Itemania

An iPhone/iPod Touch game I've been working on with some friends has been released! Here's our web site: http://anicombo.com

The game is called, Itemania. It's a casual game where you look for hidden items in 9 levels. The twist in our game is that there are some 3d levels too. Fun for the whole family for only 0.99 cents!

For screenshots and videos, please visit the Itemania page.

Here it is on iTunes.

To view the game without iTunes:
http://appshopper.com/games/itemania
http://www.yappler.com/App/68554/Itemania.aspx

Facebook site:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Itemania/128716329487

Please help spread the word. Thanks!

I'll be posting a Post Mortem of the game after a while so please check back again.

The power of LinkedIn

This wasn't exactly the kind of networking I had in mind when I created a profile at LinkedIn:

Not long after I created a profile at LinkedIn.com, someone from GuildWarsGuru.com found it and began a thread speculating what the information I posted revealed about Guild Wars 2. I understand that some fans go to great lengths to glean info regarding GW2 since news has been rather scarce, but I must say that it's strange to suddenly be scrutinized publicly like this.

LinkedIn has become a very popular way for working professionals to network with each other, and it's not unusual for people to try and keep profiles up to date. I don't think I divulged anything in my profile that I shouldn't have, but it's kind of funny to read some of the extrapolations that resulted from it. Anyone looking to me as a source for exciting news is probably barking up the wrong tree. I am just a small fry in the big world of game development.

I came across the thread because I do like to occasionally gauge player feelings from the game even if I'm not really in a position to do anything about it. The things that are said on fan forums can be both gratifying and unpleasant, but it's always interesting to see what folks are saying right after major releases and breaking news.

Dominance War IV

ORIGINALLY POSTED ON ANICOMBO.COM BLOG 2009/03/31

We haven't been able to update this blog lately, but that doesn't mean we haven't been busy! We'll be posting some info on our main project soon.

In the meantime, I've decided to enter this year's Dominance War, the annual 3d modeling and 2d concept art competition, now in its 4th year (I never finished my entry from last year). I was representing 3dTotal last year, but this year I've joined GameArtisans (I have no particular allegiance to any forum- I pick according to what best suits my entry since the rules require incorporating forum colors/logo).

I'm really just looking to take this opportunity to update my portfolio. Here's a link to my thread:
http://www.gameartisans.org/forums/showthread.php?t=8525

UPDATE 6/24

I dropped out of the competition (again). However, my brother made it to the top 75! He didn't place among the finalists, but that's some nice company to be in regardless.

Game Watch - TERA: The Exiled Realm of Arborea

ORIGINALLY POSTED ON ANICOMBO.COM BLOG 2009/02/03

TERA: The Exiled Realm of Arborea (Bluehole Studio, Hangame)
http://tera.hangame.com/ (view with IE if site doesn't load correctly)

Upcoming MMORPG for the PC by Korean developer, Bluehole Studio, and to be published by Hangame, TERA (Project S1) recently debuted at the 2009 Hangame Invitational along with Continent of the Ninth (Studio Cloud 9), Kingdom Under Fire II (by Blueside and Phantagram), and Warhammer Online (Mythic).

So what's the big deal? It looks amazingly awesome, but then again so do a lot of upcoming Korean games. TERA utilizes an exciting, action-oriented gameplay system, but so does Continent of the Ninth, Blade & Soul (NCSoft), Dragon Nest (EyeDentity), and others. What's interesting for me is that the developer, Bluehole Studio, is made up of a lot of former heavy-hitters from NCSoft. I won't divulge anymore than that, but suffice to say this is a very impressive group of developers and the results show it. If western gamers paid any attention to the incredible development of Korean games lately, they would probably liken this to a bunch of ex-Blizzard guys out to make their own blockbuster game... x10.

Manga Recommended: Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou

ORIGINALLY POSTED ON ANICOMBO.COM BLOG 2009/01/18

Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou (by Hitoshi Ashinano).
(also 2 anime OVA series, 2 episodes each)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yokohama_Kaidashi_Kikou

Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou is the story of a robot named, Alpha Hatsuseno, and her daily life in a post-cataclysmic, future Earth. There is no action or drama in this manga, and there isn't really even a beginning or end in the conventional sense. Entire chapters are devoted to Alpha sitting in the café she runs; pondering about the weather and her friends. As uninteresting as that may sound, it's her unique perspective of the world around her that makes the most insignificant occurrences so fascinating.

Game Review - Valkyria Chronicles

ORIGINALLY POSTED ON ANICOMBO.COM BLOG 2008/12/23

Valkyria Chronicles (WOW Overworks/SEGA). PS3 (Sony Playstation 3).
http://valkyria.jp/
http://www.sega.com/valkyria/us/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valkyrie_of_the_Battlefield

What I like:

• Beautiful, watercolor style art. Everything is wonderfully done. Also, there is a cool option to view all the game models (with plenty of background info to read about). The designs for all the uniforms, weapons, and vehicles are fantastic. The characters themselves are deceptively simple, and surprisingly expressive.


• Original Japanese dialogue. It's a shame so many companies leave this out of localized titles... there are many games I've wanted to play, but have not simply for this reason. It's always fun to hear voice actors/actresses from anime lending their voices to games. The subtitles aren't always very accurate, and are tailored for western audiences, but at least it's an option.


• Story. It plays like watching an anime television series. Plenty of nicely done cut scenes, and you can tell that a lot of work was done to flesh out the setting and the inhabitants of this fictional world.

Game Watch - Fragile: Farewell Ruins of the Moon

ORIGINALLY POSTED ON ANICOMBO.COM BLOG 2008/12/12

Fragile: Sayonara Tsuki no Haikyo (tri-Crescendo/Namco Bandai Games)
http://fragile.namco-ch.net/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fragile:_Sayonara_Tsuki_no_Haikyo

Upcoming RPG for the Nintendo Wii by tri-Crescendo, makers of Trusty Bell (Eternal Sonata in the US). From the wiki page:

Fragile is set in a post-apocalyptic near future world that has lost its light and is covered in a dense fog. Almost all the world's population has vanished, and the cities have been left abandoned. The game places the player in the shoes of Seto, a young boy.