Well, even though it hasn’t been released long on the market, were already planning an update to Old School Adventure.  Some of this is at customer request or response to customer review comments, it also some fixes we discovered in the Marketplace version of the game plus some last minute features that we had planned for but didn’t make the final cut.

So in the next release you’ll see:

• *Fixed: Menu problems in Trial mode – Odd one this because it works fine in Dev or when testing on a device.  On the market screens slow down.
• *Fixed: the settings screen doesn’t respond to touch – Now this one was really off because we tested this a lot because it was one of the submission failures.
• *Added Thumbstick style controls – this was one of the big requests and even though we had planned for it, we ran out of time.  Now you will be able to choose to play by touch or by tilt.  But be warned we are keeping the challenge in, don’t say we didn’t warn you
• Loading performance, we’ve spent a lot of time working on performance, initially we focused on game performance because even though it’s still XNA, there were a lot of tweaks (even in a game this size) needed to run acceptably on the phone.  Now we are using a lot of the new tips on performance recently to improve load times.

If you have any other tips or suggestions you would like to see in the game, then drop a comment or email and if they’re good (and in time) they’ll get in.  See you name in lights

Finally after (what feels like months) a lot of hard work Old School Adventure finally makes it’s appearance onto the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace as a joint effort between Chris Hughes Games and Dark Omen Games:

Now with

• 15% more rooms than the original XBLIG release
• Intuitive tilt and touch controls
• Anticipated return of the Unarmed Clones!!!

Take a Monster stomping adventure ride through magical lands.  Glide through the air on powerful gravity waves, discover magical powers such as flying boots, anti-spike armour and more.

Defeat Mango once and for all.

Were also still working on the release and hope to bring you even more in the near future, including the addition of an additional control method and continue to improve the whole experience.

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Hot on the heals of this release, Chris Hughes games is also proud to offer “Chris Unarmed” for FREE on PC.

Grab it here for the amazing price of FREE

**Note

Only 2 days left to register as of 13th September 2010.  Registration is required to attend, access on the day is unlikely.

It has come to my attention that I am apparently doing a session for AT&T on Windows Phone 7 Game development, in 3D no less.  (it was the title that cracked me up).

So for anyone reading this and is interested in doing 3D on the phone or in XNA, please feel free to attend.

(Noob warning, this is going to be an entry level session, level 100 / 200 esk)

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Meet the Expert – Build a XNA Game in 60 minutes

Who Should Attend:

Developers and designers who are interested in creating mobile games for Windows Phone 7 using XNA.

All actual attendees can enter to win an AT&T Smartphone. Winner will be notified via email after the Webcast.

When:

Thursday, Sep 16, 10:00-11:00 AM Pacific Time

Access instructions will be sent to registered attendees prior to the start of the webcast.

Join us and discover:

• How to get off the ground and build your first game
• Hints and tips to game your game to market
• Links and resources to make your game go further

What you will learn:

In this session you will learn how to create a basic game in XNA for Windows Phone 7. We will cover adding content, game input, basic collision/physics, sounds and effects, packaging and some notes on publishing (time permitting). There will also be links to helpful resources for XNA developers/designers.

Registration is required

Presenter:

Simon (Darkside) Jackson, Indie developer with Dark Omen Games.

Simon has been around the XNA world since the early beta’s and has picked up a fair few hint’s tips and tricks with XNA.  He is also currently publishing a multi-platform tutorial blog series on Windows Phone 7 Windows PC and XBOX with XNA over at XNA-UK.NET

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There is one upshot of listening and watching me go on for about an hour.  There’s a chance to win a prize.

An AT&T Smartphone

Now, I have had unconfirmed reports this may even be a Windows Phone 7 device, but don’t take that for granted.

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And for those probably asking the most obvious question, yes, I think I may be going mad in my age.

Well it has been a while since any of us have posted here, but rest assured we are very much still alive and active in the XNA space.

One of the major piece of works we have done recently is to move and upgrade the XNA-UK site, One of the main hubs in the XNA game space and the best place to meet likeminded people to make games, share ideas and get help.

One of the other signature pieces of the site it to bring devs / artists and testers / designers together in one place.

Come and check it out here:

http://xna-uk.net/blogs/braindump/archive/2010/07/22/welcome-to-the-all-new-amp-shiny-xna-uk-site.aspx

 

Check back often for some exciting news coming soon!

Darkside

And Worry not, Dark Omen games haven’t stalled at our first release, we have much more coming soon, even to the Windows Phone 7 Platform

Hey all,

Just a quick preview/teaser for the next game we have in the works – Bubble Trubble!

The game is based on the classic arcade hit “Puzzle Bobble” – and will feature three different game modes:

Puzzle Mode

You have to complete each puzzle to progress to the next, before the bubbles reach the bottom of the screen.

Endurance Mode

The bubbles just keep coming!  You have to stay alive as long as possible.

VS Mode

Play against a friend (locally) in split-screen mode (see screenshot).  The idea is to clear your grid before your opponent does, or cause them to fill up their screen (before you do).

BubbleTrubble will be submitted to peer-review in September.

Stay tuned.

You can now follow us on twitter:

@darkomengames

Hey Folks,

Just a quick note to let everyone know that we have another patch planned for Nebulon later this month (August).

The most important new feature will be Global Scoreboards.  This has been requested several times, so we’ve decided to add it to the game.

Once this happens, instead of just getting a single high-score in the credits, the game will feature a seperate screen, with both local, and global hi-scores.

While you are playing, the game will compare scores with anyone else who happens to have the game running – and merge the high-score tables together.

The new version will also feature a “proper” menu system on the title screen, which should make the game feel a bit more polished.

There may also be a few suprises…

Stay Tuned!

DaphydTheBard

I am happy to announce that the Nebulon update has passed the peer review process for XBOX LIVE Community Games and is now available for purchase in the territories where XBLCG is available.

This new version now supports dual-stick play for those who prefer a more Geometry-Wars-esque experience.

Buy and Download the game from XBOX LIVE Marketplace.

The patch for Nebulon has now been submitted to the Creators Club for Peer Review.

If you have a Premium Membership, or if you reviewed the game for us last time round, please help us to get the patch out to our customers (existing and potential!) by reviewing the game here:

http://catalog.xna.com/en-GB/GameDetails.aspx?catalogEntryId=e08c5f76-fe9e-45b1-a8aa-008508400ca9&type=1

Thanks in advance, and we hope you enjoy the improvements we have made to the game.

Well, I’ve got the update for Nebulon ready to roll, but I can’t submit it at the moment as the creators club website is closed for maintenance.

Looks like I’ll have to submit it for peer review tomorrow now, which means it’s going to be at LEAST another week before the update hits the marketplace.