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Rose and Time returns to Ouya following funding program changes
Indie puzzler Rose and Time returned to Ouya after the game was pulled from the store in September by its developer, Sophie Houlden. The "time-travel stealth" game was initially removed from Ouya's store during the height of the controversy surrounding the console manufacturer's Free the Games Fund, a program designed to match funds donated by crowdfunders for timed-exclusive Ouya games on Kickstarter. In her latest blog, Houlden wrote that "at the time a lot of developers besides myself were upset at how the free the games fund was going and said so." Games like Gridiron Thunder, which received $171,009 on Kickstarter thanks to a handful of suspicious backers, and the Ouya-suspended Elementary, My Dear Holmes were the center of attention for the funding program's detractors. Ouya's response to the criticism at the time was to assert that the the Free the Games Fund would not be changed, prior to being overhauled a week later. Addressing that decision, among other decisive missteps during a recent talk at the XOXO Festival in Portland, Oregon, Ouya CEO Julie Uhrman said the company "did not think about all the different ways people could take advantage of that kind of program," She later added that the Ouya team "didn't have enough rules around the program and people took advantage of it out the gate. So having the best intentions isn't always best. But you have to be quick to hear the feedback no matter how painful it is and iterate and change as you go." As for Houlden's decision to bring Rose and Time back to the Ouya store, she wrote that "The Free the Games Fund was changed, none of the scam games received a single cent of the fund, the company admitted its mistakes, and was asking for yet more feedback to further improve things," concluding that she is "confident at this point that I can no longer justify keeping the game off the console."
Developers react to Ouya's defense of Free the Games Fund
Yesterday, Ouya CEO Julie Uhrman voiced her support for the company's Free the Games Fund, noting that nothing about the program would be altered. Since then, indie developers have expressed their displeasure over Uhrman's statements. Sophie Houlden, who launched Rose and Time on Ouya in July, announced that she will be pulling the game from the Ouya store. Houlden said that after reading Uhrman's response, "it became very apparent to me that the company does not support indie developers who need the support most, and that they are incapable of ever correcting their mistakes. I'm simply no longer comfortable supporting the company." Free the Games Fund was first announced in July with the intention of encouraging Ouya development by rewarding successful Kickstarter project creators with extra funding in exchange for at least six months of Ouya exclusivity. Two eligible games came under scrutiny as they met their funding goals in late August: Elementary, My Dear Holmes and Gridiron Thunder. While Elementary was recently suspended due to suspicions over Kickstarter accounts that backed the game, Gridiron Thunder was successfully funded, bringing in $171,009 from only 183 total backers. Houlden isn't the only developer backing away from the platform. Kairo developer Richard Perrin noted via Twitter that he "had an Ouya on my desk since launch. Nearly finished porting Kairo to it. Gonna pack that away until a time when they become credible again." In the comments of Uhrman's response to the growing concerns over the program, 100 Rogues Ouya developer Wes Paugh said that "the campaigns that aren't setting off red flags are failing tragically, and that is a real shame, because some of those ideas are ones gaming would greatly benefit from." Thomas Was Alone developer Mike Bithell also criticized Ouya's response in the post's comments, saying it "isn't an acceptance of criticism, or an explanation of how clearly dodgy as hell schemes are being supported by [Ouya] publicly," but that it "reads like a press release from a console company locked into a foolish policy and using aspirational language to shift the blame, weirdly, onto its critics."
Dream Fishing will make your day better
Dream Fishing is a first-person fishing game built in Unity. It runs in browser or as a client on PCs, Macs and Linux machines, and was built by Sophie Houlden over the course of 48 hours for the most recent Ludum Dare. In unspecific terms, Dream Fishing is the gaming equivalent of a warm mug of chai tea, or a blanket fresh from the dryer. Players navigate a glowing, peaceful pond in first person, catching helpful fish that dispense homespun wisdom and non sequiturs as quaint piano sounds punctuate their footsteps. Just, don't listen to the grey-and-black fish. He isn't as helpful or as uplifting as the rest of them. A time lapse video of Houlden's 48-hour creative process, including crucial Azumanga Daioh breaks, has been tucked away after the jump.
Swift Stitch collects shinies on iOS this week via Nicalis
Continuing its partnerships with interesting indies (Studio Pixel, Nifflas, etc.), developer and publisher Nicalis is bringing Sophie Houlden's vector-style racing/puzzle/maze game Swift Stitch to iOS on July 5.It's difficult to explain the mechanics – hold a button to turn, hit certain barriers to flip horizontal or vertical direction – so instead allow us to direct you to this browser-based demo. The simple one-button controls seem perfectly matched to touchscreen devices, though maybe our brains aren't perfectly matched to the game, as our frequent and sudden meetings with walls would suggest.The iOS version will be free to download, with ten levels available in the initial version. The full game is available as an in-app purchase for .99, or $1.99 after launch week.%Gallery-159610%
