First iPad Game Screenshot & Announcement Has Us Scratching Our Heads
We get a lot of press releases sent to us. Myself, it’s not unusual to see near a hundred of them hit my inbox in a day. With that much competition, its hard to capture our attention. But when I glimpsed an email saying that development studio “Bloober Team” is announcing the first title being developed exclusively for the iPad, and their calling it “Gender Wars: The Battle”, I couldn’t help but sit up and take notice. When I then read that the lead designer described the game like this,
“In a way, and I understand that it’s bit bold to say, we would like to create something similar to Metal Gear Solid for iPad.”
I start to scratch my head and a confused look passes over my face. Gender Wars? Solid Snake?
But it doesn’t end there so I am posting the original press release in full (minus legally sensitive info, of course) after the break so you can read it for yourself. It’s one of the stranger ones we have ever come across and was either written by some kind of genius, or someone on acid. We’ve also posted the game’s sole screenshot to be released so far. (For those not sure about clicking through, the screenshot does not contain any images of Gender-specific anatomical parts battling it out.)
Here are both the screenshot and the press release:
Epic saga of the future
Krakow, Poland – 5 February 2010 – Games developer and publisher Bloober Team, most famous for its WiiWare super production Last Flight, presents his newest IP – Gender Wars.
About the game
The game is turn based tactic game that will redefine whole tactic games genre with its casual, story-driven approach and easy click&shoot interface. “We wanted to make tactic game that will be easy to pick and play by anyone, in a short burst of 2-3 minutes per game, while offering enough in-depth complexity to play for hours” says Peter Bielatowicz, lead designer of the game.“In a way, and I understand that it’s bit bold to say, we would like to create something similar to Metal Gear Solid for iPad” Bielatowicz continues. “MGS was a stealth game, and stealth games before, like Tenchu, were considered to be more for hardcore players. But MGS was extremely easy to pick and play and so strongly story driven that many casual people were playing it just to follow the storyline and learning more advanced gameplay strategies as they played” he explains. “We want to implement the same flow in our game so a player can choose to focus on the story or the gameplay – according to what he prefers” Bielatowicz adds.
“Most of current tactic or strategy games on the market have very long learning curves and overwhelm player with too many information at once.
It throws off most of casual players. We will show completely different, minimalistic approach in our game” Bielatowicz continues. “We are testing our interface on gamers, and look how they approach the game and what are the first things that come to their mind when trying to perform some command” says Piotr Babieno, one of the game producers. “Then we simply implement our user interface to work this way” Bielatowicz adds.
The game takes place in the post-apocalyptic SF universe, and its storyline involves themes such as time travels, tragic love and epic military operations. “Everyone will find something for himself in the game, from space operas fans to hard military SF geeks” says Paweł Kobyłecki, one of game main screenwriters. “But this is too soon to speak about details at the moment” says Bielatowicz. “We will reveal everything in proper time, starting with series of feature films” he adds.
Comments on iPad
The game is being prepared iPad. “We believe that tactic games will be one of best and most successful games on iPad platform” predicts Babieno. “This kind of touch device with big screen helps you to command your units in most natural and intuitive way” he adds. “You have to also remember that the people will play iPad in longer sessions and with more concentration than they did on iPhone” comments Bielatowicz. “iPad is perfect device for people playing in train or airplane or at home rather than on the move like it was with iPhone. All designers shall keep this in mind when thinking about designing an iPad game” he ends.Teaser for the whole series
One of the most surprising things about the “Gender Wars: The Battle” is that the game alone is a teaser for other upcoming games from the series. It contains only the battle game mode and will focus on gameplay challenges. “It may sound weird, but after first tests of the battle module it turned out to play so well and entertaining on its own that we decided to release it as separate title” Piotr Babieno. “We want to tease players a bit and prepare them for the final game” Babieno explains. “The Battle will be released at very low price, so players can taste our quality without spending much” he adds. “Of course we will listen very closely to all the reactions and use players feedback to improve final game” Bielatowicz ends.“Gender Wars: The Battle” will hit the Apple Store with iPad release in late march. The details of the main game and its schedule are still kept secret.
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About Bloober Team
Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Krakow, Poland, Bloober Team is an independent videogame developer focused on creating the highest quality digitally-distributed content.All trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
That was it. Are you interested? Confused? Both? Will you give the game a wide berth, or do they already have you excited to pick a gender and start going at it? Leave a comment and let us know.
Apple Announcement – Surprise! It’s a big iPhone! (aka The iPad)
Only minutes ago and after months of rumor and speculation, self proclaimed genius, Steve Jobs, stunned the world by announcing yet another product sure to change the way we live life as we know it. It’s the Apple iPad! While most people thought Mr. Jobs would choose a more descriptive and less feminine hygiene product-sounding name, like iSlate or iTablet, the biggest surprise was actually the price. The most basic model (16GB/WiFi, no 3G) is only $499 which makes it much more affordable than most industry watchers expected and is probably meant to help it overcome some of the consumer adoption concerns many anticipate. The iPads will be managed through iTunes and run existing iPhone apps in a window (or pixel-doubled fullscreen) and will ship unlocked and attached to any specific carrier. WiFi-only units are supposed to hit store shelves in only 60 days with 3G-enabled units following 30 days beyond that.
More details & iPad Specifications:
iPhone 3.02 OS
10 Hr. Battery Life (month on standby)
Accelerometer
Compass
Speaker
Microphone
WiFi 802.11n
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
1 Ghz Apple A4 Chip
16GB-64GB Flash Memory
Full Capacitive Touch
9.7 in. Display
0.5 in. thick
1.5 lb. weight
No Adobe Flash Support
Optional Keyboard & “Camera Connection Kit”
WiFi
16GB – $499
32GB – $599
64GB – $699
WiFi + 3G
16GB – $629
32GB – $729
64GB – $829
Optional AT&T Data Plans:
$14.99/Mo. for up to 250MB
$29.99/Mo. unlimited
Japan’s DSi Shop adds shmups, instrument tuning next month
Aa Mujou Setsuna is something DSiWare has yet to see: a vertical shooter! The downloadable shmup, releasing in Japan on September 2, is listed as a Nintendo/Arika collaboration. Arika is responsible for various home ports of Cave shooters, including the DS Ketsui Death Label. Aa Mujou Setsuna has two selectable ships, a chain-based scoring system and even online rankings, for just 500 DSi Points. Somehow we doubt this is the news Nintendo Power teased, but it certainly makes us happy. Check out some footage after the break.
Less hardcore, but still kind of cool, are the two 200-point apps also releasing on September 2. Nintendo DSi Metronome is, well, a metronome, that allows users to input their own beats and tempo to play along with, and even record their own drum sounds. It has multiple “skins” including a Game and Watch look, and Balloon Fight and Donkey Kong minigames; the latter of which involves clapping to make Mario jump over barrels. Hey, it’s a Mario counterpart to Jungle Beat! Except really simplified.
Nintendo DSi Instrument Tuner also includes a Game and Watch skin. This useful program allows you to play an instrument into the DS mic and get information about its pitch.
Continue reading Japan’s DSi Shop adds shmups, instrument tuning next month
Japan’s DSi Shop adds shmups, instrument tuning next month originally appeared on Joystiq Nintendo on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Pop developer making non-game DSiWare apps
Nnooo, creator of Pop, is working on a series of DSiWare productivity downloads called myLifeCollected, designed to make your life easier. If you didn’t know Nintendo-related news you were going to complain about today, it’s already made your life easier!
The first app, called myNotebook, is a 32-page virtual notebook with auto-save and ink color features. Users can select lined, square, or blank backgrounds for each page. Pricing and release date have yet to be announced. Nnooo is planning to make myNotebook available in three different color varieties when it comes out.
For those of you waiting for Pop + Solo (What? We liked Pop), Nnnoo says that it’s been submitted to Nintendo for approval.
[Via GoNintendo]
Pop developer making non-game DSiWare apps originally appeared on Joystiq Nintendo on Tue, 21 Jul 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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April DSiWare for Japan: More like Appril
Nintendo wants small non-game apps on DSiWare, and it is leading by example, as evidenced by the lineup it has announced for April in Japan: just two of the six downloads announced for April 1 are games! Luckily, the announced apps sound pretty interesting.
- Nintendo DSi Clock (200 Points): A clock app in two varieties: Famicom Mario Type and Animal Crossing Type. The Mario version lets you jump and hit coins, and the Animal Crossing version lets players create a new town tune that is played on the hour.
- Chotto Magic Taizen: Suki Kirai Hakkenki (200 Points): This magic trick from Master of Illusion uses the mic to determine how someone feels about you.
- Kuru Kuru Action Kuru Pachi 6 (500 Points): A puzzle game about rotating numbered pieces to line up matching pairs.
- Band Bros. Radio including Photo Stand (500 Points): A photo-viewing app featuring Barbara the Bat from Band Bros. — and a music player for songs created in Band Bros. DX by both players and staff!
- Kakonde Keshite Wakugumi no Jikan (500 Points): A puzzle game about surrounding pieces of an opposing color with pieces of your color by moving them around the screen.
- Ganbaru Watashi no Osaifu Ouendan (500 Points): Literally “My Wallet Cheer Squad,” this budgeting app allows players to export data as a CSV file for use in PC money management software.
Nintendo is starting to build up a pretty good catalog of DSiWare for … whenever it decides to announce the launch lineup worldwide!
April DSiWare for Japan: More like Appril originally appeared on Joystiq Nintendo on Tue, 24 Mar 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Rumor: Nintendo pushing developers to make small DSiWare ‘apps’
Develop reports that at a secret Nintendo developer conference this week, the company outlined a strategy to encourage developers to create short applications for the DSi’s new DSiWare download service. Unnamed developer told Develop that Nintendo wants DSiWare developers to consider both short games and non-game apps, rather than the games-only selection found on WiiWare. The emphasis on small utilities and extremely brief games does call to mind a certain other device.
One dev said that “Given the advanced functions in the DSi, such as the microphone and camera, the company told us that there are a variety of opportunities for a variety of apps, both in a games sense and a non-games sense, that we could offer.”
Nintendo of Japan already has a few non-game apps on the DSi Shop, including Nintendo-themed calculators, two clocks, and a travel guide. The rest of the service consists of small games, many of which are miniature versions of existing DS games. It seems that Nintendo’s western branches have the same kind of thing in mind for third-party DSiWare offerings. We’ll most likely find out next week, when Nintendo will present two talks at GDC: one about the DSi’s design, and the other from Satoru Iwata called “Discovering New Development Opportunities.”
Rumor: Nintendo pushing developers to make small DSiWare ‘apps’ originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 20 Mar 2009 11:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Top 10 Best Selling Games
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