Archive for January, 2010
Star Hammer Tactics Boxart
Posted by Black Lab Games in Star Hammer, Tactics on January 26th, 2010
I’m getting close to the end of development of Star Hammer Tactics, so it’s time to start thinking about the evil M-word : Marketing. From reading about the experiences of other developers who have released games through Xbox Live Indie Games, it seems that box art is especially important to getting noticed (and in turn, getting sales). It seems many people do judge a game by it’s cover.
Although digitally distributed games don’t have boxes, they still have artwork and descriptions that are intended to communicate to potentials players/customers what the game is about and why you should click the Buy Now button…Now!
So, here are a few layouts I’ve come up with so far.
Layout 1:
Layout 2 (note the blue tint of the ship):
Layout 3:
Layout 4:
The concept is pretty simple, a big bad-ass ship and the name of the game. From the viewpoint of someone browsing through the online store, if you like big bad-ass ships, you’ll hopefully be interested in this game. The grid background suggests the strategy elements of the game. I thought about adding more action, but decided not too, since it’s not really an action game.
Does it hit the mark? Which one do you think is best? Am I missing something? Feel free to comment! (I’d love to hear from some graphics designers about simple tricks that can add some impact to the image!)
Star Hammer Tactics Beta 1
Posted by Black Lab Games in Game Development, Star Hammer on January 20th, 2010
I’m pretty pleased to say that Star Hammer Tactics has reached beta.
Just before the Christmas break, I submitted a build of Star Hammer Tactics to the Creator Club Online* for playtesting.
Star Hammer Tactics Battle Scene
So, since the pre-Christmas version, I’ve added quite a lot to the game. Here is a bit of a list of changes :
- Added a single player campaign
- Re-balanced all of the unit types
- Added instructions and improved in-game help
- Fixed some issues with graphics being displayed off-screen on some older TV’s
- Millions of other smaller tweaks and improvements!
Right now, I’m looking for beta testers. However there is a slight catch – being an Xbox 360 game, you’ll need a Creators Club Online account.
So, if that’s you, it would be really awesome if you could give it a go. Right here. Thanks!
(* In case you’re not familiar with Creators Club, let me explain. Microsoft provide a service called Creators Club Online as part of their efforts to serve the “indie” game development community. For an annual fee of US$99, members can build games for the Xbox 360 and be part of a community of fellow game development enthusiast. Services such as playtesting are provided, whereby other CCO members can download your game, test it out and provide feedback. Finally, there is a game distribution service, called Xbox Live Indie Games (XBLIG), in which Xbox 360 owners with an Xbox LIVE account can buy your game once it’s finished. The service is not without it’s problems, but it’s a fantastic way to get into developing games for consoles.)
Thick skin required
Posted by Black Lab Games in Uncategorized on January 11th, 2010
I came across this today whilst looking through some Google Alerts. I wondered how long it would take….
Quite amusing. I’m sure they’ll love the game if they ever play it. 
Remember, all publicity is good publicity.
Happy New Year
Posted by Black Lab Games in Personal on January 4th, 2010
The start of a new year seems like as good a time as any for some reflection on recent events and progress, and for looking forward to update and set new targets and goals. I’ve had a break from game development over the last week or two to recharge the batteries, and in the interests of not being anti-social. (Christmas and New Year are supposed to be about family and friends, right?).
I’ve had time to review the progress of Black Lab Games. Here’s a list of some of the highlights of the year:
- Started development of Star Hammer. Initially, Star Hammer was meant to be a relatively short project, but as I’ve worked more on the game, the possibilities have opened up, and the scope has grown significantly. Initially a simple mission-based shmup, it’s morphed into an episodic space opera with characters and a storyline. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not, though I’d say that aiming high is better than aiming low.
- Contracted to Subversive Games for a serious games project. The project was completed late in the year, and was the first opportunity I’d had to work with gamejam luminary Simon Wittber. Although I’ve known Simon for years, it was the first chance I’ve had to work with him, and was a very positive experience. Simon has also since written some excellent music for Star Hammer.
- Approval to develop PSP Minis. It’s still early days for the Minis “program”, but it’s gratifying to apply and be approved early on.
- Co-Sponsored iParty. iParty was awesome. It was an end-of-year event arranged by Lets Make Games and the Perth IGDA Chapter. It was great to see such a huge turnout, and for the event to be so well supported by the Perth development community.
- Spoke at GCAP. I did a talk at Game Connect Asia Pacific 2009 on “Managed Code in Game Development”. Although the presentation wasn’t as good as I would have liked, presenting at a conference is something I’ve wanted to do for a long while. GCAP was an excellent conference too, btw.
- Announced Star Hammer Tactics. At the risk of over promising and under delivering, I quietly announced a new turn-based strategy game set in the same conflict as the Star Hammer action game. I’ll be saying more about this game in the coming weeks.
There are a few disappointments for the year also. I guess the main one would be not releasing anything. Note to self…beware of scope creep in 2010
Last year was in part of journey of discovery. I’ve worked out what I want Black Lab Games to be, and where I want it to go. This year will be about building on what I’ve done in 2009.
I’m hopeful that 2010 will be an exciting year for Black Lab Games. I hope it will be for you too.