Friday, January 31, 2014

Build It! Miami Beach Resort Free On Mobile For One Week

Masterminding one of the biggest party cities in the country just got a whole lot easier as G5 Entertainment announces a week-long promotion offering their hit city-building/time management game, Build It! Miami Beach Resort, for zero dollars. Anyone short on cash and looking for a free game to flesh out their mobile library might want to grab the title while they can. 

To be clear, we’re not talking about the lite version of the game here. This is the full version of Miami Beach Resort, free of charge, between now and Jan. 26. The game is ready to roll on a plethora of mobile platforms, including iOS, Google Play, Kindle Fire and the Nook. Have all of those devices readily available? Go crazy and download it for all of them. We won’t tell. 
For fans of the time management and city-building genres, you have a pretty good idea of what you’re getting into with Build It! Miami Beach Resort. You’ll start off with limited funds and resources and have to determine where to focus your efforts in order to craft your resort into the type of beachfront paradise you want to call home. 
The MBR campaign consists of 60 levels, each one covering a single year of your character’s life in the resort business. The initial setting is the 1920’s, where you’ll begin your journey with some basic bungalows. 


“As you advance, you will get to construct glittering hotels, fabulous restaurants and chic boutiques, but you’ll also need to manage repairs, deliveries, remodeling and much more,” reads the announcement from G5. “Design everything you can imagine on a big scrollable map and ensure that your vibrant city offers diversity, arts, culture, fashion and gastronomy.” As you progress in the game, you’ll be required to complete a growing number of construction tasks, as well as achieve three goals per in-game year. You’ll have to figure out a good balance of amenities and money-making ventures, too. For instance, parks, volleyball courts and recreation facilities won’t generate revenue on their own, but they’ll provide more and more reasons for tourists to visit your resorts, bringing additional money to your other establishments. According to G5, you’ll “have to plan ahead to make your resort both profitable and attractive.” Along with the game’s 60 levels, there are 32 achievements to unlock, 18 buildings to construct and a massive map for you to expand your resort empire. Even if you’ve never given the genre a try, this one might be worth a look-see, as it’s free for a week across just about every mobile device known to man. Check it out foriOS or Google Play, or simply look up Build It! Miami Beach Resort on your Nook or Kindle. 

Royal Revolt 2 Invades Mobile Devices In February

It’s been a long time in the making, but flaregames has finally announced a release date for their upcoming mobile game, Royal Revolt II: King vs. King is nearly ready to roll, with a closed beta currently underway. For those of you waiting to start the battle, look for the official launch on Feb. 27 for iOS smartphones and tablets. With only a few weeks to get everything ship shape in time for its late February release, flaregames is inviting select members of their Royal Revolt community to try out the new game before unleashing it upon the masses. Like its predecessor, flaregames has stated that King vs. King will also be a free download and, for those of you feeling left out on the Android, a release for your platform should come just a week later. Still feeling a little bummed that you have to wait seven extra days? Then perhaps you will find some solace in the fact that your version of the game will come with some undisclosed additional content to celebrate the second anniversary of Google Play. Don’t worry, iOS crowd, I’m sure said content will be added to your version of the game, too. “Like its predecessor, Royal Revolt II brings new momentum to the tower defense genre,” reads a statement from flaregames announcing the impending release and the new beta. “Royal Revolt reversed the tower defense genre by putting players in the role of the attacker instead of the defender. The successor also brings a unique innovation to the genre. For the first time, players take on both roles, attacking and defending.” 
I could be wrong, but I think what’s described above is your basic strategy game, not dissimilar from what you’d see in a battle taking place in StarCraft or even League of Legends. How will you best defend your own base? Which soldiers will work best against your opponent. Rather than worrying about just one side of the battle, King vs. King will have you juggling both, pushing forward to overthrow your opponent while simultaneously bolstering your own defenses. Royal Revolt II is shaping up to become the unique strategy game e hoped it would become,” said flaregames Managing Director Pete Walentin. “We are super excited and can’t wait to see the battle starting. We have taken our time to build the best possible experience for our millions of Royal Revolt fans. On top of this, we already have a long list for more content and new features to extend the whole gaming experience.” If nothing else, you’ve got to give them points for enthusiasm and post-launch support. The original Royal RevoltKing vs. King, it sounds like this latest offering will be taking everything fans love about the series and just heaping more of that into the mix. We can all find out for ourselves when the game launches for iOS on Feb. 27, and a week later for Android. 

Zynga Acquires NaturalMotion While Laying Off 15% Of Workforce


If you've been keeping a close eye on middleware, you may have noticed that one company was doing some pretty neat stuff throughout seventh gen to help cut development costs in key areas, such as behavioral AI and procedural animation. Well, the company behind amazing tools such as Morpheme and Euphoria is now under the handle of Zynga... the same company that gamers wanted EA to bury.

It was announced today that Zynga has acquired NaturalMotion for $527 million dollars. The acquisition comes with unsettling news, though, as Zynga is also reducing their workforce by 15%.

In a detailed article on GamesIndustry.biz, new CEO of Zynga and former front man of the Xbox brand, Don Mattrick, had this to say about their newly acquired asset...
"We believe that bringing Zynga and NaturalMotion together is the right step at the right time,"

"Our acquisition of NaturalMotion will allow us to significantly expand our creative pipeline, accelerate our mobile growth and bring next-generation technology and tools to Zynga that we believe will fast track our ability to deliver more hit games. Their creative portfolio aligns perfectly with our content strategy as Zynga will now have five top brands and capabilities in the Farm, Casino, Words, Racing and People categories."

Keep in mind that NaturalMotion's acquisition wasn't really for their middleware tools. While other game studios went to the software tools maker to license software for games like Red Dead Redemption, Grand Theft Auto IV, Grand Theft Auto V, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and Max Payne 3, Zynga wants them for their mobile games.

That's right, Zynga acquired the studio consisting of 260 employees for their mobile games such as CSR Racing and Clumsy Ninja.

NaturalMotion was also behind the console release of Backbreaker, the football game that was designed pretty much as a showcase for the Euphoria engine and for their patented animation blending techniques and procedural adaptive motion physics.

Now, this doesn't mean that Zynga is only in it for the mobile department (although, that seems to be heavily implied), some hope that perhaps NaturalMotion's middleware won't go to waste simply for their mobile brands, but instead Zynga will continue to use the grade-A design tools to license out to other studios (without raising the price of licensing, of course).

The troubling part about it is that Mattrick seems in it to win it, and doesn't mind letting go of key staff to stay light and nimble, stating...
"When we reviewed the support areas and looked at what was an appropriate size to have agile, dedicated teams, we decided to redeploy and right size against our best opportunities for growth,"

"We don't take these decisions lightly but we believe these actions will allow us to create a clearer, faster path to win."

My goodness... we should start a Kickstarter for the headstone of NaturalMotion.

Hopefully it's not as bad as it looks and the middleware company will continue to operate and help elevate the interactive entertainment society as they have been doing for the past couple of years. Bah, who am I kidding? How much do you think that headstone will cost? 

Fresh Meat: 10 new Android apps worth checking out

New apps need lovin’ too, right? Every day there are thousands of additions to the Google Play Store, but many go unnoticed and never receive the attention they deserve. We’ve shown in the past that this community can discover great apps and launch them to new heights. Our weekly column Fresh Meat highlights new apps with less than 100,000 installs. Browse our new Android app picks below and let us know which ones you enjoy.
Stack Exchange
Stack Exchange
392 ratings
by Stack Exchange
5,000 - 10,000 downloads
Appears in a list of The Holo Deck

Olympic TV
Olympic TV
139 ratings
Discover more apps with Playboard for Android

Thingiverse
Thingiverse
46 ratings
by MakerBot Industries, LLC
1,000 - 5,000 downloads
Discover more apps with Playboard for Android

Energy Bar
Energy Bar
882 ratings
by IJP
10,000 - 50,000 downloads
Appears in a list of Apptastic fantastic! 

THX tune-up Promo
THX tune-up Promo
44 ratings
by THX Ltd.
10,000 - 50,000 downloads
Discover more apps with Playboard for Android

Postmates
Postmates
14 ratings
by Postmates Inc.
1,000 - 5,000 downloads
Discover more apps with Playboard for Android

TF Profile – Profile Scheduler
TF Profile - Profile Scheduler
39 ratings
by Today is Future
1,000 - 5,000 downloads
Appears in a list of Andronify

Super Bowl XLVIII Game Program

Dash
Dash
189 ratings
by Dash
10,000 - 50,000 downloads

Auto Answer – Whistle & SMS
Auto Answer - Whistle & SMS
451 ratings
by DreamBit
5,000 - 10,000 downloads
Appears in a list of A LITTLE OF THIS AND THAT

Stack Exchange
Description: Stack Exchange is a network of 100+ question and answer communities on everything from software programming to cooking, photography, and gaming.

Olympic TV
Description: Olympic.tv App, using the Olympic Video Player (OVP), is an exciting live video service, enabling users to watch live and on-demand video of all competition sessions at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games (live competition during Feb. 6, 2014 – Feb. 23 2014).
Thingiverse
Description: The Thingiverse app lets you browse Thingiverse from the comfort of your phone. See what we’ve featured, what’s new and noteworthy, what the community has made, and what’s popular. When looking at the things themselves, scroll through beautiful slideshows of photos. Like items, add them to your collections and quickly share them to your social networks or email.

Energy Bar
Description: Adds a configurable Energy Bar at the top of your screen indicating current Battery level. And just when you think, such a simple bar can display such a crucial information, try plugging in your charger – you’ll be amazed by the details of the animation you’ll see.

THX
Description: THX tune-up is a two screen app that helps you check and properly adjust your TV, projector and speakers so you get the most out of your home entertainment system.

Postmates
Description: Order groceries from Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s or Safeway. Get personal care items and prescriptions from Walgreens, CVS, Duane Reade and many others. Enjoy the best breakfast, lunch or dinner with deliveries from virtually any restaurant in New York, Washington DC, San Francisco or Seattle!

TF Profile
Description: TF Profile lets you change volume, wireless and other phone settings quickly and easily. Simply set and forget! Activate profile by just a click or by conditions (Date, Time, Headset in, Headset out, Power on, Screen on, Battery level, Charging…)

SB 48
Description: The National Football League presents the Official Super Bowl XLVIII Interactive Game Program. The app has everything you need to know about the AFC Champion Denver Broncos and NFC Champion Seattle Seahawks plus video highlight recaps for every week of the 2013 season!

Dash
Description: Dash connects your smartphone to your car with a simple, low-cost device which you can install yourself – simply reach under your steering wheel and plug in in! No mess, no mechanic, no problem.

Auto Answer
Description:  Use “Auto Answer” simple and automatic speed dialer, it’s available always, just lift the Notifications Bar and dial with a single click. A unique way to answer your incoming calls hands free. Just Whistle and Start Talking!!!!