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Make-a-wish game, Allied Star Police, out now on the App Store
You may remember the story of Owain Weinert, a 9 year-old diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, who got invited to PopCap Games via the Make-a-wish foundation to help design and release a brand new iOS game. That title, eventually called Allied Star Police, is available now for free on the App Store. It's available through PopCap's experimental 4th and Battery studio, and I have to say -- it's pretty darn good. The game plays kind of like a more dynamic version of Plants vs. Zombies, where you summon various types of shooter ships to fly down lanes of attackers, eventually fighting their way over to blow up an enemy base. There are some good game design ideas here, too -- as you earn money for destroying enemy ships, you can slowly build up to more and more powerful weaponry, eventually leading an army of destroyers to take out your enemy. I like it a lot, and Plants vs. Zombies fans will probably enjoy it as well. Kudos to Owain on his work (and PopCap for their help, I'm sure), very nice job. Owain also gets the honor of helping PopCap release their very first game after the recent EA takeover, so congrats on that one, too. Once again, you can try it out for yourself: it's a universal app available for free.
9-year-old hangs with PopCap, creates iOS game via Make A Wish Foundation
When you're 9 years old you dream of plenty of things. Thanks to the Make A Wish Foundation, Owain Weinert's dream came true when he got to visit PopCap Games and design his very own video game. Owain's been diagnosed with pre-B Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia and has spent several weeks working with PopCap to design his game, Allied Star Police. "This is my dream and I finally get to see my dream come true," he says. "It's a real-time strategy game and I really had fun watching it take shape." Owain's mother Heather seemed bowled over by the kindness PopCap has shown her son. "Today is a real high point," she said during a visit to the company. "Being in the hospital for kids with cancer can be a real downer." PopCap presented Owain with an iPad with the development version of the game, which is due in the App Store in the coming months. Profits will go to the Make A Wish foundation. You can watch a video of Owain's visit to PopCap on the next page (sorry iOS users, no Flash-free version available).
Blizzard and Make-A-Wish give child ultimate WoW experience
Blizzard Entertainment teamed up with the Make-A-Wish foundation to give 10-year-old Ezra Chatterton, who suffers from a brain tumor, the ultimate World of Warcraft experience imaginable.Ezra, an avid World of Warcraft fan with a heart-wrenching backstory, told Make-A-Wish that he wanted to visit Blizzard to see if they would make a character for him. Blizzard obliged, and not only did Ezra create his character (Ahab Wheathoof, pictured), they recorded his voice for the character and also let him add his dog Kyle to the game, in addition to creating a very unique (and very powerful) flaming crossbow for his now maxed-out character. All in all, Ezra spent seven hours with the Blizzard staff as was reportedly very thrilled and equally exhausted. Kudos to Blizzard for granting for this boy what was his biggest wish.[Via WoW Insider]
Brain tumor victim makes-a-wish for PS3
The St. Albans Messenger has a heartwarming story about a recovering brain tumor patient that got a pretty sweet deal courtesy of the Make-A-Wish foundation. Eighteen-year-old Ryan Kubas came home from a limousine trip to Wendy's (his favorite restaurant) to find a widescreen LCD TV, a new sound system, and a PlayStation 3 that had been donated by an anonymous IBM employee. To be completely accurate, Ryan didn't get the PS3 until just after he got home, and was reportedly "a little disappointed" to find just the sound system and TV upon arriving. When Make-A-Wish volunteers brought the system from their car, though, they produced "a chorus of cheers from everyone inside the house." Kubas' initial review of the PS3 reveals that it is "very realistic, much better than the PlayStation 2," and also "awesome." Related: Valve lets fan tour studio, play Portal
