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The price of independence: What it really costs to be an indie developer
Will Stallwood is a gambler. He's had the same addiction for years, yet he's never stepped foot inside a casino.He's never found himself hunched over a table fitted with worn green felt, sliding his last two chips between sweaty, shaking palms. He's never felt the sick dread as a slot machine whirs through its final frame; he doesn't know if he prefers red or black. Stallwood has been addicted to gambling on the success of his indie studio, Cipher Prime, since its triumphant launch of Auditorium in 2008. But this year feels different. This year Stallwood feels as if his lucky streak may finally be running out.Cipher Prime isn't an unknown team of novice developers working out of a garage, but that doesn't mean they're rolling in dough either. Its previous titles were successful, but after a deal went raw with Fractal's publisher, Zoo Games, Cipher Prime was stuck with a rushed title and more debt than it ever expected.Stallwood and Cipher Prime co-founder Dain Saint had to legally fight for the rights to their own game, eventually getting them back more than 200 days after Fractal launched on the App Store. Saint and Stallwood were understandably turned off of the old-school publishing route."We were not a fan of the publisher model before, because it just covers development and we never see royalties no matter how good the game goes," Stallwood said. "Now, we're just completely sour to the whole thing. We're not completely opposed if it means the difference between making games or not, but if there is any way we can avoid it and still make games, we're certainly going to try."Cipher Prime has found another way -- it hopes -- with Kickstarter.%Gallery-148865%
UPenn's PhillieBot throws out first pitch, Skynet calls for a reliever (video)
We'll hand it to the University of Pennsylvania -- mixing robotics and sport definitely isn't easy. But in the heart of Citizens Bank Park today, the so-called PhillieBot came close to generating a universal chorus of boos after it failed to successfully toss a first pitch to the Phanatic. We're guessing it'll be wound up a bit more before trying again; after all, it's not like Philly needs another reason to pelt an otherwise lovable character with vitriol (or snowballs).
Make Philadelphia in LittleBigPlanet, win a PSP Go
Geekadelphia, arguably the best Philadelphia-centric tech and entertainment blog around, is hosting a pretty clever contest. The site is giving away a PSP Go and a $50 PSN card to the amateur engineer who can create the best representation of the City of Brotherly Love in LittleBigPlanet. Geekadelphia is accepting entries (limit one per person) until March 10 -- three days later, the site will reveal the winner at a chiptunes dance party at Philly's Studio 34. Check out Geek's announcement for more information about the contest. Get a move on, though -- we've already started crafting our auto-play music level of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air intro.
Philadelphia wants to buy Earthlink's former hardware, keep municipal WiFi dream alive
It never came to pass. Philadelphia's city-wide WiFi plan was announced in 2006 and then, after struggling on for two years, died when Earthlink decided it wanted nothing to do with muni wireless. A private company called NAC bought the hardware last year and now the city wants to buy it from them for $2 million. The Mayor's Office pledges to "provide free internet in targeted public spaces," which is somewhat less aggressive than the previous city-wide reach, but ditching the $20/month that Earthlink was asking seems like a fair trade. The only question now is exactly which spaces will be targeted, and if South Street Philly Bagels doesn't make the list that's a damn shame.
New cards and big tourneys at Darkmoon Faire Philly
We didn't have anyone on hand to head out to the WoW TCG Darkmoon Faire in Philly this past weekend (although I was able to make the Chicago stop earlier this year), but worry not if you didn't make it, because the web guys over at Upper Deck's official site did a bang up job of covering all the activities over the weekend. From player tournaments to all the different decks that were played with, they've got the whole thing online, top to bottom. This was apparently the first event where the Fires of Outland set was playable, so they have a good piece up about that. And they even showed off some new cards, including a Dreamstate card from the March of the Legion set due in November.Upper Deck has also posted a preview of the cards coming in the special Feast of Winter's Veil giftset, and it is kind of funny to see that the (once-)dreaded AV snowball has received a card of its own. And Mistletoe is in the game as well, taking two player heroes out of their turns for a little "let it snow" action (while giving them both a new card to play with). Fun stuff from the TCG, whether you're a diehard collector or not.
Philadelphia mayor caught camping for an iPhone
If we ran the world Philadelphia, it's highly unlikely that we'd camp out in the dismal rain for an iPhone like all those "normal citizens," but we've got to give props to John F. Street for roughin' like the rest of us. Apparently, Mr. Street set up shop earlier this morning and made up his mind to brave the inclement weather in order to be one of the first to snag an iPhone. Currently, he's waiting patiently along Ranstead St. at 16th St. in Center City to be third in line to purchase an iPhone from the AT&T store, and while we're sure such an influential character could have just paid someone off to do the waiting for him, the reward will be that much sweeter when 6:01PM rolls around.Update: Looks like the media descended on the mayor and the dude took off about an hour ago! Looks like someone else has his spot in line (now word on whether he's waiting for the mayor), but we'll have an update in our lineblog shortly.
Even Mayors have to wait in line for the iPhone
You would think being the mayor of the 5th (or 6th, depending on who you ask) largest city in the country would mean not having to wait in line for an iPhone, but you would be wrong. That's Philadelpha's own Mayor John Street, on line here in Center City waiting for an iPhone (he is third in line at the AT&T store).Does this mean that iPhone day is officially a holiday here in the City of Brotherly Love?Thanks, Thad.Update: The Mayor has left the line, folks. Don't worry though, he left an aide in his stead. Thanks to Janice for the update.
Gratis RFID umbrellas track movements, excite marketers
Dutch Umbrella -- a startup focusing its efforts in and around the city of brotherly love -- is looking to take the idea of courtesy umbrella rentals to a new level by incorporating RFID tags and marketers. Currently, the firm has landed eight partners that will toss logos on the stark white umbrellas and utilize the tantalizing tracking information that gets recorded each time a rainy day encourages patrons to grab some cover. Merchants are required to pony up $100 per month in order to receive the marketing intelligence, and can then use it to determine where umbrella carriers go once the downpour begins in order to better position future ads. Unfortunately, we tend to hear that It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, but there's probably not much truth to that.[Via DailyWireless]
Horizon partners with Navini to spread WiMAX across Northeast US
Following up on Sprint's announcement to spread the WiMAX love to Chicago and Washington, D.C., Horizon is looking to broaden that area of coverage out just a bit by partnering with Navini Networks. This news comes after the FCC approved Horizon's purchase of the WCS A Block spectrum previously owned by the diminishing Verizon, and now the firm is looking to deploy the wireless goods in "Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Richmond, and Cincinnati" for starters. Horizon has selected Navini's 802.16e equipment to get things up and running, and states that its objective it to "provide wireless last mile access to residential, business, and emergency restoration markets," but folks in rural areas will seemingly get shunned for now. Horizon isn't wasting any time getting this thing started, either, as it plans to start building the network in Q1 of this year, with hopes for "ongoing expansion and additional network deployments in the latter part of 2007."[Via TheWirelessReport]
Video Games Live seats in Indy up for sale
Tickets are now on sale for the two Video Games Live shows planned in conjunction with Gen Con Indy Friday & Saturday, August 11-12.After a stop in Philly earlier this month, the VGL tour is moving on to Houston July 14th, Chicago August 5th, and then Indianapolis the weekend after that. More on reserving seats for the Hilbert Circle Theatre can be found on the official announcement page (via the pic to the right or the Read link below).Judging by the reviews of the Philly show so far, Video Games Live sounds like it could be a lot of fun. If they keep providing public access to Guitar Hero II, they may have sold this blogger on going already. We hope Midwestern gamers not attending the Chicago show can make a pitstop in Indy to keep Tommy's show on the road. So, yeah ... rock on.See also: Official VGL report from Philly (with some local links to boot) Video Games Live ticket purchases opened a bit early The official page for Gen Con Indy PS2 impressions: Guitar Hero II
Video Games Live starts ... damn, in 3 hours! [update 1]
I'm walking out the door now, but wanted to remind any Philadelphians that Video Games Live is going down at the Merriam Theater (on Broad St., just south of City Hall) at 8pm. There will be stuff going on before and after the show, in addition to the show itself, so if you feel like making a night of it, tickets should still be available at the door.As promised, I'll* be meeting up with a couple readers at dive bar extraordinaire, McGlinchey's, just around the corner at 259 S. 15th Street around 6PM. If you're looking for a cheap beer, a round or two of Metroid Prime: Hunters, and a whooping smoke-induced cough before the big show, this is the place to be. Look forward to meeting anyone attending!*I'll be the tall dork with a Joystiq shirt on and a now super-lame DS Phat.[Update: Chris will be meeting peeps at 6PM, not 7PM as previously stated. The time of this update is 6:15PM, so you're already 15 minutes late dammit! -Conrad]
Video Games Live hits Philly tomorrow
The previously canceled but now resuscitated Video Games Live show is ready to play its third show to date at Philadelphia's Merriam Theater in Center City tomorrow night. Like their show at GDC in March, this one is tied to a popular event -- namely Wizard World Philadelphia -- giving them a built-in audience who've already traveled to the city. The GDC show in San Jose sold out, no doubt as a result of the hoards of gaming geeks and industry insiders around, but there are still tickets available in Philadelphia (comic book geeks, what's up?). In addition to the great music, the pre-show festival includes a costume event and a special meet and greet. Philadelphia attendees include Marty O'Donell (Halo), Jason Hayes (World of Warcraft), Martin Leung (Video Game Pianist) and me! Alright, maybe I'm not a celebrity, but I'll be there with a handful of Joystiq t-shirts so if you see me*, ask for one. If there's enough Philly readers going (c'mon guys!) it might even be fun to meet up before hand, play some Metroid Prime: Hunters, you know the deal.*I'll be the tall guy with a Joystiq shirt on!
City Council unanimously approves Philly WiFi
Following unanimous approval by city council, the only remaining impediment between the City of Brotherly Love and ubiquitous wireless Internet access is a signature from Mayor John Street that, given his stance on the project, seems to be just a formality. Once Street gives the go-ahead, Earthlink will begin deploying its 15-square-mile test network in parts of North and South Philly, after which point the company will have the option of backing out should they be unhappy with the results of the trial. Assuming that all goes well, the city's entire 135-square-miles should be covered by glorious, data-rich signal sometime in the third quarter of 2007, which is when Earthlink and other ISPs will begin offering $20-a-month access with 50% discounts for low-income households. Besides creating a more attractive destination for businesses and tourists, the citywide network may also help convince U.S. Olympic Committee officials to choose Philadelphia as the country's representative to battle it out with other international cities seeking to host the 2016 Games.[Via The Wireless Report]
