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每日观察:关注《割绳子》将推漫画周边产品(7.22)

发布时间:2011-07-22 11:17:54 Tags:,,,,

1)澳大利亚开发商Halfbrick近日表示向Android Market推出采用广告赞助的免费版《水果忍者》,该游戏含有Classic、Zen和Arcade三个模式。据games报道,这款Android版游戏将先于Facebook和Kinect版本面世。

Fruit Ninja(from games.com)

Fruit Ninja(from games.com)

2)谷歌日前宣布Android Market将推更新版本,支持开发者在该应用商店分配多种APK(游戏邦注:APK是Android Package的缩写,即Android安装包,Android应用程序所使用的文件格式),以便开发者向Android Market上传多种版本的应用,Android Market将自动根据用户的移动设备类型发送最合适的应用版本。

android-market-updates(from phandroid.com)

android-market-updates(from phandroid.com)

例如,原先用户如果要搜索适合Android平板电脑运行的《水果忍者》,他们就得下载针对Tegra处理器优化处理的《水果忍者THD》版本,而不是普通版本的《水果忍者》;而他们想在手机上玩该游戏时,又得再去下载普通版本的《水果忍者》。但Android Market推出这项更新功能后,就可以同时为用户和开发者提供便利,解除这一麻烦。

3)俄罗斯开发商ZeptoLab日前与Ape Entertainment合作推出以《割绳子》中的小怪物Om Nom为主题的连环画和漫画小说。据ZeptoLab董事长Misha Lyalin所称,许多人都喜欢Om Nom这个角色,ZeptoLab计划将《割绳子》打造成一个品牌,为此他们得先推出关于Om Nom的故事,而漫画就是最合适的叙事手法。

cut the rope_comic(from drippler.com)

cut the rope_comic(from drippler.com)

《割绳子》目前下载量已超过4500万次,其中有900万次来自付费版本。《割绳子》并非首款推出漫画系列的iOS游戏,Bolt Creative工作室的《口袋上帝》也采用了这一做法。

4)据Eurogamer报道,WiiWare平台的热门游戏《LostWinds》即将推出iOS和Android版本。该游戏的新版本将从原版中“直接”移植到手机平台,但添加了触屏控制系统。据游戏开发商Frontier Developments所述,这款游戏玩法与Wii的控制器相得益彰,但使用触摸屏也可以获得类似的体验。

lost-winds(from gameinformer.com)

lost-winds(from gameinformer.com)

该游戏原版本于2008年登陆WiiWare平台,并在2009年发布了继集版本《LostWinds: Winter of Melodias》。

5)育碧首席执行官Yves Guillemot最近表示,公司有可能在最近几年将旗下数款热门游戏(例如《刺客信条》)引进平板电脑。据他所称,这些游戏不会是简单的移植版本,而是将根据运行平台的特点进行调整或重新设计。

yves-guillemot(from gamalive.com)

yves-guillemot(from gamalive.com)

6)据pocketgamer报道,Unity高管Tracy Erickson在日前的Indie Day of the Develop大会上发言表示,有些采用免费模式的游戏公司在“诱使”玩家购买道具这一点上已经几乎“突破底线”,而实际上大多数免费游戏质量都让人“不敢恭维”。

freemium games(from kotaku.com)

freemium games(from kotaku.com)

不过他也承认,免费模式本身无罪,其道德属性取决于人们的使用方法,游戏公司应采用更有创意的经营模式。但来自Osborne Clarke的游戏行业律师Jas Purewal却指出,免费模式给整个行业造成了一些问题,玩家认为自己花钱买了道具,就已经享有该道具所有权,但如果游戏项目关闭了,就会引发索赔与拒赔等不少道德问题。

7)Socialize公司近日推出新型软件开发工具包(SDK),支持手机应用开发者在产品中植入社交网络功能,以便用户根据找到同趣好友,并向Facebook、Twitter等社交网络或电子邮件发送应用中的相关内容。

该公司首席执行官Daniel R.Odio表示,这个SDK可帮助开发者增加产品的用户粘性。他称一般而言,每款应用下载90天后,其粘性就会降至1%,这就意味着开发者及相关公司品牌的投资回报率很不理想。但Socialize的SDK可助应用将用户粘性及使用率提高54%,这一数据并非毫无根据的预测,而是通过其开发工具AppMakr所创建应用的分析数据而得出的结论。

Socialize(from readwriteweb)

Socialize(from readwriteweb)

AppMakr是一款支持开发者无需学习复杂的代码即可自主创建iPhone、Android和Windows Phone应用的DIY开发工具,目前采用AppMakr技术开发的应用数量已达7811款,其中有1461款采用了Socialize SDK。

8)根据Google+最近发布的消息显示,谷歌团队将于近日推出Window Phone 7版本的Google+应用程序。除此之外,Google+还将针对其照片分享及发布、聊天功能等服务进行一系列优化和调整。(本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译,如需转载请联系:游戏邦

1)Try Fruit Ninja for free on Android before it dices up Facebook

by Joe Osborne

Look, we know Fruit Ninja is coming to Facebook (and Kinect, mind you) soon enough. But if you’ve yet to try it, do yourself a favor and correct that now. After minutes turned into hours of slicing juicy digital fruit with the tip of my finger on (my friend’s) iPad, I can’t say I’ve had a better time with a mobile game. And, for the Android fans out there, you’re in the best of luck, as developer Halfbrick announced that Fruit Ninja is available for free on the Android Market. Forever.

Pocket Gamer reports that, like Zynga games Hanging with Friends and Words with Friends, its razor sharp game will now be ad-supported. That means, in lieu of a price tag, Android players can enjoy the game for zilch–but with a dash of adverts. And better yet, the game includes Classic, Zen and Arcade modes. (Well, that’s like … the whole game, right?) Pretty much. (source:games

2)Android Market Now Supports Multiple APKs (Which Is More Important Than It Sounds)

Jason Kincaid

Today Google announced that it’s pushing a significant update to the developer-facing side of Android Market, and it’s one that consumers will benefit from too: Android Market will now allow developers to distribute multiple APKs (the filetype Android uses for applications) that will all be considered the same app, at least as the marketplace is concerned.

Yes, that sounds mundane, but it’s important. Consider this: right now, if you ran a query for “Fruit Ninja” from an Android tablet, you’d have the option to download either the ‘regular’ Fruit Ninja or Fruit Ninja THD, a version that’s been optimized for the Tegra processor found in most Android tablets to date. Obviously you’d want the latter — but then if you went to play the same game on your phone, you’d have to purchase the regular version.

This update fixes that: Halfbrick Studios (the company behind Fruit Ninja) can now list the game once in Android Market, and Google will send the optimal version to whatever device you’re downloading it from.

Of course, Google has always encouraged developers to make sure a single APK works across all Android devices. Menus are supposed to adapt to various screen sizes, images are supposed to scale nicely, and so on. But there are some instances where this doesn’t make sense — a game might only want to include high-res textures for larger screen sizes, for example. Another use case: if a developer implements features that require the newest version of the Android OS, they can now roll that out, while still letting users on older devices access the old version. And under this system developers will be able to consolidate all of their user reviews under one application as opposed to having them spread across multiple mobile and ‘HD’ versions.

Of course, some developers may prefer to ignore the new feature and prompt users to purchase different versions of their apps for different devices. This wouldn’t necessarily be motivated by greed, either — some developers build completely new apps for different form factors, which in some cases warrant separate purchases.(source:techcrunch

3)ZeptoLab and Ape Entertainment bringing Cut the Rope comics to iOS and print from August

by Anthony Usher

Developer ZeptoLab has teamed up with Ape Entertainment to produce a comic book and graphic novel series based on the cute and cuddly critter Om Nom.

The series will kick-off with a full colour Cut the Rope Comic App before becoming available in print.

The partnership will be officially announced this Thursday at Comic-Con, where you’ll be able to get a sneak peak at the app, meet the artist, take a photo with a life-sized Om Nom, and check out the upcoming range of plush toys.

Taking candy from a baby

According to ZeptoLab Chairman Misha Lyalin, “People love the character but he doesn’t have a story yet. Now, Om Nom gets a story.”

ZeptoLab is looking to transform Cut the Rope into a franchise, similar to what Rovio is doing with Angry Birds.

“In order to build a franchise, we wanted to expand the storyline. The best way to do that is with comics.”

Cut the Rope has been the number one free, paid, and top grossing app on the App Store in every country in the world, racking up more than 45 million downloads – 9 million of those being paid purchases.

Big box, little box

Of course, Cut the Rope isn’t the first iOS series to get its own range of comics, with Bolt Creative’s Pocket God series also receiving the honour. (source:pocketgamer

4)WiiWare hit LostWinds coming to iPhone, iPad, and Android

By Andrew Webster

When the Wii’s downloadable games service WiiWare launched, LostWinds was one of the very first hits. With controls that suited the motion-enabled Wii remotes perfectly, and a whimsical art style, it was the perfect bite-sized experience. And soon iOS and Android gamers will be able to experience the game as well.

The news comes via Eurogamer, and it looks like the mobile version will be a relatively straight port of the console original, but with the obvious addition of touch controls.”It works very well with the Wii controller motions, but it also works on a touch interface in a very similar fashion,” explained David Braben, from developer Frontier Developments.

LostWinds originally launched on WiiWare back in 2008, and was followed by a sequel called LostWinds: Winter of Melodias in 2009. In addition to controlling the movement of a young boy, the games also gave you control of the wind, which could be used to affect jumps and defeat enemies. (source:gamezebo

5)Ubisoft bringing Assassin’s Creed and other big franchises to tablets within ‘next few years’

by Anthony Usher

According to Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot, you can expect to play some of the publisher’s top franchises on a range of tablets within the “next few years”.

Speaking yesterday at a quarterly earnings call, Guillemot addressed questions on the publisher’s future and the tablet market.

“The tablet market is growing fast, we have Apple and lots of other players with tablets.

“We are developing a few products around our brands. You will see games in the next few years from all of our biggest brands like Assassin’s.”

In case you’re concerned, the games won’t just be ports of top console and PC titles. “They will be different games. They will be adapted from games in the past or specifically developed for those platforms.”(source:pocketgamer

6)Develop 2011: Some freemium companies have been ‘borderline predatory’ reckons Unity’s Erickson

by Jon Jordan

Are freemium games evil? That was the stark question in the Indie Day of the Develop Conference.

“Some companies have been borderline predatory in terms getting gamers to buy in-game items,” argued Tracy Erickson, of Unity (previously of Pocket Gamer).

“Some are using the business model to manipulate gamers to buy items. And I think the vast majority of them have been bad games too.”

However, he said he didn’t think that it had to be that way. “The business model is amoral; it depends how you use it. There needs to be a creative aspect.”

In this context, James Parker, of Mobile Pie, pointed to NimbleBit’s Tiny Tower as a game with a ‘soft touch’ in terms of not forcing players to buy items.

“I think we’re in a growing phase,” said Dan Keegan, from OpenFeint. “But I think freemium is the end game. I’d encourage everyone to make freemium games.”

Jas Purewal, a game lawyer at Osborne Clarke, pointed to some deeper issues.

“Free is powering some tensions in the industry. Players think they own the items they buy in these games, but what happens if a game is shut down? These points aren’t clear yet.”

“People have always paid to progress quicker in games in terms of buying a Prima guide or upgrading their PC,” Parker pointed out.

“Freemium’s different though,” replied Erickson. “If it was completely optional to buy items, I don’t think we would be having this discussion,” (source:pocketgamer

7)Add a Social Network to Your App with Socialize’s New SDK

By Sarah Perez

Mobile developers can now add in-app social networking features to their mobile applications using a new software development kit (SDK) from Socialize, Inc. Once intergrated, the app’s users can find and connect with each other based on similar interests and can also push some of the app’s content to social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, or, for those who like it old-school, email.

Increase User Engagement

According to Socialize CEO Daniel R. Odio, the company’s goal with the new release is to help developers maintain user engagement. The reality about average user engagement, he says, is that it typically plummets to less than 1% 90 days after download. “That means lost revenue for app developers and poor ROI for company brands,” says Odio.

He also claims that by implementing Socialize’s SDK, user engagement and app usage can increase by 54%. This isn’t a projection or forecast — it’s based on data collected from apps where Socialize has already been used: those built with AppMakr.

AppMakr, a subsidiary of Socialize, Inc., is a DIY app building service that lets you make your own iPhone, Android or Windows Phone apps without having to learn complicated code.

Socialize was originally released as a new feature available to that community’s users, allowing them to include a social layer in all apps built using the service. Of the 7,811 AppMakr apps out there, 1,461 now run Socialize. There are already some early success stories about this featured on AppMakr’s blog.(source:readwriteweb

8)If you’re jonesing for your Google+ fix on your Windows Phone, you’ll be happy to know that an app could be coming this week. Well, maybe.

According to a post on the social networking site, the Google team outlined a few new features which may be implemented this week (check out number 6):

1.Ability to modify circles a post is shared with after posting it

2. Google+ Android App update for Reading sparks and +1 comments

3.Lifting of the 5000 circle cap

4.The ability to overlap circles

5.Easy private messaging option including to person who starts a thread

6.Google+ app for Windows Phone 7

7.Better integration of Google Chat with Google+

8.Fix issues with instant upload for photos

9.Ability to share with all circles, but with an “except” option

10.Ability to share Google Docs and Calendar with circles

11.Revamp Google Reader to make sharing easier

12.File-sharing integration

13.Addition of hashtags to aid searching

14. Faster updates to the no. of people following you

15.Revamped minor UI change

With at least 10 million users, it’s clear the Google+ is resonating with early adopters, at least. Its mobile apps could do a lot to maintain that momentum and to increase engagement.

The Google+ iPhone app was recently released and it rocketed to the top of the App Store list.

Will it do the same on Windows Phone? Hopefully, we won’t have to wait too long to find out. (source:intomobile


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