Facebook timeline

We Just updated the Gogogic page on Facebook and upgraded to the new timeline while we were at it. I think it looks good.

Fight Club

Watched it again last night. Remember why I stopped using soap bars.

Tyler Durden is in my opinion one of the most interesting characters ever created by Hollywood. Is he insane or a genius? Are his actions evil or are they justifiable? In any case Tyler has made a lot of people think about their own world views for the last 13 years.

What I thought about is that I haven’t come across such a strong character in a video game yet. Sure, Kratos is one mean dude, Max Payne is tormented and Master Chief is the ultimate survivalist. They are great characters but in my view they do not come close to affecting us like Tyler, Andy (Shawshank Redemption) or Blondie (The Good, The Bad & The Ugly).

Good news, I think. Because it means games have yet to expand and go further as real life-changing experiences that make us think on a massive scale.

It is appropriate to let Mr. Durden have the last word. Love him or hate him, agree or disagree, he does make a point:

“Man, I see in fight club the strongest and smartest men who’ve ever lived. I see all this potential, and I see squandering. God damn it, an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables; slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don’t need. We’re the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War’s a spiritual war… our Great Depression is our lives. We’ve all been raised on television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won’t. And we’re slowly learning that fact. And we’re very, very pissed off.”

Was the App Store just hit by a massive scam?

Currently an app called Pokemon Yellow is sitting in second place on the Apple App store. It is yours for 99 cents – a bargain for all the Pokemon fans out there… Especially those that played the original Pokemon Yellow title.

Except the whole thing looks and smells like a scam. Once downloaded the app does not work. At all. For anyone. Additionally it does not seem to be tied to Nintendo in any legitimate way. Which basically means IP theft.

How this got through Apple’s review process is a mistery. How it got to the top 2 spot is an even bigger mistery. Hello people – check the ratings!

I like Motörhead

I had the chance to try some Motörhead red wine the other day. It gets the job done without being particularly spectacular.

What is spectacular however is the fact that the only company in Iceland that is allowed to sell alcohol to consumers decided that Motörhead red is bad for people. Why, you ask? Because it is associated with a band that is a possible bad influence. According to the company. That is operated by the state. And makes its profit from selling a lot of stuff that is specifically made to mess with our heads. Funny how that works.

Playing with your food

I eat two eggs for breakfast every day. Sometimes it gets a bit dull. Bland even. This is when their white exterior starts to be a constant reminder of how every meal is basically the same.

But there is a solution (see picture). And sometimes I name them as well. Sometimes – by complete coincidence – one of them bears the same name as someone whom I might not be particularly fond of that morning.

And sometimes they fight back by exploding all over the place when I try to introduce them to Mr. Pan (ancient Teflon Kung Fu master who can be very hot tempered).

It might not change the taste but it sure makes the experience a bit more fun.

A fantastic visit from friends at Big Fish Games

A couple of our friends from Big Fish Games came to visit last week and left yesterday morning. Besides from talking shop we had a lot of fun as well. Unavoidable really, when in such great company.

We managed to show the Big Fish guys a small part of Iceland, introduce them to some exotic local food and show them a handful of our local watering holes.

It will be fun to build on the already established relationship between the two companies. Great people can make great things together. We are already working on a lot of fantastic stuff (more Tiny Places *cough cough*).

The attached picture is taken next to the Blue Lagoon.

Tim Schafer and Ron Gilbert win the Internet. Raise $400k through Kickstarter in 8 hours

In around eight (8) hours Double Fine Productions has managed to raise over $400k through Kickstarter from more than 9.000 backers to make a – wait for it – brand new downloadable “point & click” graphic adventure game. This is truly amazing. More so if you consider that a lot of industry people (and publishers) have declared this a dead genre. You can find the Kickstarter Project Page here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/66710809/double-fine-adventure

But of course Double Fine isn’t just any run-of-the-mill game studio. It was founded by industry legend Tim Schafer in 2000. The man responsible for many of the most successful “point & click” games in history. With him is Ron Gilbert who practically invented the gerne and is probably best know. For the Monkey Island series.

Add to this the promise made by Tim to allow 2 Player Productions to document the entire development process without any kind of sensorship and you have an instant winner! At least in terms of funding.

The Kickstarter project page went viral with lightning speed. A funny and charasmatic Tim Schafer seals the deal in a brilliant video that is featured on the project page. In what must be some kind of Kickstarter record time Double Fine is well on its way to raise enough additional money to get started on the sequel as well… For a game nobody knows anything about at this point in time, except that it might be the resurrection of a supposedly dead genre by those who invented it in the first place. Sounds a bit like the Frankenstein story but I promise you it is not. It is closer to a fairy tale.

As a huge fan of both Tim and Ron (and Double Fine) I wish them the best of luck and I look forward to seeing this become reality. What a way to win the Internet! This backer is certainly one happy camper.

Building a true multi-platform mid-core MMOG

It is true. Time spent away from the desk can really help you gain perspective.

I am back behind my desk and I have realized two things this morning. Less important is the fact that my keyboard clicks really loudly (it never bothered me before) but more important is the realization that we are working on some amazing stuff over here.

Godsrule (www.gogogic.com/games/godsrule) our latest MMOG in development is a fantastic example.

At this very moment I can play the current build of the game through a browser or on an iPad (native app). It is a true multi-platform experience both from a player and developer perspective. Both devices are running “native” clients that are built from the same code base. Both platforms are linked to a single instance of the game world (single shard) where everything ties into a single player-driven economy.

What happens on the iPad is instantly reflected in the browser and visa versa. All graphical assets look amazing on both platforms and the interface is specifically designed to work for all input methods (touch versus mouse and keyboard). And oh, did I mention that we are running this on and iPad 1? Without having fully optimized everything yet? And it runs smoothly? Well – that is exactly what we are doing!

We are used to be well ahead of the curve. In the past we shipped social MMOGs before the term “mid-core” existed, we published multiplayer iOS games before the iPad came out.

But this time we are definitely breaking new ground that should excite industry veterans and players alike.

Slapped around by palm trees

It hit me yesterday (quite literally) that getting slapped in the face by a palm tree can be an uplifting and positive experience. Mostly because of the wild laughter that follows right after you realize what just happened. And because the whole upper deck of the bus is laughing as well. Including all the other victims sitting with you on the left side of the double decker…

And so the whole thing evolves into a little game! It is obvious that the upper deck is not suited for low hanging branches of the palm trees that are planted between lanes. The only appropriate response is – of course – to change seats. But nobody does that. Instead the entire left side of the upper deck starts to duck and dodge to avoid future slaps. Other passengers cheer and laugh.

At the end this has become one of the most memorable bus rides in my life. 25 minutes turned into a blur of excitement, fun and challenge. Funny how even the most unexpected and even unpleasant things can turn into amazing experiences… If you let them.

The picture shows one of those slap-loving palm trees getting ready to attack!

The Cava conundrum

The feeling of sheer panic when you realize that the hotel has run out of breakfast Cava.

Ah, first world problems…