Hey guys! This has been something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time, and something I wish will be a regular feature for the site. The podcast is meant to inform, educate and mostly entertain others that share the passion we share. They are meant to be casual discussions and participants are encouraged to be themselves and relax. Anyway here it is!
PS: The slamming sound you hear is me pounding my fist on the table. I do that sometimes haha
I was a sceptic, a cynic and unbeliever of the mobile gaming scene. Candy Crush and Angry Birds? Those aren’t even real games! I’ve played way better versions of those, they’re called bejeweled and worms, PC classics bastardized to fit the palm of your grimy little casual gamer hands! But i’m a reasonable man, despite what you may think from my earlier rant.
The impressive mobile line up at this year’s GameStart was a pleasant surprise for me, and they have pretty much forced me to drop my old man shaking his head at what the kids are playing these days atitude in place of an oh my god i’m genuinely excited for some of these games and man are these fun as hell!
Pillage People – free on Android and IOS
Mobile AND free to play (FTP)? I couldn’t believe I enjoyed what I was playing, two of my most apprehensive gaming movements coming together and I was actually having fun. I got to try my hands on the dev’s town.
This is a city building/ tower defence game. Players build up towns to fund armies and defence upgrades to better defend their towns. Just like any other FTP city builder, players must wait a set number of hours of minutes to reap the rewards of their mines and farms, which fuel development for the rest of the town. Players can then choose to invade other player towns for resources.
Attacking towns drops players into an instance the opposing player has already previously constructed. You can buy units in your town and deploy them here. Different units have their strengths and weaknesses and placing them at the right spot is important too. Defending players on the other hand can construct their instances defensively with towers, turrets and walls in an effort to repel invaders. This tower defence mechanism allows you to defend your towns even when not playing the game. The victor will emerge with some of the enemy’s resources which can be used back in their home areas.
I’m a sucker for city builders, i love watching my cities come to life and and develop. Pillage People doesn’t disappoint on that front. The art is charming and colorful which really injects life into the game, which unless you’re paying real money for resources, mostly a waiting game. It’s always nice to see animations of huge cities, testaments to your time and effort give you reassurance.
I’ll have to play and invest in a town of my own before i can say more but it has been pretty impressive thus far.
Inzen Studios
This local studio might be my new favorite developer in the mobile scene. Inzen is currently developing 2 games that will be released for mobile platforms soon. Their first game Dark Dot, is a top down shooter where you control a charming bunch of critters as they blast their way through the levels. The more critters you amass, the stronger your firepower, but the main draw of the game is it’s feature that allows you to draw formations on the screen depending on the situation. these formations are literally drawn on the surface so you can do anything from a cresent formation to a uh…. phallus if you’re so inclined. There are also fromations on the screen at points in the game that give you a bonus if you manage to get into that particular shape in time.
It’s a really fun expereince, and i found the drawing feature to be very unique. you can also tighten or spread the critters by pinching the screen. which gives a layer of strategy and flexibility to the game. I’ve only played a little bit of the game but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I hope to see formations play a bigger role in the game play, perhaps certain shapes might give a bonus against certain enemies.
Nightmare Duel, their second game at the show might actually be my favorite game. It’s a local pvp game where each player control 1 side of the screen. The screen is divided into rows where suitcases come down at varying speeds tapping the specific row as they reach the bottom of the screen sends the suitcase sliding back to the opponent’s area. It like a very intense version of air hockey and good is it fun!
The art in the game is really zany and I know I say this a lot but it’s genuinely charming and give the avatars great character. each character also has a special ability once their meter fills up. My avatar’s ability was to spam the opponent with popups blocking his views of his columns. I still lost in the end despite the developers obviously going easy on me. It’s intense and this is a day one buy for me for sure.
Witching Hour Studios
so many symbols @.@
A veteran in the local game development scene, these guys have put out some impressive works that have gone on to achieve international renown. Ravenmark: Scourge Of Estellion was released for years now, and have challenged games all around with solid turn based strategy. I say solid because I keep dying, this game really demands your attention and requires some solid startegising. Knowing the weakness of your enemies and positioning your troops well is essential if you want to survive, and tension ramps up as you start second guessing your moves and struggle to make the best decision.
On a lighter note, their newer game Romans In My Carpet (RIMC) was also on show. I would call it a Ravenmark lite. It is tonally the polar opposite of their first game with fun cartoonist character designs and graphics. But don’t be fooled by it’s looks. RIMC is still a serious strategy game at heart. The gameplay is similar to Ravemark and requires you to devote similar attention to it.
If this appeals to you, both games are available on IOS. RIMC is available for Android and an Android version of Ravenmark is currently in the works. A free to play multiplayer only version of Ravemark, Ravenmark: Mercenaries is also available for both platforms. See you on the battlefield!
Underneath that cutesy veneer is a strategy game that will kick your ass!
Sony fanboys rejoice! Your fervent devotion is finally paying off. You would be forgiven if you thought that Singapore was the least of Sony’s concerns for the past couple of years, after all the only major events that happened were the launch of the PS4 and s couple of non public events. But if this year’s GameStart convention says anything, it’s that Sony’s here to stay, and they’re more committed than ever.
Sony’s presence at the show was immense, the Playstation booth occupied an immense corner of the show floor including a pickup counter for PS4s with exclusive deals for the show. Read more here. One could even say Sony made the event, producers from wildly popular games, Street Fighter, Bloodbourne and Freedom Wars were recruited on this endeavour and allowed locals a chance to interact with giants of the gaming industry right here on our sunny shores.
GameStart also marked the beginning of yet another chapter of Sony’s partnership with Nanyang Polytechnic and the Games Solution Centre, a government backed division of the Media Development Authority Of Singapore with the extension of the PlayStation Incubation Studio in Singapore. The PlayStation Incubation Studio is an effort by Sony to help local indie developers with developing their games and offering a platform for their efforts. There are currently 2 games scheduled to be released, One Upon Light, a creative puzzle game which is set to release October 28th, and
Sony also announce the components of the GTAV bundle arriving on the 18th November which includes a $15 PSN card, 12 month access to PS+ and an extended warranty for a year making it a fantastic deal at $699. The White and Pink PS Vitas will also be making their way to SIngapore on the 13th Nov.
It’s about time Sony stepped up and leveraged on the immense Sony fandom in Singapore, and boy did they. Here’s to looking forward to a glorious future for the gaming industry right here in Singapore.
It’s Singapore’s first big video game show, and after the press conference earlier today I gotta say, I’m pretty pumped thanks to this line up. This 2 day event will take place at Suntec Convention Centre from the 25th to 26th of October and tickets are going at the measly price of 8.50 for a 1 day pass and 15 for a 2 day pass. Here’s the breakdown of what you really need to know:
1. Game previews, game previews everywhere!
And not just the usual free to play stuff we’ve been getting at local gaming shows, but actual real AAA games. The main draw of the floor will be Sony’s booth (Little Big Planet 3, The Order 1886, Driveclub,Freedom Wars). Other Mainstream developers attending the show will include: Bandai Namco (Project CARS & Bloodborne), 2K (Evolve, NBA 2K15) and Blizzard (Hearthstone, Diablo and the new WoW expansion) to name a few. The games at the show will be playable and freebies will be handed out on a first come first serve basis so come early! Here’s the full list of games to be featured excluding indies:
2. Local Talent
We’re big on fostering local talent here at Singageeks and we’re glad these guys are too! An area of the show floor will be dedicated to the Gamestart Founders Base which willl feature local game studios such as Witching Hour Studios (RAVENMARK: Scourge of Estellion, Romans In My Carpet), Inzen Studios and Liongeeks studios (Just realised I may have ripped off another company’s name :/) with more to come! There will also be a panel headed by Ian Gregory creative director at Witching Hour Studios, about breaking into the local gaming industry. So for all you Ken Levine or John Carmack wannabes pay attention!
3. Tournaments
If yelling “NOOB” and gaining a false sense of superiority through online competition is your thing, this place is for you too! Except now, you can yell at your opponent in real life before he messes you up big time (please don’t do that, Singageeks does not condone violence :(). The Capcom Pro Tour Asia will conclude here at Gamestart bringing together some of the best street fighter players in the world. Previous EVO champions RZR Xian and MCZ Daigo Umehara will also be there to make your hard earned streetfighter prowess look like child’s play and also make you feel like putting a cool looking acronym in front of your name. Other tournament games include:
– Naruto
– Gundam Extreme VS FB (That’s what she said)
– Jojo’s Bizzare adventure
– Soul Calibur
There’s also a FIFA workshop for players to improve their skills and learn how to break into the fifa pro-tournament scene.
4. Retro gamez man
I made the organizers promise to bring this in. No idea if it’s actually gonna happen but, don’t need to thank me people! Just giving back to my community is all.
Video game hipsters unite! This is where you’ll get to hang out and tell people how you used to play games before they were cool and people will care and celebrate with you! Or if you’ve just grown up with these games, talk a walk down memory lane. Gamestart has a retro gaming section featuring old arcade machines from the land before time and all your old favorite consoles! Personally I’m pretty excited about this one, because I happen to be one of the aforementioned hipsters. I’m crossing my fingers for a joust machine.
5. Cosplay
Gonna go practice my pick up lines now
Some top cosplayers are comin down to town and i’m sure the cosplay fans reading this will recognise names like Yuegene Fay (Thailand) and Yasemin Arslan (Australia). There’s also a Cosplay competition with cash prizes to be won. Not to mention the countless other cosplayers which will be lining the halls.
6. It’s a great place to buy a PS4 or Vita
SINGGEEKS WORLD EXCLUSIVE REVEAL OF NEW PS4 REDESIGN!!!!!!!! SUGOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Sony loves you apparently, they love you so much they want to cannibalise your old consoles for 100 bucks of their swanky new PS4s, AND they wanna give you even more stuff. The first 3 customers who purchase a PS4 will get a Sony Xperia Z3 and a 3 year membership to PSN+ absolutely free. Which i’m pretty sure is worth camping overnight for. The first 10 customer will be rewarded with a custom Toro faceplate for their new PS4 and the first 50 customers will get a PlayStation T-shirt so you can wear it and annoy microsoft when they do their next event.
ALSO top up $10 for the extra value meal and receive one of these additional toppings:
| PS4™ – TABLE 1 | ||
| Games / Items | Console | Version |
| Wireless Headset O2 | PS4 | Black or White color |
| Ryu Ga Gotoku Ishin | PS4 | Japanese |
| Natural Doctrine | PS4 | Japanese |
| AKIBA’S TRIP 2 | PS4 | Asia |
| KNACK | PS4 | Asian Chinese + English |
| Killzone Shadow Fall | PS4 | Asian Chinese + English |
| Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition | PS4 | English |
| Dual Shock Controller | PS4 | Black color only |
| PS VITA – TABLE 2 | ||
| Games / Items | Console | Version |
| Natural Doctrine | PS VITA | Japanese |
| Hatsune Miku – Project Diva – F 2nd | PS VITA | Japanese |
| Sly Cooper Collection | PS VITA | Asian + English |
| The Legend of Heroes Sen No Kiseki II | PS VITA | Chinese |
| Blazblue Chronophantasma | PS VITA | Localized |
| MLB 14 The Show | PS VITA | English |
| XBlaze Code: Embryo | PS VITA | English |
| 16GB memory Card | PS VITA | – |
7. Freebiessss
Get yours before the aunties do!
Here’s something for you cheapos, if an $8 entry fee seems too steep for you, booths will be giving out free t-shirts for players of their games, bags, screen cleaners, ice packs and even a free goodie bag for attendees! The goodie bag items are random so if you wanna get your loot fix in real life, this is the place to do it. Those of you interested in the whatapp group auction house i’ll be opening during this event send me your number in an email, no spamming and gold farming ads please! (I’m kidding please don’t send me e-mails unless you’re a hot girl then I’m totally for real).
8. For luck
Originally I wrote 8 points because I’m Chinese so I have to end a list with 8 for auspicious reasons, but I realised I can actually contextualise this by saying… ticket holders will also be entitled to a lucky draw with a variety of prizes including consoles. HUAT AR! See you at GameStart 2014!
The Millennial Geek 