Ridiculous Fishing review: Reel nice

Ridiculous Fishing review: Reel nice

Ridiculous Fishing is a game that carries a sad story (cue violins).

 

Vlambeer, the indie studio based in the Netherlands (more violins), was working on an iOS port of its hit Flash game Radical Fishing when the team discovered another games studio had stolen its idea and used it to win acclaim and generate App Store cash.

Animal welfare charity PETA blasts Ridiculous Fishing

Animal welfare charity PETA blasts Ridiculous Fishing

In a rare case of life imitating art, outspoken animal charity People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has condemned Vlambeer's hit fishing-themed casual game Ridiculous Fishing for its enthusiastic depiction of aquatic animal slaughter.

Ridiculous Fishing review (iOS)

Ridiculous Fishing review

It might seem a little pretentious to throw an adjective like ‘Ridiculous’ in a game title. Who’s to say just how ridiculous it is? I mean, it’s fishing after all. But ridiculous is probably the perfect way to describe the premise of Ridiculous Fishing. Players have to drag dozens of fish to the surface on the same hook and then blast them into oblivion with a gun. It doesn’t get much more ridiculous than that. As you learn plaything the game, though, there is a surprising amount of depth behind the absurdity.

how the iPad has changed gaming

Have a look below at how the iPad has changed gaming. You only have to look at recent innovations like having a second screen (Wii U) , experimenting with motion controls (Kinect), and Free to play games spreading onto consoles (Happy Wars on the Xbox360) to see that the iPad did not only create the now-saturating tablet market but also changed the way we consume our games.

(Tech Magazine is available through the iOS App Store for 69p a week, but they were letting you download your first 5 issues for free, well worth it, lots of technological nuggets you may find interesting!)

Critical Consensus: Ridiculous Fishing - A Tale of Redemption

Critical Consensus: Ridiculous Fishing - A Tale of Redemption

Vlambeer's mobile title is highest scoring game of 2013 so far

On paper, the fishing game seems like a pretty ridiculous concept all round. It's a fairly sedentary hobby, epitomised by calm mornings on a chilly river bank, in which the ultimate achievement is to drag a slimy, smelly creature out of its natural habitat before photographing it and either putting it back or stuffing it for the wall of your house.

Ridiculous Fishing, Byrdr and Vlambeer's creative approach to indie marketing

Ridiculous Fishing, Byrdr and Vlambeer's creative approach to indie marketing

"We literally had no clue what we were doing."

For many independent developers raising awareness and generating buzz around a game is a tricky proposition, especially in the increasingly crowded mobile marketplace.

The story behind the smash hit Ridiculous Fishing

The story behind the smash hit Ridiculous Fishing

Has your best idea just been ripped off? Here’s how a small game studio bounced back from a clone attack to make one of the year’s hit mobile games.

Few think of the app stores as hostile, but mobile developers struggle every day to survive in an increasingly crowded market. They cast their lines in murky waters, cross their fingers, and hope players will bite.

Game developer Vlambeer was unlucky. It found a shark in those waters. Now, it has bounced back from a near-fatal cloning incident to claim one of the most popular games on iOS. “For a while, we just lost all faith in creativity as a way to earn a living,” Rami Ismail, one of the two members of the Dutch studio, told us.

Vlambeer’s extreme-sports game, Ridiculous Fishing, launched last month to massive acclaim and sales success. It’s based on the studio’s first-ever title, the Flash game Radical Fishing, which a rival ripped off at an unfortunate time. In July 2011, Gamenauts released a clone called Ninja Fishing just as Vlambeer was preparing to announce its remake.

Rumour: Activision to release Skylanders: Battlegrounds 'mobile starter pack' on iOS

http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPhone/Skylanders%3A+Battlegrounds/news.asp?c=45676
If you're an iPhone- or iPad-toting Skylanders fan, prepare to get excited. An image has surfaced online for an all-new mobile title called Skylanders: Battlegrounds.
As you can see from the image below, the game is part of a "mobile starter pack" that features three Skylanders - Double Trouble, Jet-Vac, and Cynder - a Hidden Treasure item, and a portal.

Yes, it actually contains a portal, which we presume will work via Bluetooth.

This portal means that Skylanders: Battlegrounds should be compatible with all current Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure figurines, as well as the forthcoming Skylanders: Giants toys.

Naturally, the above image could be completely fake, but we've got our fingers crossed that it isn't.

Spyro takes another leap onto the iPad in Skylanders: Lost Islands

http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPad/Skylanders%3A+Lost+Islands/news.asp?c=45605
Activision has just released another iPad title set in its increasingly popular Skylander universe. It's called Skylanders: Lost Islands, and it's a freemium build-'em-up that tasks you with restoring the lands of the Mabu to their former glory.

Top 10 Indie Games Of 2011

From IndieGames.com:

We don't need to tell you that the gaming industry is currently experiencing an 'indie boom' -- the evidence has been piling up throughout 2011, with numerous developers at AAA studios leaving their jobs behind to work on exactly the kind of games they want to make.

You only have to look at the Independent Games Festival record number of entries to know indies mean business this year. This time around, nearly 570 games were entered into the competition, marking an increase of more than 45 percent compared to the previous year.

We say this every year, but we genuinely mean it -- having to choose just ten titles from the incredible batch of indie titles this year was not only next-to-impossible, but also excruciatingly heart-breaking, as we had to knock favorite after favorite off until there were only ten remaining.

But never fear, as a good number of those titles that we close, but just missed out on a top spot, have been compiled below the main list as honorable mentions.

Here are our picks for the top ten indie games of this year:

Essays: The other topics

Need to read up on a topic you did not look at for the exam?
Have a read of the following:

Is Mobile Gaming the future?
Shaun O

Or is Social Gaming?
Max S

Today's consoles - is there anything they can't do?
Tom C

Well done everybody, really pleased with the amount of effort and research that has obviously gone into all of these - the rest of us will find your essays useful reading for when the exam comes around!

Click here for a reminder of the Homework essay tasks

Mr H

F2P Summit: The 15 golden rules of free-to-play

Speaking at the F2P Summit in London this morning, Gamesbrief’s Nicholas Lovell gave an enlightening talk in which he gave the audience his 15 golden rules for free-to-play game design. Lovell is well-placed to advise the delegates at this, the conference’s second year: he advises a number of studios large and small on how to succeed – though he admitted his advice was slightly biased towards mobile because that’s where most of his clients are operating. What follows, though, is not solely of use for those making mobile games, but contains valuable advice for those working elsewhere. The principles are broadly the same, whether on console, PC, Facebook or the App Store.

http://www.edge-online.com/features/f2p-summit-the-15-golden-rules-of-free-to-play-game-design/

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Kinect vs iPad sales

Angry Birds by the numbers

Game of phones

Mobile gaming infographic

The price of free

The economics of Freemium

iOS Games information

 

 



What is a video game?

Before we start our examination of the industry we need to get it straight what it is we are talking about. Please have a read below of the article by Nadia Oxford on http://gametheoryonline.com/

What, by definition, is a “video game?” Earth’s greatest scholars agree that it has something to do with sitting in front of the television and rescuing princesses, usually by way of manipulating a controller that is attached to a game box, which, in turn, is attached to a television.

While that description of a video game isn’t necessarily incorrect, it’s about ten years out of date. Console and PC gaming is still very relevant, but now it’s supplemented by alternative methods of gaming–many of which are free, or at least very easy on the wallet.

When you think of video games, make sure you leave some brain space for its offshoots, including:

Portable Games — It was Nintendo engineer Gunpei Yokoi who realized, as far back as 1980, that commuters might appreciate being able to play electronic games on the go. The Game & Watch series of games was subsequently born, each with its own self-contained game (often an adaptation of an arcade hit) and a built-in liquid crystal display.

In 1989, Nintendo released the Game Boy, a handheld gaming system that could switch out game cartridges. The handheld gaming market exploded from thereon, with Nintendo generally holding the biggest pieces of the pie thanks to hit portable systems like the Game Boy Advance and the Nintendo DS.

Whereas portable games were once simplified versions of console games, or else designed in a way that kept them from using too many resources, modern handheld systems like the Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita are capable of displaying graphics on par with a console. Portable games can be purchased at retail, or downloaded via a system’s specific online store. Portable games are also currently facing a lot of competition from:

iOS/Smartphone Games — The term “iOS game” refers to any game that’s running off Apple’s mobile operating system. iOS games can include titles for the iPad and iPod Touch line of tablets/music players, but it’s most commonly used to identify a game that’s running on the iPhone.

iOS games are typically simpler than console or handheld games; you’ll find a lot of quick distractions and compelling puzzle games. However, the market is quickly becoming more complex, and the general low price of iOS games (which are bought and downloaded via Apple’s App Store–unlike handheld gaming systems, there is no physical media involved) make them good impulse buys.

Smartphones that run on Google’s Android operating system are also a popular choice for on-the-go gaming.

Downloadable Games — Pertains to games that are downloaded from an online store, as opposed to games that are published on a physical medium, like a disc or a game card. Downloadable games can be just as complex as console games that are bought at retail (in fact, PC gamers favour downloading big releases on Steam, a PC-based online distribution platform), though smaller, casual games are very popular, too. Downloadable games are usually cheaper than titles bought at retail. Popular distribution platforms include Steam, Xbox Live Arcade, the Wii Shop Channel, the Nintendo DSi Store, the Nintendo 3DS eShop, PlayStation Network, and the App Store.

Free-to-Play Games — Free-to-play games are, as the name suggests, free to play. Typically, these games run on web browsers, or on iOS platforms. They’re free to download and you can usually play them for as long as you want–though most of these games lock up a certain portion of their content until you pay for said content through an electronic transaction (usually via a credit card). These “microtransactions” are typically a few dollars, though most free-to-play games do offer you the chance to purchase super-cool items for much larger sums of money.

Social/Facebook Games — Social games have made a recent splash in the gaming landscape. Social games encourage sharing between players, and run off social networks as a result, with Facebook being the most popular. Usually, players are tasked with building towards or maintaining a goal, and are rewarded for interacting with each other, and for getting friends to play along, too. Most social games fall under the free-to-play category as well.

Zynga is currently by far the biggest developer and distributor of social games. Some of Zynga’s most popular works include FarmVille, CityVille, and Mafia Wars.

Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs) — MMOGs usually offer a big world for the player to explore. In this world, players can communicate with each other, unite to complete goals, or even compete. MMOGs tend to be deep and complex, with one of the most famous examples of the genre being Blizzard’s World of Warcraft.

Many MMOGs can be played on an Internet browser and cover a multitude of genres. It’s an especially popular market for kids thanks to games like Free Realms (Fantasy), Moshi Monsters (Fantasy/Educational) and NeoPets (Virtual Pets).

Depending on the game, MMOGs can follow the free-to-play formula, or require a monthly subscription from the player. Oftentimes, the game can be played for free until a certain level is reached, and then a subscription is required.

Triple A/”Blockbuster” Games — There’s still a place in the market for big-budget games that spend two years or better in development. These are the high-profile, widely-advertised games that are sometimes referred to as “Blockbuster” games. On a Nintendo console, it might be a new Legend of Zelda game; on the PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360, and/or the PC, it might be a new Call of Duty or Halo title. Blockbuster games tend to be developed with the core gamer in mind, though everyone is invited to enjoy them.