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Bleszinski: Shadow Complex 2 is 'largely designed' and 'sitting there'
Remember when we told you that Shadow Complex 2 was probably going to come out, even though Epic focused on a new iOS title, Infinity Blade, after releasing Shadow Complex? Turns out we were right. Again. Epic's Cliff Bleszinski confirmed to Gamasutra that Shadow Complex 2 is "largely designed" and is just "sitting there." Bleszinski said Epic and Chair Entertainment, the developer behind Infinity Blade and Shadow Complex, are looking for a partner to help finish the sequel. Even though it left Shadow Complex 2 behind, Bleszinski said developing Infinity Blade for iOS was the right move: "We needed a flagship product for iOS, plain and simple," he said. "And we could have ported Shadow Complex, but it would have been a lot of work and it might not have been the right fit. And then Donald Mustard suggested Punch Out!! with swords with RPG layers and we were like, 'Yes!'" Update: We got a comment from Chair, which reads: In a recent interview, Cliff reiterated the same thing ChAIR's Donald Mustard has said in the past and Epic President Mike Capps commented on a few weeks ago. Following the release of Shadow Complex, ChAIR did some really great design work on Shadow Complex 2. ChAIR then shifted gears to develop Infinity Blade upon noticing a huge opportunity with the emerging iOS market. In regards to the "looking for partners" comment, its likely Cliff was referring to a potential publishing partner. Given the tremendous popularity of Shadow Complex, there's a ton of interest in a sequel and plenty more we'd like to do in that universe. We're confident we'll revisit when the right opportunity presents itself.
Why Epic Games hasn't made Shadow Complex 2 (but 'never say never')
When Shadow Complex was released in 2009, it received critical praise and became a commercial hit. After Epic Games announced that Chair's next game would instead be an iOS title named Infinity Blade, many were curious as to what had happened to the obligatory, post-success sequel. "The reviews were great, it was a record seller for a single-player game on the platform, but at the same time we've got this mobile gaming push that's coming in strong," Epic Games president Mike Capps explained this morning during his GDC Europe keynote. "And the big thing for me was that we were looking what the iPhone could do, and the games that were on iPhone, and we thought there was a huge gap, so we put our engine team on the problem, and that's where we came up with Infinity Blade," Capps said. "We were thinking about the sequel [to Shadow Complex], we were ready and 'Maybe we should start working on this,' and instead stopped everything and went and made Infinity Blade." Capps expanded on the possibility of a Shadow Complex sequel when I followed up with him after his presentation. "Never say never," he offered. Of course, when Chair head Donald Mustard answered the same question earlier this year, he said that such a sequel is "a question of when, not if."
Infinity Blade temporarily on sale
Epic Games' "hugely successful" iOS game Infinity Blade is currently half off for ... um, apparently no real reason. A representative for developer ChAIR told us, "This is a temporary sale we're running for an undetermined amount of time." The game, regularly priced at $5.99, is currently available for $2.99. The universal iOS app has been a hero in the sales department, surpassing $10 million in sales six months after launch. Infinity Blade is currently being turned into a freemium title for Japan, expected to launch this fall.
Infinity Blade X for Mobage goes free in Japan, supported by virtual goods sales
DeNA, Japan's most successful mobile internet company, will offer a free-to-play version of Epic and ChAIR's incredibly successul iOS game, Infinity Blade. Over there it'll be called Infinity Blade X for Mobage, and promises to offer multiplayer and co-op features through DeNA's immensely popular Mobage network -- the game will be free to play and supported by the sale of virtual goods. Infinity Blade, which is considered a "premium" title everywhere else but Japan (see: it costs more than a buck), was just recently updated with head-to-head multiplayer and survival modes. The game's latest milestone saw it surpass $10 million in sales. Infinity Blade X for Mobage is scheduled to launch in Japan sometime this fall.
DeNA bringing Infinity Blade X to Japan's Mobage platform
DeNA's been on the iOS hunt for about a year now -- I saw them at GDC Online last fall asking developers to create games for their Mobage mobile platform in Japan, and then they outright purchased popular iOS developer ngmoco not long after that. Now they've put together plans to bring another big iOS game to the Mobage platform -- along with Epic Games and developers Chair Entertainment, DeNA will be bringing a version of the popular iOS game, called Infinity Blade X to Japan. The game will be very much like the Infinity Blade we know, using swipe controls to fight RPG-style through an old castle, of course. But it will also be free-to-play, and instead be monetized with virtual goods, as well as offer social connections through the Mobage network. The game will run in Unreal Engine 3 as well, and will be available across the Mobage-town platform, which runs on a number of different cell phones and services in Japan. DeNA has a huge network and lots of resources in Japan, and as I said, they've been looking for Western games to bring over and adapt for their huge audience. This won't be the last big title we see translated for the Mobage platform, I'm sure. Show full PR text DeNa to Bring Infinity Blade X to Mobage in Japan Epic Games' Popular Sword-fighting Adventure Game to Go Social DeNA Continues to Enrich the Mobage Catalog with a Diverse Range of Games TOKYO, JAPAN – June 22, 2011 – DeNA Co., Ltd. has announced today that the company is expanding the Mobage social gaming platform's catalog of hit titles, with the social game version of Infinity Blade, offered in collaboration with Epic Games, Inc. and its award-winning studio, ChAIR Entertainment. The adaptation of the popular sword-fighting adventure RPG will launch exclusively on Mobage for iOS in Japan as a social game in the fall of 2011. This Infinity Blade title is the newest in DeNA's diverse lineup of apps for Mobage, spanning from casual to core games. Provisionally entitled Infinity Blade X for Mobage, the social title is the first Mobage game developed with Epic's Unreal Engine 3, allowing high-end sophisticated graphics. The gameplay maintains the design and control features of the original version, while adding the ability for players to fight or collaborate with each other via the Mobage network. Infinity Blade X for Mobage will be free-to-play, with virtual goods on offer as well. The original Infinity Blade is an international hit as an iOS mobile game, with revenue earned by its developers exceeding 10 million US dollars in just six months after launch. In the original game, players take on the role of a heroic knight, with the mission of defeating the God-King and freeing the kingdom's citizens from a reign of darkness. Fans of the RPG battle, loot, and upgrade their skills in a fantasy world with unprecedented graphic quality and a touchscreen-optimized user interface. # # # About DeNA DeNA Co., Ltd. is a world-leading Web service company that operates the Mobage social gaming platform, social networking services and e-commerce websites. Drawing on its extensive community base and rapidly expanding developer line-up, Mobage currently serves over 28 million users in Japan with more than 1,000 game titles for smartphones, feature phones and PCs. The company generated annual sales of more than 1.3 billion U.S. dollars in fiscal year ended March 2011. To expand the Mobage platform globally, DeNA is building a presence in the US, Europe and in China. DeNA is listed on the Tokyo stock exchange (2432).
iOS app updates for June 22
The following iOS apps received updates in the App Store: Infinity Blade Version 1.3.1 was released with the following changes: A new content pack, Infinity Blade: Arena. Added a Simplified Chinese translation to the game Updated translations for French, Italian, German and Spanish Angry Birds Seasons Version 1.5 was released with the following changes: 30 new levels Summer theme Summer greeting cards that can be emailed to friends iGrill Version 2.0 was released with the following changes: App redesign Smoker option with upper and lower alarms Graphing screen which allows the viewing of the app's history Yahoo! Messenger Version 2.1.1 was released with a number of bug fixes and performance improvements. It also rolls in the changes from those who did not upgrade to 2.1. The 2.1 changes include: iPad-optimized layout Voice and video calling for the iPad 2 Improved spam management Motion X GPS Drive Version 10.2 was released with the following changes: Facebook integration Custom voices The latest NAVTEQ maps with free traffic and improved intelligent routing TuneIn Radio Pro Version 1.9 was released with the following changes: Songs can now be saved to presets by tapping a heart button in the Now Playing view Search feature returns immediate results while typing Adds recommended stations based on music library Adds the ability to shake for a related station The in-app browser on the iPhone and iPod touch is now disabled by default. This can be toggled through the app's settings. Burn the Rope Version 1.3.1 was released with the following changes: Everlasting flame for assistance through tricky levels Easy mode Terminology Version 2.0 was released with the following changes: Rewritten user interface The ability to customize fonts and font sizes The ability to customize links to other apps and web resources Automatic clipboard searching Integration with term.ly
'Water, meet fish': Epic Games' Mark Rein on Wii U, PS Vita, and E3 2011
Despite our wishy washy feelings about this year's big show, the E Triple, Epic Games VP and co-founder Mark Rein was quite positive on last week's proceedings. In an interview yesterday with Joystiq, Rein beamed about this year's show, saying, "I thought E3 was really good -- I thought the industry looked good. The quality of games on display was extremely high." He even had positive things to say about the growing divide between "triple-A" and "indie" development, explaining that, even though "it's definitely a boom or bust mentality now" with regards to the big publishing houses, "there was definitely more boom than bust" in his eyes. But for him, the big news of the show was the same as everyone else: Nintendo's new console, the Wii U, and Sony's PlayStation Vita reveal. "The Vita blew me away," Rein told us. "I was shocked at how badly I wanted to take one of those home with me." He was similarly thrilled by Nintendo's Wii successor, though he wouldn't speak to any specifics regarding Unreal Engine 3 on the new console. "I can tell you that I got to see it at E3 and it was what I expected of course. We were very excited to play some of their demos, see how good the feel of the hardware was -- it's a very impressive system and I think it's gonna do quite well," he told us. When asked about the possibility of UE3 on Wii U, as indicated by two UE3-based games in Nintendo's own sizzle reel, Rein referred us to our conversation at GDC. He summarized it by saying, "'If Nintendo made a system that could run our engine, we'd be on it like water on fish.' And so when someone asked me what I thought about the Wii U, I said, 'Water, meet fish.'" Seems pretty direct if you ask us!
Infinity Blade creators say they've cleared $10M
This is when you start wondering if you're in the wrong line of work. In only six months, the popular iOS game Infinity Blade exceeded US$10 million in earnings, according to an Epic Games press release posted today. The sword-fighting, third-person slasher game was released in December to much acclaim, although a TUAW reviewer experienced some disappointment with it. Many were wowed by the game's rich graphics, which were thought to be impossible on a handheld device like a smartphone. It's now clear that those graphics, combined with the popularity of role-playing games, have made Infinity Blade a hit and lead to Epic Games' impressive take. Other iOS games have had huge profits before, but what is unique about Infinity Blade's earnings is that it's a relatively "expensive" game at $5.99. Mark Rein, vice president and co-founder of Epic Games, thinks that the success of Infinity Blade proves that iOS games don't have to be über-cheap to be successful. "Infinity Blade's success proves that triple-A gaming experiences can be hugely successful on iOS and that there is a valuable, pent up demand for premium content like this," he said. It should also be noted that Epic Games netted $10 million, which means the game actually took in over $14.3 million in sales before Apple's 30 percent cut. That's an impressive take on both ends and leaves me wondering why I didn't go into game design. Show full PR text Subscribe June 07, 2011 Epic Games and ChAIR Entertainment Announce Earnings from Infinity Blade Exceed $10 Million Critically Acclaimed Game Ushers in New Era of Profitable High-end iOS Development and Generates Demand for Leading Game Engine Technology CARY, NC AND SALT LAKE CITY, UT, JUNE 07, 2011 - Epic Games, Inc. and its award-winning Salt Lake City-based development studio, ChAIR Entertainment, announce that earnings from ChAIR's Infinity Blade have eclipsed $10 million in the first six months of release and created significant licensing interest in the underlying Unreal Engine 3 technology from developers worldwide. Powered by Unreal Engine 3, Infinity Blade raises the bar for handheld gaming with stunning visuals and deep gameplay. Epic and ChAIR have released two free updates for the sword-fighting action adventure, Infinity Blade: Deathless Kings, a major expansion of the popular single-player experience, and Infinity Blade: Arena, a large add-on that includes the new Multiplayer and Survival modes. "It's exciting to see the market so quick to embrace a premier handheld gaming experience such as Infinity Blade, and we couldn't be happier with the warm reception," said Donald Mustard, creative director of ChAIR Entertainment. "Furthermore, Apple has created an exciting, developer-friendly environment for iOS that has opened up many new doors for us." "Infinity Blade's success proves that triple-A gaming experiences can be hugely successful on iOS and that there is a valuable, pent up demand for premium content like this," said Mark Rein, vice president and co-founder of Epic Games. We have been licensing Unreal Engine 3 very affordably to developers large and small for all kinds of games and applications and we're looking forward to our licensees achieving spectacular results of their own." In addition to an uptick in Unreal Engine 3 licenses for commercial iOS games, Epic's community behind the Unreal Development Kit (UDK), the free edition of Unreal Engine 3, dramatically surged upon the release of UDK with iOS support in December 2010. In less than six months, unique installations of UDK more than doubled, rising from 400,000 to more than 800,000. Launched in December 2010 for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, Infinity Blade has received dozens of accolades, winning IGN's 2010 Best iPhone Game mere days after release, with IGN saying, "This is what defines where iOS gaming is going in 2011 and beyond." Infinity Blade went on to win 1UP's Editor's Choice Best iPhone/iPad Game of the Year as well as the Slide to Play and TouchGen Game of the Year awards. Both TouchGen and GamePro deemed the game worthy of their Editor's Choice awards and perfect five-out-of-five star reviews. Pocket Gamer crowned Infinity Blade with its Gold Award, calling it "a gripping blend of intuitive touch controls, engaging role-playing, and sharp graphics." Infinity Blade was also named one of TechCrunch's top apps of the year, Fast Company's '7 Most Innovative iPad Apps' and Top10.com's 'Top 10 iPhone & Android Apps That Changed the World.' In February, Infinity Blade was honored with the 2011 International Mobile Gaming Awards (IMGA) "Excellence in Design" award. Infinity Blade is available for $5.99 from the App Store on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, or at http://www.itunes.com/appstore. For additional information, fans can follow @InfinityBlade on Twitter and 'Like' Infinity Blade on Facebook. About Infinity Blade Taking handheld gaming to new heights, the graphically intense "Infinity Blade" features adrenaline-fueled sword battles and epic boss fights set in the realm of a fully 3D castle. Powered by Unreal Engine 3, the game's robust single-player mode features an intuitive combat interface and simple touch controls, which enable hardcore and casual gamers alike to engage in fun, furious battles. As play progresses, players gain experience, build stats and earn more powerful items to prepare their knight for the final encounter with the game's nemesis, the God-King. Additional content will be released free of charge via planned updates, including a fully integrated multiplayer mode, which enables players to find friends and other challengers to battle online via Game Center. About ChAIR Entertainment Founded in 2005, Salt Lake City-based ChAIR Entertainment is a subsidiary of Epic Games, Inc. Most recently, ChAIR introduced the action, sword-fighting adventure, "Infinity Blade" for iOS. "Infinity Blade" raised the bar of handheld gaming and received numerous Game of the Year and Editor's Choice Awards. Prior to that, ChAIR released the modern and masterful side-scrolling shooter, "Shadow Complex," published by Microsoft Game Studios exclusively for Xbox LIVE Arcade. The critically acclaimed "Shadow Complex" received multiple E3 and Editor's Choice Awards and was named Game of the Year by more than 40 media outlets. ChAIR is also responsible for the award-winning underwater action-shooter, "Undertow," released in 2007 for Xbox LIVE Arcade. Additional information on ChAIR can be found at http://www.chairentertainment.com. Follow @ChAIRGAMES on Twitter and "Like" ChAIR Entertainment Group on Facebook. About Unreal Engine 3 The award-winning Unreal Engine is known for its cutting-edge graphics, best-of-breed suite of integrated tools and scalability across platforms. Epic Games' research and development continually evolve Unreal Engine 3's highly mature toolset and content pipeline. Unreal Engine 3 is available across multiple platforms including iOS, Xbox 360® and PlayStation®3, PC, Mac and Android. Unreal Engine 3 is designed to accelerate developers' productivity for computer and video games, mobile games and applications, training simulations, 3D visualizations, digital films and animated television shows. Unreal Engine 3 is the current holder and five-time winner of Game Developer magazine's Best Engine award in the US as well as the current holder and three-time winner of Develop magazine's Best Engine award in the UK. Developers can start using Unreal Engine 3 with the Unreal Development Kit (UDK), the free edition of the engine's award-winning toolset available at http://www.udk.com. Additional information on Unreal Engine 3 can be obtained at http://www.unrealengine.com. About Epic Games Epic Games, Inc., based in Cary, NC and established in 1991, develops cutting-edge games and cross-platform game engine technology. The company has created multiple million-selling, award-winning titles in its "Unreal" series, including "Unreal Tournament 3" for PC, PlayStation®3 and Xbox 360®. Epic's "Gears of War" franchise has sold more than 13 million copies worldwide and won more than 50 Game of the Year awards. Epic's Unreal Engine 3 is the five-time winner of and Hall of Fame inductee for Game Developer magazine's Best Engine Front Line Award. Unreal Engine 3 has also held the Develop Industry Excellence Award in its category for the past three years. Additional information about Epic can be obtained at http://www.epicgames.com. Epic, Epic Games, Gears of War, Unreal, Unreal Development Kit, UDK, Unreal Engine, UE3, and Unreal Tournament are trademarks or registered trademarks of Epic Games, Inc. in the United States of America and elsewhere. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Infinity Blade sales surpass $10 million
ChAIR Entertainment's Infinity Blade for iOS is a conquering hero of sales, surpassing $10 million in sales during the first six months of release. "Infinity Blade's success proves that triple-A gaming experiences can be hugely successful on iOS and that there is a valuable, pent up demand for premium content like this," said Mark Rein, vice president and co-founder of Epic Games. ChAIR parent-company Epic also took the opportunity to note that the Unreal Development Kit (UDK), the free edition of Unreal Engine 3, has reached 800,000 unique installations.
Infinity Blade 'Arena' update adds multiplayer, survivor modes this Thursday
The next big content update for Chair Entertainment's epic iOS sword battler, Infinity Blade, comes out swinging this Thursday, May 19. By far the most notable addition, the new Arena Mode introduces 1v1 multiplayer combat via Game Center. Also making the cut is Survivor Mode, which challenges players to last as long as possible in an endless gauntlet of Titan battles. A variety of new weapons and items are also being introduced, including special holiday-themed helms. Finally, Infinity Blade will gain Facebook integration with the update, enabling players to take and share screenshots of their characters through a streamlined process. The "Arena" update will be free of charge and, if past Thursday releases on the App Store are any indication, will actually roll out in North America this Wednesday night around 11:30PM ET.
Infinity Blade: Arena coming out May 19
The long-awaited multiplayer update to Epic Games' iOS hit Infinity Blade has finally been revealed, and it will be landing on the App Store later on this week. The update is called Infinity Blade: Arena, and it allows players to play as a Titan or a Knight, battling against their friends. The mechanics aren't completely clear yet, but as you can see above, the battles will have players hacking and slashing against each other, which is close enough to the game's standard format. The update also includes an Arena mode, where players can take on a continuous stream of enemies to see how long they can last. It also includes a ton of new items, including Holiday helmets, as well as lots of other rings, swords, shields and armor to pick up and master with the game's XP system. Facebook integration is also new and will let players show off characters right on their Facebook pages. Sounds great. The update is free to owners of Infinity Blade (which we should all be at this point), but if you don't have the game yet, you can grab it for US$5.99 on the App Store. If that's too much, just stay tuned -- odds are we'll see a sale to celebrate this update sooner or later.
Epic's Mike Capps: Game industry at 'an inflection point'
According to Epic president Mike Capps, the times are definitely a-changing for the games industry. Capps recently told Industry Gamers that the future of the games industry has not been so "uncertain" in twenty years. He questioned whether or not physical retail distribution of games will still exist in five to ten years, what will become of next-generation consoles and how PC gaming will fare. His number one concern, however, seems to be the current trend of incredibly cheap mobile games. The one thing "killing" traditional game creators, said Capps, is "dollar apps," adding that it could be hard to sell a $60 game to a consumer used to paying pennies. Capps isn't the first traditional game creator to express concern over the ever-growing stream of cheap games. During a GDC keynote earlier this year, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata had harsh words for inexpensive mobile games, asking whether or not they really offer a "high value." Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime recently offered similar comments, noting that Nintendo isn't interested in publishing the work of inexperienced developers, a stark contrast to the relatively open publishing structures in iOS and Android development. Of course, mobile developers aren't keeping quiet. Peter Vesterbacka, head of Angry Birds developer Rovio, recently fired back at Fils-Aime, stating that it made sense for traditional game publishers to defend their "$49 piece of plastic." For what it's worth, while Capps admits that times are uncertain, they are also "exciting" for developers and publishers that make the right choices. In other words, there's going to be a showdown.
Infinity Blade looks great on a 50" HDTV via iPad 2
The new iPad 2 paired with Apple's Digital AV Adapter is perfect for watching movies with your family, teaching lessons to a classroom or presenting the latest sales figures to a boardroom on an HDTV. TouchGen found it's also an awesome new way to enjoy your favorite iPad games, like Real Racing 2 or Epic's Infinity Blade, on a much bigger screen. TouchGen reporters connected an iPad 2 to a 50-inch LG HDTV using Apple's HDMI adapter. With this setup, everything seen or heard on the iPad 2 is mirrored on the big screen. Fire up a game like Infinity Blade, powered by Epic's iPad-optimized Unreal Engine, and the iPad suddenly looks like a potent challenger in the home console market. "I guarantee that anyone passing by would just assume you were playing an Xbox 360 or PS3 game," says Matt Dunn in his report for TouchGen. "Obviously the 4:3 aspect ratio gives it away a bit, but damn if iPad 2-optimized games don't look great on a nice TV!" Admittedly, Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3 both support higher resolution 1080p video and probably still beat the iPad 2 in raw graphics performance. But the iPad's new ability to bring its library of games to the big screens in our living rooms shows the potential for tablet devices to compete directly with dedicated gaming consoles. Perhaps in a year or two, we'll be writing about how a future iPad stacks up against the PS4 and third-generation Xbox. Today, we can enjoy Epic's gorgeously crafted Infinity Blade on a 50-inch HDTV! That's a bit drool-worthy in itself. Right? Keep reading to see videos from TouchGen of Real Racing 2 and Epic's Infinity Blade being played on an HDTV. [via Dvice]
Game developers looking at iPad 2's speedier A5
The iPad 2's Apple A5 processor may not be listed as faster than the existing A4 -- it's running at the same 1 GHz speed -- but the dual core architecture will be able to accomplish a lot more number crunching while still providing great battery life. Now game developers are getting excited about the possibilities for the new processor. MacNN is reporting that Unity's Chief Creative Officer, Nicholas Francis, has said that his company will use the A5 to "really fine tune and really optimize it to run fantastic on the iPad." The Unity game engine already runs on multi-core processors like the A5, and now Unity developers can start adding effects to iOS games that previously took a dedicated gaming console or powerful PC. Francis noted that some upgrades could include real-time shadows and shafts of light, effects not previously available on the iPad. Infinity Blade developer Epic Games comments that their gaming engine -- Unreal Engine 3 -- can already take advantage of the iPad 2's A5 dual-core processor. When PC games are moved to a more powerful PC with multiple cores, "you can ... turn up all the dials in your game to get more details, more textures, more shaders," says Epic's Mark Rein. He also noted that more CPUs brings up the possibility of more complicated physics or more enemies on the screen at once, or perhaps expanding the view of an environment. Firemint, developers of Real Racing HD, anticipates that the next version of the game will take advantage of another new feature of the iPad 2 as well -- the built-in gyroscope. The company is hoping that they'll be able to improve steering through use of the gyro, as well as kick the graphics of the racing game up a notch. There is a potential downside for developers: unless apps are coded to take best advantage of the hardware that they're running on, the new apps might need to be marketed for a specific iPad version or they might run slower on the original iPad. From the comments made by these top iOS game developers, it's apparent that they're doing their best to give all iPad users the best possible gaming experience.
Infinity Blade more successful than Shadow Complex, Rein says
Though Epic Games doesn't divulge direct sales figures, vice president Mark Rein did give me something to work with: Infinity Blade has been more successful than Shadow Complex. "Hugely successful," in fact. Right now, if you check the leaderboard data (best overall score) for Shadow Complex, you will see the names of 545,023 players. While Rein's comment doesn't necessarily confirm that Infinity Blade has been downloaded more times than Shadow Complex, the former game's lower asking price – $5.99 versus Shadow Complex's $15 – would make it "more successful" either in terms of downloads or revenue. If it's revenue, our napkin math indicates the iOS-exclusive title being downloaded by at least 1,362,557.5 people, two-and-a-half times the total number of entries on Shadow Complex's leaderboard. If we're talking number of downloads, Infinity Blade should have at least bested Shadow Complex's 545K units.
Infinity Blade update adds 'The Deathless Kings'
Infinity Blade has updated to version 1.2, adding "The Deathless Kings" content pack for free, something that Joystiq reported on just yesterday. Check out our look at the app, as well as an in-depth review, then head over to iTunes to get the update or try it out for the first time while it's on sale for US$2.99. Thanks to Michael S. for the tip!
Infinity Blade receives free 'The Deathless Kings' update, app on sale for $3
Just one day after Chair's Donald Mustard promised an Infinity Blade update "very, very soon," Epic has launched the update, entitled "The Deathless Kings." The free update packs in a new "Dungeon" environment, six more arenas, ten new enemies (including the Deathless Kings, of course), thirty new items and new achievements. It should go live on the App Store today. The update also includes a "New Game Plus" feature that "allows gamers to re-master any item, unlock new items in the store, and removes the level cap." Finally, the update also adds extra character slots, audio volume controls and the ability to adjust the size of the dodge button. To coincide with the update, Epic has reduced Infinity Blade's price to $3 -- half off -- through Sunday, March 6. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Lucida Grande'; color: #333233} %Gallery-118201%
TUAW's Daily App: Infinity Blade
Odds are that you already know what Infinity Blade is, and you might already have it on your iOS devices, too. But just in case you don't, we're spotlighting one of the best iOS games of last year, which happens to be available on the App Store right now for the sale price of US$2.99 -- for this game, that's a steal. If you haven't picked up this big-budget example of how experienced developers can do iOS games right, today's your chance. The game's already received one content update, and another big update is coming soon. Even if you already have Infinity Blade, you can check out Joystiq's fine writeup of how the game was made, straight from the floor of GDC 2011. Chair Entertainment talks about how they had tons of game ideas (from a physics puzzler to a card game -- I'd like to play either of those), but eventually boiled down what worked on a platform like the iPhone to what they came up with in Infinity Blade. It's a great game at a great price, so definitely grab it as quickly as you can.
Infinity Blade in finite time: How ChAIR made its iOS hit in five months
Released late last year, Infinity Blade ushered in a new era of graphical fidelity in mobile phone games and delivered on Epic's promise to turn its "Epic Citadel" tech demo into an actual game. The Salt Lake City-based team at Chair Entertainment – led by brothers Donald and Geremy Mustard – delivered another hit for Epic on another digitally distributed platform, opening doors for more Unreal Engine licensees all the way. At last year's GDC the brothers Mustard delivered a panel on their XBLA hit Shadow Complex and this year it's Infinity Blade, titled "Infinity Blade: How We Made a Hit, What We Learned, and Why You Can Do it Too!" "We got a call from Epic saying there's this opportunity," Donald Mustard told a packed GDC auditorium. Epic told him, "Mobile games are really taking off and we've secretly had part of the engine team getting the Unreal Engine to work on mobile devices over the past year and it's ready to go [...] and we really want to get a game out this year that really shows it off. Do you guys want to participate in that?" Mustard replied, "Absolutely." But there was a catch.%Gallery-118057%
Another Infinity Blade update coming soon
Joystiq reports that Infinity Blade, the hit iOS game running on the Unreal 3 engine, is due for an update "very, very soon" according to Chair co-founder Donald Mustard. Following its release last December, Infinity Blade received a minor update just two weeks later featuring a new enemy and a handful of new items. From what Mustard has said, this upcoming update sounds a bit more ambitious; he said the update "will add a ton of new content to the game and expand on some of the themes and story that you've already started to see." Chair is intently focused on providing support for Infinity Blade, and Mustard says, "We've decided we're going to give our content away for free." That's very refreshing news, and something I hoped for in our initial Infinity Blade review: more content than the somewhat limited initial scope of the game, at little to no added cost for those who purchased it. Between Chair's commitment to providing updated content for Infinity Blade, the fact that there isn't a separate and more expensive "HD" version for the iPad, and the game being downright fun to play and gorgeous to look at, US$5.99 for Infinity Blade is looking like a very good deal the more time goes by.
