Tag: Apps

E3 2017: Discussing The Future Of The ‘Layton’ Series

by Natalie Kipper

On June 14, smack dab in the middle of E3 2017, I met with two members of Level-5 Inc. to discuss their latest project Layton’s Mystery Journey. The title will release on the Nintendo 3DS as well as mobile devices, both iOS and Android.

The choice to expand to the mobile platform stemmed from a desire to reach a broader audience, to create new fans while not alienating older ones. The mobile version will not follow the free-to-play model. It will have an as-yet unannounced price tag but that first purchase is all that is required to play the entirety of the game. They do plan to have in-app purchases of some variety but these are completely not required to enjoy the game (the 3DS version will not have in-app purchases). The mobile game can be played without wifi but you may want to log on each day to get the free Daily Puzzle downloads. Even without these downloads, Layton’s Mystery Journey contains over 500 hundred puzzles, more than any other title in the series.

For both the mobile and 3DS versions, the gameplay mostly remains the same at the core. However, while Professor Layton’s mysteries seemed to become grander and grander in scale with each installment, his daughter Katrielle’s game is much smaller in focus. She is just starting to establish herself as a detective and as such the tone is more light and even humorous at times. The color palette reflects this by including brighter tones. There are 12 chapters in the game’s story but there is the possibility for post-release DLC for both versions.

Another slight difference is that in the previous Layton games, the puzzles were created by the late Akira Tago. Layton’s Mystery Journey will feature puzzles from the mind of Iwanami Kuniaki. His background is in Mathematics compared to Tago’s in Linguistics. It should be interesting to see how this effects the feel of the puzzles.

Level-5 is all about portability with their games, which is why the move to mobile felt so natural. Their games are intended to be played on a handheld system. As wonderful as this is for mobile and 3DS players, owners of the Nintendo Switch are left out in the cold. The truth is Level-5 loves the Switch but the challenge with developing for it lies with the console’s hybrid nature. Yes, the Switch can be played as a handheld device (which is how Level-5 wants their games to be played) but as soon as you pop that Switch into its dock and the game goes onto the TV screen, that is where the problem arises. It is a shame but I am happy to be able to play Level-5’s beautiful games at all. Here’s hoping that they find a solution to this particular puzzle soon.

The message to new fans is that the game is “open to anyone at any age of any gender.” The game is great to pick-up and play and not intimidating, full of enjoyable moments from Katrielle’s journey.

As for extra incentives for past fans to play (if even need one), it was mentioned that there will homages to previous titles found in Layton’s Mystery Journey. They were mum on returning characters, though.

Because the mobile game launches first, Level-5 anticipates that portions of the story will be spoiled prior to the 3DS release. They aren’t concerned, however, as the main draw of the game is solving the puzzles. So even if the gamer knows the full extent of the plot going in, there is still incentive to play.

Layton’s Mystery Journey launche on mobile worldwide on July 20, 2017. It will launch on the Nintendo 3DS on July 20, 2017, in Japan, and in Autumn 2017 for the rest of the world.

‘Beat Sports’, ‘Guitar Hero’, ‘Skylanders’, More All Revealed For New Apple TV!

by Derek Kraneveldt

Briefly: Apple announced a new, App-focussed Apple TV earlier today, and while every Apple event always garners an unsurmountable level of hate (wake up sheeple), I’m damned excited for the thing.

First, it looks like an inexpensive and phenomenal way to get content to your TV. I’m not a cable subscriber, and as an everyday user (and fan) of the 3rd-generation Apple TV, it has been far and away the best device for getting content to my television, be it Netflix, iTunes rentals, photos, YouTube, or countless other services.

This new Apple TV does all that too, and by the looks of it, it does it even better.

But there’s something I’m looking forward to even more than that, and that’s apps and gaming. Sure, I own multiple consoles and handhelds, but there are no devices on the market that bring more approachable gaming to the masses than Apple’s. I had never seen anyone’s grandmother play a video game of any sort until the iPad, and that’s a trend that I think will continue with this new Apple TV.

No, Apple didn’t make a gaming console, and no, they’re not targeting Sony, Microsoft, or Nintendo. This is going to be a gaming device for people who are not gamers, and Apple and developers are going to make a killing off of it.

Oh, and it’s going to get full featured games too.

Following Apple’s ‘Hey Siri’ event this morning, Activision revealed that Guitar Hero, Skylanders, and Geometry Wars are headed to the new Apple TV.

Skylanders: Superchargers is a full port of the console game, and “The Skylanders SuperChargers Starter Pack for Apple TV, iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch will include everything fans with those devices need to play, including a Bluetooth-enabled portal, an embedded Bluetooth controller, and even a built-in stand. What’s more, if you have multiple Apple devices, your progress can be seamlessly synced across Apple TV, iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch with cloud save support under the same Game Center account.”

GHero

That sounds freaking awesome. You can play on your TV, and then actually take the same game on the go with you, it kind of sounds like what Sony wanted to do with the Playstation Vita, except it will actually work.

Here’s what the company had to say about Guitar Hero Live:

Guitar Hero Live is also coming to a wide array of devices, including consoles, mobile devices and Apple TV. Guitar Hero Live’s GH Live mode brings you closer to the live stage experience with live-action, first-person gameplay with crowds and bands that react dynamically to how you play. There’s also GHTV, the world’s first playable music video network, which lets you play along with a continually updated collection of official music videos spanning a variety of genres. Guitar Hero Live for Apple TV, iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch devices will come with the redesigned six-button guitar controller, which connects through Bluetooth so it be used across all supported Apple devices.

“We jumped at the opportunity to bring back Guitar Hero in a cool new way with Guitar Hero Live and have been energized by the response from fans who have had a chance to play it so far,” said Jamie Jackson, co-studio head and creative director at FreeStyleGames. “We can’t wait for the game to launch next month and think people are going to get a kick out of living their rock star fantasy on consoles, mobile devices and Apple TV this fall. It’s going to be rad!”

Geometry Wars 3: Retro Evolved is also headed to the Apple TV this Fall.

Rock Band creator Harmonix has also developed an entirely new IP for the Apple TV called Beat Sports, which looks like a mixture of Wii Sports and an extremely approachable rhythm title. The title offers “a collection of music-infused mini-games based loosely on familiar sports like tennis, volleyball, and golf. Designed and developed exclusively for the new Apple TV, Beat Sports is controlled using the brand-new remote.”

It looks simple, and it looks like a blast.

Another thing that I’m excited about? App store games are generally far more affordable than their console counterparts, and with my ailing exchange rate, I need to save all the money that I can. Also, my current Apple TV turns on way, way faster than my PS4 does, so if I have just a few minutes to jump into a game, guess which controller I’m more likely to grab?

Bring on the hate.

https://youtu.be/5R5cD094oWA

 

The New Apple TV Includes The App Store, And It’s Going To Be Huge

by Derek Kraneveldt

Briefly: After five long years, Apple has finally revealed a powerful new Apple TV, and it’s going to be freaking huge.

Now, the event is still ongoing, so there’s still a ton of news coming through, but it’s pretty clear (and I’m not just saying that because I’m an Apple fan) that this is going to turn the Apple TV from a well designed hobby product, into a central hub for all of your media, be that television, movies, games, apps, comic books, and more.

In introducing the product, Apple CEO Tim Cook stated that “Our vision for TV is simple and perhaps a little provocative. We believe the future of television is apps.”

Disney

The new tvOS features a gorgeous new design (and I absolutely love that Siri support), but the biggest game-changer that the new Apple TV brings to your living room is the App Store. Yep, that same App Store that has brought hundreds of thousands of apps to millions of phones, including console quality games, incredible sports apps, and other amazing experiences, is coming to your TV.

Apple showed off some pretty cool applications, but the thing that I’m most excited for? Local multiplayer games. Many of the games showed off on stage had multiple people playing at the same time, on the same screen, which is almost unheard of these days unless you’re playing on a Wii U.

One of the best gaming experiences that I’ve had with friends as of late has been playing Jackbox Games’ Xbox One titles, a series of party games that utilize your smart phones as controllers, and have a large amount of players playing at the same time in the same room. It’s a freaking blast, and I can see a myriad of titles with similar mechanics making their way to the new Apple TV.

I own multiple consoles, and have so many games, but have never found a need to buy another controller. With the new Apple TV, all of my friends have a controller in their pocket, all of the time, and that’s the thing that I’m most excited for.

APPLETV

It’s got a brand new remote, with a gyroscope and an accelerometer for motion gaming, and I’m sure that a lot of games will use your iPhone as a controller as well.

Developers can begin working on apps starting today, and Apple showed images from console ports like Transistor and Disney Infinity, and even noted that developers will have the opportunity to have one purchase cover the app on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV.

Pretty freaking cool.

The new Apple TV will cost $149 for a 32Gb model, and $199 for a 64Gb Model, and will launch in October.

Cook said that “When you consume this way, you realize just how much better it can be,” and I cannot wait to try it out for myself.

Photos via TheVerge.

‘Swapnote’ Allegedly Shut Down Due To Child Predators

by Josh Jackson

3DS fans across the Internet were outraged last week when Nintendo suddenly discontinued its popular Swapnote service, citing “offensive material” as the reason for their actions. Acting as a tool to send messages, drawings and pictures to friends through their handhelds, it seemed like many were in agreement that this knee jerk reaction was either Nintendo being Nintendo and overreacting to a potential threat, (which is why friend codes are still used as a way to make it harder for strangers to communicate,) or that something went really, really wrong when it came to how the service was used. Unfortunately, it seems to have been the latter.

Yomiuri Online, an Internet news site, is reporting that two men were arrested for performing “improper acts” with a 12 year old girl early this year. The girl met both men through her 3DS, and the Japanese newspaper Mainichi News is suggesting that Swapnote was involved at some point.

Unfortunately, that’s not all there is to the story. Mainichi, also reported that a man is said to have confessed to receiving nude photos from two girls, age 12 and 13 respectively, at the time of the incidents. Child pornography charges have reportedly been filed in regards to this incident.

Nintendo has yet to officially comment on the controversy specifically, still only citing “offensive material” as the reason for the service to be pulled, but the situation had to involve something big for them to shut down the service worldwide as suddenly as they did. Assuming the above stories are true, it’s a shame that we all have to suffer for the actions of a few perverts in Japan. But then again, fears of these types of actions are partially why Nintendo has shied away from a traditional online experience. When incidents like these take place, it’s not hard to see why.

SOURCE: Kotaku.com

Geekscape Mobile: Metaversal Studios’ Matt Sughrue Talks App Development and the Future!

by Mark Labbe

Apps are quickly becoming a huge staple of the gaming industry. With more and more apps breaking away from mobile devices and finding their way onto consoles, app developers have a lot of importance on the future of the gaming industry. Being intrigued by this, I decided to contact an app company for an interview to better understand how apps are made and how they will affect gaming in the future. I chose to get in touch with Metaversal Studios. Being a company that continuously creates popular, witty games for both iOS and Android, they seemed like a good choice. Matt Sughrue, VP of Product Development, was nice enough to give me his time to answer a few questions.

Geekscape: So, Matt, tell me about yourself.

Matt Sughrue: I started working in the game industry in 1992. Prior to that I worked in marketing and advertising in the computer business, but I’ve been a gamer since there were games to play and wanted very badly to make games. When I saw an ad in the Boston Globe for a game designer position at a small developer called Animation Magic, I went for it. I had zero qualifications other than good writing skills, boundless enthusiasm and rugged good looks. They hired me anyway, although it was as Marketing Director, not designer. I spent six months in that role before moving into design. Since we were so small (half a dozen developers in Boston), all of our roles overlapped and I was able to learn the ins and outs of game development by actually doing the work.

http://youtu.be/gcJPfb1GI3U

I loved being a designer and made a half dozen PC games, mostly for kids, during my first few years at the company. Animation Magic grew considerably during my time there, up to about a dozen people in Boston and 150 artists and animators at our studio in St. Petersburg, Russia. I had the opportunity to travel to Russia many times over the next 8 years and work with some extraordinarily talented people there.

As we grew, we had a need for someone to manage the client relationships and fill the producer role, so I shifted gears and became first a producer, then production director, then executive producer for the company. By the time we were purchased by Davidson & Associates (who had also purchased Sierra Online and Blizzard around the same time), our studio was developing multiple titles for multiple clients non-stop. It was kind of crazy, but I learned a lot about implementing best practices, juggling priorities and the importance of good planning.

After Animation Magic, I served as General Manager for Papyrus Design Group, the top PC racing simulation developer at the time, then went a social MMO startup that never got off the ground due to a lack of funding.

Over the next ten years I worked for developers and publishers running projects, teams and business units making games across just about every platform, from GBA to PS3.

I joined Metaversal Studios in 2010 as VP of Product Development, and have been here ever since.

SJM5k-Web-Banner

Geekscape: Impressive! Could you tell me about Metaversal Studios?

Matt Sughrue: Metaversal started as a group of Northeastern University graduates making Flash games for fun and for web clients. When Apple launched the iPod and iPhone, Metaversal started making games for those devices. The founder of the company sold Metaversal to a New York-based game distributor called Alliance in 2009, and Alliance hired me in 2010 to run the studio. When I came on board I discovered a lot of raw talent and potential but no discipline or structure. There was no one who could tell the new owners of the company when a game would be done or how it would generate any revenues.

I applied the best practices I had learned over the years to the studio and the development team jumped on board without hesitation. They quickly understood the value of good design documentation, source control, bug ticketing, peer review and clearly defined milestones, and we had our first successful app (a novelty app called Shave Me) in April of that year. Shave Me went to the top of the charts and continues to stay strong 3 years later, with well over 8 million downloads and many, many updates and enhancements. We’ve developed many other games since then for both iOS and Android devices, and along with our parent company have recently become PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo developers and publishers.

http://youtu.be/kxvKeAQg0Zc

Geekscape: I downloaded Shave Me and it is honestly one of the most unique apps I’ve ever used. How did Metaversal come up with that idea?

Matt Sughrue: It was the winner in a “weirdest app idea” studio competition. Weird can work in the App Store!

Geekscape: I guess it can! So, what are you working on now?

Matt Sughrue: Can’t give you details on that since we haven’t announced it yet, but we’re building a new iOS and Android game, as well as working with other developers to publish their titles for iOS, PS4 and Xbox One.

Geekscape: I’ll keep a lookout for it! So how many people work at Metaversal and what are the different responsibilities that they have?

Matt Sughrue: We have seven people here in our Massachusetts office, and our parent company has offices in New York, Miami and San Francisco.

Here in our studio we have design, art, engineering, marketing and project management staff. We’re all gamers, and the chemistry between our devs is excellent. Most of the team are people whom I’ve worked with at other jobs in the past, so there is a level of trust and efficiency that lets us achieve a lot more than developers our size normally would be able to pull off.

elemites

Geekscape: Will any of your current apps be available on consoles?

Matt Sughrue: Probably nothing that’s already in the market, but we are looking at consoles for everything we do going forward.

Geekscape: So what goes into creating an app?

Matt Sughrue: App development is very different from making console games in that you have a very short dev cycle (1-4 months, depending on the game) and a very small team. We start with a group brainstorm session to get some potential ideas down on the board, then pare the list down by asking things like “Does this have staying power and can it be the start of a line of games?” “Can we bring this to other platforms easily?” “Does this take advantage of the development pipeline we’ve created, or do we need to change our process to make it?” “Can it be done in X months?” And on and on until the strongest idea remains. Everyone is thick-skinned here, which is good because we are also all extremely blunt with each other about the viability of a game concept.

http://youtu.be/Agt1cbPCa50

Geekscape: Finally- what platforms do you make apps for?

Matt Sughrue: We make games for iOS, Android, PC/Mac, and now PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo.

You can follow Metaversal Studios on twitter here! What’s your favourite Metaversal title? Sound out below!

http://youtu.be/GkkqUf7DgQ8

Geekscape Mobile: AAA iOS Titles Go Free For App Store’s 5th Anniversary!

by Derek Kraneveldt

Briefly: It’s the 5th anniversary (wow, already?) of the iOS App Store, and to celebrate, some incredible, regularly premium apps have gone free for a limited time.

A bunch of great apps and games are up for grabs, and seeing as I’ve already purchased most of them, trust me when I say that they’re worth the download. Check out the full list of titles and links below, and let us know what you pick up!

Games
– Infinity Blade II (Universal)
– Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP (Universal)
– Tiny Wings and Tiny Wings HD
– Badland (Universal)
– Where’s My Water? (Universal)

Apps
– Traktor DJ for iPhone, iPad
– How to Cook Everything
– Day One
– Barefoot World Atlas
– Over

Again, these are all premium titles that have never been free before, so get ’em while they’re hot, as there’s no sign of how long these deals will last. See anything not listed? Let me know, and I’ll be sure to update the list!

Source: The Verge