Journey To Uranus Now Universal!

You heard me right! We heard the request for Uranus to play on iPod Touch and iPhone...so rather than create a separate version, we decided just to take the original and make it work on both. It wasn't easy because we designed it to take advantage of the iPad screen and processing power. But Dave, along with Robin and Sam, spent a bunch of time optimizing and altering the programming so the scenes would look great on all sizes. So if you bought it for iPad, it should still look and run the same (maybe even better) but you'll also be able to play the same app on smaller devices without buying it again. And yes, once again, we marked it down to 99¢, and if it goes back up, will only go to $1.99.

Since this took the majority of our time, we decided to create a simpler mini-game that takes advantage of the existing space location, Quantum Entanglement. It was partly inspired by my nephews who requested a scavenger hunt in space and their love for memorization games...so thanks, Brad and Wes! Basically you drag a pygmy to the atom floating in space, and then you have to hunt down a trail of other entangled atoms. You touch one, and another one appears. The trail is always the same, so the more you play it and remember the trail, the further you'll get! You can watch particles to get a hint of the direction of the next atom as well. You also have limited time between atoms (and get extra points for saving time), so go as quickly as you can. But don't accidentally drag a Pygmy over a black hole or the game ends!

>>Read Dave's State of the Island Touch Arcade Post <<

>> or better yet just go get it! <<<



And I want to point out that we were really happy that Challenge of the Gods was received so well! We are now in full production of the Battle of the Gods, where you will be able to use the idols you've collected....plus there will be the opportunity to add a few more to the arsenal, but more on that later.

For fans of the comic, we have had one issue ready for a couple weeks now and the one after that is almost finished, but for some reason there have been major technical problems delaying the release. It's killing me because the first issue of the arc barely hints at the crazy things that go down in the next two issues...so thank you for your patience! The comic has been such a success that Ape put a bunch more resources to produce the comics faster (and we've worked out a huge ongoing story)...but the original app was only built for a short run, so it's taking time to build in the structure for lots more issues.

And as for the next Uranus update, let's just say we heard the request for more classic Pocket God powers!

Meet Paul Vasquez a.k.a. Yosemite Bear, the Double Rainbow Guy!

In the Fall of 2010, we decided to pay homage to famous "Double Rainbow" video that became a sensation on the internet with phrases like:

"Double rainbow, oh my god! It's a double rainbow all the way!"
"Oh my god, it's full on double-rainbow all the way across the sky!"
"Whoa, so intense"
"It's starting to look like a triple rainbow!"

Naturally, it fit into our app nicely and was a big hit. But we were surprised to learn that a few people who thought WE originated double rainbow phrases on Pocket God and and made comments on his YouTube video saying so. Well, we want to give credit where credit is due!

Meet Paul "Yosemite Bear" Vasquez. One day, he was out taking video and came across a huge double rainbow in the forest and uttered the words soon to be known by all. He posted the video on YouTube and quickly became an overnight viral hit, racking up almost 30 million views and has made him a celebrity. He is a lover of nature and now a public personality. He's up to all sorts of things, including: traveling the world, visiting Jimmy Kimmel, shooting commercials, selling t-shirts, and even running for president!

>>Check out his site, Yosemitebear.net to learn more! <<

Moreover, he may be part of an ancient Cree Indian prophecy involving rainbow warriors. Read more about The Cree Rainbow Indian Prophecy on Wikipedia!

We thank him for lending his voice (yes, that's his voice, but digitally doctored) and words of inspiration to Pocket God!



Keep up the good work, Yosemite Bear!

Pocket God Facebook Wins Best Social Game at Canadian Game Awards

Last week, Pocket God Facebook was awarded "Best Social/Casual Game' at the Canadian Video Game Awards! Frima Studio, the team behind the growing game, has done an awesome job of taking Pocket God and making it a fun social version that keeps getting better with each new episode. We thank them for their titanic efforts! The artists, game-designers, and team-leaders are fantastic to work with. We are working hard to keep improving the game!

>> CHECK OUT POCKET GOD FACEBOOK TODAY! <<





And in other news, we've submitted the latest update for Pocket God Journey To Uranus last night! Woohoo! What was THIS update about? Well, we took a major step based on popular request...but it might not be what you think.

Challenge of the Gods is out!

This is the big update we've been working on. We've decided to celebrate the fact that we're nearing Episode 40 by encouraging players to go back and refind, or find for the first time, the various god powers, interactive situations, mini-games, creatures, islands, traps, etc. that we've added over the last two years!

A new Startup screen appears (and you can turn it off, if you prefer to ignore it) that has a button "View Challenges". There you can see the familiar list of icons we've created for each episode (except we had to add two from the beginning). Tap the icon and you view the episode challenge screen. This will be where you monitor your progress for that episode. Click "Activate Challenge" and then try to complete the Challenge Tasks for that episode. They are hidden for those who don't want the hint, but it's there if you need it. For instance, activate the episode "A Storm is Coming" and then go practice your lightning powers! The active episode icon appears on the corner, that you can tap to go back and view your progress. Complete all the tasks for that episode, and you will acquire a God Idol for that episode. There are 39 to collect...but once you have at least four, you can go to God Island and place them on the pedestals to open up the ancient tomb. What happens inside the tomb? Well, there's a hint there, but you'll have to wait for Episode 40 to find out! And anyone who reads the comic might recognize the ruins on God Island.

While we want to maintain the sand box free for all of Pocket God, we wanted to figure out a way to encourage people to go find all the stuff we've added, and this seemed like a fun way to do it! Plus, the God Idols add a new dimension to PG and will be useful in the future. Much of this plays off of issues we are planning for the Pocket God comic series as well as the Facebook game.

Another thing we've wanted to do for a while is to offer a Custom Pack for shark! We also have customizations for the laser attachment for the underwater area! As always, the update is free, but the optional custom packs are 99¢. Thanks to everyone who has been purchasing them and helping us continue to evolve PG.

>> Check out Dave's State of the Island on Touch Arcade for more on this episode! <<

Check out this video created by a behind-the-scenes Bolter, Pepijn Gooiker to see this episode demoed!




And the awesome marketing poster above was created by Junko Mizuno.

Oog Island is Infested with Zombies!

Hey guys, thanks to Ape Entertainment and IDW publishing, the Pygmies are participating in IDW's Infestation Comic Series.

"INFESTATION is IDW’s hugely successful comic series that infects the TRANSFORMERS, G.I. JOE, Ghostbusters, and Star Trek universes with legions of undead. This unparalleled, never-before-seen event is now available digitally through the Apple App Store in the INFESTATION Comics app, made specially for the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. Readers can view full size pages, or read panel-by-panel simply by turning the iPhone or iPod touch horizontally. The app includes all the issues of the IDW event, as well as special features, such as a cover gallery and character designs."

In the Pocket God issue, Britt, a vampire/zombie soldier set on spreading the undead virus across universes, crosses over to the Pocket God universe. She sees the power of the Gem of Life (which allows the Pygmies to die and regenerate) and wants to steal it for herself. In the comic we learn of Nooby's shameful secret, met the zombie t-rex and zombie monkey, fight an army of undead pygmies, and more!

We WILL be releasing it on the Pocket God Comic app, but not until after the Tale of Two Pygmies 3-issue arc (that's when these events occur), but you can get it early on the Infestation Comic App (the app itself is free)...

>> Check out the Infestation App Today! <<

Busy Month! Much Needed Blog Post!

Hey guys. Sorry for neglecting the blog. We still run pretty lean and mean here, so if I'm not blogging it's because I work day and night on designing and animating the next update! So let's do a check-in one by one...


Pocket God- Episode 39 (sneak peak of new island above) was submitted last weekend and we are awaiting approval. This episode adds a new twist to all the Pocket God functions and pays homage to all 39 episodes. It also sets PG up for a great new mini-game that will require -gasp- strategy! That should be out by next week at the latest.


Facebook Ep. 7 - Supersize PygME is now live! You can now buy magic mushrooms which the Pygmies can eat...causing them to enlarge! We couldn't do this on the iPhone because of graphic size constraints, but it works great on Facebook! And we have tons of new features planned...as well as optimizations (for game play and faster loading) so stay tuned...If you haven't already, join today! It just gets better and better!

>> Check out Pocket God Facebook, Episode 7: Supersize Pygmy <<



Pocket God the Comic - Part 2 of Tale of Two Pygmies is just about finished in the coloring process. Our artist was down sick, so it is a bit delayed, but we have hired more artists to help speed up the issue release...and this is thanks to awesome sales! We were on a phone call with Ape Entertainment and not only is the next story AFTER ToTP nearly written, with art already in progress, but we are mapping out THREE more 4 issue story arcs after that. And we group them into 4 -issue sagas, but there is an over-arching story that expands and explains the Pygmies' world. Can't wait to see how it comes out! Hopefully we will get the system in place where they come out faster!

But in the meanwhile, the Pygmy Peril #6 has arrived (Pygmy Perils are all free with purchase of app)! Ape's new editor, Matt Anderson, gets his first taste of the Pygmy World...and Dave writes about how to program games, as well as the usual letters to the editor.

>> Check out Pocket God the Comic <<

Journey To Uranus - We're currently working on the next update which should be done by next week....but the central focus of this update is NOT what you think! More on this later.

Also, we have a few other irons in the fire but I do want to address something I've seen mentioned. There has been grumbling we never quite got our plushes off the ground. We had some major problems lining up a competent manufacturer, and it just turned out to be too difficult and time-consuming for us to do on our own. But the solution is on it's way! More on THAT later as well.

State of the Island! Pocket God AND Journey To Uranus!

Hey guys! So it was a big day...Pocket God Ep 38, Two and a half Pygmies came out this morning and Journey To Uranus, Ep 3 Mercury Rising was just released as well! Two and a Half Pygmies is somewhat like the Double Rainbow update and is more of a mini-update while we work on a really big update. Mercury Rising adds a whole new planet and mini-game to Uranus! But why describe it here, when you can read Dave's Touch Arcade posts...


>> Read Dave's Pocket God State of the Island here <<

>> Read Dave's Journey To Uranus SOTI here <<

Oh, and on each entry there is a demo video!

Again, the great graphic at the top was done by the awesome Chris Kennett!

Kotaku Carrying PG Preview

The next mini-update is called "Two and a half Pygmies"... plus there is a Pimp Skin Pack! and you can see a sneak preview!

>> PG Episode 38 preview on Kotaku <<

It should be approved tomorrow!

A Tale of Two Pygmies Available On the App Store!

Hey guys! The latest adventure for the Pygmy's begins today! "A Tale of Two Pygmies" begins a few weeks after the events in "The Gem of Life" and "X-Mas Marks the Spot". The Pygmies have fallen back into their normal routines. Klak and Booga still obsess over food, Dooby just "chills", and Ooga still plays practical jokes on the simple-minded Nooby (that results in his temporary death), and argues with the uptight Klik. Since the events in the "Gem of Life", Klik has grown resentful toward Ooga for his "communion with the gods". Although Ooga asserts "the gods aren't what you think they are, Klik" he still revels in being the most important pygmy on the island. They take out their rivalry on the Squidball Court with hilarious consequences. Shortly after, however, Klik is confronted with a new mystery that gives him hope that he might have a connection with the gods after all. But will his petty jealousy become his undoing?

This is the first part of a three-part series that introduces a major new character and sets the stage for the tribe's biggest adventure yet! While you can start here without much confusion, If you haven't caught up on the Pygmy's story, be sure to start with the "Gem of Life" and "Xmas Marks the Spot"!



>> CLICK HERE TO GET POCKET GOD THE COMIC <<

As usual Ape Entertainment has done an spectacular job. Jason Burns writes the cool stories, Rolando Mallada pencils amazing art, Paul Little inks and paints the beautiful colors and David Hedgecock and Brent Erwin make it happen! Thanks guys!

And don't forget, also included with a purchase with at least one comic, bonus reading material known as the Pygmy Peril. There, we include answers to letters, behind the scenes articles on PG, and interviews with Pygmies! And as an extra bonus, the remastered version of the animated short "Pocket God Fishmas Special" is included in the Pygmy Peril section!

In the meanwhile, we submitted two updates last week for Pocket God and Journey To Uranus. So hopefully they will be approved soon! Pocket God Facebook, episode 4 "Archipelago-go", will also be up on Facebook soon as well!

Everything you ever wanted to know about Pygmies but were afraid to ask...

Hey everyone! So, we're working our butts off on two (actually three) updates at once. We have a cool new planet for Journey To Uranus: Mercury! the preview is in an earlier post. We are also working on TWO updates at once for Pocket God. One of them is pretty extensive, so we're getting the art ready for that and plan on putting out a mini-update in between to tie people over. Hopefully we'll have that submitted by early next week, with the other update part way done so there won't be a big gap between.

Anyway, so we need something to blog about and I wanted to point out something I stumbled on in Internet land...I was already aware that fans were maintaining our Wikipedia page, which is awesome! I can't believe this stuff just gets done for you without you having to make an effort! But also, there's another site called Wikia, where it looks like the wiki watchdogs are a little looser, and there are pages and PAGES of Pocket God info and trivia! This includes all PG projects...Facebook and Comic included! I was chagrinned to see that it pretty much takes note of all details, no matter how small (or logic-defying)...case in point: The Pygmy entry said you can have a maximum of seven pygmies on the island. I think "whoops! They got a detail wrong! Of course the number is six!" Then I read the bullet points on how to get 7 pygmies and was amused to see the entry was actually right! There is a way!

Want to know how to do it? Well, you gotta visit the wikia Pocket God "Pygmy" entry!

>> Click here for the Pocket God Wikia Page! <<

>> Click here for our Wikipedia page. <<

And thanks to whoever is taking the time to write all that! Its awesome.

Oh, and a note. Because Blogger seems to have better Spam protection now, I've decided to open up commenting to anyone who feels like it. Signing up for Blogger and waiting for my approval seems to deter conversation. But this is just a test. If I get tons of spam or unsavory posts (feel free to critique Pocket God, but keep it family friendly please!) I'll revert to the old way where I review comments.

Journey To Uranus on Sale for 99¢!

Well, iPad 2 has been released and to celebrate (i.e.,influence new buyers), we're running another super sale. Until Sunday, Journey To Uranus is only 99¢! So if you've held out, now's the time to go get it!

We're currently working on delivering a new update, Ep 3. Mercury Rising. It will include the planet Mercury. Apparently millions of years ago, in the Pygmian era, the planet Mercury was covered by a sprawling technological city, with inhabitants who are obsessed with speed (not of the Charlie Sheen variety, but more of the Keanu Reeves-on-a-bus-without-brakes way). The inhabitants even keep statues of the GOD Mercury around that have the ability speed up time...which might be a good thing for Mercurians, but bad for Pygmies! Also, they are crazy drivers with badly kept roads...thus the new game "Hover Jump" (inspired by the game "Bump and Jump") where the pygmy is thrust into the seat of a hover car and must race down Mercury highways, making jumps and avoiding crazy alien drivers. Looks like we will submit this coming Monday.

Here are a few sneak images!




CLICK HERE TO GO TO URANUS!

We're also working on a big update for Pocket God which will add a whole new dimension to our little "game". But it requires a bunch of new art and programming, so we may insert another mini-update beforehand. More on that later!

Be the It Pygmy!

At long last! Not only does POCKET GOD FACEBOOK now have female Pygmies, but now you can customize them (the boy Pygmies too)! Customizable pieces include hair color, hair bone, boney tail, top and skirt! Give your tribe a whole new personality! Check out the fashion I've inflicted adorned on my tribe...




And more accessories and options to come! If you haven't joined Facebook Pocket God yet, why not? And be sure to invite your friends!

>> Sign on to Pocket God Facebook! <<

The Moron Pests is Out!

Yup! Its up! Go get it and see how many oogles you can run! Remember, you can only get to the Island of Misfit Crossovers in the Pygmy's dreams!

And don't forget our custom packs! If you appreciate all the free content, show your support and buy a pack today! This time around, you can make your barking spider, an actual barking spider-dog, among others!





Dave and I are currently busy working on the next update for Journey To Uranus....we're adding the planet Mercury, which will include its own interactivity AND a brand new mini-game! We've enlisted the help of new artists to help us get everything done, and so far it looks awesome!

And hey, guys. If you want the updates to keep coming, please tweet and post on Facebook how much you love this update and want them to keep coming! Click one of the buttons at the bottom of this post. Who knew it was going to last this long, but if sales dry up, we may have to work on a new app, and then our episode days are numbered. Let's try to get to episode 50!

Also, the above Moron Pests promo image was created by Chris Kennet!

Dave Talks Pocket God on Electric Playground

Hey, why's Dave standing around doing interviews when he could be updating Pocket God? Just kidding. Kids, we all need to mix it up now and then. Our butts get sore. But check out this slick interview on Electric Playground!

Dave's State of the Island

Last week we submitted the latest update "The Moron Pests", the long-promised crossover with the Moron Test! We weren't sure how it was going to turn out but we think it came out great! It also involves a new island!

>> Read Dave's State of the Island Here <<

Valentine Pygmy Killing!

What better way to send Valentine love than to kill your friends (at least their pygmy versions) on Pocket God Facebook! So Pocket God Facebook (Beta) is coming along, and has 160,000 Monthly Active Users to date. We're not Citiville yet, but its a great start! Frima is working really hard to evolve it in our usual way, one episode at a time! Currently up is Episode 3: The Birds, which of course, has added the dodo. As with most Facebook games, you gotta keep playing to get all the cool stuff, so you better get on it!


As extra motivation, we are currently holding a Valentine challenge to gain points. Join in and kill your Pocket God friends to add to the Valentine's Day slaughter and you can win extra experience points and pocket change (the currency you use to buy cool Pocket God powers and idols). You can also send and receive LOVE to and from your friends to bestow devotion bonuses, which increases the amount of pygmy sacrifices you can make to earn even more points. So show your sadistic love, quick, before time runs out!

CLICK HERE OR THE PYGMY ABOVE TO CHECK IT OUT!

And by the way, you can now name your Pygmies, and select their gender, click my screen shot below to see who I most like to smite.


Next up will be Pygmy customizations!

First Update for JTU Approved!

We were just notified the update for Journey To Uranus was approved and should be up soon! The graphic says it all, but Dave also describes the update in his Touch Arcade Post:

>> Read Dave's State of the Island Here <<

He explains the update and reveals the next planned Uranus update!

P.S., the above awesome graphic was created by Chris Kennet!

Christopher Tin makes our loops, and is a Grammy Nominee!

So, the first few loops (background music) on Pocket God were cobbled from stock music and were lucky finds. But by the Ice Island, we realized we weren't going to be able to rely on stock music. Plus there was the fact that now we had a budget! So I went to a guy I'd worked with in the past, and knew was awesome, Chris Tin (tinworksmusic.com or christophertin.com). And he's been banging out our loops in between his bigger gigs ever since. He's worked on compositions and recordings for major movies and games, but still makes time for us! And now, he was just nominated for, not one, but TWO Grammies! Obviously its not for Pocket God. But we are really happy for him!

He stepped it up for Journey To Uranus. Click these to hear a couple examples:

Pygmies in Space
Dragons On Uranus

I thought I'd try something new and post an Q&A with Chris! Read on...

How did you get started in music? Did you go to school for it?

It was something that I'd always done from an early age... piano lessons, followed by learning trumpet, guitar, joining choir, joining jazz combos, etc. I didn't go to school specifically for music initially, even though I eventually wound up majoring in Music. However, when I got accepted to a Master's in Composition program at the Royal College of Music in London after college, I finally decided that I would make a run at a career in music.

Do you play instruments?

Play some piano and some guitar.

What kind of projects have you made music for? Which ones got you a nomination for TWO grammys?

I've done almost everything. I've scored feature films, commercials, video games. I made a demo song for Apple's 'Garage Band' software. I also co-created a startup song for Microsoft's 'Surface' operating system. I also release my own albums... in fact my debut album 'Calling All Dawns' has been nominated for two Grammys: 'Best Classical Crossover Album' and 'Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists' for the opening song, 'Baba Yetu'. Getting nominated is a thrill, but to win I have to get past Herbie Hancock and Bobby McFerrin. A tall order.

How do you compose your music? What software do you use?

Generally a combination of writing it out by hand, and using Apple's Logic sequencing platform. I usually use Pro Tools to record and edit audio, and Sibelius to notate scores.

Do you play video games? If so, what kind? Any favorites?

Much more of a casual gamer than anything else, so it tends to be various Wii games with my girlfriend: Super Mario Wii, Rock Band Beatles, NHL 2K10, etc. The game I turn on the most, however, is definitely Pocket God. I play it all the time (mostly Ooga Jump... highest score 4400 Oogles.)

Do you have any personal pet projects we should know about?

I'm co-producing an electronica album right now, called Stereo Alchemy (www.stereoalchemy.com). We've taken a bunch of Renaissance and Romantic Era poetry and turned it into gothic, trip-hoppy electronica. We're very excited about our album release, which will hopefully be in the next couple months.

Thanks Chris for all your great work and good luck!

And by the way, Journey To Uranus, episode 2: Electric Booga-Loo was submitted lat week and hopefully will be approved soon. Dave and I are currently working on PG Episode 37: Moron Pests...it will contain a whole new island, and mini-game! Oh, yeah, and its also a cross-over...but you probably already figured that out.