Well that didn't take long. Earlier this month, Twitch let the world know that they wanted to expand beyond the world of desktop computers and home consoles; that they wanted to show their audience what games in your pocket look like. A new mobile SDK, they announced, will allow developers to embed Twitch-streaming functionality right into their games.And it looks like Asphalt 8 is going to be the game to kick things off.A racing game that earned a damned near perfect score in our review last summer, Asphalt 8 will add in Twitch-functionality in a free update "soon." Not only will players be able to stream gameplay, but video and audio courtesy of your iOS device's front-facing camera. Streaming will be optimized for A7 chip devices (iPhone 5S, iPad Air, iPad Mini). There no word on whether older devices will be supported.
Less than a year following the release of the first game in the series, Neocore Games is releasing The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing 2 on April 17th for both Windows and Mac. Pre-orders are currently open, granting buyers instant access to the Beta test on Steam. Setup similarly to Kickstarter backer-rewards, pre-orders are available in set price tiers which offer buyers certain in-game perks to accompany the amount paid for. These tiers range from the base, $15 "magic pack" tier, up to the $1,000 "leader of the pack" tier. Pre-orders are available on Neocore Games' website.With the first game releasing May 22, 2013, and the sequel following less than a year later, the amount of time in between releases may concern some. While Van Helsing I had batches of DLC released up through late September of last year, the real questions are if the Neocore team has had enough time to work on the sequel and whether Van Helsing II will attain enough support to financially support the third, and final, game in the trilogy.
The developer behind the widely popular Frog Fractions has taken to Kickstarter to fund his next expedition into edutainment video games, Frog Fractions 2. Players already familiar with Frog Fractions will feel right at home with the promotional video, though it might leave newcomers to the series a bit confused. Luckily for those newcomers, the original game is available in its entirety, for free, online. Play the game for five minutes and everything will make sense.Frog Fractions 2 is seeking $60,000 in funding, the majority of which is going directly to living expenses for the developer while he finishes the game.Due to the unique nature of Frog Fractions' original release and reaction, the developer, Twinbeard, is being very careful with how he plans to release Frog Fractions 2.
We ran a survey recently asking our game developer friends what more they want to see on Gamezebo. One of the key pieces of feedback we received is that you want to see more industry news. Who k(new)? As long as you read and share this news round-up (hint, hint, you wild and crazy people with tons of followers on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn), and there's enough interesting news to round up, we'll sum the news up for you every Friday.This week: PopCap and Disney layoffs, Large Animal Games is closing, King is still going public, and lot of new studios and businesses forming.
Whitaker Trebella is a cool guy. And like a lot of cool guys - especially in this industry - he makes some pretty cool games. The most recent of these, Pivvot, has just seen its first big update that introduces a new mode. Better yet, it also introduces two very special words: Daily Challenges.If you're wondering where Trebella got the idea for the latter, he recently told Gamezebo of his love for Spelunky - aka, the roguelike platformer with the Daily Challenges. "I've died thousands of times," he said, "but I keep coming back, mainly because of the Daily Challenges."The challenges in Pivvot will be similar in spirit, giving players one chance each day to "prove themselves," as Trebella tells us. And if that's not enough, this update also introduces the new Looper mode, where players will need to do as many 360's as possible while dodging everything the game throws at you.If you're already a Pivvot fan, the update is free and available now. If you're not, you can pick this one up for 99 cents on the App Store. (and if you're a PC or Mac gamer who'd like to try it out, be sure to tell Valve you'd buy it with an upvote on Steam Greenlight).
Earlier today, Gamefront had an anonymous source claiming PopCap Games, maker of the Plants vs. Zombies titles, had suffered a round of layoffs. Parent company Electronic Arts wouldn't comment on the source's number of 30 jobs lost, but did provide the site with a statement from PopCap GM and co-founder John Vechey confirming that some people had been let go:"The changes we made today at PopCap were painful and we're sorry to lose some of our friends and colleagues. But it was also necessary in order to stay on course with our future plans for mobile games, live services, and new IP. PopCap is a studio that made its name building great games that the world can fall in love with, and that's what we'll continue to do."This isn't the first time PopCap has suffered a reduction in headcount since it was purchased by EA in July 2011. Fifty employees were laid off from North American locations in August 2012, and the company's Dublin studio was closed a month later.
Last year, a new development studio was formed by a veritable team of superstar gamemakers, though we didn't know what they were actually working on… until now! Firewatch will be the first title from game studio Campo Santo, according to their website.A website for the game has cropped up as well, offering a brief synopsis."In Firewatch you play as a man named Henry who has retreated from his messy life to work as a fire lookout in the Wyoming wilderness," the website states. "Perched high atop a mountain, it's your job to look for smoke and keep the wilderness safe."
Brandon Boyer has led a pretty busy life. He's a contributing editor to Boing Boing that once started his own record label, though most probably know him as Chairman of the Independent Games Festival (IGF). More recently, he helped found the crowdfunded Venus Patrol, an organization dedicated to discovering the beautiful things in game culture. Now that interesting life of his is in danger, as he's been diagnosed with cancer and his insurance company, Humana, has footed him with a $100,000 treatment bill. Of course, they did send him a chocolate bar, because that's how you apologize for literally trying to scam someone to death.Boyer has again turned to crowdfunding, this time to save his life. By supporting him and his treatment you can now get a ton of great games out of the deal.The Humble Bundle, a group that sells games in a pay-what-you-want pricing model, is holding one of their biggest deals yet in support of Boyer. It's a little different than usual, as you need to pay at least $25 to get the deal, but for that price you'll receive over 30 indie games and soundtracks for PC.