Viva la Turret is now available for In-App Purchase in iPhone’s Tilt to Live! If you’re on the fence about dropping 99¢, maybe this trailer will help.
Update: The new “¡Viva la Turret!” version is being submitted tonight, so the delay may only amount to a week or two.
It is apparently in bad taste to name your gametype after an affliction for which perfectly nice people are ridiculed. Lesson learned. The gametype formerly known as Turret’s Syndrome has met strong opposition over what is perceived, by some, as objectionable content. We’re now in the process of renaming it “¡Viva la Turret!” and resubmitting the update.
How will this affect the December delivery of Turret’s Syndrome? It’s likely to push it into early January, but we’re exploring every possible avenue to deliver this month. We’ll keep you updated.
You may find it surprising that we play video games! Here’s a quick rundown of what’s distracting us from work this month.
Adam – Artist
Per usual, I do a lot more console gaming than iDevice play. Recently got through Alan Wake, which is a really engrossing single player experience that I couldn’t get enough of (and I have the DLC to prove it). Also played through Metroid: Other M, which I’d prefer to forget ever happened.
Highborn (or HD or Lite): I’m not usually a strat game kinda guy (unless you count Brutal Legend), but this one was charming enough to hold my interest from start to finish. Like a less-complicated Advance Wars, with dialogue that doesn’t physically hurt to read. Good variety in the boss designs and level scenarios, so I was compelled to see it through to the end… which never came. I’ll probably be picking up Chapter 2 when it’s released.
Alex – Developer
On top of the standard AAA fair of games (Black Ops, Starcraft 2…still) I’ve been burning through quite a few iPhone games. Not sure how I feel about getting an iOS game and being done with it after one play session. Probably stems from my tendency to never finish single player console games either, just magnified. In either case, I do keep coming back to…
Linkoidz: Maybe I have yet to come to terms with liking match-3 games, which may be why I feel surprised to mention this game. Yet, I tend to get more fun out of this one than most as of late. What’s amusing is I tend to play it BETWEEN games of Starcraft 2 while waiting on buddies to return or queuing up. When I stare at my iPhone and know I only have a few minutes to “zone out” while waiting on something (car at the shop, commercials, etc), I just tend to gravitate back to this game. The interaction of swooping linkoidz up into your gun and then shooting them out feels very fluid and satisfying. Hats off to Retro Dreamer for making a very well designed mobile game!
Check back next week for the de-codenaming of “Project Codename”, Tilt to Live‘s December expansion.
Today, only 7 months after Tilt to Live‘s original release, we present Tilt to Live Lite! Also presenting Temporary TtL (iPhone) Price Drop to 99¢, whose title is admittedly not as catchy. Now you can try before you buy, AND get a discount. This great deal is in honor of Tilt to Live’s next big expansion, coming in December, which we have codenamed “Project Codename”. More on that at the end of this month.
The lite version is basically TtL HD‘s free demo, but for the iPhone. Now everybody gets a demo. Isn’t that nice!
In other news:
Tilt to Live was recently inducted into the App Hall of Fame, alongside such heavyweights as Harbor Master, Pocket God, and some game called Fruit Ninja. We’re truly honored to be included, especially since we’re a few million downloads behind the other inductees.
It’s finally out! Tilt to Live HD has hit the app store and so far the response has been phenomenal! You can download the game for free here!
Also, we’ve given out 10 free full version copies to our lucky subscribers of our newsletter. If you don’t want to miss out on a chance like that again you can always subscribe.
We figured it’d be fun to share what we’re both playing currently in our spare time. We play games on several platforms, but by and large I think it’s safe to say we’re both still very ‘traditional’ gamers spending most of our time on consoles or PC. As you’ll probably tell in a bit, Adam and I tend to spend our times in vastly different games/genres. I’m a multiplayer freak. He likes Mario. The end. Ok there’s more to it than that…
Mario Galaxy 2 [Wii]
I personally haven’t played Mario Galaxy 2, but from what I hear is that it’s more Mario. Which is usually a good thing. Adam’s been taking his sweet time in playing through this game and recently beat it. He’s now playing back through Mario Galaxy 1. Only Mr. Miyamoto knows why.
Solipskier [iPhone]
This game’s mechanic was really fun. My first exposure to it was on my iPhone 4. If you’re on a flash capable device you can play solipskier on Mikengreg’s site. The music is great and the sense of speed you experience in the game is awesome. The design of the game is very tight, laser focused and very polished. TA’s review was positive, but interestingly enough it stirred up some controversy in the comments thread. The all important ‘price point’ was the contentious issue for what was on offer. To me, this game was worth it. They even have a 100% free version for those to check out first, so I feel the price is right. Worth checking out!
Archetype [iPhone/iPad]
Alright, this is a weird one for me. I bought this on my iphone 4. Then I bought it on my iPad (Archetype HD). The game feels nice. I think it’s probably the best FPS experience you can get on the iphone or ipad right now. The game from a technical standpoint is nothing short of impressive. The ability to jump in and out of multiplayer matches so easily with no hassle is no small technical feat. I really wanted this game to be “it” for multiplayer experiences for me on the go. So much so that I even gave the iPad version a try. Again, TA’s review I think is spot on that it’s the best on the platform. But I think that’s just it. It’s only the best on the platform. That doesn’t say to much considering there’s only a handful of decent FPS’s on it. It’s early yet so I feel this will only get better. To get an idea of where I’m coming from you should know that I’m not a fan of FPS games on the console. I’ve made due and spent tons of time playing on the 360 because the games themselves are great. But give me keyboard and mouse any day. I actually have a lot to say on this topic from a game design perspective, but I won’t go into it right now. Just know that Archetype is good fun and definitely worth checking out.
Shot Shot Shoot [iPad]
I played this game with a friend over the past weekend. I absolutely love the design of this game. A very pure competitive game that despite it’s simplicity in it’s rules elevates to something much more complex when you add the human element. Shot Shot Shoot provided lots of enjoyment, and if you’re looking for a fun competitive iPad game then this is it.
Starcraft 2 [Mac]
My current “addiction”. I’m playing this game more than I need to be probably (just ask Adam). I was hooked on the first Starcraft over a decade ago. Games like Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War got me mildly back into RTS’s, but at the time I was very much into online team-based FPS’s. I didn’t think I’d still be playing Starcraft 2 after the first couple of weeks, but there’ something about this game that keeps me coming back. The sheer depth mixed with the almost twitch-like gameplay mechanics for controlling your armies is a great mix and something I can sink my teeth into. Warcraft 3 didn’t do it for me, but I appreciate the things they tried in that game to help push RTS’s forward. Starcraft 2 harkens back to a much “simpler” era before RPG’s and RTS’s started having children.
We somehow managed to squeak by with an update in what feels like the very last minute in July. Frostbite mode is finally out and the leaderboards are already filling up with some insane scores! So what does this update entail? See for yourself:
New
- The all new Frostbite Game Mode!
- A new devastating weapon, the Burnicade!
- 7 new awards to earn!
Improved
- AGON updated to 1.5.1 – better leaderboard functionality
- player visibility improved
Fixed
- minor iOS4 issues
- sound effect issues
Thanks to all who’ve supported us! Next Up? Tilt to Live on the iPad!
With one entire game under our belt, we’ve got reams of knowledge and experience to impart to aspiring designers everywhere. We did some new interviews recently, and they went a little something like this:
Hello all, and happy Friday! As you’ve heard in our previous post, we’re in the middle of reorganizing. This is mostly me (Alex) packing up and relocating over the next week so that Adam and I can work in person. When we started developing Tilt to Live, we had very little idea on whether it’d be flop, mildly successful, or even a hit. The response was absolutely nuts! Our fans truly enjoyed the game and went out of their way to let us know, and let their friends know. And for that, we can’t thank you enough! With us now transitioned to working fulltime to create awesome games for you guys, you can expect to see some cool stuff in the coming months with a bit more frequency :).
To help celebrate this milestone for One Man Left Studios, we collaborated with freeappaday.com to promote Tilt to Live for a very limited time at the extremely ludicrous price of $free$ this weekend. So be on the look out! Got a friend who’s incapable of spending money? Are they on a strict app budget? They simply can’t find their wallet? Now’s the time to get them to jump in and have fun with Tilt to Live, on us :).
I was recently asked by an interviewer to describe my dream iPhone game, the game I would produce if unfettered by the confines of marketability and social norms. I answered earnestly, but was ultimately shut down by OML’s other half, Alex Okafor, the dream policeman. He called my dreams “creepy” and “probably illegal”. So I agreed to provide the interviewer with a watered-down answer, one that did not reflect my true passions as a game designer, as long as I was allowed pour my heart out to our true fans: the OML blog readers.
And now I am proud to present the uncensored schematics for my dream iPhone game:
“I have a couple of dream projects. My favorite is like a Tickle Me Elmo, but it’s better because you can take him around with you in your pocket, on your iPhone. You can tickle him all over and wear headphones, so that only you can hear how happy you are making Elmo. That way what happens between Elmo and me stays private, instead of everyone staring and possibly misinterpreting.
The best part is that you can use the phone’s camera to take pictures of strangers, and then you can tickle the strangers. That adds a social aspect to the game, and contributes to my premise of ‘touching the world’. You could even upload and share your favorite strangers with your friends, or with other strangers!”
In other news
Someone changed our banner to tease next month’s new update, but they forgot to show off the new weapon. They just put a question mark! I’ll get on that ASAP.