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Unity Asset Store top sellers earn $30K a month
The Unity Asset Store is 4 years old and poised to have 1 million users by the end of 2014, Unity announced this week. The Asset Store is a marketplace of user-created development assets, services and tools, including environment art, animation tools, sound effects, shaders and all types of technical wonders. The Asset Store attracted 10,000 users in its first three months after launching in 2010, and today the top sellers bring in more than $30,000 a month, Unity writes on the Asset Store blog. Today, the store offers more than 15,000 pieces of content from nearly 3,800 creators. "Unity estimates that the Asset Store ecosystem, empowering Unity developers to create games and apps with a more efficient and effective production process, saves developers 6 million workdays over a 12-month period, which roughly equals a savings of $1.4 billion," the company says in a press release. In October, Unity saw a change in its leadership, hiring on former EA head John Riccitiello as its new CEO. [Image: Unity]
Star Citizen explains its ship design pipeline
How does a ship for Star Citizen go from a vague concept to a functional design in the game? That's a great question! It's also one with a concrete answer, as a new official blog on the site explains the whole design pipeline process for new Star Citizen ships, starting with the highest level of concept and moving on to the level where the ship is ready for everyone to take into space. The process is a fairly straightforward one, moving from initial renders and tweaks during the concept stages to having a specific internal layout and then a map of damage areas on the final model. You can also check out the blog for a complete listing of all the ships currently in planning and moving through the concept process. It's not an easy path to go from the idea to a full, working version of the ship, so if you want to get a more detailed look, check out the full breakdown.
Littlebits' Halloween kits make old-school decorations more techy
So you want to make your Halloween just a little more geeky, but you're not quite ready to port Tetris to a pumpkin -- maybe LittleBits is more your speed? The modular prototyping platform has created a series of themed kits that should make augmenting holiday easy. There are three in all: a sound-activated jack-o-lantern light, a "creepy portrait" that moves when someone walks by and Halloween "stick figure costume." All of them are cute, but they're also a little less than what they seem.
Perfect Ten: What Titan's death means for the industry and you
Blizzard's fans are in mourning this weekend and its competition is no doubt rejoicing after the World of Warcraft developer finally cancelled its seven-years-in-the-making Titan MMO. Word on the street is that Titan was a little too similar to what Bungie came up with in Destiny, although all the studio itself will say is that it ultimately wasn't fun. So Titan joins Starcraft Ghost and Warcraft Adventures in the Blizzard graveyard. It's a loss for those who were hoping to see what Blizz could do outside of World of Warcraft in the MMO space. But what does this cancellation mean for Blizzard, the industry, and us as MMO gamers? I have a few thoughts, although I'll pre-empt them by predicting that your life will most likely go on just the same it did before this momentous announcement.
Bungie closes Destiny's 'Loot Cave,' discusses future fixes
Well that was fun while it lasted. The infamous "Loot Cave" that allowed Destiny players to collectively shoot into the darkness and reap massive rewards has been fixed by Bungie. "The Hive of the holy 'Treasure Cave' have realized the futility of their endless assault on Skywatch and have retired to lick their wounds and plan their next attack," the developer wrote in its latest update notes. Bungie also issued notes on some of Destiny's other issues that it plans to address in the future, in which it said that "shooting at a black hole for hours on end isn't our dream for how Destiny is played." Aside from addressing the Loot Cave exploit, Bungie will "increase engram drops from completing activities" and allow players to opt-in to voice chat during online matchmaking sessions. The developer also plans to increase damage dealt by players and reduce the impact from bosses during Strike missions as well as issue a number of balance changes to impact the effectiveness of weapons at different ranges. [Image: Activision]
Why Omeed Dariani left EverQuest Next
When SOE Brand Manager Omeed Dariani left the EverQuest Next team suddenly, there was no small amount of curiosity and speculation over his reasoning. Obviously he knew something that fans didn't, but what was it? He recently appeared on Reddit to briefly explain his departure, stating that it was the result of an ideological difference that could not be corrected. Dariani states that his immediate supervisors did not support the community-first structures that have been established for both Landmark and EverQuest Next, so he ultimately felt that he had no options beyond resigning in protest. No personal issues were involved, contrary to some fan speculation, and Dariani was quite clear that his departure was entirely voluntary and he was in no way given an ultimatum. He maintains that he has the utmost respect for the teams still working on the games and that neither of them caused his departure. It might not be the happy news of another job just waiting in the wings that fans would like, but it at least explains why he left.
The road ahead for Darkfall Unholy Wars
Darkfall Unholy Wars has seen its ups and downs during its operation, but the latest post from the team is about moving forward. The development team's roadmap was shared with players over the weekend, providing a peek at what's coming in the future to make the game more interesting. No dates are included with the roadmap, as it's focused on concepts rather than specifics, but it still includes plenty of things for veteran players to be excited about. Among the large-scale changes planned for the game in the future are improvements to the AI and PvE combat in general, along with systems to help players more firmly align themselves within the game world. The developers would like to minimize instant travel while promoting fast travel where possible, creating a more localized economic model that emphasizes journeying between markets. There's also an ongoing commitment to keeping all combinations of skills and powers viable, supporting a wide variety of playstyles. Take a look at the full roadmap for more details on what's coming around the bend.
Unity Pro now free for all licensed PlayStation developers
Unity Pro is now available for all licensed PlayStation developers at the low, low cost of nothing. Those that become approved developers for Sony's platforms will have access to "PlayStation ready versions" of Unity Pro, which offers developers the tools to create 2D and 3D games and applications. Unity Pro normally costs $1,500 or $75 per month, as listed on Unity's store. Unity entered a partnership with Sony to offer optimized tools for the PlayStation platforms in March 2013. Sony has since shown greater interest in hosting the creations of independent developers, adding "fully-integrated solutions" for PS3 and Vita this past March. PlayStation Mobile developers received free access to Unity for PSM in June before Sony killed support for PSM on Android last month. [Image: Unity]
LittleBits' BitLab wants to be the app store of hardware components
Thinking about building something out of LittleBits' library of interconnecting circuit boards? Until today, your creativity has been artificially limited -- LittleBits uses a proprietary magnetic connector for each of its snap-on components, without any ability to add objects to your project that fall outside of the company's offered modules. Today that changes: Today LittleBits announced a new program that allows customers to prototype, design, manufacture and sell their own LittleBit components. It's called Bitlab, and the company hopes that it will become an "App Store for hardware."
How Spry Fox used (human) guinea pigs to evolve Free-Range Dragons overnight
If you played Spry Fox's Free-Range Dragons at PAX Prime earlier this month, you may have a vastly different impression of the game than players who returned to the team's booth during the show's final hours. This isn't just a matter of taste, either. Spry Fox actively updated its PAX Prime demo of Free-Range Dragons throughout the expo weekend, making sweeping changes in response to player behavior and feedback. The experiment was a valuable learning experience for Spry Fox, and produced results that will likely inform the project's future direction.
DayZ Producer: 'You are playing development builds'
DayZ is a title in early access. That means that buying the game now will give you access to the full game when it goes live as well as the development versions along the way. Producer Brian Hicks recently took to the game's official forums to respond to player feedback by stating this rather bluntly: "You are not playing DayZ. You are playing development builds." Hicks went on to explain that the game's current development pace is entirely normal for a large project, with the main difference being that most of these early builds are not seen by the public at large. Players who are displeased by the earlier builds are encouraged to step back and check in again when release is closer, as the later beta versions or the release client will be far closer to the finished experience. Whether or not you've been enjoying the game, it's a useful look at the development process and what it can mean to be playing on early access.
The Behemoth finally has enough clout to get away with Game 4
The Behemoth, better known as the house that made Castle Crashers, is continuing a pattern in which it approaches new genres with each project. Its newest venture, Game 4, is a turn-based strategy game for PC and Xbox One that retains the developer's quirky humor and trademark charms while stripping away some of the expected tropes found in the genre. In it, players collect a team of interchangeable, oddball heroes wielding the strangest weapons and helmets, then select their movement paths on the battlefield and observe as attacks play out. It's an intriguing direction for a studio that made its biggest mark with a beat-em-up.
Camelot Unchained launches pre-alpha test checklist
Camelot Unchained is running a little bit behind, as we learned last week. It happens; it's the nature of development. But what, exactly, is the source of the delay? The team has launched a pre-alpha testing checklist to explain just that. No, it's not the things players have to do before testing; it's what the team has to get completed before the game is ready for its earliest tests. While there are no time estimates available on the unchecked entries, fans can get a good idea just from the chart how far along the development process is. Presumably, more entries will be filled in as they are completed without other fanfare. If you want to have a one-stop spot to see the state of the game in development, check it out for yourself.
Apple reveals the most common reasons that it rejects apps
Apple is such an opaque company that even app developers can be left, out in the cold, wondering why their app was rejected from the app store. Thankfully, the company does have some sympathy for those dejected coders, which is why it's published a list (in full, after the break) of the most common reasons their digital magnum opus failed to pass muster. Thankfully, the biggest reason is simply administrative: if devs fail to provide enough information or a valid demonstration account, then their work will be ignored out of hand. There's no surprises further down the list, either, with most apps getting dumped for buggy code, misleading content or because its name doesn't align with its intended purpose. The only reason that may annoy some is that Apple will turn down an app that doesn't meet its high standards for user interface design -- so you'd better hope that your avant-garde menu items don't alienate Cupertino's QA mavens.
GameMaker Studio gets Xbox One, Windows export this year
Middleware developer YoYo Games announced that it will roll out new export options for its GameMaker: Studio game development toolkit, allowing users to easily port their creations to Microsoft's Xbox One and Windows 8 platforms. Other export-enabled platforms include Windows RT and Windows Phone 8.1, along with "future operating system releases." GameMaker: Studio exports will be available for licensed Xbox developers and ID@Xbox members starting in the fourth quarter of this year. YoYo Games previously announced that it would add a PlayStation 4 export option to its GameMaker: Studio platform for licensed Sony developers. GameMaker: Studio has spurred the creation of several high-profile indie games, including Hotline Miami, Risk of Rain, and Spelunky. [Video: YoYo Games]
Ouya tutorials help you make a game in 20 minutes
With the right tools, Ouya says you can program and publish an Android game in just 20 minutes, and it's offering the online and in-console tutorials to make that happen. Ouya offers a how-to video on the console, accompanying instructions online, and the AIDE app for Ouya, which provides basic Android coding lessons. "Most gamers have, at one point or another, considered making their own game – but don't follow through," Ouya developer relations head Kellee Santiago writes. "The process can be daunting due to lack of proper how-to information, they are intimidated by coding, or they just think it's just too hard overall. But it's not! Your friends at Ouya are here to show you that creating your own game is way easier than you think – and you can pick up valuable programming skills in the process." The promise of developing and publishing your first game in less time than an episode of Bob's Burgers is bold, but apparently doable. We'll prep the headlines now: "The Next Big Game delayed by 20 minutes so developers can start and finish it." [Image: Ouya]
Ever, Jane updates on test builds and the ever-lost hankie
Yes, there is a hankie to worry about in the latest development build of Ever, Jane. Mrs. Hatch's hankie, to be specific. She's lost it before, she's lost it again, and it's up to players to retrieve it, assuming they'd like to curry favor with Mrs. Hatch. The build also adds a number of endgame raiding systems, by which we of course mean the first pass of the game's gossip and sleuthing system, key to the overall social experience of the game. Essentially, the gossip system allows you to craft a few different potential responses to NPCs and to track what other characters are saying about your character. This means that in addition to assassinating or bolstering the reputations of others, you can also try to sort out your own reputation for good or for ill. Take a look at the full update for an explanation of the system, future updates, and other improvements in the most recent build.
Salem releases first major content patch under new management
The colonial perma-death MMO Salem has faced some publisher problems over the last year or so, but indie dev Mortal Moments has swooped in to take over the ambitious project recently. Project Lead John Carver made a formal introduction when the transfer was finalized, but what's even more interesting is the 51-page forum thread that answers many of our burning questions about the game's future. Carver touches on some important points that could get Salem back on MMO gamers' radars: "Some could argue that it has had its day. Some could say that the people have spoken and that the game itself is over, finished, destroyed. But is it? Salem offers the promise of witches and paranoia but currently delivers neither. Salem tantalizes us with the prospects of creatures in the darkness and all that is the unknown in Colonial America, yet we have only argopelters. Salem entices us with the wealth of possibilities afforded by Animal Husbandry, Alchemy, Wagons and Ships, none of which are in the game yet." If these staple features were finally added to the game by this new developer, would potential players give it another shot? Would you? Salem has just released its first major content update under Mortal Moments, and the studio aims to stay true to the game's original plan (no pay-to-win, no PvE servers, etc). [Thanks for the tip, Chrysillis!]
Girls Make Games winners dig into The Hole Story
Top-down RPG The Hole Story landed on Kickstarter this week as the result of the Girls Make Games development camp and competition. The game stars Wendy, an archaeologist that digs into a portal in her backyard and warps through time to an ancient world and must save a princess to find a way back home, all the while armed with her wits and a trusty shovel. The Hole Story is in development by San Jose, California-based independent developer and creators of the Girls Make Games summer camp program, LearnDistrict. The game was concocted by a team of seven young girls aged 10 to 16 known as The Negatives. The young designers won the inaugural Girls Make Games Demo Day hosted in Mountain View, California this past weekend following a three-week camp that included workshops, game jams and teaching sessions geared toward the cultivating the growth of aspiring female game designers.
Microsoft not scrapping plans for retail Xbox Ones to act as development kits
Last year Microsoft announced plans to let every Xbox One become a software development kit at some point. Earlier today, Xbox Advanced Technology Group's Martin Fuller reportedly told the audience at the Develop conference, spotted by Digital Spy, that that was no longer the case. Except that's not quite the case. When we asked Microsoft if the comments were accurate, we were told outright: "The comments today were not accurate." Further, a Microsoft spokesperson said: "We remain committed to ensuring the best possible solutions for developers and hobbyists to create games for Xbox One. We will share more details at a later date."
