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Big Fish Games cuts staff, closing Vancouver studio
Seattle-based casual games provider Big Fish has gone through a round of layoffs, is closing its Vancover studio and has entered a 30-day consultation period about its operations in Cork, Ireland. GameIndustry International obtained a letter by CEO Paul Thelen to staff that outlined the changes, which detail 49 layoffs in its Seattle headquarters, with another 70 employees "realigned." Big Fish previously had 524 full-time Seattle employees, so the cut represents approximately nine percent of the studio. "I want to stress that our decisions are not based on our company-wide performance or that of the people working on those initiatives – both of which are strong – but because of where the market is growing, and quite frankly, where it is not," wrote Thelen in the letter to staff. "The most significant decision we are making today is that we are discontinuing our premium cloud delivery business. This service is not growing as fast as we had hoped it would and is not on a path to profitability." According to Thelen, this will be the company's eleventh straight year of "record revenue" and the company remains profitable. He says to continue this momentum the company must increase investment in profitable areas and cut its losses. Thelen writes, "The most significant decision we are making today is that we are discontinuing our premium cloud delivery business. This service is not growing as fast as we had hoped it would and is not on a path to profitability. This decision reflects the reality that the costs to support streaming cloud delivery of premium games are too high, and the user adoption too low, for us to warrant continued investment." The company will continue to invest in its casual and casino free-to-play businesses, and focus investment on its "four largest languages": English, French, German and Japanese.
Daily iPad App: Drawn: Trail of Shadows is a simple, beautiful puzzle game
The Drawn series is hard to describe, really -- I've mentioned one of them here before, but I don't know if I quite gave the series a good description. Fortunately, if reading this post doesn't work, I've included a video of me playing the game down below, so you can take a closer look at just what these games are like. The series started up on PC as the domain of Big Fish Games, a company that has released a lot (a lot!) of PC games over the years. But Big Fish is making its way onto iOS (most notably with the great Fairway Solitaire), and the Drawn series is slowly coming along, with Trail of Shadows being the latest release on iOS. At its core, this game is a hidden object title, where you need to poke around a series of still pictures, finding items to use in various adventure-game style puzzles. The title is quite atmospheric and beautifully, well, drawn, and provides a very casual story experience for you to simply relax in and enjoy. These games aren't for everyone -- a gamer used to a little more action might call them boring, and unfortunately, Big Fish hasn't very smoothly ported the game over, so there are some awkward loading screens and the occasional dropped cutscene. But there is definitely a strong mood here, a strong feeling evoked from playing a game like this, and having this around on your iPad can make for a very intriguing afternoon of gameplay. Drawn: Trail of Shadows is available as a free trial right now, and you can pay US$4.99 in the game if you want to play through the whole thing. It's definitely worth a look -- there are certainly games of this hidden object ilk that are indeed a waste of your time, but Drawn is one that's won me over a few times already.
Big Fish Unlimited makes a splash on Android by streaming games from the cloud
Big Fish Games, proprietors of casual gaming, have released a new app on the Google Play store: Big Fish Unlimited. From within this app, Android users can access over 100 different casual games.Big Fish Games is adding new games to the app each week and promises players can resume play between devices – if you start a game on your Android device, you can pick up where you left off on your PC through the cloud. Right now Big Fish Unlimited is, well, limited to folks in the U.S. running Android 2.2 or higher, but Big Fish promises to roll out the app to more regions "soon."
Big Fish Unlimited lets gamers resume play on mobile, PC and TV, stay distracted at all times (update: HTML5 explained)
The perpetual crisis of casual gaming is that need for just one... more... turn. After all, those 29 levels of progress aren't coming with you to the office, are they? Big Fish Games wants to ease our consciences (or at least our egos) with Big Fish Unlimited. By using HTML5 to constantly save progress, the cloud service remembers exactly where a player was and ports it to the next device: it's possible to hop from a Android tablet, to a Roku box, to a Windows PC's browser without having to replay anything. The nature of the streaming games themselves won't give OnLive players second thoughts, but their lighter footprint won't demand as much from an internet connection, either. Most of the intended audience will appreciate the price -- the now active service costs $8 a month for access to more than 100 games from the full catalog, and free play is on tap for 20 of the games as long as you can endure periodic ads. Whether or not coworkers can endure another round of your hidden object games is another matter. Update: We've since talked to the company directly, and it turns out that the HTML5 is more for the cross-platform support; it's the server that tracks progress whenever you quit a given app.
Big Fish Games scores a hit with Fairway Solitaire
My meeting with Big Fish Games' Patrick Wylie was one of my last meetings at GDC, but it was also one of my most satisfying. It turns out I'm not alone in my esteem for the great Fairway Solitaire app this company has put together; "This game is growing our audience," Wylie told me. That's quite a big statement. Big Fish has been around for a while making PC titles designed for a very casual audience, usually hidden object games and other casual time management fare. It's been trying to break out in the iOS market for about the past year and a half. Before Fairway Solitaire, the company hadn't really had a hit on this level, and I'd argue it was because the company was playing around with its standard casual titles rather than digging in deep. It makes sense when you consider this game's rocky past. Back in 2008, Wylie says Big Fish Games had one of its biggest PC hits with a hidden object game, and one of the developers got the idea to do a solitaire game with a golf framing on it. However, the decision was that Big Fish should catch a wave with hidden object titles and ride that trend for all it was worth. Fairway Solitaire got put on the back burner, and Big Fish went on to build its reputation on casual gaming. Last year, as the company was trying to gain ground on iOS, Fairway Solitaire showed up in development again, and I actually saw a very early version of it at GDC 2011. But while the game was technically complete last October, Wylie and company decided to go back to the drawing board and spent five months "tuning a game that was already done, just trying to get the experience as exactly right as possible." All that work apparently paid off; Fairway Solitaire has huge conversion rates for Big Fish, and its players are among the most engaged players on the whole App Store. Wylie says he would have liked to see this success sooner, but he doesn't really regret all of the work done on the game before release. "I'm glad we actually did wait," he told me. Big Fish is very excited about the success of Fairway Solitaire, and just like its earlier hidden object games, Big Fish plans to take full advantage of that popularity. Up first on the iOS game, there's a spring update coming with a brand new pack of maps for players to play through. Big Fish has another Fairway Solitaire-based title planned, and we can expect a summer pack as well, with lots more content and features to come. "We're going to service this forever," says Wylie, or at least as long as the game's players are willing to play. "I don't know where it's going to stop," he says of Fairway's rising sales. Big Fish's next game will be called Lifequest, a freemium RPG title designed around performing real-life tasks like getting a job, working, or even eating out or buying a pet. Lifequest has been Big Fish's "best performing non-hidden object adventure game" on the PC and Mac according to Wylie, so he has big hopes for how it will do on Apple's touchscreen platforms. Another big title due soon is Plunder, a pirate-based puzzle game in which you guide a set of pirate ships through dangerous watery grids by propelling them forward in the right order and at the right time. Plunder's been under development on iOS for awhile, and it's not quite as complicated as Fairway Solitaire, which itself isn't all that hard. Big Fish isn't giving up on hidden object games; the company is also releasing the latest version of the popular Mystery Case Files series, called the 13th Skull. It's jam-packed with full motion video, letting players interact with live action characters as they explore a haunted house and have to find all sorts of items and solve simple adventure-style puzzles. These games tend to appeal to a very specific audience more than anyone else, but Big Fish hopes the production values make it stand out in an already very packed market. Big Fish is very excited about Fairway Solitaire, and we can expect to see much more of that game coming in the future. I've always been a proponent of more complicated games, even for casual players. While many developers on the App Store are racing for a lowest-common denominator style of super casual freemium gameplay, Fairway Solitaire shows that with a quality, compelling gaming experience, you can attract engaged gamers from all over.
Daily iPad App: Tiny Places HD
Tiny Places is the latest title from Big Fish Games, which typically releases games on PC (mostly casual stuff like find-an-item and puzzle games), but lately has been making a big push on iOS as well. What's interesting about Tiny Places is that it borrows from from iOS games rather than Big Fish's PC catalog. Specifically, from Cut the Rope. Tiny Places is similar to Chillingo's other physics title (the one that's not about angry birds), in that it features a cute little protagonist trying to reach a goal in a colorful 2D level while using real-time physics to move around. In this case, you play as a chameleon who uses his tongue to hang from various objects, trying to collect "starflies" while moving towards a hole in the wall that kicks off the next level. To start, you can fling the little chameleon around, but as the game progresses, there are other objects to interact with. Tiny Places is harder than Cut the Rope as precise, airborne is required. Especially if you want to get all of the stars and extras, you'll need to make some pretty tough jumps. But resetting the level is quick and easy, so the game encourages replaying to get things just right. The polish isn't quite as good as Cut the Rope, but if (like me) you've already run through all of the levels of that one, Tiny Places offers a worthy alternative and a fun time in and of itself. The iPad version is US$1.99 while the iPhone version is just a buck, and there are free versions of each to try out as well. Tiny Places isn't a classic, but if you enjoy physics games, the many levels on display here (with lots of updates to come, according to the app itself) will provide plenty of entertainment.
Daily Update for November 23, 2011
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen.
Apple allows Big Fish to offer subscription-based gaming on iPad [Update: and then changes its mind]
Apple has bestowed upon Big Fish Games the ability to offer customers access to dozens of its iPad titles for a monthly fee. This is the first time a subscription model has been implemented by a games publisher, as apps are regularly sold a la carte. Big Fish Games told Bloomberg it will also offer a free version of its "all-you-can-eat" service, which limits play to 30 minutes a day and includes ads. The initial charge for the subscription service is $4.99 a month, with plans for an increase to $6.99 when more titles are added next year. Big Fish Games founder Paul Thelen says Apple will take a 30 percent cut. Update: ...or not, Bloomberg reports the app has been removed by Apple. We're currently following up with Big Fish Games to find out what's going on.
Apple [doesn't allow] subscription-based iPad gaming for the first time (Updated)
Update: The app has been pulled from the store. John Gruber hypothesizes that the app was actually approved in error, with the App Store screening team not realizing that they had made a policy shift. Bloomberg reports that Apple has allowed Big Fish Games to begin offering its games in a subscription-based model. For US$6.99 per month, iPad users will have access to Big Fish Games' entire library of iPad games. Subscription models have already been introduced for newspapers and magazines sold in the App Store, and Netflix is a prime example of how the subscription model can succeed for movies. According to Big Fish, it took some extra arm-twisting to convince Apple to allow the subscription model for Big Fish's games. Big Fish Games will also offer free, ad-supported access to its game library for thirty minutes per day. As an alternative, users can sign up for all-you-can-eat access at an initial cost of $4.99 per month, which will increase to $6.99 per month next year after Big Fish adds more titles. (As always, Apple will collect its 30 percent commission on subscription sales.) The company also plans to expand its subscription services to the Android platform early next year. Games played through the subscription service will be streamed to users' iPads rather than downloaded in their entirety, and as such the service will initially work only over Wi-Fi. This is an interesting move on Big Fish Games' part, and it will be fascinating to see whether this experiment with subscription-based gaming is successful or not. I imagine other gaming companies, particularly the bigger houses like EA and Gameloft, are going to be watching developments in this space very closely.
MMObility: Creating a hidden-object mobile MMO
Around the time we left for E3, I discovered some of the hidden-object games published by Big Fish Games. I have enjoyed puzzle games in the past, but these seemed to have a nice, dependable quality to them that I had not seen before. On the way home -- during the last several hours of our trip, when it became hard to settle down -- I pulled out Moonfell Wood, a lovely hidden-object game set in a magical world of fairies and princesses. (I think the target audience was obvious.) It was just a trial, but it was very relaxing. The music was nice and the puzzles were challenging but not mind-crushing, and my wife would look over my shoulder once in a while to point out one of the objects or to help solve a puzzle. It really got me to thinking: could a hidden-object MMO be created for the mobile market? I think it could. Click past the cut and let's discuss it.
TUAW's Daily iPhone App: Haunted Manor: Lord of Mirrors
We've posted about Big Fish Games before. It's a casual gaming company that has produced a ton of titles for the PC already, and it's in the process of both bringing those over to iOS and creating an original library of titles for Apple's mobile devices. This weekend, Big Fish is having a sale on the App Store, with nearly all of its titles dropping down to just 99 cents on the iPhone and US$1.99 on the iPad. So now's the time to pick any of these up if you haven't yet. If you're not sure which one to get, Haunted Manor is a good choice. Like a lot of the games, it's sort of a puzzle/adventure title, using casual interactions like hidden item and mix and match puzzles to move through a very well-rendered environment. The game's never too tough, but if you get stuck, there's a forgiving hint system to help push you along. Game Center integration is a nice bonus as well. If you haven't heard of these games or haven't wanted to jump in and try them just yet, here's your chance.
TUAW's Daily App: Drawn: The Painted Tower
A little while back at GDC, I was introduced to a market for games that I'd never known much about before. There is a whole ecosystem of casual game companies out there that make PC games that appeal to an audience outside of the usual gaming crowd (read: usually older and female). Big Fish Games is one of the biggest of these companies -- they produce a number of games every year (usually hidden item or time management games) and sell them first as free trial downloads and then full PC versions on the website. Recently, these companies have started poking their way into Apple's iOS system, porting over their already large library of titles to Apple's platform, and selling them to this same casual audience on a brand new platform. Of quite a few of these games I saw at GDC, Drawn: The Painted Tower was probably my favorite, and if you were lucky enough to get a brand new iPad 2 this weekend, you might want to check it out. The game is extremely artistic and beautiful, though the action is pretty slow. You basically search around a series of screens for hidden items, and then you use those items, adventure game-style, to explore the world of the game. While the puzzles can get quite complicated, the game never pushes you too hard -- you're pretty much free to explore the lush art at your own pace. It's a nice experience (with Game Center included), and it serves as a good introduction to these games. While you can try an hour trial version for free, unlocking the whole game is on sale right now for just US$4.99. This one could be just the showpiece for that magical device you're now playing games on.
Faunasphere shutting down on March 15th
It's a sad day when a game shuts down, especially one that caters to an unusual audience. Faunasphere, a game about cleaning up a pollution-riddled world while developing your personal animals, has announced its shutdown on March 15th. All subscription options have been removed, all subscriptions or microtransaction currency purchases after January 14th are being refunded, and the developers at Big Fish Games are working to make sure that the month until the closing is memorable and enjoyable for players. In a brief FAQ regarding the closure, the development team addresses several potential player questions, including the game's integration with Facebook (which kept the servers running for longer than would have otherwise been possible) and the issue of any outstanding funds sunk into the game. There's also a thread set up for players to exchange contact information, in the hopes that some of the community might retain its cohesion. Our condolences go out to the Faunasphere players and development team affected by the shutdown.
Drawn: Dark Flight returns to the adventure genre next week
Big Fish's gorgeous old-school adventure game, Drawn: The Painted Tower, has spawned a sequel. Launching next week at retail and on Big Fish's website, Drawn: Dark Flight promises to offer more of what the first game offered. You can expect tons of hand-drawn art, an orchestral soundtrack and classic adventure game puzzles. The sequel is promising a greater variety of art styles, with scenes as varied as Disney movies to pop-out books. As expected of the genre, some of the puzzles require some sideways thinking -- but if you get lost, the built-in hint system should be able to help you out. The system is tiered, so that hints can range from a "nudge in the right direction" to blurting out exactly what must be done. Dark Flight will arrive in both standard and limited editions at both retail and online, with prices ranging from $6.99 to $19.99. (The cheapest way to get it will be online!) Check out the game's intro after the break.%Gallery-100292%
Faunasphere goes Facebook
We've received word today from the team over at Faunasphere that they're taking their game over to the land of Facebook, to show the "social gamers" what a MMO really is. Faunsphere Facebook and Faunsphere.com will be linked together into one large world, letting users from both realms interact with one another. The game will continue to run on the same microtransaction system, where users can buy additional items for their fauna and commission scientific tests to know more about the hidden skills that lie in their favorite animals. All we can do now is pray that this style of game catches on in Facebook, so when we ask our friends if they play any MMOs, they don't respond with, "Oh, yeah, Farmville!" Then, we won't feel the need to throttle people.
Fight smog with dogs in Faunasphere
Pollution is bad, mmmmkay? That's the general theme of Faunasphere, another flash-based MMO that takes a very different look at MMO gameplay. Faunasphere is all about protecting the environment and destroying pollution while evolving your fauna -- animals with specific skills that will aid you in completing quests in this scientifically advanced world. Some fauna can dig, others can swim, and others can track scents and more. Fauna can also be bred as well, letting you create new species of animals while increasing their stats. The flash based MMO also includes the ability to create your own world for your fauna to live in, awarding you items as you complete quests and level up. It's easy to pick up and play, and the animations are pretty cute as well. It's also free... did we mention that? Well, we did now. Give it a whirl, as it's a great MMO for when you're on the go and can't be bothered to install a big game.
Interview: Mystery Case Files: Dire Grove's Adrian Woods on the game's use of live-action FMV
Last month, developer Big Fish Games released the latest game in its hidden-object, casual mystery series Mystery Case Files. Dire Grove features something rather unexpected for a game released in 2009: full-motion video. As a selling point! The game sets you into the investigation of four graduate students who disappear in the spooky town of Dire Grove one night. Along the way, video sequences will help illuminate the events. Fascinated by the bold decision to bring in live actors for the latest iteration of a usually all hand-drawn series (and a game that will retail for seven dollars when the Standard Edition launches this month -- the Collector's Edition is available now for $20), we spoke to game designer Adrian Woods about the game and the somewhat anachronistic use of FMV.
Fortune-hunting industry hit hard by recession, apparently
What Nathan Drake possesses in charm and acrobatic adroitness, he seriously lacks in luck. Much like that fedora-capped, state-named adventurer, he never seems to end one of his adventures with the loot he set out to obtain, leaving his cash-flow as non-existent as his reservations over killing thousands of pirates and mercenaries. Therefore, we're not surprised to see he's been branching out, and is now putting his keen analytical mind to work as a detective in Big Fish Games' Hill Stone Animation Studio's PC puzzle-solving title, The Broken Clues. Of course, the preceding paragraph only makes sense in a world where video game characters are sentient beings, capable of performing activities outside of the scope designated for them by a hard-working team of programmers and designers. In reality, it seems that Drake's likeness was straight-up yoinked by Big Fish HSA Studio, in a brazen display of copyright infringement that's reminiscent of Limbo of the Lost, only without the added bonus of being unintentionally hilarious.Update: Corrected developer name (i.e., Hill Stone Animation Studio). Big Fish Games is the distributor. Also, check out the even more striking resemblance highlighted in a new image comparison after the break! [Thanks, 7ucky & Sayed] [Via PSU Forums]
SXSW 2009: 'Funologists' and unorthodox research methods
In the panel "Funologists Live & In Person: Guerrilla Game Research," a group of experts took turns explaining methods for researching user experience in games that goes in some way beyond the normal focus groups and QA cycle. The often ad-hoc methods provide valuable data about gameplay at a fraction of the budget of most data gathering exercises. And sometimes they involve becoming a frog.
The DS Life / Promotional Consideration: Leopard print ad
Yes, two columns for the price of one! The price, of course, being nothing.This week's installment of The DS Life / Promotional Consideration looks at an advertisement for Mystery Case Files: Millionheir that ran in several "mainstream" publications like celebrity gossip magazines In Touch Weekly and Us Weekly. The print piece features Ugly Betty's America Ferrera and sub-Saharan Africa's leopard. Surprisingly, the latter doesn't maul the former, despite the ESRB's "violent references" warning.
