We didn’t think it’d take long for former Infinity Ward creative strategist Robert Bowling to find work after leaving Activision last month, but we didn’t anticipate that he’d be employing himself. In an exclusive with Game Informer digital on Monday, Bowling revealed the formation of his own studio, Robotoki. He also announced that his new digs will be pumping out titles for console and PC, as well as phones and tablets.
“As a developer, our focus is on creating a universe first, experiences second, and game mechanics last, “ Bowling told GI. “With focus being on universe, we aim to create experiences that transcend platforms and genres and allow our players to connect to our world, their characters, and gameplay via any medium: console, PC, or mobile.
“However, how they experience the world is unique to their device. The mobile / tablet experience should not mimic the console or PC experience, it should be additive to it, not supplemental. Allowing them to support their console and PC experience, continue their progression, but by experiencing the world in a meaningful and unique way."
Bowling’s vision for the mobile space sounds like a dream. We haven’t seen any game with the level of integration that he’s suggesting his titles will have. Also, we don’t see a lot of companion apps functioning as more than a database. This space has a lot of room to grow, so it’ll be interesting to see what Robotoki does.
Robotoki will be funding its own projects, by the way. And we’ll catch a glimpse of its first title by the end of this year. It’s currently slated for next-gen consoles, iOS, and Android.
[via Game Informer]
Another reminder why you never ever buy anything unless it's on sale. Just two days ago on Tuesday I spent $5 on Ascension... Grrr. I know it's only $4, but I still feel like a sucker. I won't make that mistake again.
At least Ascension is totally worth even the regular price.
I bought it at full price and haven't regretted it for a minute.
Sweet. Grabbed both of them!
Awesome with Smash Cops - had that sitting on my wishlist as a "I know I won't play this now..." sort of game. Didn't expect it to go from $2.99 to free, though.
I'll bite on Ascension for $0.99 too. You make a good point vs the physical card cost. I think we need a round-up of all the good card games on iOS at this point. Orions 1 & 2, Dominion, Cabals, Shadow Era, Ascension.... am I forgetting any?
Edit: And Magic: The Gathering Planeswalkers 2013, coming soon.
Picked up Ascension (and the expansion purchase) as soon as I saw the drop.
To get the original and expansion for $4 (less than a trip to Starbucks), when the real world card equivalents for both would be $70, is crazy-stupid-good pricing.
If ever on the fence about the game prior, I think now is a great time to bite the bullet and smash that buy button. It really is an excellent card game, and the online multiplayer looks to be reasonably coded as well.
Ascension is a very good game and an excellent iOS adaptation. I'd certainly give it more than 3.5 stars myself. I have played it so much that it has been more than worth the original asking price. I'd give it 4.5 stars, with the .5 left off because there is no in-game chat. I hope they will add that eventually, but it's far from a deal killer. The Return of the Fallen expansion enhances the game and is a highly recommended purchase as well.
Ascension is a great game. The first expansion was also excellent and I'm looking forward to getting the second expansion next month.
@Rirath, you missed Nightfall which I purchased recently; it's a bit complicated and I'm still learning how to play it, but it looks very good so far. As for Orions 1 and 2, they had huge potential to become classics, but sadly were completely abandoned by the developer. I honestly believe Orions 2 could have become one of the best card games for iOS, had the developer released updates to fix bugs, game balancing and so on.
Yeah, that 3.5 stars for Ascension bugs me too. It's not perfect, but it's simply the most addictive iOS game I have, period.
Another expansion coming out in a month? That means the backlog of games I buy but don't play gets longer...
Ascension needs a retina update, a card game is one of the most obvious practical uses for retina with the tiny text of cards on the playing field.
Picked up smash cops, excellent game. Very polished. Makes me think they should do a part two with some added pizazz like voice narration, pedestrians...err, just make it a little more comical, almost gta-ish but not if you know what I mean.