Shoutout to Pocketgamer

We shamelessly monitor Google for articles about US. This is a bad habit because every now and then you find something really negative...but on the other hand, its good to know the criticisms. Well, one site that has always given us a bunch of POSITIVE press is pocketgamer.co.uk (or pocketgamer.biz) and we wanted to say "thanks, guys!".

Here are the various articles they've published...

What does the Pocket God, Doodle Jump, Harbor Master mash-up mean

Pocket God and Harbor Master crossing paths again

Pocket God and Harbor Master to join forces on the iPhone

Bolt Creative looking to bring Pocket God to other platforms

Pocket God's peak sales figures revealed

State of the Island

Dave does his postmortem report on Touch Arcade. He goes ahead and explains "Bait Master"...

"So, the Bait Master update really came together really well. I'm just going to spill the beans now and say it's a Harbor Master mechanic where you guide Piranha that come in from the side of the screen to eat floating Pygmies and when they are full from eating, you give them a path to take them back off screen. When a Pygmy is eaten, he dies and floats to the surface and you have to add another Pygmy to be eaten and the game ends when two Piranhas touch each other or two Piranhas try and eat the same Pygmy."

He also talks about what he is up to for the next update, Idle Hands 2 <--title not decided. I had thought he needed to make some code cleanup, but he says 'no so!' (better go edit my previous post) Besides the idles, we are going to be integrating Buddy Challenges. What's that entail? Well, read his post!

>> Read Dave's Touch Arcade Post Here! <<

Image above by Jake Roth!

Idle Hands 2 Mini-contest

Hey guys! Well, we've submitted the update "Bait Master" and its that time again...to do a badly needed code cleanup and optimization....and in addition we are adding some new back end functionality (Buddy Challenges). So Dave needs me to add some things which avoid additional programming, so I am optimizing graphics to make room for new stuff. But as a last minute fun idea, I thought it was about time the pygmies had some new "idle" states. Idle states are the things they do when you aren't messing with them. For instance, they either stand, walk, look around, pick their nose, etc.... Since I didn't have any brilliant ideas I thought I'd give you guys the opportunity to help out by sending me suggestions for new Pygmy idles! Since I need to get working on them by Saturday, I'm going to need everyone to submit their ideas by Friday midnight. I am allowing everyone a maximum of 5 suggestions. Otherwise, some of you (and you know who you are) will send 100 ideas and I just can't handle that! You can simply type each idea out, send a drawing, or if you are really type A, animate it yourself! We will pick our favorite 5, I will animate them and put them in the game. Then we will pick our favorite and use it to create the icon! What will you get besides Pocket God fame and recognition? I'll get back to you on that!

>> email ideas to pocketgodcontest@gmail.com <<

If you don't send the list of 5 suggestions THERE, I won't add them. Last contest was chaotic with submissions going to multiple places. Thanks for helping guys!

Spore Pocket God!!!!

If people remember there was a Pocket God inspired Spore video a few months back by rupertofly. I have to admit, this Spore game is really nifty. Take a look at what EmporerPenguin2 created!



It is very thorough and has a ton of Pocket God's features. The T-Rex, the anthill, the dodo, etc. Amazing! Thanks EmporerPenguin!

Next update title and the suggestion quandary

Whew! This next update turned out to be quite a bear. Its titled "Bait Master" and is ANOTHER crossover promotion, with our friends at Imangi Studios and their fantastic game Harbor Master. And this is the first time I actually got addicted to my own app! I hope everyone has the same reaction. So I worked all weekend, and now I'm on testing/tweaking duty and while the art part was extensive, the programming part is quite complex this time....and Dave is STILL working really really hard (I always have to be a half step ahead of Dave...so he has the art assets to program with) and thought I should update the blog.

One thing we get a LOT of is...duh...SUGGESTIONS! Of course we do, because we asked for them. And we are totally in awe of the creativity of the ideas. So many come through, we can't possibly address them all. And I see the frustration of the people who don't feel like they are being heard. I try to read (and read, and read) them but its tough and my brain hurts sometimes.

If anyone hasn't seen this,pocketgodlover123 even set up a blog where he, and others can be heard.

>>See Pocket God Update Ideas blog here<<

Furthermore, when people go to the extra effort to personally animate them, I feel extra guilty when I don't address them directly. But believe me...in our down moments we comb the internet and take them in as best we can. Here are a few I recently found on YouTube! Again, I can't list them all, and I apologize to anyone if I missed yours! Thanks guys for all the fantastic work!

DAWNING OF A HERO by SaintsAlive and the whole community!



NO PLACE LIKE ROME by dileaskApps


THE BIG SQUEEZE by theLazyGator

Ooga Jump is out!

Cool! It got approved before the weekend. Well, here is our homage to Lima Sky's Doodle Jump. Thanks much to igor Pusenjak for collaborating. As you will see, we merely put a similar game mechanic in the clouds above the island(s). Lift a pygmy up in the air and drop him on a higher smaller cloud, and suddenly the pygmy bounces into a field of small clouds. Besides a normal white cloud, there is an electrified cloud that sets the pygmy on fire and sends him rocketing upward, a snow cloud causes the pygmy to ice up and inhibits his bounce height, and the wispy clouds disappear when you try to bounce on them. Go really high and you will see a mini-doodle jump guy! There is now a new achievement for the Feint board, and a new sacrifice, "flattened like a pancake"...lol.

I found this mini-game kind of tough but after a while realized it just takes practice and persistence. You kids will probably master it better than I anyway. But here's a tip....note that you can deflect the pygmy at the side of the screen.



P.S. Cheers to Rndmpro for his cool 3D Doodle Jump suggestion (below)....The truth is, that we had this update planned already, and our idea was eerily similar to his! We WERE encouraged to do it once we saw his concept art. Thanks Rndmpro!

Dave interview on Sanctuary4Gamer's Podcast

Ever wonder what Dave sounds like? Dave talks (what else?) Pocket God on Sanctuary4gamers.com. He talks about his background and how he got into iPhone development.

>> Check out the Sanctuary 4 Gamer's Podcast here <<

Slow News Day

Still waiting for Ooga Jump approval. Dave and I gots our picture taken today for the San Francisco Business Times. We're celebrities! I'm working on some new creatures for PG...but not telling what they are yet! Anyway, thought the blog needed a pretty picture so I went to Deviant Art and searched for Pocket God--- Its sort of like googling yourself---and found this cool image by Jitterz. Enjoy!

P.S. And no, that's NOT the creature I'm working on...although I kind of wish I was!

Pocket God wins Most Creative at appadvice.com

An award! Yayyy! Thanks everyone for voting for us! Click the image above to see our win!

That reminds me. We were also selected by O'Reilly Media as a Best iPhone App and put in their book, Best iPhone Apps: A Guide for Discriminating Downloaders, due to release in July, 2009. Click the graphic below to go to their site. If you want to buy the book, use the code BESTAPP for a 30% discount.

Vacations Completed and Dave's State of the Island

I kind of liked calling it the "Dave Report" because it somehow implied that our Dave is the only Dave in existence so of course the "Dave Report" is about Pocket God. Okay, maybe that doesn't make much sense.

Well, summer vacations are over! Dave is more relaxed and I am nursing a ton of mosquito bites (update idea) but now we're back. I did some blog checking while I was gone but I am behind..but really, what else is new? Also, while I was gone, Ooga Jump was submitted (on Friday)....and we are HOPING it will come out this week.

In Dave's latest Touch Arcade post he talks about the possibilities of PG branching out:

"We hired a consultant named Jean Mathews in order to help us find companies that are interested in licensing Pocket God for other platforms. The most obvious platform is the other mobile devices but we have been having some really promising conversations with other companies that want to bring Pocket God to platforms you wouldn’t normally expect. We want to get closer to reaching a deal before announcing it, but I think the other platforms we are looking at might have a chance to be bigger than Pocket God on the iPhone."

How's that for a tease? Well, we'll see what happens and let everyone know. Read the rest here:

>> Read Dave's Touch Arcade Post Here <<

The cartoon above is by Curtis Smith, one of our Wallpaper Contest finalists! I like how one of the Pygmies is named Carl. Now THAT'S comedy :) Thanks, Curtis!

Vote For Pocket God!

Hey, Appadvice.com is holding an online-voting contest for apps. Pocket God is in the category for "Most Creative", so go vote for us! By the way, while I encourage you to vote for the apps you like in other categories....it isn't super-necessary to pick something for EVERY category....there are alot!

>> Vote For Pocket God at appadvice.com <<

Pocket God Forums Ad

Saintsalive created this funny commercial advertising their Pocket God Fan Forum, administered by Arikags, iAmThePocketGod, and Saintsalive. Thanks, guys!


>> Visit the Forum now! <<

Petew820 creates a cool animated PG Ad on Youtube

Even on vacation, I am monitoring the blog. And wow....I've shoulda warned Dave about asking for comments. It can get a little unruly in here.

Anyway, I am logging in using a really shaky wifi signal to post this cool video/animation hybrid homage to Pocket God. With a bit more, ahem, practice, I think they might make the Pygmy Dance a new dance-craze! The T-rex part is my favorite. And I like the fireball idea! Thanks Petew820!

We got Props - 1.2 Million Served, Venture Beat and First Dave Post on the Blog!

Hey Everyone, I can't believe it's been 6 months and this is the first time that I've posted anything on our blog. Normally Allan runs a tight ship here but he is on vacation so he can't stop me from causing all sorts of CHAOS. :)

Hopefully I don't post anything too outrageous (I honestly can't help myself) and hopefully he doesn't kill me when he gets back because that would mean no more updates.

Anyway, Venture Beat is a really well respected blog that caters to business interests in many industries but a large part of their site is focused on the gaming industry. Just yesterday, we hit 1.2 million apps SOLD (not downloads like some apps count) and we decided to release this information along with an amazing graph that Allan created that shows our ranking vs. units sold since the game was launched.

Please check it out and leave lots of comments! Saints Alive already posted a classic Pocket God recommendation comment but we would like to see a lot more so the business world can see how strong the Pocket God community is!

http://games.venturebeat.com/2009/07/10/pocket-god-is-a-case-study-of-a-hit-iphone-game/

Thanks,

Dave

Flipping the Bird is out!

Surprise! Well, we were surprised anyway. I am in the middle of getting ready for vacation and finishing assets for episode 22, Ooga Jump, figuring we had another few days till it was approved. Guess not! So, not to get cocky, maybe the Apple update slowdown was temporary after all.

In this update, I'm sure you've all noticed the bird and what happens when you poke it! It also seems to like fish. So how so you get the bird to pick up the pygmy? Well...like I said the bird likes fish!

There is also some new features to the underwater area. The ability to create a whirlpool and some added "life" to the background. This was just a little added touches and is NOT the last we'll do with the underwater area (update hint).

Another feature is that the achievements are now being recorded in Feint. And you can unlock achievement icons as you increase your best at coconut bounces, lightning zaps, etc. Oh, and don't forget the bird bombs!

The next update is called "Ooga Jump". I've designed the lion's share of the assets and Dave is programming it as I type. So I will let everyone know when it is submitted. Both Dave and I do have some vacation happening over the next week, but I'll try to keep the blog updated anyway!

Oh, and Dave already found a review of Flipping the Bird! Little blurry but quick turn around! Thanks Supermaynesam.

The Appera Talks about the Pocket God phenomenon!

There I said it. Phenomenon. Anyone got a problem with that? James "Superbad" at the Appera wonders why Pocket God is soooooooooo popular...

"If you have not taken a look at their blog, I suggest you now to! It includes dozens of YouTube videos, a constant flow of user comments usually laying out what they want to see Bolt do next, fan arts, comics and SONGS! Yes sir/maam! The simply ingenuity of Pocket God pushes the creative outlet buttons for these kids who follow its development closely."

Okay, so "phenomenon" MIGHT be overstating it, but James certainly makes a good case! Thanks James!

>> Read the Appera Article here <<

YouTube Reviews - the good, the bad and the weird

Pocket God gets a lot of love (and like and hate) on YouTube so I haven't been posting everything for fear of being repetitive. Also sometimes I hold back on posting videos because I feel bad if it causes an influx of negative comments, because we tend to post the really strange stuff. But hey, that's the internet! Here are is a few of the most recent...

by 5JUsername:


by BloodyClaymore


by NibletAndScibletShow

The Dave Report: Flipping the Bird!

Dave posts on Touch Arcade about the Now titled "Flipping the Bird (for real this time)" update. He talks about the new resident of Isle of Oog (and Tyrannosaurus Island) but he had other things to contend with too....

"Technically, we are working on CPU optimization. The 3.0 firmware works really horribly on old phones, every now and then it just spikes the cpu and slows everything down. I think this is because of extra background threads that 3.0 uses for things like push alerts."

>> Read the rest of Dave's Touch Arcade Post Here <<

I notice in the thread there is more questions about the red star in the sky. It was only intended to be a mars-like planet that got added when Dave asked me to redo some graphics for optimization....but now I think we pretty much HAVE to do an update that explains how it got there. Thinking...thinking.....

Also....whoops, the help did not get fixed for the update regarding the sky and water movement. Dave decided to remove the two fingers and made other fixes to avoid with accidental tsunmai creation. It is back to one-finger movements. The help is corrected in Flipping the Bird. Sorry about that!

The image above is by Asel, who we've given permission to create Pygmy charms for her online store! More on that later.

Stop! My App is On Fire has been approved!

Finally! These long approval times are making us nuts. The biggest problem when an update takes so long, we will inevitably get the "that's it?" comments. But naturally we were excited it finally went through. But then, oops the TITLE IS WRONG. It reads "Flipping the Bird"....and not "Stop! My App is On Fire!" Ugh. So how did this happen? Well, I actually finished all the original assets for Flipping the Bird before we were able to submit the Fire update. I THOUGHT I waited until the fire update was submitted to change the title, but apparently there was some confusion and I did it prematurely.

So, to be absolutely clear.....there is NO bird (I'm sure you guessed what the title meant) in the current release. Sorry about that guys!

Another AWESOME PG Suggestion from Rndmpro

Rndmpro (Ben) created this awesome suggestion. What do you think people? Thanks, Ben!

P.S. On a slightly personal note, I (allan) have been highly side-tracked with a medical/family issue which is starting to resolve itself and will try to pay more attention to the blog. On the apple front, we HEAR that its going to start getting better so we are hopeful that the updates will start going through faster. And furthermore, as a technical note, 3.0 is giving Dave a big headache because it has issues. Everyone gasp with shock.