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'Shovel Knight Dig' takes the adventure underground
There's finally an honest-to-goodness follow-up to Shovel Knight in the works. Yacht Club and web game developer Nitrome are working on Shovel Knight Dig, an "all-new" tale for the spade-wielding warrior. The premise is thin -- Drill Knight has stolen your loot as he threatens to collapse the land beneath your feet, and it's your job to save the day by venturing underground. The creators promise a string of new game mechanics, though, most notably the ability to dig and slash your way downward. Only appropriate given the character, isn't it? You'll see new "Speed Shovel" mechanics to match.
Rovio lets loose Stars publishing program for third-party games
Rovio is entering the mobile publishing arena through its Rovio Stars initiative, which will cover the whole spectrum of publishing duties such as marketing and PR. Rovio will even consult with developers to help them optimize their games prior to launch. Budding developers can already submit their mobile works to Rovio Stars through a handy application page, though all applicants must have a playable build to present. Screens, videos and other supplementary materials are also encouraged, as it provides Rovio with a better sense of the overall game. As of now, Rovio Stars has recruited two games: Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage from Longdon-based Nitrome (based on the Flash version) and Tiny Thief from Barcelona indie outfit 5 Ants. The latter is due sometime this summer, while Icebreaker's mobile release is tentatively scheduled for "soon" on the official site.
Rovio launches Stars publishing program, names initial third-party games (video)
While Rovio still leans very heavily on one game franchise for its success, there's no question that it's a big company these days -- big enough, in fact, that it's venturing into publishing for the first time. Its new Rovio Stars division will look for a handful of promising third-party games to support, giving them both the resources and exposure needed to shine. The first titles to make the cut are Nitrome's upcoming puzzler Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage and 5 Ants' Tiny Thief. We don't know if Rovio's guiding hand will be enough to give these games a major boost, but we can get a taste of what's to come through the Icebreaker trailer after the break.
CSS Animation to replace need for Flash in MobileSafari? Not likely
New nightly builds of Safari's bleeding-edge doppelgänger, WebKit, are getting some new support for CSS animations -- support that's already available in MobileSafari. The animations, which include a falling leaves effect, a way to simply animate objects sliding across the screen, and a "pulse" effect (described as "the new <blink>") are all supported by WebKit. The WebKit blog shows code examples about how to use these behaviors in your own sites. MacRumors's Arnold Kim suggests that Apple may be looking to obviate the need for Flash on the iPhone and iPod touch through the implementation of web tools like CSS Animation. I would argue that while CSS is powerful, getting Flash on the iPhone is about one thing and one thing only: Games.
