The Red Tape Factor

Apparently Interzone Games are having some difficulty getting established in Western Australia.

Two days ago I attended I attended a cocktail function in order to hear a 'major announcement' from Interzone Games and the Western Australian Department of Industry & Resources (DOIR). The "Honorable Francis Logan MLA, Minister for Energy, Science and Innovation" was also coming along. Like the other attendees, I expected Interzone to announce they were setting up a studio in Perth, with assistance from the DOIR...

...but the Minister didn't even turn up! Hmmph. No explanation was given, other than "I'm sorry, we can't make the announcement we expected to" from Interzone CEO Robert J. Spencer. Weird.

This afternoon, I received a message in my inbox asking me to sign this online petition. It seems like someone inside DOIR changed their mind about the deal they were offering Interzone, which is really strange, as I believe that DOIR hosted and organized (read: financed) the function.

At least that explains the warm beer. :-).

Help, I'm addicted!

Phil Hassey (pygame hacker) has just released his first commercial title, Galcon. It's highly addictive, and I definitely recommend it.

It is a fast paced multiplayer strategy game, with very simple game mechanics which you can pick up in less than a minute. It's simplicity and enormous potential for complex strategy make it a very compelling game. I've been absorbed with it for too many hours over the last 2 days.

Nice work Phil.

Nullarbor Game Competition

I met with some fellow game developers last Friday. Amongst other things, we had a chat about the upcoming Nullarbor Game Competition being held at the GO3 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Perth, West Australia. Last year, my Krool Joolz entry game second. This year, I hope to do better :-)

GO3 is the sister event of the Tokyo Game Show. Apparently, _MTV Japan_ are covering GO3 and Nullabor. And did I mention Richard Garriott is coming?* Wow. My entry had better be good, the whole world is watching. And maybe even Richard Garriott. :-)

I've heard and read a lot of good things about a game development environment called Unity 3D. I'm seriously considering using it, but that means a costly dev license and a new mac. Perhaps I could find a local corporate sponsor... hmmm.

The alternative is either to grow my own engine again, or try an Open Source engine. Unfortunately, because so much brain time is involved in learning a new engine API, I really need to pick the right engine first... and I don't have much time, Nullabor is 4 months away.


* This is an unconfirmed rumour. There are however, many other famous names attending.