Elecorn: The Animated Coder

Caster Episode 2 is now available for PC! (Mac Linux and iPhone updates coming soon).

You can download and install it from here:

http://www.casterthegame.com

It should copy over your existing install of Caster.  Your save files should be preserved.

New updates include:

• New playable girl Caster.
• 7 new missions.
• New game play mechanics.
• New music from Monte Emerson.
• Built in support for community mods.
• Level editor and other mod tools.
• Better controller customization.
• New art.
• Updated play balancing.
• You can now jump while sliding down hills.
• Visual effects enhancements.
• Performance improvements.

So what are you waiting for!  All updates are FREE!

And if still haven’t purchased Caster at its very affordable price of $4.99, you can do that as well!
Thanks everyone!

Brice Morrison from The Game Prodigy has done a writeup on the core experience in Caster.

It’s an interesting read.

Also, I would like to recommend his video on Play Testing.  It’s the same process I used with a lot of success on Caster.

Thanks!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Caster Redefines Mobile Gaming with Novel Manga Approach

Apple’s App Store opens whole new channel for publishing games in frequent, chapter-size increments

Duvall, Washington – September 21, 2009 – Independent game developer Elecorn LLC is bringing a brand new style of game delivery to the App Store with Caster, a high speed free roaming fantasy themed third-person shooter. Unlike traditional games that deliver story lines in large sequels or expansion packs, Elecorn is leveraging the power of the App Store to use an incremental publishing style that resembles Japanese manga and anime.

“With the App Store, you can quickly distribute updates and new content to every end user with a few clicks. This allows us to do something new in games.  We can make a truly episodic game that unfolds one episode at a time,” says Mike D. Smith, principal of Elecorn and Caster’s key developer.  With the debut of Chapter 2, Caster advances its brand new format of episodic releases that expands the gameplay and explores an incredible epic story.

Chapter 2 “The Lydonia Chronicles” was released September 18th 2009 and is a free update to all those who currently own the game. The game normally sells for $2.99, but to celebrate the release of Chapter 2, Elecorn is holding a 33% off sale.

ABOUT CASTER
Caster is an episodic game that presents an intense third-person action shooter experience with pulse pounding music. In the game, the player dashes across scenic locations destroying bug like creatures called the Flanx using six unique attacks that include massive terrain deformation and high speed barrages of energy blasts. All new episodes are released periodically for free.
Caster is available for Windows, Mac, Linux and iPhone at http://www.casterthegame.com

ABOUT ELECORN LLC
Elecorn LLC is a small, independent software development company operated by Michael D. Smith. Caster is the latest in a series of games developed by Elecorn, which is also known for its animation software TweenMaker (www.tweenmaker.com).  In addition to leading Elecorn, Smith also serves as a senior programmer for Hidden Path Entertainment.

I’ve been hoping for some time that the iPhone version of Caster would show up on the “New and Noteworthy” list in the AppStore.

That hasn’t happened yet… but it might be because it’s on the “What’s Hot” list instead!

Granted, I’m about 10 pages in for apps in general, but for games I’m on the first page.

So how have sales been on iPhone?  Eh.  Let’s just say I’m hoping they’ll pick up when I release episode 2.

However, since being featured on a prominent German new site (http://www.golem.de/0905/67071.html), sales for the Linux version have gone up significantly.  In fact, they’re starting to rival the PC and Mac sales (outside of Steam).

This was very surprising to me as I assumed that no one would ever pay for anything on Linux.  I guess there just may be some hope for games on Linux after all!

Frank Earl has just finished the build and packaging for Caster on Linux!  This is particularly interesting as Caster was initially developed under Linux and later ported to Windows, Mac, and  iPhone.

You can download it here:

www.casterthegame.com

Have fun penguins!

Yup, I submitted Caster to Apple this past week end for review.

It seems that the review process takes about two weeks, so it shouldn’t be long before we see Caster on iPhone and iPod Touch!

Courtesy of Spencer Nielsen.

I kid you not! Defense Grid: The Awakening (available for pre-purchase now on Steam) is without a doubt the BEST tower of defense game I have ever played! I play lots and LOTS of games including a lot of Tower of Defense games. There are some really sweet tower of defense games out there (Immortal defense is one of my favorites), but Defense Grid takes the cake!

Everything about this game is Quality (with a capital Q)! The balance of the game play (easy to play and yet difficult to master), the intuitive controls, the music, the sound, the voice acting, the art direction, the animation, the user interface! It’s all there! The only thing I have to compare it to is the amount of quality I expect (and recieve) from the Mario games from Nintendo.

Of all the games I’ve been involved with in my career, I am more proud of this game than any other (yes, even more than Tiger Woods Golf 08 for the Wii which was awesome).

We’ve been playing Defense Grid internally at Hidden Path Entertainment and I just can’t get enough of it! Not many games do that for me. 90% of what I play I put down after the first 10 to 15 minutes, but this game keeps calling me back!

I’m confident that this game will stand as a landmark in the history of the Tower of Defense genre.

So, if you’re looking for a fun and satisfying game play experience, visit Steam and get a copy of Defense Grid. You’ll be happy you did!

Recently I listened to a talk given by Jonathan Blow on conflicts with story and game play.

You should check it out here:

http://braid-game.com/news/?p=385

I usually agree with most of what Blow says, but I didn’t quite agree with a lot of his assertions in this talk.  However, I found a lot of value in what he said and it has changed how I’m viewing my game creation process.

On that same note of meaningful games, I would like to promote Wii Music based on a friend’s recent blog post (Russell Carroll that does GameTunnel.com) .

http://vgbm.blogspot.com/2008/11/in-defense-of-wiimusic.html

Wii Music (and Wii Fit for that matter) are providing new game play experiences beyond anything out there.  If you’re looking for meaningful games that can impact your life and change the way you look at things, give Wii Music and Wii Fit a fair try.

I really wanted to make my next game after Caster meaningful in some way.  These two posts have really helped in this endeavor.

You can find Caster on the first page!

http://www.igf.com/php-bin/entries2009.php