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Former Bizarre Creations and Tiny Invaders studio Hogrocket closed
Hogrocket, the mobile game development team comprised of former Bizarre Creations staff is on "indefinite hiatus." Hogrocket was one of three studios formed in the wake of Bizarre Creations' closure in February 2011. "This was due to a combination of factors, ranging from geographical to financial. It's sad but the three of us all learned a lot," Hogrocket's Peter Collier told GamesIndustry.biz.The England-based "micro studio" released Tiny Invaders on iOS in March 2011, and Bizarre Creations was known for its work on the Project Gotham Racing series as well as the creation of Geometry Wars. Stephen Cakebread, Technical Director at Hogrocket and Geometry Wars designer, left Hogrocket in September 2011 according to his LinkedIn profile.
Tiny Invaders update adds levels, free version released
It's a momentous day in Tiny Invaders history, as a new update offers new levels and a new addition to the story. After the President's infection at the end of the game (spoilers, sorry), a resistant human appears, according to TouchArcade. Said human, obviously, must be taken out of the picture by the titular tiny invaders.In addition to the update, a free version of Tiny Invaders has been released by developer Hog Rocket. The free version contains 15 levels and allows users to upgrade to the full version for a mere $0.99. You can grab it from iTunes here. Just don't make the same mistake we did and download it when you should be doing something important. As is often the case with alien abductions, you just might find yourself a victim of missing time.
Tiny Invaders enlarged for iPad
Hogrocket, a new development studio comprised of ex-Bizarre Creations talent, put out its first game last month, Tiny Invaders. Up until now, the visual merits (on top of its merit merits) of the game have been available exclusively to the smaller-screened iOS devices, but that's changed. Tiny Invaders' latest update adds iPad support, as well some social media integration and some different languages -- French, German and Italian. Not included: the satisfaction that comes from ruling all of mankind.
Portabliss: Tiny Invaders (iOS)
Did you know that you can download handheld games now? That's amazingly convenient! The only inconvenient part of it is finding the right games to buy -- and that's where we come in, with our Portabliss column. In each installment, we'll tell you about a downloadable game on the iPhone, iPad, Android device, DSi, 3DS, PSP, etc. Today: Tiny Invaders. Contagion is a fitting topic for an iPhone game, considering how often I've picked one up after coming in contact with someone that already had it. And though Tiny Invaders isn't a deliberate metaphor for viral marketing, I'm happy to help spread its icky green tendrils. First-time developer Hogrocket (which is basically cheating by employing Geometry Wars designer Stephen Cakebread) has created a fun little game about trains, and then hidden it inside a lighthearted tale of alien invasion. In order to take over the bodies of various American caricatures, you guide your microscopic, autonomous invaders through the bloodstream by tapping on turns and junctions to change their path. Once you've collected all the on-track orbs and carried them back to the originating ship, you move on to the next stage.
Video report catches up with new studios born from Bizarre's closure
Though the studio behind gems like Project Gotham Racing and Geometry Wars may be dissolved, the individuals behind those projects have not dissolved, which is very, very fortunate for them. Rather, a number of ex-Bizarre Creations staffers have moved on to create three independent studios (so far) -- all of which are the subject of a recent video report from Eurogamer. Check out the 14-minute video for an in-depth look at Lucid, Hogrocket and Curly Rocket's strategies for making their post-Activision ventures a success. If we might make one humble suggestion: Lucid should probably change its name to something with "rocket" in it. Just think of the powerful media conglomerate you three could create if aligned under the same jet-propelled banner!
Hogrocket's Ben Ward speaks out on Bizarre closure
Bizarre Creations community manager-turned-Hogrocket co-founder Ben Ward recently spoke to Eurogamer about the steps that led to his change of employ. The most important query -- what the hell is a Hogrocket? -- goes sadly unanswered. However, Ward explained how his former studio changed with its Activision acquisition, explaining, "for better or worse Bizarre became more 'corporate'." Ward explained he wasn't hurt by the closure, saying, "Those guys wouldn't be top of their game if they didn't make difficult decisions." He added his former publishing partner "has strived to redistribute Bizarre peeps to other Activision studios throughout the world." As for the future of Hogrocket, Ward shot down the obvious answer for the studio's indie game debut: "It's not Geometry Wars," Ward said. "What Hogrocket is working on now is a completely new IP." Trigonometry Battles? We can only hope.
Ex-Bizarre devs form 'micro-studio' Hogrocket
As you peruse the smoldering remains of Bizarre Creations, you catch the faintest stirring out of the corner of your eye. You turn just in time to see, there, rising from the ashes, it's ... a pig in a spaceship? Okay, so we don't know why Bizarre refugees Ben Ward (studio communications), Peter Collier (former level designer) and Geometry Wars creator Stephen Cakebread settled on "Hogrocket" as the name for their new UK studio, but we're glad to see them getting back to work. The freshly announced "micro-studio" says it'll target iPad/iPhone with its first batch of games. It may be a little early for such proclamations, but if Hogrocket turns out mobile games as addictive as Geometry Wars with any regularity then ... well, this little piggy will be going to our wallets more times than we care to think about.
