From March 1st through the 11th, game developers from around the world participated in the Cyberpunk Jam, an event which challenged developers to create a game based in the cyberpunk genre.The only rules for the Cyberpunk Jam were the game must be cyberpunk-themed, and based on an image provided by the event organizers. By the end of the game jam, 256 games had been produced. The following five were some of our favorites.
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.
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.
Back in 2011, Namco had a very bright idea: create a team to breathe new life into some of their long-forgotten franchises and characters. ShiftyLook was born out of this idea, and through a series of webcomics (and games and other media), they succeeded admirably at their mission.But now, like the characters they were tasked to resurrect, ShiftyLook is destined to fall into obscurity; a soon to be distant memory."Now that we have successfully revived so many franchises," reads the latest update on the ShiftyLook website, "the heavy lifting is completed - and so is our work. We battled the video games abyss and won, which means it's time for us to move on and let the hit-makers play with some new toys."The early retirement of ShiftyLook spells a similar fate for many of its creations. Namco High, a fantastic dating sim/interactive fiction release that earned a near perfect score in our review last year, will have its servers shut down on Jun 30, 2014. Their mobile game BRAVOMAN: Binja Bash! will be suffering a similar fate, disappearing from iTunes, Google Play and Amazon at the end of this month.
Toronto-based gamemaker Benjamin Rivers - better known as the man behind the frighteningly unique horror adventure Home - has just announced his next project. There's not much info yet, but what little he's released has flipped my curiosity switch to 'piqued.'"Alone With You is a single-player exploration game that takes a unique approach to romance," says the game's official website - and it says little else. There's a teaser trailer, but like the game's obtuse description, it manages to raise more questions than answers.As a gamer who's passionate about exploring the human condition beyond fast cars and big guns (the gaming landscape looks way too much like an 80's action movie for my liking), Alone With You looks like it could be right up my alley. Hopefully it'll be up yours, too. We'll be sure to share some more info on Benjamin Rivers next adventure just as soon as we have it.