Philrox Strikes Again

I am not really sure what to say about this, except thanks, Philrox!

Dave's State of the Island

Again, its just a mini-update but Dave gave us his latest update!

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

Mini-update submitted!

We're currently working on the next bigger update, but we've sent in a mini-update that includes a News feature as well as some fixes and enhancements to story mode. Now you will be able to blank out dialogue for Pygmy actions (so no word balloon appears) and we've added a new popup window to make it easier to select things like pygmy and island states. We've also added "Events" to story mode. This will grow, but for now it includes earthquake, tribal dance (everyone dances) and shark snaps.

Dave will probably explain better, but just wanted to get the update out! We are now going to hurry to get the next full update out before Dave takes a vacation!

In the mean time, here is a demo of Episode 31 by PocketGodVideos on YouTube..



And no, the maker of this video isn't us, but we appreciate what they've put up! Check out the rest of the channel!

The amazing image agove was created by PygKid104 and posted in the Pocket God Forums! (you might have to wait a bit for the full animated GIF to come in)

Happy Birthday Doodle Jump!!

Our good friends at Lima Sky just reminded us its the first birthday of Doodle Jump! Doodle Jump is still my own personal go to game whenever I need to kill a little time. If you are one of the only people who haven't gotten this awesome game, go get it! Like us, they release free content constantly. Help them get to number one again!

>> CLICK HERE To Download <<

Dave and Allan at Wondercon!

Hey, dave has been taking over our facebook fan page and posted this:

"Pocket God So, we will be hanging out at Wonder Con 2010 with Ape Entertainment (the company that's making the Pocket God comic book). We will be there most of the day on Saturday the 3rd and giving away some Pocket God figures. Can't promise you will get one but if you come up to me at the convention and say "Summer Squash" I might give you one. At least you'll get a poster."

Not sure what is up with the summer squash part but ....what he said! We're going to go walk around on Saturday, talk to the guys at Ape and bring some swag. I'll be wearing the shameless pocket god t-shirt!

Dave on Forbes.com Video Network

Another interview with Dave about the pocket god success story. When Dave says our updates are "averaging" 2-3 weeks", he is strategically ignoring the last couple of updates which took longer. But we are getting back to the faster pace! And sorry for the Forbes advertising on this embed. Sneaky!



Oh, and we are working on pushing out a half-update which should be submitted very soon. It seems that the ability to make a blank reaction (an idle without word balloon) in story mode isn't working. Normally you only have to leave the dialogue blank, but the editor is graying out the "Done" button when the text field is cleared out. Also, with the half update, we are adding a news box.

Episode 31 Is OUT!

So, it took a few more days than we expected to be approved, but Episode 31 is out! And it has a ton of new stuff.

Per the title, this update was geared to start Pocket God story mode. As mentioned earlier, this will serve various purposes. And probably a story will be pushed to you whenever we update Pocket God, to set up that update. But we also hope the story creator will encourage everyone to exercise a new and fun godly duty...creating your own Pygmy stories! To find it, go to the community menu and click the storybook icon (below the store icon).

The pain drain is in the underwater area. It is a new minigame where you tilt your iphone/ipod to guide the pygmy down a subterranean booby trap. Keep the pygmy away from the spikes and see how far down you can go!

We've also created a new Alien World custom pack! And like the Halloween and Holiday, it enables you to sub out weird alien versions of common Pocket God elements. The moon becomes a ringed planet. The dodo becomes a weird alien bird. The Octopus Statue is replaced by the 2001 Space Odyssey monolith!

On Touch Arcade, Dave explains what has been going on the past couple of months. We have heard people loud and clear about wanting MORE smaller updates and we are obliging:

"We've been really busy and have been struggling to get focused time to work on the game. However, we are going to try and change that in the near future. For the last few updates, Allan and I have been adding more and more stuff into them where each update is like 3-4 of our old ones. We're going to start releasing more frequent, but smaller updates in the near future. Pocket God is not done yet. We are still going to be working on more updates and hope to get the excitement that we used to have at the beginning."

>> Read The Rest of Dave's Touch Arcade Post Here <<

PG Highlighted on Shelly Palmer

A friend of mine sent me a heads up that he saw this on his TiVO so I thought I'd blog it!

Missed Suggestion Video

Sorry so late Joeldeak but, despite the fact that pencil sketches don't video tape too well, looks like your idea eventually made it in to Pocket God in the last update after all! He was one of several that really wanted some sort of tentacle action in Pocket God. And even though we just added an ice squid, there probably isn't enough tentacles just yet.

But I find it funny, that I missed the video at the time, probably because I was on vacation. And because Joel obviously read the blog (or a touch arcade post), he KNEW I was on vacation. Kids all over the world know if Dave or I are slacking off. LOL.

Thanks for the suggestion, Joel! Looks like you are a budding designer! Very talented! Keep it up!

Update Submitted! Finally!

Thanks everyone for weighing in, but Dave and I ultimately decided to push through Story Mode. Knowing GDC (Game Developer's Conference) was coming up, we gave ourselves a deadline of Monday night to get it together. We buckled down a couple weeks ago to get everything done, including the weekends. We were up all night on Monday putting the finishing touches on it. I believe Dave submitted at 5 AM and then had to go to a GDC round table on Tuesday at 11. I saw him later that day and he didn't look too good.

I can relate because of our schedule the last 4 weeks, I can't seem to shake this cold/cough I've had. Ugh. Anyway, its IN! Woohoo!

So the next update titled "What's the Story, Morning Gory?" (okay, the cute titles are getting hard to come up with!) will include quite a bit of new stuff to play with. The story mode is simple right now but quite fun. I admit I pushed the story mode. I was getting concerned that some people were opening Pocket God and totally lost. I felt we needed a story mode to set up the game and hint at functionality and thought it might be a fun extension to allow users to make their own stories. Dave was concerned that it be as entertaining and funny as functional. We tossed the idea around last summer but decided to put it off. As I read more and more comments on the internet from people who opened Pocket God, didn't understand and then gave up, we brought the idea back and boy, it was a LOT more trouble than we thought, but I hope people like it and it becomes a way for less patient people to "get" pocket god. And it will be fun for the fans of Pocket God to see the Pygmies talking, and even make up your OWN stories. YouTube anyone? We have ideas of future enhancements for story mode and I'm sure people will let us know what they would like once they play with it.

Dave came up with the idea for the Pain Drain I think is one of our most addicting minigames thus far! We also have been meaning to give the underwater area its own music loop, so we commissioned the same guy who did the Ice Island loop, Chris Tin, to make a new underwater loop.

Oh...almost forgot. After grumblings from people on twitter, we decided to make the Story Mode editor FREE (and not DLC)...and instead we created an "Alien World" custom pack (much like the Halloween and Holiday packs). This way, we hope people will be encouraged to make stories and spread the word!

Dave will describe them in more detail in his Touch Arcade Post.

So people have been noticing that the updates are coming much further apart. We have a dilemma. We have several projects in the background that need attention, and that includes the TOP SECRET project. Don't ask, its a secret! But we still have updates planned for Pocket God, they will be a bit more sporadic, but bigger. Remember when an update just included the ability to hit a pygmy with lightning? We don't really feel comfortable adding something so simple any more, so these updates take more time. We're at a point where we have to either hire people (which takes a lot of time in itself) or partner with another company to handle these projects. And that's part of what we're working on too. And yes, THAT takes time. So thanks for everyone's patience. The 31st iteration of PG is coming! How many 99 cent apps have done that? :)


(Oh, and we did a new printing of the PG figure. That's Dave's dining table above!....we are also working on getting a new Pygmy toy, stay tuned on that)

The QUESTION of the next update!

Okay, so we actually decided to move from the top secret project back to Pocket God "Proper" for a bit. A few things happened in the background that caused us to put a rush on the next PG project. However, things shifted AGAIN, and are focusing on the next update.

Dave has spilled the beans on Touch Arcade as to what has been hanging up PG. There are two parts to the update. One is a minigame called the Pain Drain. This is a new addition to the underwater area and its pretty fun. This part was created easily. The next was a little more complicated. We're creating a "story" mode where you turn on a "story" and a sequence plays of the pygmies talking (with word balloons) with various types of animations included (pygmy expressions, weather changes, island changes). We will create funny little stories that might serve a purpose, such as setting up an update or hinting at functions, or just be a story about the pygmies. As an addendum to this, we are making an editor you can purchase for 99cents that allows players to create their own stories. At first the story mode might have some limitations (only certain animations can play, etc.) but we will be able to add to it as we go.

Well, between our other project and the fact that the story mode is one of the more complex additions, we are watching PG fall in the rankings...so we debated on whether or not to just release the Pain Drain as an update, or spend a few more days to finish the story mode.

What do you think? Dave started addressing it on Touch Arcade here.

Where did we go?

Sorry guys. Its getting hectic and the pressure is definitely on. We have an update nearly done, but we keep getting sidetracked by our new top secret project which is ramping up. Wait...what top secret project? Well, if I told you, it wouldn't be that great a secret.

Sorry to be so cryptic, but hopefully we'll get the next update out the door soon so we can focus on one thing for a while, but in the mean time, we hope that people will forgive us for going underground!

The above cartoon is by Smi4450. I found it on deviantart.com!

Hilarious video

Well, its a been a busy week. The update is still in the works, but it is shaping up pretty cool. We are starting to juggle multiple projects now (as we knew would happen). And actually, Dave is the one who is being pulled in too many directions. In the mean time, here's a hilarious pocket god video suggestion by Philrox. Apparently he has a thing for monkeys...and its true. Where are the monkeys in Pocket God? Well, we're going to have to address this! But in the mean time. Check this out.



Thanks Philrox!

Woohoo! PG, the best app ever of 2009!

I know what you're thinking, but that's what the award is called! I didn't name it :) We know there are tons of awesome games and apps in the iTunes store, but do they have pygmies doing the "Pants on the Ground" dance? haha. Anyway, Dave and I went to the 148 apps macworld party yesterday. We hung out with people like Jeff Scott of 148 apps, Mach Kobayashi (maker of some very cool apps including Mach Dice) Bryan Barletta of Medialets (and actually reviewed PG for Appvee), the TeamPhobic guys (who did one of my nephew's favorites "Bounce On") and others. And were surprised when they announced we won. They even gave us a plaque with a pygmy on it!


Thanks to everyone who went and voted on the site!

>> Visit the Award Page here <<

While we were there, we also were interviewed by Philip Elmer-Dewitt for Fortune.com and its already up on the web!

>> Read article here <<

Dave and I are still working on the update. So far its looking really cool and I'm sure people will be surprised by at least part of it. A hint, it was partly inspired by some of the fan art we've put on this blog!

Interview on Comic Book Resources

As part of our announcement, The two Davids...ours and David Hedgecock from Ape Entertainment are interviewed on comicbookresources.com.

>> Read Interview on Comic Book Resources Here! <<

Pocket God Coming to Comics!

Okay, I've been dying to announce this since they sent us the sample artwork (illustrated by the crazy talented Rolando Mallada), but we've cut a deal with Ape Entertainment to bring the Pygmies to Comics officially! We have already had a story meeting and they pitched us their overall concept which is really cool. It will be a 4 issue mini-series. We're planning on creating PG content that will go hand in hand with the comic. It will be available digitally (on itunes of course) but also in print... The printed version will get extra content not available digitally...and there may be more surprises! Dave and I are big comics fans (Dave's collection of manga is insane) so we can't wait! Anyway, it was announced on Kotaku today.

>> Read the Announcement on Kotaku<<

So if you are excited about this, go to Kotaku and LEAVE A COMMENT! I think this is particularly important because I know Kotaku readers are notoriously cynical nay-sayers....and we want people to know you're out there! To login, its SUPER easy to register, click login, then register and a quick popup just asks for a username, password and email is optional--or you can use your facebook account login.

We have been wanting to do this ever since fans started showing us the possibilities. Here are just a few....

Saintsalive

Curtis Smith

Kyle

MLB1229

Chris Atkins (Nerdism)

Forgive me if I missed you...let me know and I'll add it. Whew. okay back to working on the next update...we'll keep you posted on how this goes!

Pygmy Sprites by Pygkid104

Sorry guys for ignoring the blog. I have been putting assets together for the next update. The next update is a two-tier update. Dave started programming A while I started getting art together for B. Now I'm working on the art for A and Dave is starting to program B...Got that? No? Okay, nevermind!

News has been a little slow this year (so far) but get ready for a fun announcement or two. I cant say just yet. At the moment, my hands (or typing fingers) are tied.

In the mean time, Pygkid104 (on the Pocket God Forums) has apparently been VERY busy making Pygmy sprites. and they are awesome!

These pygmies are made for Dave and I:

DAVE	ALLAN

Other Pygmy-ized characters:

AVATAR	NEO	ARGONITUS	SAINTSALIVE

Animated Dances (great job!)

Normal	Staying Alive	Robot	Ant Dance (original dance by PygKid- not in the dance pack, lol)

Plus here's his editorial on our favorite app to rag on...

(yes, yes, we're over it, but its funny!)

These are great and a ton of work...I should know, so kudos, Pygkid! Pygkid104 is "ProjectGroovy" on twitter. There are more sprites (and placeholders for more) HERE and HERE on the PGForums. Oh yes, the pocket god forums looks better than ever, so if you haven't been going, GO THERE NOW!

iPad Talk! and hints for the next update.

Sick of iPad coverage yet? So are we, but Dave got a call last week to discuss it on a local TV show. The upshot of what the iPad means for PG, is that we are going to be careful before going full force on iPad development. We have the iPod and iPhone to focus on and that's enough right now. But of course, Pocket God will play on the iPad as is, so it will be hard for us to ignore it for long!

>> check out video here <<

Speaking of, we were also on last week's Touch Arcade Podcast with Anders Mårtensson from Illusion Labs, Natalia Luckyanova and Keith Shephard from Imangi Studios and Bruce Morrison from Freeverse.

>> Check out the Podcast Here <<

We are both going full force on the next update. I saw that dave dropped some hints on Touch Arcade, so I will go ahead and relay them here. We have decided that we ended up putting our winter "Trilogy" into two updates, and we were anxious to try a few new ideas, so we're moving out of the ice island for the time being. We are introducing a new minigame that involves an extension of the underwater area. The other portion of the update will be a new feature of pocket god that is along the lines of the "Say My Name" update. There will also be some more optimization...As we keep adding, the struggle to keep the graphic memory within limits is ongoing!