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Castle Vox - Axis vs Allies Game Trailer


Here's the second trailer for my new game Castle Vox. It's a combination of Risk with Diplomacy with Axis & Allies. Available to download now for PC, Mac, and Linux.
Posted by dustin on December 10, 2010. Tagged with

 

My new computer game Castle Vox
The computer game I've been working on for the past 2 years has just been released. It's called Castle Vox and I encourage you to check it out.

The gameplay is a simultaneous-turn-based strategy model. So you don't have to wait for all the other players to take their turns, you're always taking your turn (except in-between rounds when the battle resolutions happen).

Here's a screenshot of the Napoleonic Wars map:


The full version has 35 maps and counting. The game includes a map editor so you can make your own, or edit the existing ones.

So go play: Castle Vox - Diplomacy game meets Axis & Allies
Posted by dustin on October 18, 2010. Tagged with
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2008 Lux Awards
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!

Posted by dustin on October 23, 2008. Tagged with

 

Platforms to Stand On
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?
Posted by dustin on June 9, 2008. Tagged with
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Vidfest and the Pop Vox Awards
PopVox AwardsVidfest 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.
Posted by dustin on May 1, 2008. Tagged with

 

Map Porn
This post has screenshots of some of the hottest maps for the computer strategy game Lux. Images below the cut (work-safe).
Posted by dustin on December 14, 2007. Tagged with
967 words in full |

 

Luxtoberfest 2007

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...
Posted by dustin on October 1, 2007. Tagged with
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Indie games roundup does Ancient Empires Lux
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.
Posted by dustin on March 14, 2007. Tagged with
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Java Game Programmers Wanted
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.
Posted by dustin on February 22, 2007. Tagged with
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Strategy Informer likes Ancient Empires Lux
Strategy Informer just published their review of Ancient Empires Lux. They sum up with:
Overall this was a great game. It's easily picked up and played for a few hours with a lot of options for replaying. Definitely worth the twenty bucks and the download.
Woohoo!
Posted by dustin on January 15, 2007. Tagged with
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