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Parody tweeter 'PeterMolydeux' once applied for work at Lionhead
You are following @petermolydeux on Twitter, right? The always pondering parody of the eminent game developer (that imagines things like a "racing game where you only have 2 speeds," or "a creature who can only eat bullets for survival") is one of our favorite characters on the service -- and it only allows 140, remember? Kotaku AU has a lengthy interview with the anonymous Tweeter in question, and though we didn't get the question of who he actually is answered, we get a lot of other interesting information. Apparently, the person behind the account is a real game developer, doesn't always agree with Molydeux's snobby dislike of popular titles, and has recently moved out into pitching his crazy game ideas with full videos and documents rather than just his tweets. Interviewer Katie Williams' website has a few more tidbits from the interview, including the fact that Peter Molydeux once applied to Lionhead Studios. He didn't get the job. He also hints that there may be another parody character on the way: an indie game dev who's "just been fired from a big-name developer, and is declaring war on them by aiming to create the greatest indie game of all time, all within one year." Considering that one of Molydeux's kooky game ideas is being made into a real game, we'd love to hear what that new guy has in store for us.
Babycastles brings its indie arcade action to The Engadget Show (video)
The shuttering of New York's Chinatown Fair back in March marked the end of an era for the city -- a last vestige of a time when social gaming meant more than just logging on to Xbox Live. The arcade experience hasn't completely disappeared form the metropolitan map, however -- in recent years, a new crop of venues have remixed the concept of yesterday's arcades, places like Brooklyn's Barcade, a shrine to 80s gaming machines that does brisk business serving spirits to Williamsburg's 21 and up crowd. Launched in Ridgewood, Queens by game developers Kunal Gupta and Syed Salahuddin, Babycastles takes the re-invention a step further, offering up something between an arcade space and an art gallery.
EA buys Firemint, makers of Flight Control and Real Racing
Here's yet another big iOS developer picked up by a traditional gaming giant: EA has acquired Firemint, the maker of iOS hits Flight Control and the Real Racing series. This is a pretty big purchase, but not a big surprise; Firemint has done work for EA in the past, including a few ports of popular EA titles, and as it has just merged with Infinite Interactive and has a big new title on the way called Agent Squeek, Firemint seemed primed for a connection with a larger company. The last time I talked with Firemint's Rob Murry and Steve Fawkner back at GDC this year, they obviously didn't mention any plans to join up with EA, but they did hint to me that Firemint's future included more traditional console titles -- either versions of their current games for systems like Xbox and PlayStation, or new games entirely. Those plans may be put on hold, however -- EA's press release connects the Firemint acquisition with another purchase of a company called Mobile Post Production, which specializes in porting games across smartphone devices, and says it will use MPP's technical abilities and Firemint's creative skills to kick out high quality mobile games.
Swag Saturday: Reading! [update]
Update: We've closed the comments and will be contacting a winner shortly. Thanks for entering (and keep an eye on your commenter-tied inbox)! We know you're probably asking yourself, "What the heck is this? I want Joyswag to include something coo! Like a PS3 on fire with zombie monkeys coming out of it! What's with this homework junk?!" Well, hear us out. Every single one of you enjoys playing games, right? We're also hoping that in the grand scheme of things, some of you might actually end up making games one day. This is your first step down that road. We're not just giving you swag, we're giving you knowledge. To paraphrase the ancient Chinese proverb: "Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Give him a slew of books about gaming, make him develop a bestselling game." Plus, in the effort of not being entirely boring, about half of these books are actually fun. Here's what you get on the development side: Real-Time Cameras: A Guide For Game Designers and Developers, Artificial Intelligence for Games, Digital Art Masters Volume IV, and 3D Game Textures: Second Edition (complete with a DVD). On the fun side, you get Rogue Leaders: The Story of LucasArts, The Splended Magic of Penny Arcade: The 11 1/2 Anniversary Edition, and Halo Evolutions: Essential Tales of the Halo Universe. Leave a comment telling us what you'll do with your newfound knowledge. You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec -- you know why). Limit 1 entry per person per day. This entry period ends at 3:00PM PT on Sunday, April 11. At that time, we'll randomly select one winner to receive one copy of Real-Time Cameras: A Guide For Game Designers and Developers (ARV $59.95), Artificial Intelligence for Games (ARV: $74.95), Digital Art Masters Volume IV (ARV: $39.95), 3D Game Textures: Second Edition (ARV: $49.95), Rogue Leaders: The Story of LucasArts (ARV $60), The Splended Magic of Penny Arcade: The 11 1/2 Anniversary Edition (ARV: $24), and Halo Evolutions: Essential Tales of the Halo Universe (ARV: $14.99). For a list of complete rules, click here. What is Joyswag? Since we don't keep the games and merchandise we receive for review or promotional purposes, it becomes "Joyswag," which is passed along to our readers. Please note that Joyswag may be in "used" condition. For more info on our policy, click here.
Fallen Earth dev blog explains game's post-apocalyptic religious zealotry
Fallen Earth is a massively multiplayer online game currently in development where, in the wake of nuclear and viral armageddon, humanity's survivors are left to fend for themselves in the wasteland. The scenario painted by Fallen Earth's lore is that the world's established religions have largely burned away or decayed along with most of the human race. What's left are sects whose experiences and hardships in watching the world die are reflected in their belief systems, extreme views that come in various flavors of post-apocalyptic zealotry. As Fallen Earth subscribers, the players will align themselves with certain belief systems when creating their characters, affecting their outlook on the aftermath. In a WarCry exclusive, Fallen Earth writer Grace Hagood explains the game's religious and pseudo-religious elements, and some of the fanaticism embodied by these groups. She writes, "Let's face it: religion is a touchy subject. A lot of game designers would rather steer clear of including religion in their work. However, a game like Fallen Earth, set in a future based on extrapolations of current society, can't ignore the reality of religious extremism. What we can do, though, is use our particular (and sometimes peculiar) filters to present religious fanaticism in a post-apocalyptic framework."
Game industry salaries increased 7% in 2008
Game Developer magazine's 2008 Game Developer Salary Survey features something we wouldn't expect to see: good news. Gamasutra's summary of the survey notes that the average salary for people working in the American game industry (those who still work in the game industry, at least) went up 7% in 2008, from around $74,000 to around $79,000.Business and marketing commanded the highest salary, at an average of $102,143. Programmers had the next-highest average salary of $85,024, followed by producers ($82,905), sound designers ($78,167), artists and animators ($69,532), game designers ($67,379), and QA ($39,571).If you happen to be in one of those upper tiers and you'd like to read the full report, it's available for just $2,995.
Blizzard named 3rd of 50 top developers
Game Developer magazine has done a study naming the top 50 videogame developers in the world, based on "sales and reputation data," and our favorite folks at Blizzard have been named number three on the list, just under Nintendo Kyoto (responsible for Brain Age and Wii Play) and Infinity Ward (most notable lately for Call of Duty 4), and ahead of EA, Valve, Harmonix, and Square Enix.I tend to think this chart is weighed a little bit towards recent sales more than reputation -- as far as I know, Infinity Ward doesn't have a big enough following to actually hold a convention based on their games, and while there's no question that Nintendo has a huge fan following, I'm not sure that it's quite right to include a first party console maker on a list of developers (yes, I know Nintendo Kyoto is a studio, not the company itself, but would the average Nintendo fan on the street know the difference?). Still, lists are lists, and there's no question that all of these developers, Blizzard included, are held in the highest regard by fans of their games.[Via Massively]
Give the gift of Unity
As the Unity team prepares a new 1.2 release with mondo new features, like full-screen graphic effects, and a drop-in FPS controller, just in time for the holidays (hopefully), consider giving the game development tool as a gift. In fact, the Unity site posted a how-to on creating your own boxed version. Just print the templates, grab some scissors and blank media, and voilá! Unity, and perhaps a book on game development, would make any wanna-be game developer in your family happy. Except that most game developers use PC's. And since Unity can only deploy games on a PC, not create them, you might need to pick up a shiny new Mac for that loved one as well. No, I don't work for Unity, but I am a big fan.
