GOOD SHEPHERD ENTERTAINMENT TO PUBLISH SUPERSCARYSNAKES’ DYSTOPIAN ROGUELIKE ACTION SHOOTER BLACK FUTURE ‘88 ON WINDOWS PC, MAC IN 2018
AMSTERDAM – March 14, 2018 – Good Shepherd Entertainment has revealed it will publish independent developer SuperScarySnakes’ synth-punk 2D roguelike action shooter Black Future ‘88 later this year on Windows PC and Mac.
Black Future ‘88’s neon-lit retro-future style paints a dark alternate history of a world reeling from a nuclear cataclysm created by Duncan, the tower architect. The first of his bombs fell in 1988, blacking out the sun with perpetual rain; it’s been 1988 ever since. Now the only time that matters is measured in minutes left to live. As one of the last remaining survivors, fight your way to the top of the tower to kill Duncan before your heart explodes.
Climb an evolving procedural tower through a merciless onslaught of fire, lasers and steel. Shoot, slash and dash to overcome deadly traps, homicidal AI, crazed junkies and colossal boss-grade Wardens. Choose one of five playable characters, each with their own unique powers, then upgrade your renegade with a selection of dozens of brutal weapons and special buffs/curses to survive. Test your wits and reflexes alone or with a friend in two-player couch co-op, and measure your mettle against other players by tackling daily challenges with unique attributes to climb the global leaderboard.
Good Shepherd Entertainment publishes video games from independent artists worldwide and operates a proprietary investment platform for a growing global network of qualified investors seeking risk-mitigated participation in the $130B video game industry. Originally established in the Netherlands in 2011 as an equity crowdfunding platform under the name Gambitious BV, the Company became a publisher in 2014 with the release of Train Fever, which was the first game ever successfully published with equity crowdfunding. The Company has since funded and released over a dozen original games across eight digital platforms. The founders of Devolver Digital and Croteam, two very successful companies in independent game development and publishing, invested in the Company and joined its management in 2012. The Company rebranded in 2017 as Good Shepherd Entertainment following an investment by Advance/Newhouse, having established a track record of success with both independent developers and investors. www.GoodShepherd.games
About SuperScarySnakes
SUPERSCARYSNAKES is a mostly one-man studio based in Oakland, California, established with the focus of making over-the-top action games with incredible soundtracks.
Action Sidescroller Blazing Chrome Coming This Year from Newly Formed Division at Publisher Dotemu, The Arcade Crew
French Publisher Dotemu Revealed its Dedicated Publishing Label Today as part of the Company’s Expansion and Rebrand
PARIS – March 14th, 2018 – Dotemu (Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap, Windjammers) announced an entirely new division of its company today – The Arcade Crew (www.thearcadecrew.com). The new division is dedicated to producing and publishing new titles from small creative teams and is poised to release its first game this year – Blazing Chrome, a sidescrolling action game from Brazilian developer Joymasher (www.blazingchrome.com).
In Blazing Chrome, militant AI-fueled computers rule the Earth while humans are expendable, lacking power, prestige or status among their machine overlords. Choose to play as Mavra, a super badass human resistance soldier, or Doyle, the equally groovy and deadly insurgent robot. When a small group of rebels decide to overthrow their oppressors, it results in heavy casualties and a ton of lock-and-load fast-paced action where scrapping robots and blazing chrome with your powerful weapons is the only thing standing between you and your freedom.
Blazing Chrome is inspired by classics like Metal Slug and Contra and will be on display at the Game Developer’s Conference next week in the GDC Play area, Wednesday through Friday, during show floohours. The game will also be at GDC MIX (981 Mission St. in SF) on March 19th. The fast-paced run-and-gun title will launch in 2018 and represents the style and approach The Arcade Crew plans for all its titles.
“The Arcade Crew capitalizes on an existing framework of development and production within Dotemu but retains a different strategy of focusing on producing and publishing new games, whereas Dotemu will retain its core strategy of reviving loved and known franchises from the past,” said CEO Cyrille Imbert.
“The Arcade Crew’s team has full access to the resources at Dotemu which have allowed us a track record of success with our projects like Wonder Boy and Windjammers. The Arcade Crew will harness the existing experience, passion and infrastructure at Dotemu and integrate it with the creative fire of small development teams – the result will be polished, awesome games with a retro feel that people can pick up and enjoy, just like the games we grew up with.”
The Arcade Crew has plans for several more announcements as the company moves through 2018, but will retain a selective portfolio with less than a handful of releases planned for each calendar year.
“We’re more than marketing and QA,” said Arnaud De Sousa, director at The Arcade Crew. “Our team’s framework allows us to fully integrate into the creative teams on these games, offering production support and also additional art, animation and programming support for areas that our creative leads may need assistance with – that’s a major benefit to helping these artists realize their ultimate vision for their project.”
The Arcade Crew plans to aggressively support all its titles on a global level in 2018, with planned appearances at all major shows including GDC, PAX, E3 and gamescom. Look for more Arcade Crew updates on the official Twitter handle @TheArcadeCrew and on Facebook (facebook.com/thearcadecrew), or at their official website: www.thearcadecrew.com.
Plants vs. Zombies 2 “Battlez” Update Levels Up the Lawn with PvP Action
Plants vs. Zombies TM 2, the hit tower defense and action-strategy mobile game is back with some major landscaping in one of its biggest updates yet. For the first time in the Plants vs Zombies tower defense series, EA Mobile and Popcap have introduced player-versus-player (PvP) gameplay system with “Battlez,” giving players the chance to duke it out with other players.
In Battlez, players will compete against other players in fast-paced asynchronous matches where they must wipe out waves of zombies in order to earn the most points and beat their opponent’s score. Points are determined by where on the board zombies are destroyed, with more points awarded to zombies eliminated farthest from the house. Weekly in-game tournaments will give players a chance to compete to climb the leaderboards, take on tougher competitors and win big in-game prizes.
In Plants vs. Zombies 2, players will travel time and space to collect and create an army of horticultural hotshot plants in order to protect their house from the legions of hilarious invading zombies. With the new Battlez update, the grass gets even greener for both fans and newcomers to the Plants vs Zombies series, with hundreds of Plants to collect and Zombies to encounter across a variety of game modes, in-game events and regular updates.
Download and play Plants vs. Zombies 2 for free today at:
Military Sim Veterans Naviworks Announce Battle X: Birth of the Alliance
Coming to PC, VR via Steam Early Access on 30 April 2018
SAN JOSÉ, CA – 14 March 2018 –Battle X: Birth of the Alliance, the VR-optional first-person shooter from the military simulation software veterans at Naviworks, brings the fight to Oculus VR, HTC Vive, and Windows PC via Steam Early Access on 30 April 2018.
Starring Starship Troopers actor Casper Van Dien and penned by Tomb Raider, Far Cry 2, Gears of War, and BioShock writer Susan O’Connor, Battle X tells a story of corporate espionage following an elite team of special forces soldiers on a mission to prevent a political crisis. Only by taking down a well-financed private army and its bio-hacked monstrosities can players stop a rogue biotech scientist from enslaving the planet with a dangerous pathogen.
In addition to the single-player campaign, Battle X features co-op where players can squad up and fight against a mutant army, an extensive training mode for testing combat skills with an arsenal of real-world weaponry, and, of course, competitive “PvP” multiplayer.
Battle X will boast various eight-on-eight multiplayer game types drawing from real-world military situations, including “Explosive War,” a tactical objective-based competition where teams clash as one group lays explosives while the other races to disarm them before they detonate.
“Battle X: Birth of the Alliance is a groundbreaking first-person shooter that employs Naviworks’ nearly two decades of experience developing military simulation software,” said Steve Won, CEO, Naviworks. “We look forward to treating PC players and VR enthusiasts to an authentic military simulation when Battle X releases on Steam Early Access this April.”
Following its Steam Early Access debut on April 30, Battle X: Birth of the Alliance will officially launch later this year. For more information on the game, please explore the official website.
About Naviworks
Naviworks is the creator of the world’s most advanced military and public safety simulation software. Based in Seoul, South Korea and San José, CA, Naviworks has more than 17 years of experience developing technology for the elite military forces around the globe and now aims to use this expertise to create realistic entertainment experiences for the consumer market.
The first Final Fantasy developed exclusively for the current generation of consoles has made its way onto Windows in a surprisingly short time frame. Less than two years after its initial release, Final Fantasy XV is now gracing Windows as a bundle with the base game, all previously released DLC, and a few new features for the re-release. Console users will be getting the same package in the form of the Royal Edition re-release and the “Royal Pack” DLC.
Story
Final Fantasy XV stars Prince Noctis and his three companions as they embark on an epic quest to take back throne from the Niflheim invaders. The game takes many of the franchise’s long running tropes, archetypes, and themes and weaves a beautiful new world that is distinctly modern, yet familiar to the Final Fantasy fan. The dialogue is well written, and the world is incredibly rich.
Likely the weakest part of Final Fantasy XV’s story its slow pacing and how unlikeable Prince Noctis is. The story doesn’t suck players in right away, and it takes a few hours before it starts to get interesting. While the perfect hero is obviously dull, Noctis’ personal flaws stem from the fact he behaves like a spoiled 16-year-old. Noctis’ personal story is very much a coming of age tale, but his early behaviour makes it difficult for players to forge an emotional bond. He is filled with teenage angst, self-centred behaviour, and a general lack of maturity that makes him look like like a millennial stereotype gone bad.
Gameplay
Final Fantasy XV is an open world action JRPG with a touch of life simulator mechanics. Players primarily control Noctis, though the other three characters can also be controlled with the right skills. Combat is an active setting by default, with time constantly moving except when the player is browsing through items. The friendly AI is intelligent enough to generally be left to their own devices. Wait mode is available for players who prefer a little breathing room to plan their next move. When Noct stands still, the game freezes time and displays the current targets of each character on the battlefield. Here, players can scan enemies to determine weaknesses without waiting for Ignis to do so. Wait mode has a generous, but limited timer that slowly refills as action progresses. Combat requires a good bit of skill and positioning as incoming damage hits hard and there are plenty of opportunities to deal bonus damage. Final Fantasy XV’s combat is a happy medium between traditional Active Time Battle RPGs and modern Japanese hack ‘n slash titles.
The weapon and magic system accommodates a variety of gameplay styles. Noctis has access to many types of weapons, ranging from the traditional JRPG sword to revolvers. Additionally, Noctis alone can equip Royal Arms weapons that carry major stat bonuses, enable the Armiger ability, and deal massive damage at the cost of Noctis’ health. Square Enix is continuing to experiment with the magic system. Final Fantasy XV’s magic feels more like alchemy than traditional spell casting, requiring players to mix elements and items together to create powerful spell flasks. The flasks are equipped like any other weapon and behave more like grenades with a lengthy cooldown. It’s a novel take on magic, but it also means that players who prefer to be full blown spellcasters will need to adjust their playstyle to incorporate warp strikes and ranged weapons to fill the cooldown periods.
Square Enix is continuing with the Sphere Grid style progression system. The newly named Ascension system provides a lot of flexibility for players to create a build that suits their playstyle. The system puts an emphasis on active effects versus more passive stat bonuses like “+50 strength.” I like the more active nature as purchases give instant gratification due to their more obvious effects. The new stored experience system is a small, interesting change that is designed to encourage players to use rest stops and eat foods for stat bonuses. While it seems like a chore on the surface, players receive an experience multiplier if they are willing to fork out money to stay at nicer hotels. Prudent players can easily rack up the levels with some planning.
The overworld map is much like any open world RPG. Quest givers are scattered around the map with plenty of enemies filling the wilderness between small outposts. There are diverse sets of side quests and activities to keep players busy between story missions. Travel is probably Final Fantasy XV at its weakest. Any serious distance will need to be traversed by either Chocobo or car. In the beginning, the car can be driven automatically by Ignis or Noctis can get behind the wheel himself. No matter what option the player chooses, they will be faced with long, boring car rides as they pull into parking spots and outposts to unlock fast travel points. Players can sell off unneeded items during the automatic car rides, but the length of the car ride far outstrips any selling that needs to be done. The car rides would likely feel shorter if players could manage equipment, magic, or Ascension skills without pausing the game. The manual controls are terrible until the player unlocks the off-road modifications. The car essentially follows a set track, so players only hold down forward or reverse except to turn at forks in the road. Manual control is extremely mind numbing as players don’t have the freedom to overtake other cars or drive aggressively like other open world titles. Once the off-road modifications are finally unlocked, the car behaves more like an actual car and provides some better mental stimulation. Chocobos are significantly more entertaining from the start. Designed to traverse wilderness areas, players have full control of their steeds. However, players must visit an outpost to rent their steeds for a period of time.
Final Fantasy XV is probably one of the best ports from Square Enix’s Japanese studios. A partnership with Nvidia has yielded an excellent set of graphical customization options, and the game ran smoothly on my system. The mouse and keyboard controls work incredibly well and almost everything can be rebound. It’s a clear improvement over some of Square Enix’s recent port jobs. The port isn’t perfect though, the game has some issues when a mouse and keyboard plus a controller is plugged in, and the game is struggling with some hitching and long load times. Long time modder Kaldaien has stepped into the breach once again with his Special K mod tool that addresses some of the issues, but it’s a shame that a modder needs to fix what should be Square Enix’s crown jewel.
Visuals
Final Fantasy XV is a gorgeous looking game. The art style is Japanese fantasy’s take on the modern world. The world is bright and beautiful. Considering the game is about an year and a half, it has aged well so far.
Audio
The audio experience in Final Fantasy XV is enjoyable. The soundtrack is a pleasure to listen to, and the sound effects are good. While the game comes with Japanese voice acting, the English voice acting is solid. There are a few awkward lines here or there, but it is not enough to detract from the overall quality.
Overall
Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition is probably one of the better ports to come out of Square Enix’s Japanese studios. The port is not perfect as there are some minor technical issues that still needs to be ironed out, but it is still a good example of what PC gamers expect from a port. While Final Fantasy XV delivers a generally solid open world RPG experience, its issues with early game transportation, slow story, and an unlikeable main character holds it back from being the perfect Final Fantasy experience.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
’39 Days to Mars’ Launches April 25 for PC, Mac and Linux
Solve co-op puzzles on a Victorian-era adventure to the Red Planet
March 13th, 2018 — Developer It’s Anecdotal is proud to announce its co-op steampunk puzzle-adventure game 39 Days to Mars will launch April 25th for Windows, Mac and Linux on Steam!
39 Days to Mars is a two player co-operative adventure game set in an alternate reality some 150 years in the past. You play as Sir Albert Wickes and The Right Honourable Clarence Baxter, two 19th century explorers who are piloting the HMS Fearful — a masterpiece of unreliable engineering — on its maiden voyage to Mars. Single-player adventuring and puzzle-solving can be had as well, with the ship’s computer-controlled cat there to keep you company.
When the steam engine runs out of coal, the ship’s aforementioned cat shreds the navigation chart, and the tea gets cold, it becomes clear that interstellar transportation isn’t a walk in the park. It will take the talents of two working together on a mix of puzzles and action sequences to get to Mars in one piece (let alone in 39 days).
39 Days to Mars will cost $14.99, with a right proper discount planned for launch week.
It’s Anecdotal is the one-person indie development studio of Philip Buchanan. Having previously worked on titles such as Lara Croft GO and Hitman GO, Philip is now focused on bringing small indie titles to life. Working out of Montreal, Canada; and Christchurch, New Zealand, his aim is to produce concise games that give memorable experiences and have strong atmosphere.
Q.U.B.E 2 is certainly the type of game I enjoy. A nice puzzle dungeon, akin to Portal, that gets your brain working. It merges story and gameplay together in similar ways. It appears to be a lot more like Portal 2 than anything else (There are going to be a lot of Portal comparisons). That’s not a bad thing, per se, it just means that someone who has played many other puzzle games, such as myself, would begin to see similarities between the two. Before you continue with this review, I recommend grabbing the game for yourself if you enjoyed the other two in the series created by Toxic Games, Q.U.B.E and Q.U.B.E: Director’s Cut, or if you enjoy puzzle games. If you’ve already played, or want to know more and aren’t afraid of spoilers, then grab a cup of tea and stick around.
Story
Q.U.B.E 2’s story has you in the shoes of Amelia Cross, an archaeologist. You wake up stranded on a desert planet with no idea how you got there and wearing a strange suit. You hear the voice of your husband over your headset as you call out his name and collapse in the sand storm, strange architecture in the distance.
You awake in a mysterious chamber consisting of inter-connected cubes, a stranger and other survivor Emma Sutcliffe begins to guide you through the first puzzle, describing how the Manipulation Suit works. She explains that the suit was designed after the first contact with this alien structure. You move through the structure, slowly learning about it through Emma’s fascination with the technology and Amelia’s curiosity of the world she’s been placed into.
It’s quite interesting and light-hearted until you reach the first of many statues. These statues are bathed in a red light and speak in broken sentences made up of clips of other peoples voices. You begin to get the idea something is wrong with the place, like it’s alive. This continues for a little bit as you and Emma try to meet up at a beacon and find other survivors.
Your goal throughout the game is to meet up with Emma and escape wherever it is you’ve both been trapped.
The story itself is quite interesting. It works of off established themes of mysterious alien structures, but goes about it in a very well presented, written, and acted way. The story is a strong point of this game, however it does have a slightly lackluster ending tied to it, which is a little bit of a bummer for someone who was getting quite invested.
Gameplay
Gameplay wise Q.U.B.E 2 is incredibly similar to the previous entries and to Portal. The game starts off with you gaining the power to create blue “jump pads”. This gets used in your standard “put block on button through increasingly complex ways” style of puzzle design. The early puzzles are incredibly easy, even when the other two suit modules get introduced to you through what looks like an alternate version of Hal-9000. These modules are the “red” and “green” suit modifications that change the colour of your suits LEDs, as well as having the added benefit of creating an extendable 3 cube long bridge and the ability to spawn in a green cube.
These modules are the only things you get throughout the entire game. There are also various other objects that you can interact with to help solve puzzles. These include giant fans, movable platforms, giant buttons, oil throwers, flamethrowers, and magnetic blocks. Each of these are combined together in various different ways to create the puzzles in the game.
I do have a problem with the puzzle design in this game, it seems to have taken a back seat to the story, along with level design. I hope you like entering a big chamber with 4 smaller chambers coming off of it that you need to solve to progress to the next big chamber. Each of these big chambers contains a “reactor” that activates more of the structure and gives you more story.
Upon entering one of these chambers you need to solve one long puzzle sequence before attempting the other 4. This is how the game will go right up until the end.
The puzzles do become rather samey after a while, and I never had true “I’m stumped” and “ah ha!” moments like I have in other puzzle games. There is only so many times you can see a slight variation on “Slide this block across the ground using oil” before you start getting a little tired of it. It seems to be scared of creating truly terrifying puzzle moments by throwing many moving parts at once. The only place that comes close to this is right at the end where you use every mechanic you’ve learnt to reach the final destination.
I don’t want to be seen as down-playing the puzzle design too much. There are some definite head scratchers in here for people who don’t play many puzzle games, or have trouble creating mental maps. A lot of the puzzle problems could be solved by making the puzzles more linear and not having you solve the puzzle then back-track out of the room the same way you came in. It just makes it feel less satisfying when you need to trudge all the way along a long hallway again and again.
Audio & Visuals
The visuals and audio in this game are spectacular. I’d expect nothing less, especially since they have a BAFTA award winning composer on their side, David Housden. The visuals and audio design go hand in hand. The visuals are crisp and well detailed, with nice little hints of what’s to come spread throughout and a very good use of shadows and lighting to intensify certain places in the story. Later in the game everything becomes overgrown, and these visuals are just stunning. They’re on par with Portal 2’s level of vegetation detail, minus the animals for story reasons. They really made use of Unreal Engine 4’s full suite of tools.
Each change in scene is accompanied by some incredible sound design and music. The empty chambers that harbour the lifeless statues have an eerie ring to them. The voices distorted. The music either non-existent or a skin crawling melody. The music kicks in only when it needs to, and when it does it definitely helps to intensify the emotion of the scene.
I would definitely check out the soundtrack they have available online if you enjoyed the game.
The voice acting also deserves a mention. Each actor and actress conveys their lines with as much emotion as they can muster. I felt the terror, the happiness, the confusion, in each line of dialogue delivered.
Overall
Q.U.B.E 2 is a game that definitely has its flaws, but considering the size of the company that made it, I can’t fault them for some. The padding of samey and sometimes drawn out puzzles, the long corridors of nothing that made me wish for a sprint button, are all minor personal gripes. If they release some more difficult puzzles, I may just pick it back up again. There’s not as much replayability as there is with other puzzle games as it is much harder to cheese the mechanics to get odd solutions. If you enjoyed the first game, or just want a short puzzle game to pass the time, I’d give it a look.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
CHATHAM, Kent – March 13, 2018 – The Season Pass for Euro Fishing is complete, but that doesn’t mean the fishing action is over! Dovetail Games has released “The Moat,” the newest add-on that continues the studio’s thriving post-release support for Euro Fishing.
“The Moat” takes place in the waters surrounding a historic Welsh castle, adding dramatic Instagram-ready backgrounds for all your catch shots. You’ll get the chance to pull some enormous catches from the 10-acre lake, too, with carp and catfish up to 55lbs among the many challenging fish prowling its waters.
There are 11 different species of fish to be caught in “The Moat,” including the brand-new species of fish, rudd, which can be caught in Euro Fishing for the first time ever. Along with 19 new boss fish and 10 new trophies to unlock, it’s another huge helping of content for Euro Fishing fans, adding yet another stunning venue for anglers to enjoy.
“We’re thrilled that we can support our growing fanbase by offering yet more content for Euro Fishing players,” said Mark Greenway, Euro Fishing Director at Dovetail Games. ‘“The Moat’ is our most striking release to date, and it will definitely get fans talking. We’re really looking forward to some of the screenshots and videos our community captures for this release!”
“The Moat” is available today on Windows PC, the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system and Xbox One for $10.99.
About Dovetail Games
Dovetail Games was launched in 2013. Previously trading as RailSimulator.com Ltd, the business launched in 2009 initially producing and marketing the PC game Train Simulator. Today, Dovetail Games is responsible for developing train, flight and fishing simulation games for PC and leading consoles. http://www.dovetailgames.com.
MAXIMUM GAMES AND COOLABI GROUP RELEASE ACTION ADVENTURE GAME BEAST QUEST ON PLAYSTATION®4, XBOX ONE AND WINDOWS PC
New Adventure Inspired by the Bestselling Fantasy Book Series Available at Retail and Digitally Today in North America, March 16 in Europe
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. – March 13, 2018 – Leading video game publisher Maximum Games and independent international media group and rights owner Coolabi Group have launched Beast Quest, the new action-adventure game based on Adam Blade’s best-selling book series of the same name. The game is available today in North America at major retailers and digitally on the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One and Windows PC via Steam for $39.99. It will release in Europe on March 16.
“For over a decade, the Beast Quest book series has given loyal fans a richly imaginative, high-fantasy world filled with compelling characters, creatures and storylines. We’re excited to give adventure-seekers of all ages a whole new way to dive into this one-of-a-kind universe,” said Maximum Games CEO Christina Seelye.
Developed by Torus Games with the same sense of sprawling wonder fans of the long-running franchise know and love, Beast Quest takes players on an epic journey to save the ancient land of Avantia from the dark magic corrupting its noble creatures. Survive action-packed battles against mighty bosses, dodging, blocking and countering attacks to turn the tide of combat in your favor. Befriend powerful allies, find secret treasures, and upgrade your hero with new gear and abilities while exploring spectacular environments filled with challenging secrets and surprises.
Beast Quest is the popular fiction book series by Adam Blade, first published in July 2007 by Orchard Books. The hit children’s book series has sold 18 million copies globally and has been translated into 30+ languages, with 120 titles published to date. In 2016, Working Partners, the UK’s leading creator of series fiction for children and a Coolabi Group company, announced a new deal with Orchard Books to publish the hit book series Beast Quest until 2026. Each series focuses on the themes of friendship, fantasy and adventure, encouraging children to read by infusing the subject matter with elements they enjoy. Beast Quest is favored by parents and teachers as the structure encourages children to read a whole series (4 or 6 titles), rather than just one book. The Beast Quest gaming app, co-produced by Coolabi and Miniclip for iOS, Android and Windows Phone, has already achieved over 10 million global downloads and continues to attract several hundred thousand new downloads every month. To learn more about the Beast Quest series, visit www.beast-quest.com.
About Coolabi Group
Coolabi Group is a leading independent international media group and rights owner specializing in the creation, development and brand management of children’s and family intellectual property rights. The group, made up of Coolabi and Working Partners, has particular expertise in television, digital and books. Coolabi owns the rights in over 20 TV series and some 373 half-hours of programming; it has shows which have aired in more than 140 territories on channels including: ABC, Cartoon Network, CBeebies, CBBC, Clan / TVE, Disney, F5, ITV, Kika, Netflix, Nickelodeon and Sprout. Brands owned and/or represented by Coolabi include the multi-award-winning remake of Clangers, which airs on CBeebies, and Scream Street, shown on CBBC. Other properties include Beast Quest,Poppy Cat, Purple Ronnie and the Smallfilms properties Bagpuss and Ivor the Engine. Brand extensions include the Beast Quest gaming app, co-produced with Miniclip for iOS, Android and Windows Phone. The group also creates original series fiction for publishers and has created some 100 published series, consisting of over 1,000 books, sold in more than 40 languages. Four of these series, Warriors, Beast Quest, Animal Ark and Rainbow Magic, have sold over ten million copies each. Coolabi Group has reached an agreement with Alibaba Pictures Group Limited for the film rights for Warriors. Alibaba Pictures intends to develop Warriors into a world-class fantasy movie which has David Heyman (Harry Potter) as producer. The Warriors book series has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide. For more information on Coolabi Group, visit www.coolabi.com. Find Coolabi Group on Twitter: @Coolabi_Group.
About Maximum Games
Maximum Games ranks as a top 15 global video game publisher of interactive digital entertainment spanning all genres and supporting multi-platforms. The company’s mission is to provide a proven and strong hands-on approach to publishing, marketing and distribution. Established in 2009, the company is led by female entrepreneur Christina Seelye, a seasoned executive of digital consumer products and channel marketing. Under Seelye’s leadership, the company has been recognized with numerous awards, such as “Fastest Growing Tech Company” by American Business Awards, and has made the Inc. 5000 list of Fastest Growing Private Companies for the past three years. Maximum Games has offices in both the U.S. and UK and continues to expand its scope of global publishing and distribution via direct reach and strategic partnerships. For more information on Maximum Games, visit the company’s website at www.MaximumGames.com.
About Torus Games
Torus Games is a veteran independent developer, located in Melbourne, Australia. The studio, over the last 23 years, has created many family-friendly video games based on popular brands for practically every gaming console. With more than 120 games delivered, Torus has worked with most of the major video game publishers and brands, including Leapfrog, Warner, Disney and DreamWorks. The team is particularly excited to be bringing the amazing Beast Quest adventures to life.
The Beast Inside, a photorealistic horror game from Movie Games and Illusion Ray, has reached its funding goal on Kickstarter
The new, promising PC (Steam) horror IP has reached the goal of $47,294. Pledges will be used to cover additional costs of development.
13.03.2018, Warsaw, Poland – Movie Games, a Polish publisher and developer, and Illusion Ray, a studio that merges moviemaking with the game industry experience, are delighted to announce The Beast Inside has reached its Kickstarter goal, covering the additional costs of development.
The Beast Inside is a PC horror game setting a new bar in photo-realistic graphics, as well as a mind-bending story set in two distinct time periods of Cold War and American Civil War.
The campaign, which has started on January 20th, has reached its funding goal of $47,294 today, 19 days before its deadline on April 1st, proving immensely popular with fans of the horror genre.
“Turning to Kickstarter was a move we decided to make to bring our vision of top quality, intense and photorealistic horror games to life. We have an ambitious approach to this project and from the beginning, we have believed that fans of the genre will find our idea very attractive. Therefore, the level of support and the fact that we’ve reached the goal weeks before the deadline has reassured us that The Beast Inside has a lot of potential” – said Aleksy Uchański, CEO of Movie Games.
Achieving the goal is not the end of campaign for The Beast Inside, as any further pledges will be used to fund additional features for the game, such as new game mechanics, more motion capture and voice acting or new locations and enemy types, which will become possible to implement as stretch goals are reached.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVIX-PgcPQs
The Beast Inside is a narrative-driven horror experience, which is distinguished by its photorealistic graphics. The game utilizes the full potential of Unreal Engine 4, combined with advanced photogrammetry techniques, allowing players to uncover the dark mysteries of the past in the environment presented in the highest level of realism achievable in gaming.
There’s plenty to uncover as the narrative follows Adam – a young C.I.A. cryptanalyst, who moves to a house in remote location and intends to work peacefully in seclusion on breaking a Soviet code, which could be the key to turning the tide of the Cold War. Bu tin finding diary of Nicolas, a mysterious man living more than hundred years ago in the Civil War era, terrible secrets from the past come alive and haunt Adam and his family. Their lives are at stake, but why do the events from the Civil War era seem to be strangely connected to a Cold War reality?
Unique features of The Beast Inside:
Play alternately as Adam and Nicolas in two different time periods – Cold War and American Civil War.
Semi-open, explorable and complex world with atmospheric, remote locations such as a two-story old house, woodlands, swamps, or deserted inn.
AAA quality presentation, combining photorealistic graphics and advanced programming techniques.
Hide and escape the various entities that pursue you or fight them using a revolver, environmental advantages and your wits.
Fully interactive environment.
Solve many interaction-based, physics-based and cryptography-inspired puzzles.
Paranoid and surreal atmosphere, heavily inspired by psychological and mind-bending movies and games well-known to genre fanatics.
Upon entering one of these chambers you need to solve one long puzzle sequence before attempting the other 4. This is how the game will go right up until the end.