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Publishing houses are throwing book deals at YouTube 'stars'
Let's say you can't get enough of it'sGrace (above) on YouTube but you're taking a week-long no-tech camping trip soon and aren't excited about missing her wit and charm. Well, host Grace Helbig's book Grace's Guide: The Art of Pretending to Be a Grown-up is out next week, so that won't be a problem for much longer. She isn't alone, either, as other YouTubers are getting publishing deals as well, according to The Wall Street Journal. Alfie Deyes of Pointless Blog fame and style/make-up vlogger Michelle Phan have tomes out and en route, respectively, too. All have subscribers by the millions (Phan has over 7 million), and publishing houses are apparently hopeful that their online success translates to reaching teens, getting them to post about the books on Twitter, Instagram and probably Tumblr too.
Microsoft's Sway lets you share ideas on the web without any design skills
Sharing ideas on the web is tricky. You probably want something more persuasive than a social network update, but it's usually overkill to design a whole web page just to get your point across. Microsoft may have reached a happy balance between the two with Sway, a new part of the Office portfolio that lets you publish content in a slick, web-native format without knowing a thing about code or design. All you do is write and pull in content, whether it comes from your device or internet sources like Facebook, OneDrive and YouTube; Sway automatically organizes it all into polished web layouts that adapt to any screen size. You can switch layouts to fine-tune your work and update projects over time. Think of this as a Medium-like authoring tool that handles much more than just articles -- it's possible to publish daily photo diaries, non-linear presentations and other pieces that would typically require a dedicated web editor or a specialized app.
Evernote turns your prose into published books
Looking to get that novel you've been plugging away at in your "spare time" published with ease? Well, Evernote now offers an option for doing just that, thanks to a partnership with FastPencil. The note-taking and productivity repository allows you to send individual entries or complete notebooks to the DIY publisher's service. Once you've beamed your carefully-crafted words to the editor, you can send drafts to your boss or best mates for proofreading before GungHo sorts production and fulfillment chores -- just like it does for major publishing houses. You'll also be privy to distribute the finished product via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iPad and Kindle to get all of that hard work out to the masses. Of course, this means you'll likely have to come up with some better excuses for dragging your feet on that book of poetry.
Browse 'The New Yorker' archives free of charge for the rest of the summer
Let's face it: We miss out on a ton of great content due to paywalls. After a recent redesign to improve reading via its website across a range of devices, The New Yorker has opened up its archive for the rest of summer free of charge. The repository houses issues dating back to 2007 that will be displayed with the magazine's responsive layout, tidied-up look and larger images. Once the trial is up, the publisher's paywall will be similar to that of The New York Times -- unpaid web visitors can read a set number of articles, with paid subscribers gaining full access. Before now, the magazine allowed unlimited perusal of free stories while those marked as paid content remained locked away. No word on exactly when the free admission period is up, so you'll want to take advantage before the leaves start changing. [Photo credit: Chris Hondros/Getty Images]
Gears of War's Bleszinski teaming with Nexon America for arena shooter
It looks as if Cliff Bleszinski is getting exactly what he wanted, as the former Epic Games design director is partnering with Nexon America to create a PC arena shooter. Just one week after Bleszinski announced his return to game development following a 21-month absence, the designer now has a studio by the name of Boss Key Productions and a new game to go along with it, codenamed BlueStreak. No, the game won't star Martin Lawrence (as far as we know). Rather, BlueStreak is a free-to-play, sci-fi FPS that will offer a "new take on an old favorite," according to Bleszinski. It's the latest in a string of strategic publishing partnerships by Nexon America, who recently agreed to publish an as-yet-unannounced game from Sleeping Dogs developer United Front Games and will also distribute Splash Damage's Dirty Bomb. [Image: Boss Key Productions]
Bandai Namco to distribute next-gen racer Project Cars
Slightly Mad Studios' next-gen racing game Project Cars now has the support of Bandai Namco. The publisher agreed to distribute the game globally on Xbox One, PS4, PC for Windows and SteamOS as well as Wii U. Project Cars is slated to launch in November. The realism-fixated racing sim began as a crowdsourced World of Mass Development project in September 2011, two years after Slightly Mad Studios launched Need for Speed: Shift. It was originally planned for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 before the developer added the Wii U to its list of platforms in January 2012, then ditched Xbox 360 and PS3 in favor of their next-gen counterparts and SteamOS in November 2013. One year later, Project Cars will arrive as one of the PS4's first Morpheus games in addition to its support of the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset. [Image: Bandai Namco]
Nexon working with Sleeping Dogs dev on free game
Nexon America is partnering with Sleeping Dogs developer United Front Games to publish a free-to-play game, the publisher announced this week. No details on the game are yet known, though it is expected to arrive in 2015. This isn't the only project in progress at the studio, as United Front Games revealed in October that it is working on another game set in the same universe as Sleeping Dogs, which will be published by Square Enix. As for Nexon America, it is publishing Dirty Bomb, an Unreal Engine-based shooter from Brink developer Splash Damage. The game was momentarily known as Extraction before Splash Damage changed the name back to Dirty Bomb in May. [Image: Square Enix]
Report: Nordic to publish games under THQ trademark
Nordic Games has acquired the THQ trademark from the now-defunct company, Polygon reported. The mark was purchased in an agreement made outside of the April 2013 property auction following THQ's demise. Nordic will now have the ability to publish games under the THQ brand. It may do so with the MX vs. ATV series, as Nordic seemingly posted to THQ's official Facebook page following the trademark purchase to remind fans of the return of the racing brand. Nordic Games purchased MX vs. ATV, along with the Darksiders series from THQ. It announced plans in December to publish MX vs. ATV Supercross in the first half of this year. [Image: THQ, or wait, Nordic Games]
Future publishing restructure resulting in loss of 170 UK jobs
Restructuring at magazine publisher Future will result in the a loss of over 170 jobs in the UK, the publisher reported in its half-year financial results (ending March 31, 2014). Known for gaming publications like OXM, PC Gamer, CVG and Edge, Future announced its global plans to "refocus and simplify" at the beginning of the month. Future reported an increase in its normalized UK revenues by two percent to £41.5 million ($69.4 million), which accounted for 85 percent of the group's total revenue. Its normalized U.S. revenue was down 14 percent for the half-year to £7.3 million ($12.2 million). Part of Future's plans involves the sale of the company's sport and craft properties to Immediate Media for up to £24 million ($40.1 million). The sports magazines include Procycling, Cycling Plus and Mountain Biking UK, whereas the craft publications in question include both the UK and US Mollie Makes magazines, The Knitter and Simply Knitting. [Image: Future PLC]
Restructuring and redundancies at Future
Future, known for game magazines and websites such as OXM, PC Gamer, CVG and Edge, is undergoing further global restructuring, which will result in layoffs across the company. "No part of the business will be unaffected," according to CEO Zillah Byng-Maddick. That includes the management board, which will be "streamlined" as part of the process. MediaWeek reports that Future will "no longer be structured around content types like technology but instead a single content and marketing team will produce all content." Strategically, Byng-Maddick says Future plans to "refocus and simplify," leveraging its ability to "attract large communities of highly engaged customers who want to buy things." Byng-Maddick's new plan seems to be at odds with former CEO Mark Wood's plan to transition Future to digital publishing. Attempting to move to digital "diluted [Future's] focus and distracted our talent," she said. Future currently owns dozens of brands across nine different categories, ranging from cars to tech, music, sports and, of course, video games. Exactly how these brands will be affected remains to be seen, as the number of redundancies will be decided after a 45-day consulting process.
Atlus elects to publish non-Kickstarted Citizens of Earth
Atlus announced plans to publish Citizens of Earth, a quirky RPG that follows the Vice President of the World on his quest to investigate the bizarre happenings in the town. Developed by Eden Industries, Citizens of Earth fell short of its $100,000 CAD ($91,600 USD) goal on Kickstarter in October 2013, raising just $36,875 CAD ($33,778 USD). The modern RPG takes after popular SNES classic Earthbound, with its humorous approach to world-saving adventures and includes recruiting mechanics in line with the Pokemon and Suikoden series. The Vice President brings "regular characters into the spotlight as heroes" for them to do his dirty work in battle, continuing their day jobs when not engaged in combat. The game includes 40 citizens, though ambitious fans are encouraged to enter a contest by Friday, April 18 on Atlus' site to create the 41st one for the game. Citizens of Earth is in development for PS4, Vita, 3DS, Wii U and PC and is expected to arrive on each platform's digital channels in North America and Europe in September 2014. [Image: Atlus]
Cartoon Network publishing Kickstarted Zelda-like Monsters Ate My Birthday Cake
Indie developer SleepNinja will get a little help to bring Monsters Ate My Birthday Cake to Steam and mobile devices later this year, as it agreed to a publishing deal with Cartoon Network Games, the publisher confirmed to Joystiq. The developer earned $26,091 on Kickstarter in February 2013, enough to reach a stretch goal that will bring the game to Android in addition to PC, Mac and iOS. "Cartoon Network have been great to work with and have definitely kept our backers in mind," SleepNinja Creative Director Justin Baldwin said via email. "Our publishing deal with them will not affect our backer's rewards; everyone will still be getting what was promised, and the game they were promised." Monsters Ate My Birthday Cake is an "environmental puzzler" in the same vein as Nintendo's Legend of Zelda series that features a colorful 16-bit aesthetic that "doesn't rely on pixel art." While Cartoon Network Games primarily focuses on games related to its current properties such as Adventure Time, Monsters Ate My Birthday Cake will be its first original IP on Steam. Cartoon Network said it plans to publish "more than 10 mobile titles and at least four on Steam." [Image: SleepNinja]
Double Fine to publish indie games, starting with Escape Goat 2
Double Fine may be known for creating games like Psychonauts, Brutal Legend and Broken Age, but it's expanding its efforts to add indie game publishing to its repertoire. Its first act as an indie publisher is to provide "promotional assistance and distribution" for MagicalTimeBean's Escape Goat 2, COO Justin Bailey told Game Informer. "Our goal is to help indies build their own community and empower them with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed on their own," Bailey said, adding that multiple indie developers have approached Double Fine to ask for publishing assistance. "They all had a unique request and that's where we started to see there was a real need for the knowledge we've gained over the last 14 years on how to prototype, fund, develop and publish our own games." Double Fine's publishing ambitions boil down to the efforts of two individuals: Bailey and senior publishing manager Greg Rice, who will offer advice for crowdfunding hopefuls as well as development feedback, platform porting advice and promotional assistance. "We're open to working with each developer and figuring out how we can help make them successful," Bailey added. Double Fine recently teamed up with MagicalTimeBean to create a quirky promotional video for Escape Goat 2. The game launched yesterday on PC, Mac and Linux via Steam, GOG and the Humble Store for $10. [Image: MagicalTimeBean]
Medium's new iPhone app helps you read (but not write) long articles
We can't say we know all that many people who routinely digest articles posted through Medium's social publishing platform. However, the readership is bound to go up now that the service has released an iPhone app. The mobile client is more of a story curation tool than anything else. It automatically fetches stories from both your Twitter friends and any collections you follow, optimizing the reading interface beyond what you'd normally get in your web browser. You won't want to plan on writing any diatribes, though, since the iOS app has no editing tools -- you'll have to retreat to a PC when inspiration strikes. If you don't mind that limitation, Medium's client is ready and waiting in the App Store.
Prison breakout sim The Escapists picked up by Worms studio Team17
Team17, the UK outfit behind the popular Worms franchise, will publish Mouldy Toof Studios' indie prison break-out sim for PC, The Escapists. This is the second game to be published under Team17's third-party publishing label, the first being indie top-down stealth game Light. In The Escapists, players assume the role of a prisoner determined to escape from confinement. Players craft items and weapons from everyday objects found around the prison while adhering to a strict schedule of activities. Inmates must avoid exposure during cell shakedowns and plan their escape without tipping off the guards. The Escapists was successfully funded through Kickstarter back in November and passed through Steam Greenlight within a week of its submission. The Escapists is determined to tunnel out of development this summer. [Image: Mouldy Toof Studios]
LinkedIn opens its blog publishing platform to everyone
A handful of big-shot professionals have long had the freedom to express themselves through LinkedIn's blogging platform, but most careerists have had to sit on the sidelines. Starting today, though, just about everyone can have their voices heard -- LinkedIn is opening its publishing platform to all members. Users will soon have the chance to write long-form posts and attract followers from beyond their immediate networks. Only a fortunate 25,000 have access as of this writing, but the company plans to expand publishing privileges to the entire user base in the weeks ahead.
Amazon now indulges in your GI Joe fan fiction
Admit it -- as a kid, you got a little tired of the GI Joe team winning the battle in every cartoon episode. Wouldn't it have been nice if Cobra emerged victorious now and then? Thankfully for you, Amazon has just given you the freedom to rewrite your childhood memories: it has reached a deal with Hasbro to sell GI Joe fan fiction in Kindle Worlds. And if you didn't spend your youth watching animated soldiers, you'll be glad to hear Amazon has also scored licenses from Warner Bros. and Valiant Entertainment. The arrangements let you post stories set in Veronica Mars, the Pretty Little Liars spinoff Ravenswood and new Valiant comics like The Lizzy Gardner Files. Amazon's expansion still leaves just 20 Kindle Worlds to choose from, but it should please anyone who wants to give Cobra Commander his due. [Image credit: Pat Loika, Flickr]
EVE: Valkyrie to be co-published by Oculus
It's fairly obvious to interested observers that EVE: Valkyrie is intimately tied to the Oculus Rift. Its biggest selling point is creating that feel of really piloting a nimble little starfighter yourself, after all. And it looks like that's obvious to the team at Oculus as well, as the studio behind the VR headset has announced it will be co-publishing EVE: Valkyrie along with CCP Games. The net result is that Valkyrie will be an exclusive launch title for the Oculus Rift, making it one of the first AAA titles developed specifically for the device. Oculus is also reaching out to other development studios interested in potentially introducing more titles designed with the VR experience in mind. While there are still no firm details regarding launch dates for the title, expect to see more information about it as the headset moves toward completion.
Toki Tori creator Two Tribes loses development staff, continues publishing
Toki Tori developer Two Tribes announced that it is effectively rebooting, paring down its staff to two core team members as it refocuses on the publishing side of its business. Founders Martijn Reuvers and Collin van Ginkel remain with the company, but all previously-employed designers and programmers were laid off at the end of last year as a result of the restructuring. While the development arm of Two Tribes is no more, its parent Two Tribes Publishing is unaffected, and will continue to release new games in a partnership with a newly-formed daughter company. Two Tribes' founders cite an extended development period and low sales for Toki Tori 2 as the driving factors behind the company reboot. "We've decided to move away from creating custom technology and focus on what's readily available," the announcement reads. "As a result we'll be working with a much smaller team on our next game, a 2D side scrolling shooter, which will be re-using the existing Toki Tori 2+ engine." Responding to fan questions via Twitter, Two Tribes notes that it will consider Wii U and PC releases for its next project, which it describes as a mixture of the arcade classics Metal Slug and Gradius.
EA Partners veteran David DeMartini now head of Oculus VR publishing arm
Former EA Senior Vice President David DeMartini has joined Oculus VR as head of worldwide publishing, the newly-formed branch of the Oculus Rift manufacturer that aims to help developers create games that are compatible with the company's headset. In a statement to Gamasutra, DeMartini described the position as "not particularly different from what I did for seven years" as part of the EA Partners program. "I'm figuring out how to partner effectively with big developers, small developers, all the way down to the individual who just wants to make something great for the Rift," he said. Whether the publishing division will provide financial backing to projects in order to make them Rift-compatible is unknown, though the company did just receive $75 million in funding from Netscape founder Marc Andreessen's venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.
