Double Fine Adventure Kickstarter Campaign Hits $1 Million

February 9, 2012

Double Fine's Kickstarter campaign for the "Double Fine Adventure" game project has surpassed $1 million. Originally they were asking for $500,000 in funding but within eight hours of launching the appeal they had raked in well over $800,000 for a point-and-click adventure game and a documentary to be filmed by 2 Player Productions. Earlier in the day Tim Schafer said that any money over the initial amount would be used to bring the game to other formats.

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Jeff Vogel: You Can Fight Piracy By Making People Feel Good About Supporting Developers

February 9, 2012

Indie developer Jeff Vogel (whose Spiderweb Software studio recently released Avadon: The Black Fortress) writes an interesting article for GamaSutra today explaining his philosophy on the most effective method for dealing with piracy. The thrust of his argument is that players will pay for easy-to-pirate games because it makes them feel good about supporting a developer.

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Developers Call Facebook Currency Transaction Fee a 'Net Tax'

February 9, 2012

Developers whose platform of choice for game deployment is Facebook say that the social network's mandatory payment system ends up being a "twenty percent net tax" and seriously hurts their margin of profit.

"We thought conversions would go up and be around 15 or 20 percent,” said Kevin Chou, Chief Executive for Kabam, “But it turned out to be around 5 to 10 percent, meaning that we’re taking a 20 percent net tax.”

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Rocksteady Co-Founder Urges UK Government To Offer Tax Incentives

February 9, 2012

Rocksteady co-founder and game director Sefton Hill has called on the UK government to offer tax breaks to game studios before it’s too late. Hill says it is time for the UK to support its games studios to match the benefits offered overseas or risk losing them.

"A lot of my friends have moved abroad to get work; there's a real talent drain," Hill said in an interview with CVG. "Montreal is a central place for development and it's mainly because the tax breaks they give are so phenomenal."

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Double Fine Rakes in over $500k from Kickstarter Funding

February 9, 2012

Double Fine's Tim Schafer and Ron Gilbert have proven that using crowd-sourced funding can be successful. Last night the company launched a Kickstarter page asking the community for $400,000 to create a new point-and-click adventure title. Around $300,000 of that will go towards development, while $100,000 of the money will be spent to create a "making of" documentary series about the game by 2 Player Productions.

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Gamers at Work: Stories Behind the Games People Play Book Released

February 8, 2012

Entertainment Media Council founder Morgan Ramsay has released his new book, "Gamers at Work: Stories Behind the Games People Play." Gamers at Work features 18 interviews with legendary video game creators and entrepreneurs conducted by Ramsay. Through first-hand accounts with the industry's most famous people, the book explores how entertainment software companies are formed, and how they are kept running. Some have succeeded, some have walked away and other have failed abysmally.

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G.A.N.G. Award Nominees Announced

February 8, 2012

The Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.) has revealed all the finalists for the 10th Annual G.A.N.G. Awards -as chosen by its 70-person Advisory Committee. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception received nine nominations in various categories - the most of any game this year.

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Apple Warns App Makers About the Perils of Chart Manipulation

February 7, 2012

According to a Touch Arcade forum user, a company has been offering to boost the ranking of free apps using bots on Apple's App Store. According to a user named "walterkaman," the unnamed company will set up automated and repeated downloads of a client's app in order to push it into Apple's Top Free charts. While the company was not named and the story has - as of yet - remained unverified, it has caught the attention of Apple.

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The Perils of Becoming Owned

February 6, 2012

Rock, Paper, Shotgun points out an interesting list compiled by veteran developer Simon Roth from Frozen Synapse developer Mode 7. The list shows companies that no longer collect any kinds of royalties from games they once had a hand in making. The point of it is to show what happens when a publisher buys out a developer and then kills that developer off.

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TIGA Survey: Studios Focusing on Digital, Social Games

February 6, 2012

According to a developer survey conducted by UK game industry trade group TIGA, only 33 percent of developers in the United Kingdom are working solely on games for traditional retail. Only ten percent of those start-ups surveyed said that retail was their area of focus. The rest, two-thirds according to TIGA, are working on digital or social game properties. TIGA claims that just 33 percent of UK developers now work solely on retail, and based on survey results, estimates that the digital and social games sector will grow by 21 percent every year until 2015.

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'I Feel Used,' Quips Volition's Jameson Durall on Used Games

February 6, 2012

"I Feel Used" quips Volition Designer Jameson Durall in a post on #AltDevBlogADay. In a lengthy post Durall rails against the used games market and how it is "significantly impacting the revenue" developers receive. He talks about how great it is that developers are coming up with new ways to recoup money from the used games market such as online pass codes:

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Alleged Former Software Engineer Claims that Cloning Popular Titles is the Norm at Zynga

February 6, 2012

Someone claiming to be a former Zynga employee in this Reddit thread says that it was the modus operandi of the company to do exactly what it has been accused of by several developers in the last couple of weeks: copy games that were deemed successful.

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Guest Editorial: Kevin Dent on Lolapps v. Spry Fox

February 1, 2012

By Kevin Dent

I started to play Triple Town as of last weekend; I had a blast and even more so when I see that they were actively supporting it with frequent updates. Then I started to hear some rumblings in the industry about how another game basically ripped it off.

Since then, we have seen Spry Fox issue proceedings against Lolapps. Most of us have read about it and shook our heads; I want to take the rhetoric out of it. I wanted to just look at the basic facts.

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Zynga CEO Denies Copying Buffalo Studios' Facebook Bingo Game

February 1, 2012

In an exclusive interview with GameBeat, Zynga CEO Mark Pincus denied accusations that it copied a rival developer's Facebook Bingo game, but also said that social game developers refine and improve game concepts on the market to create the best products.

Over the weekend Santa Monica, California-based Buffalo Studios claimed that the upcoming Zynga Bingo was a cheap knock-off of its Bingo Blitz game, which already has a million daily players on Facebook.

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Angry Birds Maker: Piracy Isn't a Bad Thing

January 31, 2012

While some publishers and developers spend a lot of time railing against the evils of file-sharing and piracy, Rovio is not one of those companies. The Angry Birds creator says that piracy can actually bring new business to companies.

Speaking at the Midem conference in Cannes, Rovio Mobile CEO Mikael Hed said that piracy can actually can create good results.

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Blizzard, Epic and Insomniac Give Survival Talk at D.I.C.E.

January 27, 2012

The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) announced more speakers taking part in the 2012 D.I.C.E. Summit, which will kick off February 8 at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas and run until February 10. The latest speaker list reveals a special panel starring members from Epic, Insomniac and Blizzard. Mike Capps of Epic Games, Ted Price of Insomniac Games, and Frank Pearce of Blizzard will take part in a session to discuss "what it takes to survive for 20+ years in the game industry while maintaining growth and original content." 

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GDC Special Awards Recipients Announced

January 24, 2012

The organizers of the 12th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards (GDCA) have revealed the recipients of two of its Special Awards: the Pioneer Award and the Ambassador Award. The Pioneer Award is given to a developer for creating breakthrough video game genres or concepts that have a lasting impact on the industry. The Ambassador Award is given to individuals who do something that elevates the video game development community and industry as a whole.

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Star Wars: The Old Republic Honored with Accessible Mainstream GotY Award

January 20, 2012

The AbleGamers Foundation has given the 2011 Accessible Mainstream Game of the Year Award to Star Wars: the Old Republic. The charity dedicated to encouraging accessibility of games for players with disabilities says that Star Wars: The Old Republic deserved this year's award because it provided a lot of options for players.

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D.I.C.E. Summit Organizers Reveal New Speakers for 2012 Conference

January 19, 2012

The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) announced three debates to take place at the 2012 D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit. The event will be held at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas, February 8-10, 2012, and feature a line-up of industry leaders, decision makers and visionaries. Kicking off the conference on February 8 (prior to the Keynote Opener) will be the three "Hot Topics" sessions co-moderated by Adam Sessler, host of G4’s X-Play and Perrin Kaplan, Zebra Partners.

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Rest in Peace, Bill 'Phosphorous' Sears

January 16, 2012

Artist, game designer, musician and Digital Eel co-founder William R. Sears passed away recently at the age of 58 due to heart trouble. Specific details on the cause of death were not revealed. Better known as "Phosphorous" in the indie game scene, Bill was a core influence on Digital Eel's games - particularly the trippy artistic style of games such as Strange Adventures in Infinite Space, Brain Pipe, Soup de Jour, Dr. Blob's Organism, and many others.

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Rockstar Veteran Joins RuneScape Maker

January 13, 2012

RuneScape maker Jagex has hired former Rockstar veteran Alex Horton to the new post of chief creative officer, according to a GameIndustry.biz report.

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Firefall Maker Plans SOPA Blackout Protest Jan. 18

January 13, 2012

Red 5 Studios, makers of the upcoming MMO shooter Firefall, have come out strongly against SOPA and PIPA, and plan to go dark for one day on January 18 to protest. The company also announced that, because of the Entertainment Software Association’s support for the bills, it has canceled its E3 booth and plans to skip the show. The shutdown will include all of its websites, its community sites for the game, and the Firefall beta.

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Runic Games Opposes SOPA

January 12, 2012

Torchlight developer Runic Games has officially come out against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA). In a forum thread asking the company for its position on the anti-piracy bills currently before U.S. lawmakers, a Runic Games representative said the following:

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Bethesda's Todd Howard to Keynote the 2012 D.I.C.E. Summit

January 12, 2012

The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) announced today that Todd Howard, Game Director and Executive Producer at Bethesda Game Studios, will be its opening keynote speaker at the 2012 D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate and Entertain) Summit at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas on Wednesday, February 8. Howard will discuss game development and the player experience, in the keynote session titled "Why We Create, Why We Play."

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Riot Games Comes Out Against SOPA and PIPA

January 11, 2012

League of Legends developer Riot Games let us know that they, have officially announced their opposition to controversial legislation under consideration in Congress: the U.S. House of Representatives’ Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Senate’s PROTECT IP Act (PIPA). The company's CEO, Brandon Beck, took to the official forums for the game (which has 11-million-players, for the record) to say that these two bills in their present form are unacceptable:

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GDC Award Nominees Revealed

January 5, 2012

Organizers for the 12th annual Game Developers Choice Awards today revealed this year's finalists, which included Bethesda’s popular action-RPG Skyrim, Portal 2, and Bastion. The three titles had five nominations each in various categories.

Winners in all major categories will be honored at the Game Developers Choice Awards show, on March 7, 2012 at 6:30 PM at the Moscone Convention Center.

The nominees for the 12th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards are:

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Serious Sam: Double D Developer Asks ESA Members to Fight SOPA

January 3, 2012

Nathan Fouts of Mommy's Best Games - the company behind Serious Sam: Double D - has written an open letter to members of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) asking them to urge the trade group to drop its support of SOPA. He also urged gamers, supposedly represented by the ESA and its Video Game Voters Network, to urge the group to drop its support of the bill as well.

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Make the Game 2012 Launched

January 3, 2012

Magazine publisher Computec Media announced details on the second round of its international game developer contest, Make the Game 2012. Indie developers interested in registering for the international browser and social games competition have until April 16 to do so. This year Computec Media plans to invest 1 million Euros in the contest to find the best new browser and social network games. Entries will be judged by a five-member jury of "experts," who will ultimately award prizes to up to three promising games.

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Humble Indie Bundle 4 Generates $2.37 Million

December 28, 2011

The Humble Indie Bundle 4 has ended, and was the biggest bundle offering to date, selling 435,236 bundles for a total of $2,372,194.97. By the end of the pay-what-you-want DRM-free indie games bundle event, the organizers offered a total of 12 games including Nightsky HD, Cave Story+, Gratuitous Space Battles, Jamestown, Bit.Trip.Runner, Super Meat Boy, Shank, Crayon Physics Deluxe, VVVVVV, Cogs, Hammerfight, And Yet It Moves, and a bundle of soundtracks. 

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Women in Games International Atlanta Chapter Opening in January

December 20, 2011

Deborah Thomas, CEO and President of Silly Monkey, LLC (a training company specializing in training games and business simulations) and President of the Georgia Game Developers Association (GGDA), plans to launch the first chapter of Women In Gaming International (WIGI) in the Eastern United States by convening the first meeting at Battle & Brew Food and Games, 279 Powers Ferry Road - Suite H, Marietta, Georgia on January 16, 2012.

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ZenI felt Brutal Legends was a funny & beautiful look at the world of rock from Double Fines point of view. The only parts I wasn't hot for were the RTS bits as it felt forced. Otherwise fantastic.02/12/2012 - 1:34pm
DorthLousPassed 1.5M$. And I'd also say that Brutal Legend is far from being a bad game. I just think it was a few levels under what people expected from the people working on the project.02/11/2012 - 8:25am
TechnogeekBrutal Legend wasn't bad so much as "marketing had no idea how the game actually played", causing it to suffer accordingly.02/10/2012 - 10:38pm
RedMageIt looks the CIA's website has been DDOS'ed. Anon?02/10/2012 - 7:52pm
RedMageBrutal Legend.02/10/2012 - 7:52pm
ddrfr33kHas anything Tim Schafer ever made been of crap caliber? I'm struggling to think of one...02/10/2012 - 7:37pm
GuamishI think it is in good hands. Tim did a game for the GDC award show and that was fun for how short it was.02/10/2012 - 12:22pm
Andrew EisenIt'll be tragic if the game ultimately sucks.02/10/2012 - 12:17pm
james_fudge$1.3 million02/10/2012 - 11:32am
Uncharted NESGermany Says It Won't Sign ACTA [Update: ... Yet]- http://tinyurl.com/7r2twrg02/10/2012 - 11:21am
Andrew EisenDamn. Double Fine's Kickstarter fund has already passed a million dollars.02/09/2012 - 8:16pm
Andrew EisenAudrey didn't quote the sassy parts. Here's IGN's article: http://wii.ign.com/articles/121/1218359p1.html And here's my original post: http://tinyurl.com/7y68a3902/09/2012 - 7:50pm
james_fudgeI hope you some said something sassy! Where's the link?02/09/2012 - 7:46pm
Andrew EisenHey, neat. IGN quoted a blog I had writen only two hours earlier. I certainly timed that one pretty well.02/09/2012 - 7:38pm
Andrew EisenToki Tori has been added to the Humble Bundle for Android.02/09/2012 - 5:11pm
james_fudgeThanks for the heads-up DorthLous02/09/2012 - 4:33pm
DorthLousWill do, my apologies.02/09/2012 - 4:14pm
Andrew EisenI appreciate the heads up but please keep typo alerts to the specific article's comments or PMs.02/09/2012 - 3:33pm
DorthLousThe title says 30, but in the article, the developer says it's like a 20% net tax http://www.gamepolitics.com/2012/02/09/developers-call-facebook-currency-transaction-fee-thirty-percent-tax02/09/2012 - 2:43pm
Uncharted NESIf they actually release Final Fantasy XI for PlayStation Vita, then I will consider buying one.02/09/2012 - 12:13pm

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