John Voorhees, MacStories:
The App Store looks a little different today. If you opened it and thought you accidentally landed on the Games category page, it would be understandable. But that’s not what’s happening. Instead, Apple has launched a major promotion of the finest indie games available on iOS. According to the App Store Games Twitter account, the promotion is running for the next twelve days.
Lots of great games.
[VIDEO] If you are into the idea of buying a Nintendo Switch, you’ll want to watch this video, if only to get a sense of the different core accessories that you’ll want to consider, which will add to the $300 price tag. Jump to the main Loop post for the video.
If you are interested in music or games, this is a fantastic post. Cabel Sasser, founder of Panic, Inc., takes us on a deep dive into the creative process as he starts with a melody noodling around in his brain and, step-by-step, brings it to life as the music for the new iOS game Stagehand.
Watch the videos in order, top to bottom. I absolutely love this.
If you play Pokémon Go, take the time to dig into Rene Ritchie’s post showing all the new stuff and how it works. Excellent job. Very helpful.
Play Pokémon Go? Big changes are coming. Rene Ritchie lays out all the details.
I have become a big fan of John Voorhees’ game reviews for MacStories. If John points out an iOS game, I’ll inevitably end up loving it.
This one, Yuri, looks like another winner. Thanks, John.
Fire Emblem is huge in our house. First question asked was, “Is this a port for iOS, or a new game?”
Fire Emblem Heroes is a new game, from scratch.
Here’s Nintendo’s press release.
And a tweet announcing the date:
Fire Emblem Heroes will be released on iOS and Android on February 2. #FEHeroes
And, finally, here’s the official web site, with videos.
[VIDEO] The video (embedded in the main Loop post) is Nintendo’s public presentation of their new console, the Nintendo Switch. If time is limited, jump to about 38 minutes in, where the real stuff starts.
And read the linked Washington Post piece, which does a good job highlighting the important features.
Hoping the Switch is better than the WiiU.
[VIDEO] If you are at all a fan of Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, etc., this is time well spent. I love the fact that you get to see Shigeru at his desk, pen in hand, drawing out genius. Video in main Loop post.
Ars Technica:
DeepMind’s AlphaGo is back, and it’s been secretly crushing the world’s best Go players over the past couple of weeks. The new version of the AI has played 51 games online and won 50 of them, including a victory against Ke Jie, currently the world’s best human Go player. Amusingly, the 51st game wasn’t even a loss; it was drawn after the Internet connection dropped out.
What I find most intriguing about this is that artificial intelligence is still in its relative infancy. AI can get so much better and humans have to wait for evolution.
LodeRunner was one of my favorite games from the long ago. I’m delighted that it still exists. It is as fun to play as I remember. Old school. Give it a try. Unfortunately, haven’t figured out how to play it on my phone. Keyboard required.
Nice tip from Christian Zibreg, iDownloadBlog.
Chris Kohler, Wired, got the chance to ask Shigeru Miyamoto about Super Mario Run.
One highlight, talking about simply porting Super Mario to iOS:
“I don’t want to do anything that boring. We’ve been making Mario games for a long time, and Mario’s evolved with every new platform.
“For me, it wouldn’t be interesting work to just take the existing Super Mario Bros. game, put it on an iPhone, (and) emulate a plus control pad. That’s not very fun creatively. We’re more interested in looking at how we can be creative with Mario, and design for iPhone in a way that takes advantage of the uniquenesses of that device and the uniquenesses of that input and the features that that device has. For us, that is much more rewarding creative work.”
Super Mario Run is a fantastic game. In my opinion, it is well worth the $10. I hope it reverses the “race to the bottom” iOS game pricing trend, helps make it easier for developers to make a living creating great apps.
Last week, Six Colors posted a list of their favorite iOS and Mac games. Some fun games on that list.
That got me thinking about some of my favorite games.
One in particular, Nanuleu, came to me by way of this post from John Vorhees’ series of game posts for MacStories. Nanuleu is minimal in design, incredibly easy to learn to play, and strong in subtle strategy. Lots of replay value, and they’ve recently added more content to broaden the experience.
Here’s an App Store link to Nanuleu.
More games I love:
Lots more games, but that list has been the most fun for me.
Shigeru Miyamoto, in an interview with glixel:
Glixel: What’s it been like working with Apple? How did the partnership for Super Mario Run come about? They’re supporting it a lot more than they usually do with individual games.
Miyamoto: The timing was really fortunate for both of us. On the Nintendo side we’d been talking a lot about going into the mobile space but we hadn’t decided that we were going to make a Mario game for smartphones. As we were talking about what we were going to create we started asking ourselves about what a Mario game would need to be. So we were experimenting with some things and we came up with the base idea, and that’s what we eventually showed to Apple.
Part of the reason we took it to Apple was that in order for us to have the performance we wanted we needed some development support to ensure that the game would run the way we expected. Because Nintendo is always trying to do something unique we also wanted to try and do something different on the business side too. We really didn’t want to do something in the free to play space, but in order to make sure we had the opportunity to do what we wanted [offer a taste of the game for free, and charge $9.99 to unlock the whole thing], we had to talk to the people who are actually running the shop. Naturally the people on the App Store initially told us that the free-to-play approach is a good one, but I’ve always had this image that Apple and Nintendo have very similar philosophies. As we started working together, I found that to be true and they became very welcoming of trying something new.
If you are a gaming fan, take a few minutes to read the interview.
Shigeru Miyamoto is an incredibly influential part of modern gaming’s history. The Super Mario and Zelda franchises are his creations.
The game Super Mario Run carries that DNA, that gaming delight, over to the iPhone. And somehow it does that in a game that only requires a single finger to play.
Arguably one of the most influential figures in the history of gaming, this is a big moment for Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo. From the Verge interview:
“Super Mario Run is going to introduce millions of more people to the fun of Mario, and it’ll become the entry point for them,” Miyamoto explains. “And then the question becomes, once you’ve gone through that entry point, then what comes next? Is it a more traditional Mario experience? Is it something like the Mario Galaxy games? We’ll then have to look at what it is these new fans want from a Mario game, and we’ll continue to see Mario evolve in that way.”
Nintendo is exploring some new paths (Investment in Pokemon Go, Nintendo Switch, and porting Mario to iOS), all of which seem to be working very well.
Looking forward to next Thursday’s rollout of Super Mario Run and, in March, to the Nintendo Switch and the open world version of The Legend of Zelda.
This was delightful, infectiously fun. Turns out, Jimmy Fallon is pretty good at this game. Great marketing for both Super Mario Run and the Nintendo Switch, which they showed off midway through the video, with Jimmy getting a chance to explore the open world of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on the Switch.
I love that they had Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto in the audience to watch. My favorite part of the show was Miyamoto playing the Super Mario theme with the Roots. [VIDEO and links in main Loop post]
Run!!! (Video embedded in main Loop post)
Nintendo’s Super Mario Run will debut one week from today, an iOS exclusive at least through the end of the year.
Interested in the gameplay? The video embedded in the main Loop post will take you through the highlights. To me, this feels like a Nintendo game worth of Super Mario. The fit and finish is just what you’d expect, the sound effects spot on.
Want to get a sense of the game? Go here. And be sure to click the arrows on the side of the screen. There’s lots of content here, all designed to whet your appetite for the game.
Nintendo’s NES Classic Edition is, basically, an emulator in a box, emulating the original Nintendo Entertainment System, with 30 of the original games, including favorites like the original Metroid and Legend of Zelda. The retail price is US$59.95.
The system goes on sale today but, at the moment, is only available in stores in limited quantity. It’s not yet clear if it will ever be available online. If you want one, I’d suggest heading over to your local Target, Best Buy, Walmart, etc. today.
Here’s a review of the unit and games.
And here’s an article talking about the best way to get your hands on one.
If anyone gets one, please tweet at me with details. Where’d you get it? Is it a holiday gift? Have you had the chance to try it out?
My prediction? This will be a scorchingly hot holiday gift. Ebay resellers will make a mint.
Introducing Nintendo Switch! In addition to providing single and multiplayer thrills at home, the Nintendo Switch system also enables gamers to play the same title wherever, whenever and with whomever they choose. The mobility of a handheld is now added to the power of a home gaming system to enable unprecedented new video game play styles.
Nintendo Switch (formerly known by the code name Nintendo NX) is a gaming system that embeds a portable system into a dock, making it easy to switch between console and portable without exiting your game. I look forward to taking this system for a spin, playing the next-gen Zelda title on the road.
From the Nintendo Switch Wikipedia page:
The Nintendo Switch is described as a console/handheld hybrid system, allowing players to alternate between playing on a television via a docking station and playing on the move using a detachable screen. Along with supporting wireless game pad controllers, the system comes with detachable controllers which can either be used in tandem with each other, either connected to the screen or used in each hand similar to the Wii’s Wii Remote and Nunchuck control scheme, or can be used as two seperate sideway controllers for multiple players. The game will also feature wireless multiplayer via multiple systems, for example, allowing four players to play using two Switch systems. Games played on the system are distributed via cartridges and digital downloads.
Enjoy the trailer.
Jason Snell wrote this review of an app called Really Bad Chess. In a nutshell, it’s you against an AI, but with the chess pieces replaced, seemingly at random. So you might end up with 6 queens and only 1 pawn. Turns out the chess piece assignment is part of the Really Bad Chess handicapping process.
I downloaded the game and started playing. It is terrific fun, no matter your chess level.
Read the review, then go get the game (free with $2.99 in-app purchase to turn off ads).
Just one taste:
Following the update, trainers will now earn a catch bonus when capturing more of a specific Pokemon type, so for example, capturing Abra multiple times will now increase your chances of encountering the rarer, evolved Kadabra.
If you are a Pokémon Go player, read the article and grab the update when it hits in your region.
One of the first things I thought of when I first experienced Pokémon Go was how dependent the game was on location and how easy that would be to spoof. It didn’t take long for developers to bring that idea to life:
A new wave of PC-based Pokémon Go “bots” take the hacking a step further, spoofing locations and automating actions to essentially play the game for you while you sit in the comfort of your own home.
There are a number of competing bots out there, from the open source Necrobot to the pre-compiled Pokébuddy to MyGoBot, which recently started charging $4.99 for its automation tool following a three-hour free trial. All of them work on the same basic principles, sending artificial data to the Pokémon Go servers to simulate an extremely efficient, entirely tireless player.
This same sort of thing happened in the early days of World of Warcraft. It took some time, but the folks at Blizzard figured out how to tell if robots were playing for you and took a hard line, suspending accounts that leveled up impossibly quickly or were otherwise found to be cutting corners in some automated fashion. I suspect Niantic will learn this same lesson, or things will go south pretty quickly.
This video gives a good sense of just how big the Pokémon Go influence has gotten. Amazing to me.
This looks awesome. More pledges needed to make this book a reality. Worth it.
From the Synopsis:
Mac gaming welcomed strange ideas and encouraged experimentation. It fostered passionate and creative communities who inspired and challenged developers to do better and to follow the Mac mantra “think different”.
The Secret History of Mac Gaming is the story of those communities and the game developers who survived and thrived in an ecosystem that was serially ignored by the outside world. It’s a book about people who made games and people who played them — people who, on both counts, followed their hearts first and market trends second. How in spite of everything they had going against them, the people who carried the torch for Mac gaming in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s showed how clever, quirky, and downright wonderful videogames could be.
An amazing list of contributors. Take a look.
Time:
Off the meteoric success of its augmented reality-meets-GPS game Pokémon Go, which launched for iOS and Android on July 6, maybe Niantic founder John Hanke just became the most powerful PokéMaster of all.
TIME spoke with Hanke, who’s been traveling in Japan, to chat about the game’s runaway success, the impact of augmented reality (AR) at this scale, and what he finds interesting about the medium going forward.
What an incredible ride this has been. I found this interview with John Hanke to be a fascinating read.
Graham Spencer pulled together this terrific piece for MacStories, all about the massive, spectacular launch of Pokémon Go. Scroll to the bottom for some video and pictures showing the crowds of P-Goers plying their craft. This is much more than a disruption. This is more of a chaotic wave, a wave that rapidly changes societal behavior.
We’ve seen chaotic waves before. Think back to the early days of the iPod. There was massive adoption, evidenced by the sudden, widespread appearance of those distinctive white headphones. People were walking down the street in their own little bubble, listening to music. The disruption was the change this brought to the music industry. The chaotic wave was the societal change brought by the iPod.
The iPhone had a similar chaotic wave. But neither wave was as sudden as that of Pokémon Go. The question is, will this new wave last.
Big windfall to Apple, getting 30 percent of the iOS Pokémon Go revenue. Zelda next?