Monthly Archive for September, 2008

Aquaria

aquaria.png

John Champlin from Ambrosia let me know that Aquaria, the hand-drawn underwater side scroller from Bit Blot, has reached Final Candidate for Mac.

Aquaria has been in development for the Mac for quite some time and although I’d liked to have seen the release a bit sooner, it’s a testament to Ambrosia that they wouldn’t let me see it before every bug and wrinkle had been ironed out. Bit Blot, the original developers of the game for PC, also made some changes for the Mac version - namely making artwork fit onto the widescreen monitors that most Mac users have.

Continue reading ‘Aquaria’

Hordes of Orcs

hordesoforcs.png

I think I’m unfair to casual game developers. I overlook their games, I even berate the idea of them without playing them. I lean towards the latest and greatest in storytelling or action. I prefer big titles that create living, breathing worlds. Give me Mass Effect, Half Life or BioShock any day.

Continue reading ‘Hordes of Orcs’

GPU Acceleration

Lionel at HardMac makes a good point about GPU acceleration and how it could force Apple to focus on certifying the latest cards for use in OS X:

As we reported it earlier, Adobe unveiled its CS4 suite yesterday with availability for the end of the year. One of the main new features for Photoshop is the ability to benefit from GPU processing power to speed up rendering and/or some functions.

If Apple was always offering graphic cards from the generation N-1 to Mac users, the new CS4 suite could push Cupertino to revise this weird strategy and better follow GPU availability, not only for gamers, but now for all Pro users. Indeed, Apple will most likely not let CS4 suite and other audio/video/graphic software to run faster on a Win-based PC than on a Mac, as it could push long-time Mac users to the PC world. So it has to do with market shares and Apple’s image.

Hopefully Apple will attempt to adopt some of the latest cards from ATI and NVIDIA to further enhance the performance of applications like Photoshop, ImageReady or Motion, which in turn will help us gamers!

It’s interesting to see computing come full circle, where seemingly different and unconnected parts and processes start to become one, allowing performance benefits and a better, more unified machine.

Spore for Mac

sporelogo.png

Fifty thousand years in the making humanity has reached a stage where it can look back at itself and say: I can do better than that! Spore is a universe, a fusion of a sim, a God game and an MMO, that attempts to mimic the mystery of evolution and the vastness of space, while reminding us of our closeness to one another. 

Sounds heavy. In scope, Spore is; life, death and everything in between that span multiple generations. Spore is complex, but approachable. Through simple, addictive gameplay and an entertaining interface, Spore is for players of all ages. And it’s this that makes Spore something worthy of attention: complexity and freedom made approachable through simplicity of gameplay. And twenty five eyed cock monsters of course.

Continue reading ‘Spore for Mac’

Apple PR: Games? Like Scrabble?

I emailed Apple’s UK PR department yesterday to speak to someone about games and Mac OS X. Their response:

“We don’t have a suitable spokesperson to field for this interview at present.”

I’m shocked! Honestly, I know the Mac ain’t a hardcore gaming platform, but not to have a person to interview or speak to? Surely someone at Apple must have some inkling of what’s going on. Maybe nothing is going on, which is scary.

Maybe within Apple there is an embargo on games. Maybe inside their shiny, cleverly named building is nothing but a giant God, brought forth from the land of silicone: the God of i.

Or not, just a thought…