it perfectly captures the graphics and combat essence of the popular line of console Batman titles, and couldn't be more excited to get my Bat gloves all scuffed and bruised.