mikengreg
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Daily iPad App: Gasketball horses around on iOS
Gasketball is the latest title from Greg Wohlwend and Mike Boxleiter, better known as Mikengreg. They had a hit on Flash and iOS previously with the great Solipskier, and Greg helped another programmer out quite a bit on a big release called Puzzlejuice. Just like both of those games, Gasketball is nearly technically flawless, and gorgeously designed. It's a 2D basketball game, similar to StarDunk, although it's much more tactile. Instead of aiming the ball, you flick it around the screen, trying to bounce it off of various objects, and land it in the basket in as few shots as possible. Gasketball has a singleplayer mode, in which you play against a cute little robot who pulls off some great shots. But the real draw is the online H.O.R.S.E mode. You set up shots, pull them off perfectly (after a few tries), and then send them to others who must duplicate your perfection. It's an old game, but the 2D movement and touchscreen really bring the game into its own. The game has been downloaded 200,000 times, but it hasn't been a big moneymaker for Mikengreg. H.O.R.S.E mode is free, and you can unlock other items via in-app purchase. The full game unlock is US$2.99, and maybe Mike and Greg made a mistake, as the free gameplay is worth at least that much. At any rate, if you like the game, maybe you'll be convinced to spend extra money and buy more of the items to use. Even if not, Gasketball is a solid title that really shines when you've got friends to play the H.O.R.S.E mode with. Hopefully, Mike and Greg will get their business model figured out in a way that adequately compensates them for their hard work.
IGF nomination doesn't guarantee success, says Solipskier dev
Michael Boxleiter may not be a familiar name, but you've most likely played Solipskier -- at least we hope you have. Boxleiter was one of ten indie developers talking during The Indie Soapbox Session at GDC 2012, a freeform, large-group therapy session for indies to talk about what's on their mind.Boxleiter vented on the Independent Games Festival -- getting into the IGF isn't indicative of becoming a successful developer, he warned. "I believed this myth of IGF makes you, IGF creates the future and makes you into a superstar," he said of the time he first got into game development, years ago. "It's not important -- at least, not very. It's a media junket for you." He says that hard work, putting in the hours every day and making sacrifices is what makes the best game possible."Nobody gives a shit about the IGF," he told a packed house of developers, enthusiasts and reporters alike. It wasn't a statement meant to hurt anyone's feelings, but rather curb expectations that getting into the IGF "makes you." Boxleiter would know, having been chosen for the IGF last year.Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo aren't going to suddenly take interest in your project if you get into the IGF, he said.One particular anecdote about Nintendo icon and legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto delighted the audience. Apparently, after Boxleiter's own game was nominated, he saw Miyamoto wandering the halls of GDC and approached the Nintendo legend with a pitch document. Miyamoto then promptly signed his John Hancock and walked away."The IGF should not be as big a deal as it is." While it gets you some press and it's "cool" to see the announcement, he said, in the end it's just an awards show. "It's just hard, hard work. And if you do it, you can all show that amazing thing you have inside you that you want to show to people. You're just going to have to work your ass off."
