Originally for the Playstation 2, it was something that we used to showcase our “supern” design and development skills .  ‘Bugs of War’ is a game we’ve been enthusiastic about right from its conception and we’re actually currently starting another round of pre-production with the aim of bringing the game to market next year.

So here’s what the game’s all about: “The Bugs Are Coming” – FACT!  Starting off as insects, our game subjects’ DNA has been re-engineered to create the world’s first biological control and eradication team.  Their small size means they can reach the heart of any outbreak and destroy it with shocking efficiency.  And the aim; to wipe out the enemy hordes!  Brilliant1

Why not take a look at the visual demo of ‘Bugs of War’ via the Strawdog YouTube channel, here!

This really positive project helps kids to follow in the footsteps of the Walking With The Wounded expedition to the north pole.  Some 120 schools across the UK participated over 12 weeks with a series of weekly challenges.   Using stepometers, the kids aimed to walk 10,000 steps each per day, tracked against the real expedition, with scores awarded to see which school would get to the top of the leader board.

The kids also got to play our mini game, Polar Bear Rescue which you can play by clicking here!

We thoroughly enjoyed being involved with such a superb cause and you can find out why by clicking here for more information.

Special Skills?
Being able to clearly communicate the vision of your ideas is key.  Many projects often start with a blank sheet. With Video Games, quite literally your imagination is the only limit, but you still need a format and a process to deliver those ideas as a reality. Having a great team is essential to this, otherwise those ideas will only ever be an idea. Oh, and you need to play video games – lots and lots of video games!

What do you think the year ahead holds in store for the industry?
It’s a fascinating time for the video game industry as ‘new’ markets grow in leaps and bounds. The ‘big budget’ video game industry surpassed movie Industry revenues a few years ago, but the recent surge in casual games (such as on mobile devices), makes it an exciting time to be involved in creating new ways for people to play. Keep an eye on the latest offering from Nintendo, the ‘Wii U’, something that will undoubtedly open new paths, and question and challenge others.

Your favourite game of all time?
Too many to choose from! Having had every computer/console since the Spectrum 48k, it’s just too tough to pick one!

Your top tip for success?
Honesty, courage, humility – Be honest in everything you do (Karma is watching after all). Have the courage to push yourself, yet speak up when you need help. Learn from your mistakes.

A great insight into a great team member!  Until next month!

So in response to this, we’ve luanched our dedicated app division, FirstApp, and it’s focused purely on building the next generation of smartphone business applications that will bring the full benefits of mobile communications to forward thinking businesses and their customers.

We are of the opinion that having an ‘app’ shouldn’t be the ’sole preserve’ of large corporate businesses.  Our vision is to empower all types of businesses to choose, configure and deploy their own custom app using our web-based ‘app’ delivery platform.

Already gathering momentum, FirstApp has three corporate apps in development and once these are nearer completion, we’ll give you more information. But until then, for more information on developing your own app’, please get in touch!

News includes:
Our recent move
Our latest Peppa Pig release on the iPad
FirstApp, our smartphone app wing

and much more…read!

Developing a great game is only part of the challenge for game developers in the age of digital distribution. Gamers can’t buy your wonderful game if they don’t know it exists, so getting the word out about your latest and greatest creation has become a vital part of the game development/self-publishing process – and it’s quite a challenge. Big publishers with their multi-million dollar marketing budgets can pay for huge advertising campaigns and arrange expensive press junkets, whisking a hoard of journalists off to a swish venue to demo the game…. followed by a good deal of entertaining.

It’s hard to get noticed

Gamers will know that these big budget games are on the horizon and journalists will write about them because they know there is a ready audience of readers waiting for information. The same can’t be said for the debut title from “Minuscule Studios” as they beaver away on their first ever game. For independent developers with a much smaller/non-existent marketing budget it’s a different story. Blogs, Facebook pages, Twitter Feeds and press releases are all essential tools to build awareness. Of course building awareness in this way takes time -  If people don’t know about you/your game, then they are unlikely to know about your Facebook page either.  It takes time, plus a steady trickle of information, to raise awareness. The hope is that customers will learn about your game and, become interested, and in-turn, tell others about it. Another hoped for outcome is that the gaming press become aware of your game and start to write about it.

Press releases, screen shots and videos sent out to journalists are a great way to let them know you exist. An even better way – and one of the hardest to pull off – is to embark on a press tour and get some real face time with the gaming press. Actually getting to sit down with the press and show them your game can go a long way to boosting your chances of success.

As the latest step in our marketing campaign for Space Ark, our Technical Director Simon Morris has been out and about meeting up with UK journalists, while I have undertaken a US press tour. Simon hit the road first and met with Gamespot UK, FemaleGamers.co.uk, Thunderbolt Games, Brutal Gamer, Electronic Theatre and Girl Gamers UK to show off the latest build of the game.

FemaleGamers.co.uk
“Space Ark is so full of fun, from its bright colours, catchy music, cute characters and wonderfully transformed planets to the sheer addictive pleasure of trying to get as many combos as you can, collect fruit and avoid dying, all whilst bouncing away.”

It’s not easy to get next to even one journalist, let alone a gaggle of them. It takes time, effort and luck. Obviously, as with any business, money can substitute for some of this (you can pay a PR agency to help you). However you manage it though the benefits can be enormous; not only as a result of the increased exposure your game will get. Previews and Reviews are the mainstay of the gaming press but building a good relationship with the press can lead to interviews, developer diaries and assorted other features that will all help to raise awareness of your game.

Brutal Gamer
“Space Ark is a lot of fun. It’s childish and silly but it’s brilliant and incredibly addictive. Completionists and people who like to compete will be in their element here”

It’s not just about gaining exposure

A press visit is not just about giving out information – its a two way process. Getting hands-on the game with the game developer helps the journalist get a better insight into the game. Any questions can be answered and almost as importantly they can see the passion that the developer has for the game. It is also a great way to get independent feedback on your game. Journalists are gamers too and as such they are an excellent source of feedback. Importantly they aren’t invested in the game in the same way that the developer is, which means that their comments and feedback will likely throw up any quirks or problems that the developer may have got used to during the development process. These problems will be thrown into sharp relief when the journalist point them out.  Hopefully you will also get to see them reacting positively to all the great parts of your game as well.

For the second leg of our press tour I flew out to San Francisco to meet with members of the US gaming press including OXM, IGN, Gamespot, Team Xbox, CVG, Gamepro and Giant Bomb, G4, Game Trailers, EGM & Gaming Evolution.

Gamepro
“I must’ve been playing Space Ark for at least the amount of time that Marchant had spent telling me how to play it, but I didn’t even notice. The game is that fun. I was actually kind of bummed out when he wanted to switch to multiplayer because I wasn’t ready to share, in a way.“

As a result of the visits we gained some great insights into Space Ark; a game that we have all become very close to internally. As a result we were able to make final changes to the game before submitting a final version to Microsoft for certification.  It was also really gratifying to have people confirm the  addictive nature of the combo and bonus fruit collecting, the desire for players to beat their previous scores (and those of their friends) and the insanely frantic multi-player mode.

CVG
“Do you remember when games were jolly? When the key to success wasn’t how angry you could make your protagonist, or how many shades of brown you could coat the walls with? 20 years ago all you needed was a bright blue sky, happy animal hero and a crap-ton of fruit to collect – Space Ark resurrects this spirit.”

All in all a very rewarding and enjoyable experience. Now we just need to get the game finished and released.

This week’s GTKYD features Paul Smith, from Strawdog Studios. They’re an indie game developer from the UK who create some unique and addictive games for the Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 3, iPhone and PC. Space Ark is a new Xbox LIVE Arcade game you can look forward to soon from Strawdog Studios. Read on below to learn more about Paul’s role in Strawdog Studios and get a sneak peek at what games are the works and coming soon!

“All told, Wet is a man who vomits on you on the bus and doesn’t even say sorry.”

Obviously as a developer I feel for the guys who worked to make the game. I know only too well how many factors outside of the developers control can result in a game failing to meet its design goals. Having said that, gamers do need to know and if you are going to put yourself/your game out there you need to take the resulting knocks.

I don’t think I have enjoyed a review quite as much since the 1992 release of Domark’s AV8B Harrier Assault for Amiga (developed by Simis). After all these years most of it is long forgotten but the line in the review which bemoaned the slow frame rate is forever burned into my mind…

“If i chopped my legs off and nailed the stumps to the floor, I could still run round the block faster than this game.”

The updates include the launch of a free Lite version, and an update to the main app (with a special offer price of 99 cents.)

Full App updated to version 1.1
The game, which has users race against the clock to guide a rubber duck around a pool, avoiding hazard and collecting flags, has been updated to version 1.1 which includes:
* Global high scores – post your scores to see how you compare against everyone else
* Freeplay mode – play with the water, double tap the screen to feed your duck
* Improved Duck controls and bug fixes.
* Special offer price of 99 cents

App store link: Turbo Duck full app

Free Lite version launched
The free version contains:
* 3 levels of watery fun plus
* Freeplay mode – play with the water, double tap the screen to feed your duck
* Turbo Duck now even more turbo charged!
* Even more special price – Free

App store link: Free Lite version of Turbo Duck