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A 'Fruit Ninja' movie might really happen
Now that the Angry Birds movie has proven to be a financial success, other studios want in on the mobile-games-as-movies trend. New Line Cinema has secured the rights to a Fruit Ninja movie already in development by game creator Halfbrick Studios and producer Tripp Vinson (of San Andreas and Journey to the Center of the Earth). Not surprisingly, this will involve a lot more than watching an off-screen assassin cut produce into pieces -- the project is currently envisioned as a live-action comedy that sees a ragtag group becoming Fruit Ninjas to, naturally, save the world.
'Fruit Ninja' studio removes 'designer' as a role
Fruit Ninja studio Halfbrick recently fired its final two designers, as reported by Kotaku Australia on Monday. This marks a structural shift for the company: Halfbrick doesn't plan on hiring new designers and instead wants its artists, programmers and other employees to work on game design together, Chief Marketing Officer Nicholas Cornelius tells Engadget. "The roles were made redundant and not laid off," he says. "This is because of a change in the way teams will work at Halfbrick."
Halfbrick tries for a 10 with Fish Out of Water
Halfbrick Studios held a media lunch at GDC to show off its brand-new original title, Fish Out of Water. It's the company's first since the very popular Jetpack Joyride arrived a few years ago (the Australia-based studio is also known for making Fruit Ninja). As we'd previously heard, Fish Out of Water is more casual than Jetpack, and it boasts the same great polish and beautiful work that fans expect from Halfbrick. In Fish Out of Water, the main mechanic simply has you throwing fish. You're presented with a school of various creatures, all with different shapes and sizes (and all adorably named -- the big whale is called "Micro" and the fastest one is called "Rocket"). To play, you grab one with a finger, pull it out of the water, and fling it off to the right as fast as you can. That fish flies through the air, and the game tracks number of skips on the water and total distance traveled. A high toss will likely earn more skips, and the type of fish you throw affects that as well. For example, Rocket is big on skipping, but the dolphin simply jumps in and out of the water rather than skipping across it. Distance is affected by fish type as well, and both stats are also affected by the weather. The game runs on a clock up in the left corner which ties in to your real local time wherever you play the game, and different weather conditions, like sun or rain, will affect your skips and jumps as well. During the course of a round, you can throw three different fish, and then you're judged on your throws by a line of crabs, who are also very adorable. They put up numbers (and each crab is also named and has a favorite piece of the game: Skippy Steve really enjoys it when you score a lot of skips), and the average out of 10 is your final score for the round. That's the game: Throw fish, try to score as best you can during the three throws, and then the crabs will boil down your score into one number out of 10. It's not super-hard: Even in my first few throws, I was able to pick up an 8.5 and an 8.7. But to score a perfect 10, you'll need to put a little bit of strategy into the game, picking exactly the right fish for the right weather conditions, and even choosing fish based on which throw you're doing. You can use a big whale for the first throw for distance, for example, and then choose a fish that splits into multiple fishies to ramp up your skip score. As you skip along the water, you also score coins that both give you a speed boost to use (with a strangely placed button along the top of the screen) and also allow you to buy various upgrades and cosmetic items for your fish. And finally, you can collect gems as you play, which can be assembled together into crystals that give you various abilities like double skips or an automatic 10 from one of the crabs. The crystals system is actually pretty complex: You can pair up two colors to try and form a specific crystal, or experiment a bit. One of the most powerful crystals is a black crystal, which sends a huge school of fish out to join the one that you throw. Just like Jetpack Joyride, the game is very social as well. Players can join "leagues," which award trophies every single day for the highest scorers in each league. Leagues also win prizes on their own, so there are lots of rewards to go around for all players involved. Fish Out of Water will launch at a price of US$0.99, which feels a little fishy on Halfbrick's part: The company has had a lot of success at turning their Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride games into freemium titles, and it's a bit surprising that they're not embracing freemium right away with this one. Still, as good as the game looks and plays, you can't blame them at all for charging a little bit out of the gate -- even at a buck, this looks like a terrific game. It is more casual than Jetpack Joyride even. After you throw the fish, the game is more or less hands-off, as you sit there and watch your fish skip along to victory or defeat. And that casual approach may leave a few hardcore players out of the boat on this one. But not to worry, Halfbrick told us at GDC this week. The company has quite a few more titles in progress, including some games that are a little more complicated and deeper than this one. So if Fish Out of Water doesn't quite float your boat, just wait a bit and we'll see what else the company is working on soon. Meanwhile, you can get ready to go swimming with this one fairly soon.
Halfbrick teases a new game called Fish Out of Water, more coming at GDC
Halfbrick Studios has posted a quick teaser for a brand-new game on its website, but here's all we know. It's got something to do with fishing. As you can see above, the creators of Jetpack Joyride and Fruit Ninja have something wet and colorful planned for their next title, but outside of a fishy pun (and a title, "Fish Out of Water"), they're keeping the title submerged for now. The buoy floating by says the game will be fully revealed in six days, which means the company will be telling us all about the game at a meeting during next week's Game Developers' Conference. Which is convenient, since TUAW's already got a meeting with them all planned and ready. It's hard to believe it, but Halfbrick hasn't released a completely new game since Jetpack Joyride, which originally appeared on the App Store way back in 2011. So Fish Out of Water, whatever it is, should be exciting to see.
Jetpack Joyride goes to the dogs
Man, Halfbrick's just not giving up on Jetpack Joyride. We just recently had a huge gadgets update for the game that added all sorts of tweaks to the jetpack action, and now here's another big update, out today, that gives Barry Steakfries a canine pal to run around with. Flash the Dog is coming to the update, and as you can see in the trailer below, he's cute as all get out. Flash will help grab coins and break piggy banks for you, and he'll even ride along, both in his own little jetpack, and by hopping on the various vehicles Barry can acquire during his run. There are a few new other gadgets as well, including headphones that remix the game's music, and a "turbo boost" gadget that will add rings to hit for an extra burst of speed. Jetpack Joyride was a really high quality game when it first launched, and Halfbrick has really gone above and beyond the call of duty with all of these updates since then.
Jetpack Joyride arrives on Facebook for free
Jetpack Joyride has followed in the steps of Halfbrick Studios' Fruit Ninja and is now playable in a free version over on Facebook. The new game is very similar to the iOS version. In fact, it's strikingly similar, given that there aren't any really new social elements, and even the gadgets (just arrived on iOS) are implemented and ready to buy in the store. In fact, while Fruit Ninja was a nice solid port with some original features, Jetpack Joyride seems a little more of an afterthought unfortunately. Still, it's fun, and it's completely free. I like it, and even though it's not quite as fitting as the Fruit Ninja port, it's still Jetpack Joyride. So if you can't pull out your iPhone to play at work, maybe you can do it on Facebook.
Halfbrick working on new iOS game, 1.3 update for Jetpack Joyride
Halfbrick Studios' Phil Larsen is a happy guy. Not only has his company scored a huge hit with Fruit Ninja (with over a million copies sold on Xbox Kinect alone), but the studio's Jetpack Joyride is a hit as well, garnering over 19 million across various free and paid incarnations. Halfbrick, says Larsen, is working on a new IP for iOS that we'll see by the end of the year. Until then, the group is working Jetpack Joyride version 1.3, which introduces an entirely new feature: Gadgets. Gadgets are perks that can be added to Barry's jetpack. They're purchased with coins picked up during play (which ties in to the game's in-app purchase system) and tweak the gameplay in several ways. For example, the "Freeze-o-matic" allows Barry to slide farther when he dies. The "Flying Pig" turns slot machine coins into pigs that explode into fireworks of rewards, and a gadget called "Gemology" converts coins into gems, which give five times the reward when collected. You can have three gadgets running at a time, and when they're all combined, they can either help a lot (by making some very challenging missions relatively easy), or make the game crazier than ever. Gadgets aren't just add-ons to the jetpack. They affect the game in several ways, which Larsen says will allow Halfbrick to expand the game a lot going forward. Fifteen gadgets will be introduced when the update goes live, with more coming after that. "We can definitely support this game lots more." I asked Larsen about the Jetpack Joyride knockoffs on the App Store. Larsen shrugged them off. "They're not as good as Jetpack Joyride, so why bother?" he asked with a smirk. Halfbrick is an independent company, though obviously it's been growing, even as the Australian game economy is in a downturn. Larsen says the developer has about 57 employees right now, and given the games' popularity, they could stand to grow a bit more. But Larsen also says Halfbrick isn't interested in being purchased by a larger developer, either. Of course there have been offers, but in the end, he says, "We like what we do." Taking a deal with a larger developer might upset that, so it definitely seems like Halfbrick is more interested in making its own games than pitching in, no matter how big the potential payoff may be. As for that impending new iOS title, Larsen won't say much more than that he "...would love to release another iOS game this year." Certainly Halfbrick is working on something (and maybe even more than one thing), but the current focus is Jetpack's update. As for whether a new game would be paid (like Fruit Ninja has been) or freemium (like Jetpack Joyride has been for most of its success), Larsen said both strategies are still valid, depending on the game. "We've made more money on Fruit Ninja paid than we've ever done" selling Jetpack Joyride's in-app purchases, says Larsen. "We can sell games and we can do freemium. Does that mean Fruit Ninja's more universal? Probably yeah." Larsen admits that Jetpack Joyride could probably have skewed more towards a casual audience. It originally started paid and then was sent free to find its audience. But it's hard to second guess Larsen and Halfbrick given all of their company's success, and Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride still set quite a few bars for app quality on Apple's App Store. The company has done really great things so far -- we're intrigued to see just what's coming next.
Fruit Ninja plushies coming soon to a wrapped gift near you
Angry Birds can't have all the fun, right? Halfbrick Studios is set to embrace the iOS marketing frenzy by releasing a pair Fruit Ninja plush toys. The sensei and a smiling (or is that sliced?) watermelon in a branded headband will introduce the series. The sensei is available right now on the company's web store for US$15.99, while the watermelon will be available "soon" for just a buck less. I have to admit, these are pretty darn cute. Halfbrick Studios is not only a talented set of game designers, but a really nice group of folks as well. Does this mean we'll soon be getting a Jetpack Backpack from Jetpack Joyride? I don't know how cuddly a sliced watermelon is, but Fruit Ninja is a great game, and I wouldn't mind having one of these guys under my tree come this holiday season.
Daily iPhone App: Sea Stars
Sea Stars is Hothead's latest game on the App Store, and it's really good. You play as a little fish who can swim and jump through water with a touch of the screen. Your goal is to swim as far as possible while avoiding obstacles. It's quite fun and well done. There's just one big issue: The game is basically Jetpack Joyride. Now, it's not exactly Jetpack Joyride, since you're not riding a backpack, and in practice, the controls are more or less upside down from JJ's float-up-when-touched controls. But the other similarities are undeniable. First, you collect coins which can be spent on upgrades (coins can also be bought via in-app purchase). You'll also find "friends" which work like JJ's vehicles, making you survive an extra hit and switching up the control scheme. Finally, the obstacles move and turn like the electric spheres in Jetpack Joyride. It's possible Hothead was working on this before Halfbrick's big title, but not likely. This game is essentially Jetpack Joyride re-skinned. That's not necessarily bad. Jetpack Joyride is a great game, and if you've already prestiged in that one a few times, Sea Stars will definitely float your fish (though I do have to say that I don't understand the "hurt your tail" reference when the game ends, whatever that means). But this is a blatant ripoff. I would rather have seen Sea Stars try to improve on Halfbrick's great formula rather than borrow it. Perhaps I'm complaining too much, especially considering the app's current price. Sea Stars is a great title that just happens to be free thanks to a promotion in the App Store right now.
Jetpack Joyride hits 350k downloads, releases free update
I think that Halfbrick's latest title, Jetpack Joyride (formerly known as Machine Gun Jetpack), is one of the best games I've played this year, and apparently I'm not the only person who ran to pick it up -- the game has earned over 350,000 downloads in the short time it's been available. To celebrate, the company is dropping a new free update for the game today, featuring a brand new vehicle called Mr. Cuddles (which happens to be a fire-breathing dragon), a "fruit jetpack" based on Halfbrick's popular Fruit Ninja title, and a new skin featuring "Honest Phil," a character designed after Halfbrick's real-life Chief Marketing Officer Phil Larsen. All of those items are available in the game's in-app store, where you can buy them with coins picked up in the title itself (or extra coins bought via in-app purchase, if you don't want to put the time in, and have some extra money sitting around). Jetpack Joyride itself is available as a universal app for just 99 cents -- if you haven't checked it out yet, you definitely should.
Daily iPhone App: Jetpack Joyride
After a few conventions' worth of teasing and a last-minute name change, Halfbrick Studios' latest, Jetpack Joyride, is available as a universal app for iPhone and iPad. I'm ready to call it one of the best iOS games of the year. Of course, I'm a big Halfbrick fan, and I think the running title Monster Dash is their best game until this one (though Fruit Ninja obviously racks up some points for them as well), so this game ends up being particularly up my alley. But it's really a terrific game -- extremely well polished, with great mechanics, tons and tons of replayability, and pretty much everything you'd want in a pick-up-and-play iPhone title. The idea is that you're Halfbrick's main man Barry Steakfries yet again, this time strapping on a Machine Gun Jetpack to try and escape through a lab, and you need to get as far as possible without blowing yourself up. On the way you can collect powerups, spin tokens, and coins, and each of those tweaks the gameplay. Powerups are all vehicles, which change the game's controls for a bit and provide you with an extra shield in case of explosion. Spin tokens add chances at a post-game slot machine, with available bonuses for both the current game and your next go, and coins can be spent in the in-app store (and purchased via in-app purchase, though you never really need them) on extra skins, vehicle add-ons, and other custom items. Jetpack Joyride just oozes style and expertise -- there are also missions that you can accomplish while playing to earn stars, which implement a nicely-paced progression system (complete, I'm told, though I haven't gotten there yet, with a prestige system to boot). And of course there's integrated Game Center, so you can compete with friends and the world on best distance and other stats. Jetpack Joyride is easily on the short list for best iOS games of the year, and might even top it, depending on what else comes out. At just US 99 cents, it's one of the best gaming deals anywhere right now. Get it, without reservation.
Machine Gun Jetpack now Jetpack Joyride, out September 1
Halfbrick Studios has sent out a notice that they've made a name change on their upcoming iOS title. Machine Gun Jetpack (which we've been watching pretty closely here at TUAW) is now called Jetpack Joyride. Apparently the game itself hasn't changed, but the name is different -- so you know what to look for in the App Store. And fortunately, the wait on this one grows ever shorter: The title is set to be released on iOS just a scant week and a half from now on September 1. I've been really impressed by Machine Gun -- sorry, Jetpack Joyride -- every time I've seen it, so this will definitely be one to watch for.
GDC 2011: Halfbrick's Machine Gun Jetpack
Halfbrick Studios is one of my favorite developers on iOS. While they've released games on other platforms before (including the PS3 and the Nintendo DS), here at GDC 2011, they told me that "iOS development is always our focus." They've found a huge hit with Fruit Ninja, but they're not resting on their laurels. Fresh off Monster Dash (my favorite Canabalt-alike on the App Store) Halfbrick is going to return to the running genre with a new game called Machine Gun Jetpack. If you've played Monster Dash, you'll know that's one of the special weapons from the game -- a machine gun pointed down that allows you to hover in the air. And the Machine Gun Jetpack game lets you do just that. As hero Barry Steakfries runs along, he has to jump up and hover past obstacles and enemies, adding a vertical component to the Canabalt setup. Just like Monster Dash, things get fast and furious, though unlike Monster Dash, you haven't got much room for error -- one hit and it's game over (unless you're lucky -- read on).
Fruit Ninja and Max Adventure for iOS updated with new content
Two of TUAW's favorite App Store apps (and probably yours as well) have been updated with new content. Halfbrick's Fruit Ninja has a few new swords to play with, including one that plays piano music as you swipe. There are new leaderboards to fight your friends (and everyone else) on for the Classic and Zen modes. Great free update for a terrific app -- no wonder it's sold 6 million copies (inspiring Halfbrick to build up an orchard in order to pay back karma for all that destroyed virtual fruit). Imangi's great Max Adventure dual-stick shooter has also been updated with a new survival level and a few performance improvements and bug fixes. More importantly, it's on sale right now for just 99 cents, so if you haven't grabbed this one yet, now's your chance. I just picked it up again recently, and despite the kid-friendly graphics and storyline, the action and progression are a lot of fun. We've got appointments with both Halfbrick and Imangi at GDC next week, so stay tuned to hear what's coming next from these two great iOS developers.
App Store price war continues, prices drop pre-freeze
I don't know what kind of criteria we need to hit to call the official start of an App Store price war, but quite a few companies have taken EA's lead from last week and dropped their app prices down in an attempt to get them on the top app charts before this week's store freeze by Apple. Pocket Gamer has a pretty good list of sales going -- most Namco apps are on sale, along with the Pac Man titles and Bit Trip Beat. Halfbrick Studios has also dropped prices on their games, bringing Age of Zombies and Fruit Ninja down to just 99 cents and adding new content to both. Samurai II: Vengeance was also dropped to 99 cents, as we tweeted on @TUAW earlier today. A number of apps are trying to compete by adding features -- Touch Arcade has a good list of those, including Imangi's Max Adventure and Capcom's Arcade title as well as Sega's Chu Chu Rocket. The weekend hasn't changed EA's grip on the App Store charts -- 6 of the top 10 are still EA's titles, and Apple is actually running banners on the App Store advertising EA's big sale (which has some smaller developers a little miffed). We'll have to see what happens as the week goes on. The store freeze is set to go down on Thursday through Tuesday, December 28, so any apps in the charts then will stay there over the holiday weekend.
TUAW's Daily App: Age of Zombies
Halfbrick Studios is quickly becoming one of the best-loved developers on the App Store. They made a nice hit with Fruit Ninja, and I'm still enjoying their Canabalt-style Monster Dash title. Now, they've brought their PSP mini title, Age of Zombies, to the App Store, and it's another good one. Originally created for Sony's handheld, and starring Barry Steakfries (the guy who's running around in Monster Dash, which this game has more or less been made into a sequel for), Age of Zombies is a dual stick shooter with the same old Halfbrick polish and a cool pixelated aesthetic. The action is fast but still friendly. You blast your way across five different worlds thanks to solid controls, a few witty lines from Steakfries and his dialogue, and a few weapons and power-ups to find on the way. Both Game Center and OpenFeint integration is included as well, along with a survival mode and a few other extras. The game is US$2.99 right now as a universal app. It's an excellent game -- maybe a little casual for most dual stick fans, but if you're a big fan of Fruit Ninja and/or Monster Dash, this one is right up your alley. I'm excited to see even more from Halfbrick Studios in the future -- it certainly seems like they're doing very well on the iPhone.
TUAW's Daily App: Monster Dash
Halfbrick Studios really made a splash with their iPhone debut, Fruit Ninja, and now they've followed it up with a little game called Monster Dash. It's a running game in the vein of Canabalt, but rather than dodging skyscraper jumps and bombs, you're fighting through pixelated monsters while sprinting along. The main addition to the game is a "shoot" button, so in addition to jumping obstacles and gaps as they come up, you can mow down enemies with various weapons, such as the (default) flameburster, uzis, and even a machine gun jetpack (that comes in handy when jumping). It's a lot of fun (as you'd probably expect if you've played either Canabalt or Fruit Ninja), and the game comes with Halfbrick's requisite polish, including excellent lush graphics and full OpenFeint compatibility. If there's a downside, it's too bad that Halfbrick decided to just stick with the usual arcade formula. It'd be cool if they tried for something a little less shallow and a little more engrossing. This is just a bunch of levels and a chance to rush for the high score; nothing else carries over from one game to the next. That's just nitpicking, though. Halfbrick has done another great job on this one and pushed the newborn genre forward with their own twist. It's well worth the 99 cents. And if you do buy it, try tapping on the title screen monsters just for fun.
