Remember a few weeks ago when I made a 2014 prediction that more book publishers and big-name authors would be experimenting with mobile gaming? Well not to toot my own horn, but things are looking pretty good on that front so far! And that's because Google's Niantic Labs, the studio behind the incredibly unique and innovative location-based mystery game Ingress, have just announced their next mobile project today: an all-engrossing multimedia experience that's inherently connected with an upcoming trilogy of young adult books by author James Frey (A Million Little Pieces).Frey's new trilogy of books will be titled ENDGAME, with the first installment, ENDGAME: THE CALLING, slated for publication on October 7, 2014 by HarperCollins. Now in addition to the main three books of the core trilogy, the entire ENDGAME experience will also involve fifteen original e-Book novellas, interactive gaming, YouTube videos, and even various social media, Google image search, and map coordinate components. I'll stop typing for a minute to let your heads stop spinning."But now listen to this: the incredibly ambitious project will also be expanding well beyond the books or the games to feature actual real-life events and prizes as well. For instance, for ENDGAME: THE CALLING, a literal block of gold will be put on public display somewhere in the world behind a case of bulletproof glass. When a player manages to solve the intricate system of puzzles in the book and accompanying game, a key will be revealed that will allow them access to the gold: and a video of them opening the case and claiming their reward will be broadcast live on YouTube. Players will be able to unlock these momentous prizes through various clues and interactive puzzles within the actual text of the books themselves!
Another Thursday's new iOS releases, another Twitch livestream to show you the top picks for the week. This week we're actually skipping the biggest title to hit the App Store, because as much as we loved Across Age 2, you don't really want to watch us play a story-heavy RPG, do you? Besides, if you felt like reading, you'd already be checking out our review.Instead, we're going to take a look at the ninja-friendly Shadow Blade, Mega Jump 2, and a possible hidden gem in Tap & Blast. We say "possible," because our first experience with it will be your first experience with it. Stay tuned to see what it's all about!If you miss the show live (and shame on you if you did), don't worry: we'll be sure to archive it right here for later viewing. But wouldn't you rather watch it now and jump into the chat? UPDATE: Our broadcast day has now concluded, though it's saved forever in the video below.Watch live video from Gamezebo on TwitchTV
Well you know what they say about all good things, right? They always come to an end eventually. And so seems to be the plan for Steam's beloved Greenlight program, which sought to help small-name developers get their games onto Steam through a community voting process. But during today's opening remarks at the Steam Dev Days - a conference held exclusively for developers - Valve's Gabe Newell has been reported as saying the company hopes to move away from Greenlight in the near future.While there's been no official reason given for Valve's eventual removal of the Steam Greenlight program just yet, Games Industry International has been compiling the tweets from game developers on the ground floor of the conference, like Dave Oshry of Hot Blooded Games, who quoted Newell in a tweet as saying: "Our goal is to make Greenlight go away. Not because it's not useful, but because we're evolving.""That statement certainly gives us a lot of food for thought. Steam Greenlight was first incorporated into the popular gaming client in August 2012, after which Valve had to quickly refine its rules and regulations due to an immense amount of "shovelware" titles popping up on the program. So in a way, Valve choosing to drop Greenlight might be a good way to keep their game catalogue both concise and focused on the very best gaming experiences around. But at the same time, it also opened up the doors for gamers to learn about amazing new titles that they may have never heard about before if not for Greenlight.This news also comes on the heels of Valve's recent announcement that the total number of Steam users had risen 15% over the holidays to a whopping 75 million, so you almost have to trust that Valve knows what they're doing. We'll be sure to keep you posted on any updates we hear regarding the final days of Greenlight as soon as we learn them. In the meantime, be sure to hit the comments and let us know what you think about this surprising decision!
Calling all mobile game developers on the internet! I know that you're probably knee-deep in working on your newest mobile masterpiece right now, but you only have one day left to register your latest and greatest games for consideration in the 10th annual International Mobile Gaming Awards! The IMGA is recognized as being the longest running award ceremony that has a total focus on mobile gaming. Last year's big winners included The Walking Dead - Season One and The Room.Developers who still want to submit their games for an IMGA will have until midnight tonight (PST), and they can do so by filling out a simple application right over here. Both big-name and indie developers are encouraged to submit their projects for the awards, with the list of nominees being announced on February 10, 2014, before the winners are revealed at The 10th IMGA Ceremony on March 18, 2014."Who doesn't love mobile games? And better yet, who doesn't love receiving awards for making them? So put those last finishing touches on and submit your mobile creations today before it's too late!
Have you ever thought about how funny it is that most of the video games we play these days are all about action? Whether it's running, jumping, punching, questing, or hundreds of other things that involve various types of movement, the characters in our favorite games tend to always be on the go: which is kind of ironic in a way, considering that most of the time we're controlling them with our butts firmly planted on a seat!Well this week we've got plenty of new action-packed releases to stretch your gaming fingers: and all from the comfy cushions of your very own couch! From traveling through time in an epic JRPG journey, to showing off your stealthy ninja skills, there's not a moment to waste on that silly thing called "rest" here. And of course, let's not forget firing a deadly slingshot at your camping buddies as they flee in terror in a makeshift derby go-kart…
There's no denying how popular EA's The Simpsons: Tapped Out has become on the App Store these days, and for very good reason: the game is just an absolute blast, and a pure delight for Simpsons fans everywhere. After all, what's not to love about a game that lets you recreate your very own version of Springfield, complete with all of the wacky friends and neighbors from the TV show that you've gotten to know oh so well?So we thought it'd be a good idea to make a list of some of our favorite games that have also "tapped" into that winning city-building formula of the Simpsons' hit mobile game. The next time you want to take a break from managing Springfield, why not head over to the world of My Little Pony, or spend some time in the forest with the Smurfs? And if you're especially good at holding your breath, why not work towards building up your very own Bikini Bottom!"Now as is often the case with these kinds of lists, there are certainly lots of other great games out there that play a bit like The Simpsons: Tapped Out. So if there are any particularly fun ones that we may have missed, we hope you'll let us off the hook with an apologetic "D'oh!" after you let us know about them in the replies!
As the world becomes more and more digitized and globalized each and every day, the way we buy things and the money we use to make those transactions has begun to adjust accordingly. Such is the case with Bitcoins, a new digital type of currency that began to emerge around 2009, but has steadily been gaining both traction and attention in recent years. The biggest draw to using Bitcoins is that the currency is run over a simple peer-to-peer network without any central banks actually involved, and its intentional public and open-source design allows for extreme flexibility when purchasing products in different markets.Well this week a new marketplace has launched called Apps for Coins, which is aimed at letting early Bitcoin adopters do one very exciting thing: purchase paid apps and games on the App Store using Bitcoins! This is how the new website works. Users find the game they want to buy, just like they would on the regular App Store, and then purchase it using their Bitcoins. In the next 10 minutes, they will then receive a redeem code for the app they just purchased, which they can download and begin playing as normal."It's been reported that a single Bitcoin was estimated to be worth around $13 of regular U.S. currency circa 2012, although that number is expected to continually rise as the years go on. Just to put the costs into some kind of perspective, a regular priced $0.99 game like Cut the Rope 2 or Ski Safari: Adventure Time will set you back 0.0018B on Apps for Coins, while a $2.99 game like Castle Doombad is currently selling for 0.0041B.
If you were one of the 87,142 backers of Double Fine Adventure, congratulations! You should have a code in your inbox to start playing Broken Age, the game that result from your dollars, by the end of the day. The rest of the world, however, won't have a chance to pick up Tim Schafer's return to adventure gaming until January 28.There are plenty of good reasons to be excited about this one, folks - the least of which is that January 28th is only two weeks from today. And while we could sit here listing all of the facts and figures that make this terribly exciting (after all, this is the project that put Kickstarter on the map for most gamers), there's really only one reason you need to know to buy this: it's Tim Schafer's first point and click adventure in 16 years.With that in mind, we're going to step into the Chrono-O-John to remind you of five very good reasons from the past that should sway your buying decisions in the future.