Where do Pixar animators drink? It’s not a question many would ask… but if they did there is an answer. In one of the THREE bars inside the studio.
Check out the pics from the bars - including the wall inscriptions from some incredible names:
The Ouya player is live. It’s on sale and in people’s hands (mine is ordered and on its way)
But is the indie console delivering the best platform for indie develepors? It’s still very early but there’s some great sales analysis and projections over at indiestalk.
The post includes Jesse Schell’s keynote at this year’s D.I.C.E. Summit - DEFINITELY worth a watch - the shift to iOS, hype and what comes next for game devs:
From indiestalk - complete with note from the Orange Pixel team (one of the first successes on Ouya)
Since March 28th up until now, which is the Ouya’s retail launch day, Gunslugs has been downloaded 6,125 times. In that same period, the full version has been purchased 140 times. That’s just over a 2% conversion rate from playing the demo to purchasing the full game. Money-wise, that transfers to about $277. Not brilliant, perhaps, but when you consider the game is available across three other platforms as well, the grand total may not be too horrendous. That’s not to say it couldn’t be better, though. What does Pascal Bestebroer of Orange Pixel, who gave me these stats, think of the Ouya so far?
“My interpretation of these stats is the thing I was fearing: everything is free, so getting downloads isn’t hard. Getting people to pay for the full content when there is another demo and quick fix just one minute away from downloading might be the big problem Ouya has to face.”
Game developer Capcom have published a book, Remember Me: The Pandora Archive, based on the game release Remember Me (June 2013). Friend of these parts Paul Rhodes, Orb Entertainment, worked with Capcom to bring the book together (alongside author Scott Harrison). According to Rhodes:
“Digital has levelled the playing field. It is now possible for games companies such as Capcom to extend their fantastic stories into the literary marketplace without having to rely on a traditional licensing deal with a book publisher.”
The market is shifting - I’m working on a similar project at the minute with Digit Games - but I don’t see it as the end to partnerships, more that those too will shift.
One thing that is hard to argue - the direct reach that a games company has with their audience is huge and with an incredibly brand-loyal market this isn’t the first, or the last time, that developers will produce books of their own.
News broke last week that fans (of which I am proudly one) of the late Diana Wynne Jones can expect a new novel - The Islands of Chaldea.
PW have the story but a note from Jones’ agent tells the story: “Diana started work on the novel in the first half of 2009 and she expected to finish that year, but when she was about a third of the way through… she was diagnosed with cancer. About a year later, when it was decided that it was pointless to continue with the chemo, Diana began to feel better and began writing again. She worked steadily until Christmas, but after then her health became much worse. She continued to write almost to the end of her life, in spite of days when she was in considerable pain.”
The first look at The Lego Movie is… well, teasing! With an epic cast and more lego character cameos than anyone could ever hope for.
Assembling in 2014!
Today is not just any old Monday. Today is Maurice Sendak’s 85th Birthday.
And Google were not letting it slip by unnoticed.
This morning saw the unveiling of a new Google Doodle - with a parade of Sendak’s most loved characters walking through their iconic scenes before all joining together around a birthday cake! Illustrator Jennifer Hom worked up the new doodle with the Google team - and unveiled some of how it came about with storyboards, alternative sketches and more:
n her introduction to the doodle, Jennifer asks “How can anyone sing the praises of Maurice Sendak with enough affection?” Hom even managed to include Sendak’s dog, Herman!