Sad news to report today, as Game Oven Studios is shutting down in April. The creators of Fingle ($1.99), Friendstrap (Free), Bounden ($2.99), and the upcoming Jelly Reef, which is still coming out, say that a conflict between being able to maintain their artistic freedom and needing to pay the bills is the reason for the shuttering. Adriaan de Jongh of the three-person studio says in a blog post that they are “at a point where we are in need of another vision for a beautiful game, but where we don’t have one, and don’t have the financial resources to find one and make one."
The team will be finishing up Jelly Reef and plan to release it for iOS and Android in March. You can play it right now on Windows Phone. It’s sad to hear that the studio is shutting down because they created such original games. Seriously, games about awkward conversations, intermingling finger movements, and ballet dancing with another person are so few and far between. Here’s a video of me playing Bounden at GDC last year:
Still, at least the studio made an impressive creative impact while it was around, and at least one of the members has landed a post-Game-Oven gig. And they’re releasing their swan song, Jelly Reef, still, and apparently it’s become something bigger as it’s about exploring a procedurally-generated underwater world.
Great!
Cool, but now I bet it will cost at least double, if not triple. Somehow the MLB will make sure of it.
FWIW, the PC version will be the same price as last year.
Nah, it will be F2P and the only teams you can use without paying will be the Astros and the Rockies. And then you can only play 3 games before needing to wait 9 hours to play 3 more.
I work for the company and wanted to confirm, per what Sebastian said below, that the game *will not* change from the pricing and IAP structure from the past. In fact, MLB has had zero input into what we do with the game: All they're doing is giving us the license and then okaying the final product.
MLB has not tried to dictate any design decisions with this game nor the PC/Mac one.
Love this series of games. Glad MLB is in on it. I care about baseball almost more than anything else.
I'm skeptical on whether this will be an improvement or a huge mistake. I love the iOOTP franchise, and would simply change the team names, add the real MLB logos and parks myself, and have a very authentic experience for the one premium price that I paid for upfront. Now the question is this: Will they be allowed to create that same premium non-IAP-heavy experience on MLB Manager... OR will MLB screw up the process by pushing it into freemium territory?
Have you played primarily on IOS devices or on PC/Mac? I own the last 2 IOS versions, but am mainly a PC player (of this game).
I am guessing PC/Mac or I didn't know the IOS versions could be modded.
In any case, MLB was silly to wait this long to become involved with this franchise, regardless of whatever implications.
I replied with a link to an article, so I think that is still in moderation. Anyway, I've only played the iOS version. For iOOTP and Football Manager Handheld there are great online communities that help provide logos and ballpark images, etc. for modding. I just hope we get MLB logos and ballparks without any added IAP or free-2-play shenanigans!
I have faith. We won't have to pay for our team logos or roster...not in the form of IAP, anyway.
Ack, I should have replied to this a while ago. I work for the company and wanted to confirm, per what Sebastian said below, that the game *will not* change from the pricing and IAP structure from the past. In fact, MLB has had zero input into what we do with the game: All they're doing is giving us the license and then okaying the final product.
MLB has not tried to dictate any design decisions with this game nor the PC/Mac one.
That's a huge relief! You guys have put out a good product and it sounds like this year's will be too. Will there be all of the specific ballparks?
Yes, all 30 MLB teams' stadiums will be in OOTP, so they'll be part of MLB Manager, but not right away, unfortunately. They'll be added in an update because of the amount of work involved. (I don't know all the specifics -- That's what I was told by the programming team when I asked.)
Quite the coo for them to be able to get a MLB license. Congrats
Coup?
Hey guys, iOOTP (or MLB Manager 2015 in the future) developer here. I just want to confirm that the name changes to MLB Manager 2015 due to our new, official MLB license, so the game will ship with real team names and logos.
The pricing model will NOT change! No F2P, no IAP for the MLB stuff, just as the years before you pay once for the App and whoever is interested can buy more historical years as IAP (as it always was). The price will also not change.
Really getting excited for this. It would be cool if all the ballparks have backgrounds in the game. I'd much rather play as my team at their ballpark then a generic one.
Yes, all 30 MLB teams' stadiums will be in MLB Manager, but not right away, unfortunately. They'll be added in an update because of the amount of work involved. (I don't know all the specifics -- That's what I was told by the programming team when I asked.)