Nov
13
2007

By that I mean what are the key requirements every casual game must have. By their very essence every casual game must have simplicity at its heart. Over the years I have played many different games, but on my pocket pc I always seem to ‘default’ back to Solitaire. For me it is the perfect game for those 5 minute plays. I can just load it up and I’m straight into the game. If I need to pause in the middle of the game, it takes a matter of seconds to pick up where I left off when I resume.
So here in the office we decided to have a brainstorming session to discuss the key ingredients every casual game must or must not have. Here’s what we came up with, you can add to the list if you wish:

  • It must be simple to pick up and play.
  • If it requires a dedicated tutorial to play, it just aint simple enough.
  • Must be able to pause the game without having the memory of an elephant.
  • Engaging and challenging gameplay.
  • Graphics and sounds which compliment the gameplay and not just there for the sake of it.

    • We’ve tried to follow the above set of ‘rules’ in the development of our games, but we’ll have to wait until we start getting feedback from our users until we really know whether or not we have the right mix.

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    Oct
    18
    2007

    Apple announced plans to release a SDK for the iPhone by February 08. They seem to have finally given in to the constant pressure from developers out there who’d been hacking away at it since day one. As a developer of mobile apps, the SDK is great news for us. It gives us an extra (and fairly popular) platform to which we can port our products, but Apple’s insistence of having signed apps only is somewhat of a pain. As a small indie developer trying to get your apps signed by the various platforms can get very expensive indeed. The signing model is still unclear, but its certain to contain some sort of compliance testing. The SDK is to be used for both the iPhone and the iTouch ipod. We’ll have to wait until february until things become clearer.

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    Oct
    17
    2007

    After being stuck in the office hacking away for the past 4 weeks we finally had an excuse to get out and get some fresh air . The Symbian Smartphone Show was a brilliant exhibition/conference, and gave as a chance to meet some great people within the industry. Had a chat with Handango and Handmark, but was suprised Motricity weren’t exhibiting. There were also some great startups exhibiting at the show.

    Some news from the show:
    Nokia have also decided to announce a touch interface for the S60, with backward compatibility for S60 apps and unlike the iPhone, Tactile feedback on screen taps. We wont know how good it is until we actually get to use one but it looks pretty amazing. I have to say though, the video they showed was seriously corny :)
    Expected release is sometime next year. 

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    Sep
    6
    2007

    Finally got round to getting this up and running. We’ll keep you posted on everything going on at socoto studios, and give you the heads up on any special offers or new products coming soon. At the moment we’re extrmely busy readying the website, finalising our product releases and moving to suitable offices….Hectic.

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