Our new game Orcs and Outlaws (previously called Condition 24) now has it’s own website; http://www.condition24.blog/
We will be updated the site on a regular basis with development and features news. We are planning to release the first game demo over the summer so register on the site for our email newsletter and you will get the download link. Now back to my level design tasks!
Before Unity, Fierce Fun used the Adobe Air platform extensively. It was a great piece of technology designed as a wrapper for Flash applications. It meant you could deploy Flash apps and games on PC and mobile devices – something Flash was never designed for. The original Macromedia Flash was developed as an animation tool for early Web browsers. Before Flash, the Web was a very static place. With the advent of the SWF format, Flash developers could quickly create and publish highly interactive animated content. It spawned a whole generation of Web animators and indie game developers. You could draw original vector art, animate it and add code – all within one tool. In our opinion, even with Flash's many flaws, nothing has come close to it since.
Then Apple came along with the iPhone which famously did not support Flash content. Steve Jobs was extremely critical of the Flash Player – though this had more to do with his ‘closed’ Apple economic ecosystem than any technical issues – a point that most observers missed. Also, Flash’s parent company Macromedia was bought by Adobe and they never quite understood what to do with Flash.
Adobe Air was developer as a cross platform software environment and it was used to package Flash content for PC and mobile devices. It meant that Web developers could finally design and develop content for both browser and PC/mobile platforms.
Over the years, Adobe reduced their support for Air. There were great add-ons such as the Starling library but gradually developers moved to more established development software such as Unity.
In 2019, Harman (a subsidiary of Samsung) took over the continued developed of the Air SDK. With an established backer, it looks like Air will continue to be an option for developers using the new version of Flash, Adobe Animate.
For anyone interested in using Air or Adobe Animate, we have released some of our Air developer documentation. Just to note - some of the older links may not work but you should find other sections useful.
Adobe_ Game_Animation Tutorials
Fierce Fun was tasked with creating an innovative game for the Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO). The OCO is a human rights institution that promotes the rights and welfare of young people under 18 years of age living in Ireland.
Their website is aimed at educating children and young people about their rights. They were looking for a game to make their site more interactive and fun. Their requirements included:
Based on our analysis of the OCO requirements, Fierce Fun proposed to create an Endless Runner type game. Endless runners are a variant of the platform game genre. . With their simplified controls and speed, they have become extremely popular on mobile devices. The game project was designed and delivered within 4 months. The client was very happy with the game and it is now live on their website.
Game: Rights Runner
Rights Runner is a 2D endless runner type game where you play the role of a young superhero who has to travel across the world to collect all of the children’s UN rights. A tornado has scattered them across Ireland, and it is your job to gather them all in your rights book. Your superhero collects energy hearts to keep them active and has to avoid many obstacles on their journey. Each right will be represented by one word and you have to jump to collect the individual letters that make up that word. When you have got the word, you will unlock a rights charter, with the full details about that particular right.
As the graphic quality and production values used in console games are on a par with movies, it is important for parents to consider which games are suitable for their children. Children can play games on a variety of devices from consoles to mobiles. Regardless of the device, the game’s rating should be checked to see if it suitable for young player.
There are various game rating systems used around the world. PEGI (Pan European Game Information) is the system used in Europe and Ireland. Essentially PEGI is an age rating system used to classify games. It is similar to the film rating system where you are tags such as PG (parental guidance) and R (restricted). Age ratings are a simple way to help parents decide if the content is appropriate for their children.
PEGI does not take into account the difficulty of the game – it only considers the age suitability of a game. So, if you buy a PEGI7, there is no guarantee that your 7-year-old will like it.
Here are the PEGI Ratings:
PEGI 3
FOR THE YOUNGEST – VERY MILD
The content of apps with this rating is considered suitable for all age groups. Some violence in a comical cartoon context is acceptable. A child should not be able to associate the character on the screen with real-life characters; they should be distinctly fantasy. The app should not contain anything that are likely to scare young children, including bad language.
PEGI 7
FOR DEVELOPING CHILDREN
This is similar to PEGI3 but may contain some content that could possibly be frightening for children. There can only be very mild violence in a PEGI 7 e.g. think falling into water, getting hit of the head – again, more cartoon like, nothing realistic
PEGI 12
MORE REALISTIC
With this rating, the games are becoming a bit more realistic. They may show violence of a slightly more graphic nature towards fantasy characters, or non-graphic violence towards human-looking characters or animals. The game character will look more lifelike. Their clothes and attire will be more typical of male and female game characters. Any bad language in this category must be mild and fall short of sexual expletives.
PEGI 16
REAL LIFE CONTENT
Once the depiction of violence or sexual activity reaches a stage that looks the same as would be expected in real life, this rating is applied. Stronger inappropriate language, encouraging the use of tobacco or drugs, and depicting criminal activities can be content of apps that are rated 16.
PEGI 18
ADULT ONLY
The adult classification is applied when the level of violence reaches a stage where it becomes a depiction of gross violence and/or includes elements of specific types of violence (motiveless killing, violence towards defenseless characters or sexual violence). It may also include graphic sexual content, discrimination or the glamorisation of illegal drug use.
Hopefully you find this these rating useful when considering game content for your children. Another tip would be look at the game trailer and screenshots before purchasing a game. The game trailer will give a quick overview of the gameplay and is useful in assessing its suitability.
We are truly in the era of cross-platform gaming. With the advent of mobile phones as gaming devices, playing games is not restricted to any place or time. Gaming has become THE ubiquitous entertainment activity – everyone (well almost) is a now a gamer.
Whereas before, game developer’s choice of platform was restricted to PC and consoles - now they must consider Web, mobile, VR and other dedicated devices. In addition, gamers tend to play the same title on many devices , depending on their location and environment. For many game developers and publishers, the only choice is to go cross-platform. Despite the extra development effort in doing this, it substancially increases the likelihood of reaching their target gaming audience.
Planning a cross-platform games project needs to start early. To ensure a smoother and consistent player experience across different platforms, we would recommend using the Facebook SDK for certain app features.
Facebook recommends the following:
- Handle notifications, requests and stories consistently
- Synchronize Game State across platforms
- Encourage people to play on other platforms
For more advice on your cross-platform game strategy, check out this Facebook post.
We recently came across an excellent piece of research from GlobalWebIndex on the current state of video gaming. Some really interesting facts from this research include:
Demographics
Mobile
Console/PC
Spectator Gaming
VR
We were delighted to be able to show Mindframe Arena at the recent Dublin Comic Con. As always it is a fantastic fun event - hot and hectic as it should be. Great crowds and energy make it a must-see event for all scifi, fantasy, comic, cosplay and game fans. The Comic Con brochure had a really nice tribute to the legend that was Stan Lee - such a positive creative role model for everyone in the comic and games world.
As you can see below, we had a lot of interest in the game. We got great feedback over the 2 days so thanks to everyone for dropping by and saying hello.
Don't forget, you can now download the Android version of Mindframe Arena on Google Play
Fierce Fun was recently visited by a number of Chinese game publishers, as part of a worldwide tour. During their visit, we presented an overview of the European game publishing market and some of the advantages to publishing games from Ireland. We also discussed publishing games in China and there was considerable interest in our new game Mindframe Arena.
The visiting attendees were:
Pictured:
Ms. Mavis Yao--- Vice secretary-general of China National Center for Developing Animation, Cartoon and Game Industry
General Manager of Tangxi Culture (executive company of Shanghai Online Game Association)
Ms. Guanhua JIAO---Co-founder of Uzone games
Ms. July LI --- Secretary-General Government Public Relationship of Uzone games
Ms. Sherry HU --- CFO of Lilith games
Mr. Crespo SUN --- Vice President of Europe and America Business of Gamemoon
Ms. Lauren LU --- Overseas Department Project Executive of Tangxi Culture
Peter Lynch – Fierce Fun
Mark Reid – Fierce Fun
Advergaming, branded games, marketing games as part of the marketing mix are increasingly making their presence known world wide. This kind of marketing connects with the consumer in a fun but casual way, on all types of devices, but primarily on mobile devices. It seeks to provide positive experiences for the players or players, this in turn reflects on the specific brand or product connected to the game. Consumers are introduced to the brand or product in a positive and exciting way using this medium. They will learn about the brand and have a pleasant recollection of the experience via the games.
The usual array of internet marketing options like banners, pop ups, have their place; however they can be easily blocked by savvy consumers. Advergaming provides an effective and more interactive method way to engage with consumers. People increasingly use the mobile phone as their primary touch point with the internet. We feel its inevitable that marketing through these devices will become crucial to the successful placement of products or brands. Gaming has expanded its reach to beyond the traditional male audience. It is now a popular entertainment activity with the general public, with games now played equally by male and female players. Increasingly your customers as casual users can connect to play games on their mobile devices or phones.
Advergaming is not considered intrusive and can lead to positive social and viral marketing of your product. One great innovation in the online gaming area is the use of web gaming and HTML5. This allows cross platform game activity, working on all devices. You can play anywhere and even use devices interchangeably. Imagine starting the game on the train to work and finishing it on your PC in work (at lunchtime of course).
At Fierce Fun we provide full advergaming, branded and marketing gaming solutions. We can create a complete branded games solution for your business. Because the process includes building a storyboard visual, you are fully involved in designing your own game. Also our developers and animators create a digital emulation using critical data on potential user flow. This will ensure you get a highly effective marketing solution, in addition to a great game. This approach can transform your brand and move your products to a new audience. So if you want to take advantage of the marketing potential of online gaming in the Irish, UK or European markets, please contact us.
ADVERGAMING
http://www.warc.com/News/Default.aspx?ID=34948
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advertising_in_video_games
The online sales team at Independent News & Media required an interactive game that would fit their banner ad format. The game needed to work seamlessly on both desktop and mobile devices. Using our HTML5 game software, Fierce Fun created the banner ad game in a very short period as it was needed as part of an overall digital marketing campaign.
For Irish brands, INM provide a comprehensive range of digital advertising solutions – highly recommended.
Independent News & Media
