We got sneak peeks at a number of games which we've already reported on and a number of unannounced titles that we'll be hearing more about in the near future. Even though GDC officially ended last Saturday, we're still recovering from the trip and catching up on the backlog of games and news that has come out since. We also expect a few more GDC-related posts to trickle out over the next few days.

The iPhone game that seems to have gotten the most buzz at GDC 2010 wasn't even a finished game. Sword and Sworcery definitely wins the prize as the biggest surprise of the trip. In this week's podcast we discuss the reason why the game — even in its unfinished form — seemed to have captured people's imaginations so much.

And our reactions weren't out of the place, as the game has seen a similar reaction amongst other gaming sites as well.

In our GDC Wrapup Podcast we also discuss other interesting games including Sketch Nation, Faraway, Assault Squadron as well as games from Gameloft, Namco and the promise of iPad gaming.

In my mind, the biggest value of these large conferences to developers is the after-hours events and meet ups with other iPhone developers. As much as TouchArcade is a news and review site, it is also a massive community that successfully brings both developers and players together. It's great to meet up in person with TouchArcade forum regulars who happen to also be developers, even if just to say "hi".

Check out our GDC 2010 Wrapup podcast where Blake, Eli and I discuss the most interesting games that we saw.

Podcast music provided by Overclocked Remix.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes or Direct Download (M4A, 42MB)

Originally founded in 1994, Freeverse's earliest titles were Mac shareware games. They later branched out in to games for Windows, XBOX Live Arcade, and most recently the iPhone. Freeverse's MotoChaser was one of the few 3D games that launched with the App Store. Also immediately available were Big Bang Sudoku and Jared. They then went on to release a catalog of great iPhone games, both developed in house and and by outside developers published by Freeverse.

Photo by Crain's New York Business

Since the surprise announcement yesterday of ngmoco's purchase of Freeverse, what we've all been wondering is what is going to change. Ngmoco has recently shifted gears to an entirely free to play business model, while Freeverse has been happily releasing massively successful 99¢ games like Skee-Ball and Flick Fishing while working on highly anticipated games such as Warpgate.

The short answer of what is going to change initially is almost nothing, with very little changing in the future aside from the shift in payment models. According to Ian Lynch Smith, they wouldn't have done the deal if it wasn't for the shared vision between both companies, as each of them focus on the iPhone and iPhone OS. This doesn't mean they're abandoning the Mac games, applications, and everything else they do either. Freeverse will remain its own company in Brooklyn, just as a wholly owned subsidiary of ngmoco.

In addition, Freeverse will continue to publish the works of other iPhone developers, with the same level of quality and care we've seen in the past. As Smith put it, "[Ngmoco] did not buy Freeverse to make radical changes. They bought us because of our success, and they bought us because of what we've been doing right."

From Freeverse's perspective, the main motivation behind agreeing to this deal is the immense potential for growth. Through the years they've done everything they could to reach a larger audience, originally starting with shareware, then making the jump to retail shelves, then bringing their games to both the PC and XBOX, and finally jumping on the iPhone.

In regards to ngmoco's recent push to "freemium" games, Smith said, "We wouldn't have done this if we didn't think there wasn't more growth and more possibilities to reach more people in the free to play model." He cites people (now teenagers) who have grown up playing high quality free flash games as well as the massive successes seen in Asian markets as proof that the free to play model works.

Ian seems open to all forms of free to play games currently, including a one-time purchase to unlock all the features and functionality of a game– Something often requested by forum members regarding ngmoco's TouchPets and Eliminate. Freeverse has no intention of "nickel and diming" gamers, and plans on just being smart about how these things are implemented.

While he was reluctant to comment on future game development, when asked if they were still going to provide substantial gameplay experiences for gamers to enjoy instead of Farmville-like games, Smith simply responded "Yes" and mentioned a "substantial game" being discussed behind the scenes.

Freeverse admits they have much to learn about the free to play world, but with the combined expertise of ngmoco, they hope to release compelling games that can be played at no cost to the player, while providing optional in-game purchases for players who spend hours a day playing. They're hoping this will result in games that see the same exponential growth that the iPhone in general has enjoyed, instead of the current linear growth patterns Freeverse sees now.

Prior to this recent acquisition by ngmoco, Freeverse has never had investors and has been profitable on their own for the last 15 years. According to Smith, the main motivation for agreeing to the purchase was to "swing for the fences" and feels we're at a major moment in time, an inflection point, where we're going to see an explosion of mobile gaming.

"At the end of the day, we are just trying to sell our games in a way that lets us grow and continue making more games," Smith explained.

We recommend listening to the entire interview yourself, which is included here.

Podcast music provided by Overclocked Remix.

Interview Audio: Subscribe in iTunes or Direct Download (M4A, 12.9MB)

In the interview, we addressed their choice of Freeverse as a target, as well as their move into freemium content. The full audio recording is included in our podcast format, while a summary is transcribed here.

Addressing why they choose Freeverse, Young was very complimentary about the company and described them as "wonderful people" who shared their vision and values while also having a pool of talented people and intellectual properties that complemented Ngmoco. Freeverse will remain functionally independent and retain the Freeverse brand. According to Young, to the outside world, things won't look very different initially.

One hot topic amongst our readers is Ngmoco's recent move towards a freemium model — where games are free to download and revenue is generated through in-app purchases. The reason for this move was a combination of factors according to Young. Despite the running speculation, the move was not in response to the high piracy rates on the iPhone.

Instead, there were two main factors. First, they felt that there was a large pool of App Store customers who only participated in the free-download side of the store that were not being captured in the traditional model. Young cited download numbers 10-20x higher for the top free apps compared to the paid apps. And, second, in looking into the future of the App Store, they saw a general trend away from higher priced premium games, and towards these type of games that can be played over time.

Interestingly, Young admits that the first incarnations of their freemium models for Eliminate Pro and Touch Pets Dogs were somewhat "clumsy" and "1.0" versions of the model (and to be followed by 2.0, 3.0 etc…). Part of this is attributed to the fact that neither game was originally conceived to be freemium. Young said, however, they have continued to learn and made ongoing adjustments to the model for their upcoming games including God Finger and We Rule, and beyond.

Finally, Young confirms that Freeverse's existing games including the upcoming Warp Gate won't be affected by the acquisition, but that future games will be designed around the freemium model.

We recommend listening to the entire interview yourself, which is included here.

Podcast music provided by Overclocked Remix.

Interview Audio: Subscribe in iTunes or Direct Download (M4A, 14.7MB)

Little White Bear Studios

• Compression – Their latest game in which Tetris meets Bejeweled. This husband/wife team made the switch to full time just this past September and talk about their success and plans for the future. We also discussed the new iPad and their participation in FreeAppADay.com

Games We Played

• Vector Runner ($0.99)
• Angry Birds ($0.99)
• Arctopia ($1.99)

Blakespot's iPad blog post referenced in the podcast: "Apple's iPad: The Dynabook, And The Future Of Computing, Has Arrived"

Podcast music provided by Overclocked Remix.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes or Direct Download (M4A, 38MB)

The reception amongst this group of developers was remarkably positive, and everyone had ideas for new projects exclusively for the iPad, as well as refining or enhancing existing games to take advantage of the additional screen real estate and processing power of the device. We also discuss the niche that the iPad will likely fill, and what kind of usage patterns we expect the device to see once it is available for purchase.

Music lovingly lifted from the Steve Jobs YTMND.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes or Direct Download (M4A, 50MB)

Lima Sky

• Doodle Jump – We talk about the massive success of Doodle Jump and their plans for the future.

Games We Played

• ReBounce ($0.99)
• Sword & Poker ($0.99)
• Cartoon Wars-Gunner ($0.99)

CES 2010

• Parrot AR.Drone
• Posimotion's Helix Gaming Grip

Podcast music provided by Overclocked Remix.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes or Direct Download (M4A, 39MB)

Rocketcat Games

• Hook Champ – We talk about Hook Champ, the development process, and their plans for the future.

Upcoming Games and News

• Unreal Engine 3
• Mirror's Edge for iPhone
• Marble Madness
• Apple Tablet Rumors

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes or Direct Download (M4A, 41MB)

We invited David Kalina and Randy Smith of Tiger Style Games to join us on this week's podcast. Of course, since their game Spider Secret of Bryce Manor was one of our favorite iPhone games in 2009, they seemed a natural fit for the show's theme. After our interview with them, we had everyone pick two of their favorite games in 2009 to talk about.

Tiger Style Games

• Spider Secret of Bryce Manor – David and Randy talk about how they started Tiger Style, their newly released update and Hornet Smash game, as well as hints of their future plans.

David's Picks

• Zen Bound
• geoDefense and geoDefense Swarm

Randy's Picks

• I Dig it and I Dig It Expeditions
• Crayon Physics Deluxe

Blake's Picks

• Soosiz
• Rogue Touch and Sword of Fargoal

Eli's Picks

• Canabalt
• Hook Champ

Arn's Picks

• Sway
• Flight Control

Everyone had a hard time narrowing down to only 2 games each to talk about. We will be organizing our formal TouchArcade Best of 2009 picks which should be coming soon.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes or Direct Download (M4A, 46MB)

In Motion Software

In Motion Software

• I Dig It: Expeditions – We talk about their early success and sequel to their hit title I Dig It.

Games We Played

• Jelly Car 2
• Voltron
• Tomena Sanner
• LaunchBall

Podcast music provided by Overclocked Remix.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes or Direct Download (M4A, 28MB)

Gameloft – Upcoming Games

• Skater Nation
• HAWX
• GT Racing
• Avatar
• Driver

Except for GT Racing, the rest of these games are due in the next month. Listen to the podcast for more of Eli's take on them.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes or Direct Download (M4A, 22MB)