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My Favorite Mac OS X Games

dustin — 2010-04-01T15:55:03-04:00

I just updated my list of cool Mac OS X Games to Download. Mac gamers should take a look and have some fun.

Osmos - Relaxation Game

dustin — 2010-03-23T06:02:38-04:00

Osmos is a fantastic game based around the concept of planetary orbits, and set in a relaxing ambient space environment. I highly recommend you try it when you're in the mood for a chill activity.

Watch this video trailer for the game, or download the free demo to dive right in.

Gaming can make a better world

dustin — 2010-03-20T06:34:11-04:00

Jane McGonigal: Gaming can make a better world

Olympic... um... Games

chrisdye — 2010-02-11T21:42:32-05:00

Of all of the Olympic Mascot flashgames,
recycling bin curling is the best.
(Although I like the music for Soaring Sumi).

I Don't Dare Start One

vinny9 — 2010-01-19T17:23:57-05:00

20 free Browser RPG games

Popomatic cupcake

Bryan — 2010-01-06T21:10:56-05:00

http://www.steelheadstudio.com/100cupcakes/

How many cupcake games can you name?

I got 45. I think you can beat that, nerdz!

Star Punch

vinny9 — 2009-05-12T08:59:27-04:00

Plus, Doc Louis training

Fun game

vinny9 — 2009-04-24T12:36:59-04:00

Flight Control for the iPhone/Touch is a great game. For it's temp price of 99c, it's a total steal and very much worth it.

Zoetermeeriment

chrisdye — 2009-04-04T14:57:04-04:00

Zoetermeer is a city (pop. 119,000) near The Hague and Rotterdam. On the city council website are Zoetermeer-themed computer games. One is a sort of SimZoetermeer, like SimCity except that the city grows according to the history of Zoetermeer from 1960 (when the town had only 6,000 people) to today. The other is Castle Zoetermeer. I haven't tried that one yet.

I think that all city council websites should have video games.

2008 Lux Awards

dustin — 2008-10-23T16:41:39-04:00

The Luxtoberfest 2008 award ceremonies are being held inside online Lux Delux on Sunday at 1 PM Pacific / 4 PM Eastern / 8 PM UK / 9 PM Europe time.

All Luxers are eligible to vote for the best map of the year. Please vote now!

Top Score

vinny9 — 2008-09-16T12:37:25-04:00

10 hip-hop songs that sampled video games

Platforms to Stand On

dustin — 2008-06-09T19:15:13-04:00

My company currently makes games for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux.

The first 2 have a good business case. Lots of people run Mac OS X and Windows, and buy games to play. (Thank you to all the customers who keep us small developers alive.)

Linux doesn't have as good a business case for us. Not very many people buy the Linux versions of our games. But, I foresee Linux continuing to grow in leaps and bounds on the desktop. And our codebase is in Java, so it isn't that much extra work to make Linux versions.

Going Mobile
The mobile OS wars are warming up fast. In the past we've gotten some scattered requests for PocketPC or Palm versions, but it hasn't seemed worthwhile. Apparently there was good money to be made selling Palm apps in the past, but greedy distributors (hearsay says Handango) and a decaying platform have destroyed it.

J2ME and BREW cellphone apps are making money, but only for a few big companies (at least in North America). The carriers have been very greedy distributors, and locked down their platform tightly.

Apple's iPhone is fresh mobile platform coming on strong. They've publicized their app distribution rate as taking a 30% cut. That's a lot better then most desktop games distributors (Yahoo Games typically takes 70%). Apple has been tremendously successful at iterating the iPod from version1 to perfection. They're following the same process with the iPhone, building a mobile platform from the ground up. I think the iPhone will be one of the long term mobile platform winners.

Google Android is the other mobile platform I'm keeping an eye on. Open-source and available for carriers to build on. Apps are written in the Java language, but using G's own VM and libraries. (A nice end-run around SUN, straight to Java developers.) It hasn't launched on any real phones yet, but I think it has huge potential. The first Android phones are supposed to be available "soon."

You already have a computer in your pocket (your cellphone). The big question for software developers is: what platform is your next one going to run?

Vidfest and the Pop Vox Awards

dustin — 2008-05-01T20:19:01-04:00

Vidfest is the Vancouver International Digital Festival, happening May 21-24, 2008. It's got a keynote from Chris Anderson of Wired, a day of "creative exchange" conference sessions, a day of "International Partnering Forum" one-on-one meetings, and the PopVox Digital Media Awards.

Lux Delux is in the running for the best casual game award. Please show your support and vote for the entry (you have to register an account for the Vote button to show up).

Launch Party 4 is also happening on the 21st, celebrating the local startup scene. And the Vancouver Game Summit runs concurrently on May 21-22, mostly focused on console business.

Techcouver is being used more as a nickname for Vancouver. Cool beans.

Create your own Custom Anime Avatar

dustin — 2008-04-12T19:52:52-04:00

Tektek.org's Dream Avatar is an awesome avatar creation game that has been sweeping the Lux Forums like wildfire. Lots of cool stuff to choose from and output is a PNG on a transparent background. Sweetness.

Their HTML output code is missing some "s in it unfortunately, and won't work in a comment here without being fixed.

Abandon The Run

vinny9 — 2008-01-25T23:43:05-05:00

http://www.abandonia.com/

An online repository of abandonware (games which aren't sold anymore and are released into the public domain).

Space Quest! Quest for Glory! Lemmings! I so don't have time...

Angry Nintendo Nerd

registeredname — 2008-01-17T23:33:17-05:00

I stumbled on this today and thought it was hilarious:

The sad thing is I was bad with every game I played on the NES.

Other good ones to check out are :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMg6_IXCjo4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3p713bNaO4A&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1raUvGNbZFg&feature=related

Tetris: in 3D

Adrienne — 2008-01-05T13:28:59-05:00

Tetris fun the game show way

Awesome human representation of the game

I should really learn how to add videos.

YAY FLASH GAMES YAY

Sean — 2008-01-03T21:46:24-05:00

I do not play many games but here are two flash games I read about recently at MetaFilter and am now pretty much in love with:

Cursor 10 is a truly original, beautiful and downright exciting game - quick-witted, challenging, and ingenious. All you need to know: YOU HAVE 10 CURSORS. WORK TOGETHER. (not much replay value though.)

Shuffle is like curling or pool or shuffleboard, but with no walls, no nonsense, just balls and shootin' and your heart in yr mouth. Devilishly simple.

Go Medieval On Your Chess

vinny9 — 2008-01-01T14:06:21-05:00

Tafl games (medieval Scandinavian board games)

Map Porn

dustin — 2007-12-14T17:23:31-05:00

This post has screenshots of some of the hottest maps for the computer strategy game Lux. Images below the cut (work-safe).

US Map aka USA Map aka Map of US

Map of Iraq

Hey, you made it to the bottom! Share the wealth and spread this post on your favorite network. Your friends will love you for it!

PS: Map porn? Oh yeah, baby. Deep, wet, glistening rivers. Rock hard mountains. Trade routes spread wide open. Yours to dominate. This stuff is nasty dirty. ;-)

Sillysoft Games Exposed

dustin — 2007-11-12T23:08:52-05:00

Luxtoberfest included a series of competitive "LuxShoppe" photoshop showndowns. It's all come down to a final epic match running now between Sasquatch and MBauer. The results so far are spectacular, and include these behind-the-scenes look into Sillysoft's secret operations.

The last one was just a dream. I think. Maybe a vision.

Luxtoberfest 2007

dustin — 2007-10-01T05:40:03-04:00

Luxtoberfest is a series of tournaments and awards for my Risk inspired computer game Lux.

There are lots of maps (RSS) and people in the running for the Lux Awards. You have 1 month to send in your votes...

The Fancy Pants Adventures

registeredname — 2007-08-25T11:18:17-04:00

This cool little game is a cross between mario brothers and sonic the hedge hog with fun graphics.
http://www.kongregate.com/games/DrNeroCF/the-fancy-pants-adventures

Playing games with Apple

dustin — 2007-06-14T05:42:57-04:00

Amongst all the iPhone and OSX 10.5 hubub, I haven't heard much said about the part of the Stevenote talking about games. EA announced they are soon going to be releasing Mac versions of a bunch of their games. John Carmack also demonstrated ID's next engine which will support Macs along with the PC, XBox 360, and PS3. That's a nice announcement in itself, but it's really just the beginning.

Soon...

Apple is going to start selling games from the iTunes store.

In fact, they already do sell iPod games from the iTunes store, alongside music, movies, and TV shows. Desktop games is a natural next step for the store. Digital distribution is just getting started for games, but it's projected to take an increasing share in the future, just like digital music sales. There are already a number of "game portals" selling downloadable games including Valve, Yahoo Games, MSN Games, and RealNetworks. Most of them only sell games for Windows though. It makes a lot of sense for Apple to compete in this market with their iTunes store. They can even use it to give a nice boost to OSX.

Apple will only sell games if they support Mac OS X.

This will provide a huge incentive for game developers to make their games support Macs. "You want us to sell your Windows game from our massively popular iTunes store? Sure, as long as you have an OSX version we'll sell them both for you." The downside of this is that Apple wouldn't be able to match the full roster of games sold by other stores ... at least until they convinced a large enough portion of the industry to support Macs. EA's the largest publisher in the world, and ID's engines get licensed for use by a multitude of other companies, so they'll be able to hit the ground running.

This would be a deliciously clever move for Apple, using the iTunes store to give even more boost to Mac OS X. I don't have any real knowledge that this is Apple's plan, but it's not such a big stretch really. Everybody in the downloadable games biz knows about the increasing role of the "game portals" and online distribution. It's the exact same situation that the music industry has undergone. Games are more complicated to sell since they are code and not pure data, but it's not a big deal in practice.

I'm pretty much 100% certain that Apple will start selling games from the iTunes store in the next year or two. It's a natural fit, and something I've been thinking about for awhile now. The WWDC announcements mean it might be coming sooner then later. The only real question is whether they will sell pure Windows games to Windows users, or whether they will use this opportunity to force a massive influx of games to OSX.

What do you think?

Digg expands their gaming sections

dustin — 2007-05-14T22:33:10-04:00

Digg.com just expanded their gaming categories, including a PC Games section. This is a great move, it's something there was clearly a need for.

Finally there's a proper category for the games that I make. If you dig Lux, then go and digg Lux.

Vancouver Game Summit

dustin — 2007-04-17T21:05:32-04:00

I just registered to attend the Vancouver Game Summit, which is happening May 3-4. The technology focus will probably be on producing next-gen console games, which isn't my thing. However, there looks to be some useful stuff in the "management track" for me. Plus the chance to network with local game dev peeps reeled me in.

Early bird pricing ends on Friday, so get in now if you want to.

Indie games roundup does Ancient Empires Lux

dustin — 2007-03-14T00:50:54-04:00

Ancient Empires Lux was included in GameTunnel's latest indie game roundup. It was ranked 3rd (out of 10 games) with a score of 7.8 and the "silver award." The pull-quote:

"The presentation here is extremely well done, with a polished interface, nice 2D graphics, and included historical notes for each period."

Also, I just found this Ancient Lux review on a Hebrew linux site. I don't know what it says (can you tell me?), but it definitely looks cool.

Java Game Programmers Wanted

dustin — 2007-02-22T01:01:57-05:00

Sillysoft Games is looking for talented Java programmers to join our team creating desktop strategy games. We are located in Vancouver, BC.

JOB 1 - Java game engine and AI programmer

Requires:
- CS degree or equivalent experience
- Knowledge of AI techniques

JOB 2 - Java graphics and GUI programmer

Requires:
- Experience with Java2D, Swing/AWT or java-openGL
- Strong 2D geometry and math skills

Bonus qualities for both jobs:
- Mastery of the Java libraries
- Experience with SVN, CVS, ant, XML, networking
- Experience playing Axis & Allies, Diplomacy or Risk board games
- PHP, SQL or web development experience

As part of a small team you would be able to have creative input during development. Flexible hours, a competitive salary and the possibility of profit sharing. We have a hit game in Lux Delux, happy customers, and a direct digital distribution channel. Our next game is loosely based on the Axis & Allies board game. This a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a profitable and growing game studio.

To apply, send an email with your cover letter and resume to lux@sillysoft.net.

The Rise of Islam

dustin — 2007-01-29T23:11:36-05:00

The Rise of Islam is the next Lux Deluxe map of the week. It was created by Evan Wiliams.

The Last King

dustin — 2007-01-23T03:31:09-05:00

The current Lux Delux Map Of The Week also happens to be the winner of the 2006 Best Map award. Castle Lux - The Last King is the fourth and final installment in the Castle Lux Series. It features a central Hex Stronghold guarding Lord Quasar's Castle, surrounded by Luxers villages on all sides, yearning for glory...

The Castle Lux maps were created by Mark Bauer, who also made the maps for all the expansion Lux games.