This morning I came across an article on I4U’s site titled “The Sweet Reason of Niantic’s Lack of Communication About Pokemon GO Troubles”. Intrigued, I opened the article and read it. If I had been drinking coffee, I would have spit it out all over my desk. I4U’s Luigi Lugmayr placed Niantic’s Product Marketing Manager, Yennie Solheim Fuller, at the center of the blame for Niantic’s poor communication with their fanbase. Why is Niantic basically silent throughout the turmoil...
Continue reading...Renee Gittins
Renee is the lead developer of Stumbling Cat, a game studio based in Seattle. She loves writing about games and helping others get into game development. She also has an affinity for beers, cheeses and cats.
Neko Atsume Update [1.7.0]: Three new cats and tons of toys!
Right in the midst of the summer heat, Neko Atsume has released another big update! New goodies, backgrounds and kitties have joined the ranks of the casual cat-collecting game, along with some other hidden treats! There’s definitely a general beach theme to this update, full of seashells and even pirates! First, let’s look at all of the new items: Beach Ball – 85 Silver Treasure-box – 400 Silver Luxury Treasure-box – 20 Gold Dino Deluxe – 999...
Continue reading...The Complete Guide to Pokémon GO [Updated]
Pokémon GO has spread like wildfire across the United States and other countries lucky enough to have access to it right now. However, the guides are far and few between. We’ve collected the best and most important tips and tricks to guide you right here! PokéStops PokéStops grant you items, including Eggs, Potions, Revives, Poké Balls and Razz Berries To get the items you have to click on a PokéStop (marked by a blue circle icon on the map) and...
Continue reading...Pokémon GO Released in the US
After being released to Australia and New Zealand for iOS and Android earlier on July 6th, Pokémon GO has now been officially released in the United States, much to the joy of many Pokémon fans. Pokémon GO is an augmented reality phone app from Niantic, the creators of Ingress. Much like Ingress, Pokémon GO is a GPS-based game that will require users to explore the real world. In Pokémon GO, players can find Pokémon, eggs, Poké Balls and other items, then use them...
Continue reading...Key Resellers a Huge Threat to Indies
Key resellers have a reputation for being sketchy and potentially harmful to the game industry. Recently, the magnitude of their negative impact was shown. Earlier this week, tinyBuild, an indie game development studio and publisher, revealed that the key reselling site, G2A.COM, sold thousands of keys of their games without tinyBuild ever seeing a dime. Almost $200k was pulled in by G2A, though tinyBuild has noted that the keys sold at retail value would have been worth $450k. G2A’s response...
Continue reading...Logitech G930 Review
A brand I keep coming back to is Logitech. I was a die-hard fan of their mouses until Mad Catz’ R.A.T. series won me over, and I’ve had numerous headsets and webcams from them as well. Today I wanted to review one of my favorite gaming products by Logitech, the Logitech G930 wireless headset. This headset has treated me very well over the last 5 years I’ve had the pleasure of owning it. I’ve had it longer...
Continue reading...Forget Sports Managers, Here’s A Management RPG
While I enjoy sports here and there, I never quite understood the draw of sports management games. Now that I’ve seen Epic Tavern, I can understand the appeal: recruit, manage and reap the rewards from your own heroes. Enjoy their victories, work against their failures and quirks. It just so happens that my heroes swing swords at dragons, not throw balls around. Epic Tavern promises to “[combine] classic RPG elements with a unique combination of roster management and...
Continue reading...Steam Dev Days Returns
Members of Valve’s Steamworks program, which provides game developers and publishers the tools needed to publish their games on Steam, received emails today announcing that the much coveted Steam Dev Days is returning. The first Steam Dev Days was held January 15-16 in 2014 and was regarded as a highly informative conference with quality talks and networking. While Valve used it to heavily market their struggling Steam Machine and Steam Controller, they also showed their virtual reality headset, now...
Continue reading...Purfect Team: Overwatch Kitties
A friend recently shared with me some Overwatch art from the talented artist 솔져앓이 릴루. As the internet absolutely loves Overwatch right now, and has always loved cats, I thought that I just had to share these cute kitty heroes! Below is cat fan art for 18 of the 21 heroes in Overwatch, only the three non-human heroes have been excluded (Bastion, Winston and Zenyatta). A little skill with Photoshop or Gimp can turn these images into your very...
Continue reading...Prepare for Overwatch
4pm PST. That’s the time that the servers go live and Overwatch officially changes the landscape of team based first person shooters. If the ticking of the clock is driving you insane, I recommend burning time reading the official Overwatch comics and watching their animated shorts. If you missed the beta or are looking for some tips, we’ve complied a list that will help ensure you enter the world of Overwatch with guns blazing: Counter Pick –...
Continue reading...All Loot, No Group – Group Finding Tools Hurt World of Warcraft
I still actively play World of Warcraft. No, I don’t mean that I just log into my garrison a few times a week to collect gold and send out followers. I love pets, but that’s not why I log on. There are many more I have to farm, but don’t have the energy to put into hunting them down. I love exploring the beautiful worlds, but that’s not why I log on. I’ve seen almost every inch...
Continue reading...I Accidentally Made a Game Girls Love
When I started Potions: A Curious Tale a year and a half ago, I didn’t know where it would lead me. I didn’t know that it would be an inspiration for girls. I didn’t know that I would become an inspiration for them. I made a game that I would enjoy and, as I was a woman developing the game, I produced a game that girls and women enjoy immensely. This wasn’t my intent, though, and I only stumbled onto that realization...
Continue reading...May IndieBox Unwrapped – Galak-Z!
This month’s IndieBox was a particularly exciting one for me, featuring Galak-Z, a critically acclaimed, action-packed dog-fighting game with a space ship that transforms into a sword-wielding mech! How cool is that? Better yet, the box itself features a figurine of this awesome ship that you’ll use with both your stealth and fighting skills to take down intelligent enemies. Oh, and did I mention that there are TWO OTHER GAMES IN HERE? Starr Mazer DSP F. Squadron, a rogue-like scrolling...
Continue reading...Overwatch Abominations – A New Glitch has Disturbing Results
One of the joys of playing games still in development is the discovery of bugs and other glitches that have amusing results. Sometimes these even make it out of the betas and into the released games themselves, like the flying horse of Skyrim. This latest glitch is one that I hope to see continue to live on. During the Overwatch stress test this last weekend, one of the members of my guild discovered a glitch in Overwatch that...
Continue reading...Tracer’s Butt and Why I’m Okay with the “Over the Shoulder” Pose
A recent post on the Overwatch forums has sparked a controversy over how one of Overwatch‘s star characters, Tracer, is represented in the game. The thread started as a complain from a player who claimed that Tracer’s “Over the Shoulder” pose was too sexualized for the character and is in opposition to Tracer’s spunky personality. They claim this sexualization of Tracer reduces her depth as a strong female character to “another bland female sex symbol”. As many...
Continue reading...