Choice bits:
Goblin Corps - a deliciously sarcastic and violent take on the fantasy-genre - only we're following the bad guys for once, a variety of half-witted and malicious goblins, who are generally trying to murder each other as much as the foes that they meet. Not rocket science, but exceedingly well-executed, and just plain laugh-aloud funny.
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| Goblin Corps - by Ari Marmell |
Ravenmark - a beautifully presented and well-told tactical wargame for the iPad. In the best tradition of the venerable, but best Warhammer tactical game Dark Omen, cutscenes tell a story that makes us care about the characters. I long for some kind of a zone-of-control system to allow me to control the battlefield more, but hey, well, it's the first game by a young studio (Witching Hour), and they seem to be thinking hard about the design challenges on a platform (the iPad), where I think that the gaming scene is still trying to find out exactly what it's going to be. I (and I'm not alone), think that the platform is excellent for brainy turn-based games (but then I would say that wouldn't I...)
Windswept at the Vesterhav -
Asbjørn, speed-junkie at 3 ½ -
And yes! You will note that I've had time for both gaming and reading. The incredibility...
4 comments:
Hiya Troels - this is Kevin from Witching Hour (I got a google notification regarding the ravenmark keyword) ... sorry for barge in on your blog, but I figured I'd first take the time to thank you for the 5 star review you left us on the app store (thanks!!) and secondly - to address this issue of ZoC.
I'll admit you are not the first to ask for ZoC (there have been 4 or 5 before you) and I have to be frank - ZoC will probably not make it into this version of Ravenmark (we call it Ravenmark single player in the office). Now, we have been working on a multiplayer version of Ravenmark and I can tell you we *should* be having some form of ZoC in the mutliplayer version, once we figure out all the details :D
I know it's not great news, but take it as a consolation prize. None of us were gamer designers by training, and as we go along the way, many users have provided valuable feedback that we've not only taken with us, but have used to make Ravenmark an excellent game (I hope!) We have a few hundred emails from players so far - and I hope that list will continue to grow!
If you would like to further a conversation, or give us any feedback, feel free to email us via the feedback button :D
cheers!
-kev
Hi Kevin. So nice of you to stop by. :)
First of all, you're welcome. You made a very good game, which is not only fun, but also comes off as very polished. You should be commended for that.
And to pull that off, I think it a very reasonable consideration to narrow down the game-elements in the first game of the Ravenmark saga. (And this is even the first game of your studio, as far as I can understand?)
That said, I'm very happy to hear that ZoC is considered for the multiplayer version as I think the necessity of such a mechanic will be even more pronounced there.
I look forward to seeing more from your hand, and will certainly give you more feedback - I'm certainly not done with Ravenmark yet!
Hi Troels
Glad to hear. I cannot take full credit for Ravenmark though, as I have 2 partners, Ian (creative guy with the ides) and Brian (the business guy / writer). Game would not be possible without them and our crack team of programmers and artists.
Yes - ravenmark is our very first game. Ian came from advertising while Brian and myself are both business school graduates :D
We definitely have a few things up our sleeves, including a casual board game we designed to test out some multiplayer techniques. (we will polish the board game and release it .. eventually. the mechanics work *perfectly* and we have yet to be able to consistently beat the AI)
We will also be more than glad to hear from you :D If you use the feedback button, then Brian and Ian will both be able to read the emails as well :) We routinely print emails and discuss ideas in the office.
I really hope you're enjoying the game so far and I look forward to hearing from you!
Cheers!
Kevin
Hi again Kevin
Yes, I thought I noticed that you were quite a small core of people. This only underlines my point about being impressed with the polished gameplay and user-experience.
I find it quite saying, and actually not too surprising, that the three of you are not hardcore techies (from what you write). It seems to me (at least among my most tech-nerdy compatriots) that it is forgotten too often that creativity and business acumen is as, or even more, important than raw development skills.
And it's very good that you're so attentive to feedback. I'll try to find the time to collect my thoughts on the game in a email.
All the best,
/troels
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