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It's About Time, Folks!
Lack of time is the resource that limits all of us in professional game development, publishing, and licensing. We are always on deadline, always trying to build our network of professional contacts, always jetting around the globe to do our jobs, always looking for good talent, always looking for job or project opportunities, and never feeling like we have enough time for any of it, let alone all of it.
But what if all of us professionals had one place we could go, anytime we wanted, from anywhere in the world, that met all those needs and more?
I can't take credit for this idea because it came from all of you … hundreds if not thousands of you who have shared with me over the years the challenges you face in this industry: publishers who constantly search for new, reliable development and outsourcing partners, but are hampered by the lack of time they have to devote to these efforts; developers and outsourcing companies who are limited geographically and financially from promoting their projects and services to the full range of potential buyers worldwide; licensors who don't even know who the potential buyers of their interactive rights are, except in the very top-tier publishers. And what of all the myriad of businesses that support our industry with everything from public relations work to auditing services?
Everyone cries out that networking is the litany to live by, whether you are looking for talent, searching for the right job, or promoting your company, but no one has approached these challenges from a holistic perspective to try and create a research and networking tool that is specifically designed to serve our industry … until now.
Meet Mr. FOGs, the elite marketplace for the interactive industry.
Mr. FOGs provides the first global online marketplace for the game industry which combines business networking, a bidding platform for projects, job postings, the opportunity to exhibit your project opportunities in a showroom, and a wealth of other functionalities requested by game developers, publishers, and other professionals worldwide. It is a secure environment where you -- as the user -- determine what information is available publicly, and which information is either by invitation only, or restricted to a particular type of registered user (publishers, for example). A joint venture between …
Click here to read the full article
»
Archive of previous columns.
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Location: Port Melbourne, Australia
Focus: Videogame developer
Facts: Creates games involving two separate IPs: “Puzzle Quest” and “Warlords.”
It's not always easy to change course in midstream, but if a developer can recognize shifts in gamers' interests -- and act on them quickly -- it can generate the kind of success that Infinite Interactive is enjoying.
In 1989, Steve Fawkner single-handedly created “Warlords,” one of the first fantasy, turn-based strategy games for PC. After receiving some great reviews -- and the “game of the year” honors -- he founded Infinite Interactive specifically to develop more “Warlords” titles.
Fast forward 14 years to 2003 and all signs are pointing to casual gaming as “the next big thing.” Fawkner decided to dive in headfirst and, in early 2007, released “Puzzle Quest: Challenge Of The Warlords,” a combo RPG-strategy-puzzle game featuring everything that casual gamers enjoy.
“ 'Puzzle Quest' is a very accessible, casual-focused, puzzle game on the surface,” Fawkner explains, “with all the RPG elements I used to play in hardcore games years ago. But now they can be played in bite-sized chunks, 15 minutes at a time. It's that kind of thing that resonates, I think, with gamers who haven't the time to spend hours and hours in a gaming session.”
While the original game was released for the Nintendo DS and PSP, Fawkner has expanded the IP to include versions for Xbox Live Arcade, Wii, Windows, PS2, and mobile.
Next on the agenda are three new games in simultaneous production -- “Puzzle Quest: Galactrix,” a sci-fi sequel to "Puzzle Quest" for Nintendo DS and later PC and Xbox Live Arcade; and “Neopets Puzzle Adventure” with Capcom and Nickelodeon, and “Puzzle Kingdoms,” which combines puzzles with strategy, the latter two both for Nintendo DS and Wii and later PC. The goal is to release all three titles by year-end.
Fawkner says he hasn't abandoned his “Warlords” IP and, in fact, may bring it back in a year or two “to take advantage of the power of nostalgia,” but, for the moment, “Puzzle Quest” and its various spin-offs are his bread and butter.
“Now that our team has grown to 40 -- 60 actually if you include outsourcing -- we're able to create three games at a time and explore the casual genre the way we choose to,” he explains. “Our goal is to see where we can draw lines between casual and hardcore, and find all the lovely little connections between the two.”
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First Peek At Trailer Of Santa Cruz Games' “Tomb Raider: Underworld.”
The trailer for the upcoming “Tomb Raider: Underworld” from Eidos, developed by Santa Cruz Games for the Nintendo DS, was recently showcased on the BBC and is now being featured in the online edition of the UK's “The Sun.”
Scheduled for release on Nov. 21, the latest adventure of Lara Croft has the fearless archeologist in search of the legendary hammer of the Norse God Thor.
Click here for the full story.
Glyphic Preps “Marker Man” For Year-End Release.
Majesco Entertainment Co. expects to release “Marker Man Adventures” for Nintendo DS during the year-end holiday season. Developed by Youngstown, Ohio-based Glyphic Entertainment -- an iPhone-certified developer -- the game challenges players to maneuver the stick figure Marker Man through 150 scrolling world puzzles in his attempt to find his best friend Doodle Dog. Players use the Touch Screen and stylus to draw geometric shapes to create simple machines that help Marker Man advance through level.
Click here for the full story.
Zoo Games Preps For Epic Battles in “Puzzle Kingdoms.”
Zoo Games has just announced that Infinite Interactive's “Puzzle Kingdoms”" for Wii, Nintendo DS, and PC will be available this year-end holiday.
Players will build and manage armies led by heroic commanders to save the world of Etheria from the brink of destruction.
Click here for the full story.
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 Mary Margaret Walker, CEO of recruiter Mary-Margaret.com: “Internships are incredibly valuable, but there are very few internships in the games industry ...”
LISTEN to the interview. |
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Ping us by clicking on the
appropriate link. We are currently
looking for the following:
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Wanted: Developers and publishers seeking non-interactive licensing and merchandising opportunities.
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Wanted: iPhone porting opportunities and iPhone RFPs.
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Wanted: Casual game developers looking for ongoing project flow.
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Wanted: Developers or publishers with open internship positions for college students in game development programs.
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Wanted: Industry veterans seeking to leave a legacy and share their experience with the next
generation.
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FOG Studios, the leading agency for
interactive rights since 1979,
helps:
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Independent developers find
publishing partners and other
avenues to market. |
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IP owners maximize their return
when licensing in the interactive
marketplace. |
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Publishers develop relationships
with world-class brands and top
developers. |
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A Friend Of FOG
Consumer credit and payment fraud, identity theft, online scams, and in-game abuse are limiting the potential and reputation of online businesses. Portland, OR-based iovation -- the leader in device-based fraud management -- can help.
Targeting such markets as Internet gaming, online social networks, and online payment processors, iovation's patented technology builds historical information about every computer used to connect to a Web site. Then the company's ReputationManager device reputation service determines within milliseconds whether an online transaction is coming from a computer that has a history, or has been associated with, fraud to stop abusive and fraudulent behavior from occurring, and shares the device intelligence with other online businesses using the service.
Sites protected by ReputationManager benefit from all methods of fraud detection at every other online business using the system. And, for that reason, iovation is now a Friend of FOG. |
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For more information on a specific
opportunity, click on the
appropriate link: |
| Glyphic Entertainment |
MarkerMan for Nintendo DS; Asian distribution rights available. |
| Steel Monkeys |
2 Days to Vegas for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. |
| Steel Monkeys |
Foreign Legion for PC. |
| Nibris |
Last Flight for Wii. |
| Santa Cruz Games |
Blue Baron for Wii (supports Balance Board). |
| Santa Cruz Games |
Sea Sharks for Wii (supports Balance Board). |
This is not a complete listing of the
opportunities available through FOG
Studios. To request more information on
any of the featured opportunities,
discuss other opportunities exclusively
represented by FOG Studios, or to
determine the availability of any of
our Developer or Service Provider
Clients for your upcoming projects,
please
click here.
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