MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Indies around the world are working on innovative tablet games, but only five have been shortlisted for Selected Projects, a competition run by Game Connection.
All of these games will be demonstrated at Game Connection America from Monday, March 17th to Wednesday, March 19th at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, San Francisco – just down the road from GDC 2013.
Yesterday, we looked at the five Console & PC Hardcore finalists. Today, we turn our attention to the Tablet Handheld category.
ÆRENA (CLIFFHANGER PRODUCTIONS GAMES)
Country: Germany
Website: www.cliffhanger-productions.com
Platforms: Tablets, Smartphones, PC
What they looking for: Publishing, Distribution, Marketing & PR
Budget needed for completion: $400,000
Estimated development time before completion: 4 months
From the creator of Shadowrun Online comes cross-platform turn-based combat title Ærena. Described as “speed chess meets League of Legends meets trading card games”, the title sees players choose a hero and build up their skills through a series of 3D battles, either fighting against other players or tackling the single-player campaign. In addition to its unique setting, dubbed ‘Ætherpunk’, the major selling point is the ability to play across multiple devices.
THE DETAIL (RIVAL GAMES)
Country: Finland
Website:www.rival-games.com
Platforms: Tablets, PC
What they looking for: Publishing, Distribution, Investment, Marketing & PR
Budget needed for completion: $445,000
Estimated development time before completion: Five to 11 months (episodic releases)
The Detail is positioned as a realistic crime series in which players investigate drug trafficking and homicide. Their choices dictate the course of the branching narrative throughout this 2D point-and-click adventure. Blending the styles of graphic novels and TV crime dramas, The Detail will be rolled out episodically, with Season One’s arc working its way up from street crime to city-wide money laundering and corruption.
BLOCK AMOK (ALL CAPS GAMES)
Country: Denmark
Website: www.allcapsgames.com
Platforms: Tablets, Smartphones
What they looking for: Marketing & PR
Budget needed for completion: $0
Estimated development time before completion: One month
Already in beta, Block Amok is a free-to-play puzzle title that revolves around knocking down an endless stream of buildings. Levels are procedurally generated in a similar way to those of endless runners, while hand-crafted puzzles will also be made available as daily challenges to keep the experience fresh. All Caps claims this is the first time the popular endless runner genre has been combined with physics based puzzling, and is hoping this mix will appeal to a wide audience.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0Si7W-Q_3w
LAST INUA (GLOWFORTH)
Country: Estonia
Website:www.glowforth.com
Platforms: Smartphones, Tablets
What they looking for: Marketing & PR
Budget needed for completion: $0
Estimated development time before completion: One month
This platform adventure game puts gamers in control of two characters: a father and his supernaturally gifted son. The father is able to pull of a range of powerful physics attacks, while the weaker son has magical powers that will be key to progression. They must work together to save their home from an ancient demon that needs only to destroy the son to conquer the world.
Last Inua – Gameplay Footage Sept. ’13 from Glowforth on Vimeo.
DJANGO (GG FACTOR)
Country: France
Website: www.ggfactor.com
Platforms: Smartphones
What they looking for: Publishing, Investment
Budget needed for completion: $70,000
Estimated development time before completion: 4 months
Nothing to do with Quentin Tarantino’s Western, this is instead a title that brings together elements of hardcore shoot-‘em-ups and endless runners. The titular Django is a tiny bird that needs to protect the skies above his hometown from invading robot insects. The game draws on social elements of many free-to-play games, with players levelling up their bird with new weapons to beat the scores of their friends.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsxIj85kNnU
Check back tomorrow for the third and final category: Social, Casual and Web Games
