Thursday, December 4, 2014

Xeodrifter Launching on December 11, 2014



Austin, Texas – December 4, 2014 – Today, Renegade Kid announced their eagerly anticipated neo-retro platformer, Xeodrifter™, will be available on December 11, 2014 for $9.99 USD in North America – exclusively in the Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS™.

Xeodrifter™ is the story of an interstellar drifter traveling the stars on a simple mission of exploration. We join our nomad as he embarks on the investigation of a small cluster of four planets in the omega sector, after a collision with a rogue asteroid damaged his warp core.

A scan of the neighboring planets revealed a number of energy signatures, which may provide the special material needed to replace the damaged warp core and get back to cruising through the cosmos. However, what began as a routine away-mission to fix his engine quickly spirals into a dangerous game of search, shoot, and survive.

Blast your way through alien landscapes, seek out valuable secrets, and defeat ancient guardians to unlock powers from a legendary supreme culture in this exciting journey of mystery and adventure.


Features:
Classic 2D platforming, shooting, and exploration gameplay.
Unlock legendary power-ups and gain access to new areas.
Epic boss encounters that test your skills.
Collect upgrades to extend your health and equip custom gun enhancements.
Navigate your ship between neighboring planets.
Seek out special blocks, hidden pathways, and more to reveal useful secrets.


About Renegade Kid
Founded in 2007 by Jools Watsham and Gregg Hargrove, Renegade Kid is an independent development studio based in Austin, Texas. A developer of handheld and console video-games, Renegade Kid is known for its award-winning titles including Mutant Mudds, Moon Chronicles, and the Dementium series.

For more information on Xeodrifter, visit http://www.xeodrifter.com.

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Copyright © Renegade Kid 2014. All Rights Reserved. Renegade Kid, Xeodrifter, Mutant Mudds, Moon Chronicles, and Dementium are registered trademarks or trademarks of Renegade Kid LLC. Nintendo trademarks and copyright are property of Nintendo.

Saturday, October 4, 2014

Brilliant Things Nintendo Does (Nintendoes)!

Introduction
Just yesterday I was having a coffee with an old friend that I have not seen in years, and we got to talking about the industry. One of my favorite subjects! J We used to work together, but he has since left the industry due to the volatile nature of most companies in the business and the terrible ways in which most companies treat their employees and their games. I am mainly referring to bad planning, excessive avoidable overtime (some overtime is unavoidable, unfortunately), and a general lack of respect and trust for their employees and their games.

Healthy Perspective
I am in a fortunate position where I no longer have a boss to ruin things for me, since I started my own company, and I cherish my position of freedom. I also see the good in how a few video game companies handle their business. This brought the conversation to my views on Nintendo, and why I think many video game companies could learn vital lessons from them – vital lessons that could not only improve their business, but also improve the industry as a whole.

Confidence
It starts with a simple, yet difficult, thing to grasp: be confident in the quality of your product. This might seem obvious, but the behaviors of many publishers in the industry suggest this is still very much an elusive concept to achieve. To be confident in your product suggests that you are trying to create something good, and that is where many publishers lose their focus.

Marketing Almighty
The majority of video game publishers are still focused more on marketing their games than creating games that are great in their own right. Don’t get me wrong, marketing is extremely important, and Nintendo does oodles of marketing too. But, the key difference between Nintendo and many other video game companies is that Nintendo does not let their marketing juice backwash into the creation of their games.

Backwash
The moment someone in game development is handed a list of bullet point features that need to be included in a game in order for it to sell well, you know they are entering the backwash zone. These features might be presented to you as “features that gamers like/want”, but often times the source of this feedback didn’t include game production staff, and was formulated by marketing departments who are focused primarily on sales data and how other games have performed in the market.

Seeds of Doubt
“But how else can we know what the players want?” you may ask. Performing analysis on what players respond well to and what is found to be fun and enjoyable is separate from how well a game might sell. As with most creative industries, including music and movies, sometimes great products sell poorly while poor products sell greatly. The quality of a product is indeed separate from how successful it may sell. Why is this? Well, lots of reasons, but marketing is an important component. This is where the seeds of doubt and confusion start to grow and mutate.

Lost Trust
The first time a terrible game sold well, it spoiled the well and ruined everything for everyone. The trust between artist and audience was destroyed. The same could be said of the first awesome game that didn’t sell well, but due to the nature of its low sales it made a smaller splash in the collective conscience. When terrible games start to sell well, the ears of many perk up and want to find out how it accomplished its undeserved success. A bad game is a lot easier to create than a good one, and if there’s a way to fool people into buying large quantities of a bad game, the publishing charlatans want to know how. It results in companies not knowing or caring about the quality of their product, so they overcompensate and draw their focus to marketing tricks instead.

One of the Good Guys
Getting back to my original point, Nintendo is one of the few publishers who I do not consider a charlatan in regards to the games they create. Their focus is simple: make a great game. Wash away any concerns of past sales data. Ignore the current trends of what is seemingly popular. Just make a product that is good at doing something. Treat it like a toy. A toy that must achieve a simple, albeit difficult, task: entertain the user.

User Satisfaction
When user-satisfaction is the sole focus of your creative team, it forces you to be inventive. It forces you to be pure, and honest. It forces you to think effectively and work effectively. Data can still be important, but game creators will more-than-likely want and need to observe and interact with players to truly learn what may or may not be good for your game. Digits on a sheet of paper are likely too removed from what’s truly important. Game design is about a relationship with the player, and involves emotions and complicated psychology. Human interaction.

Their Time Will Come
I hope you agree that marketing has no place in the game creating process. Their involvement in this process would steer the creative team down a path of me-too creation with shallow assumptions and a complete detachment from the human experience. Marketing is important. Marketing is needed. Their time to shine is coming. But, it is not now. Not in the creation of a game.

Quality and Honesty
The job of the marketing group is to take a product and amplify its best qualities to the most suitable audience. It is not to convince or trick someone into buying a game. It is to communicate a product’s qualities, so the audience themselves can determine whether it is something that appeals to them. Making a great product and effectively communicating the greatness of that product has the likely result of not only directly appealing to the enthusiasts within that audience, but also the likelihood of netting some who are perhaps only mildly interested in what the game has to offer. Not because of a clever marketing lie, but because of the quality and the honesty of the product and the marketing message.

Legacy
I am not suggesting that Nintendo is a perfect company. I am saying that their approach to creating games is often pure, trustworthy, and refreshing in comparison to 90% of video game publishers. This is why Nintendo is often synonymous with quality. This is why Mario games always sell well. This is what everyone should aspire to achieve. This is my goal. I hope it is yours, too.

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Mighty No.9 New Funding Misconceptions

In an effort to help clear up misconceptions about the Mighty No.9 new anime project and new funding, I am writing this blog to share what I have found out about it and to address my early tweets about it. Hopefully, this might help others understand what's up.

My first reaction to the new funding was a negative one. One of the most successful kickstarter campaigns was asking for more money? How dare they? $4M wasn't enough?

It turns out that I didn't take the time to read the information provided at mightyno9.com/en

I apologize to the Mighty No.9 team for jumping to early conclusions and adding to the misconceptions. I should add that no one from the Mighty No.9 team has asked me to write this blog post. I just feel like this is the right thing to do.

Here's my take on what's up:

Anime Project: Digital Frontier approached Comcept about making the Mighty No.9 anime. No money from the original KS has or will be spent on it. Perhaps waiting until the game was near-finished would have been better timing, but it is separate from the development of the game in every way.

New Funding: This is a way to acheive two things, 1. Allow new backers to pre-order the game, and 2. Use those funds to add additional content to the game.

The original KS campaign is covering the cost of development of the originally promised game. These new opportunities offer the potential of new content.

I hope this helps in some small way.

Jools


Friday, May 9, 2014

Moon Chronicles Launching on Nintendo eShop: May 15.


(Sorry about  the horrible YouTube compression!)

Austin, Texas – May 9, 2014 – Today, Renegade Kid announced the first of four episodes in their eagerly anticipated first-person shooter series, Moon Chronicles, will be available on May 15, 2014 for $8.99 USD in North America – exclusively in the Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS™.

Experience Renegade Kid’s award-winning first-person shooter, remastered in glorious 3D. Moon Chronicles delivers an atmospheric sci-fi adventure with enhanced graphics and intuitive touch screen controls for a truly unique experience – all running at a silky smooth 60 frames per second.


Join Major Kane on a mysterious mission to Earth’s moon to investigate a unique hatch of unknown origin. With each new episode you are brought one step closer to understanding the secrets that lie beneath the surface of the moon.

• Experience the first true first-person shooter on Nintendo 3DS.
 Immerse yourself in the gripping story-driven episodic action adventure.
 Equip a variety of guns, including powerful alien weaponry.
 Utilize Remote Access Droid (RAD) to navigate tunnels and unlock secret pathways.
 Explore the moon’s surface with the LOLA-RR10 buggy, armed with a plasma turret.
 Choose from a wide selection of control schemes, including Circle Pad Pro support.

** Feel free to download an uncompressed version of the trailer, here. **



[Scan QR Code with your 3DS to view 3D screenshots of Moon Chronicles]

About Renegade Kid
Founded in 2007 by Jools Watsham and Gregg Hargrove, Renegade Kid is an independent development studio based in Austin, Texas. A developer of handheld and console video-games, Renegade Kid is known for its award-winning titles including Mutant Mudds, Moon, and the Dementium series.

For more information on Moon Chronicles, visit
http://www.moonchronicles.com.

# # #
Copyright © Renegade Kid 2009 - 2014. All Rights Reserved.Renegade Kid, Moon Chronicles, Mutant Muidds, and Dementium are trademarks of Renegade Kid LLC.Nintendo trademarks and copyright are property of Nintendo.

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Moon Chronicles Pricing!?



Moon Chronicles is nearly ready for launch on the Nintendo 3DS, which is very exciting. We would like to take this opportunity to hear your feedback on pricing, as the episodic nature of Moon Chronicles is unique for the Nintendo eShop.

What is the Game?
Before we get into pricing, let me give you some important information on what Moon Chronicles is, and what our episodic approach means.

Season one of Moon Chronicles is a remastering of Renegade Kid's award-winning Nintendo DS title, Moon, which now features enhanced visuals, audio, enemy AI, and all running at a silky-smooth 60 frames per second with 3D on or off.

Season one is split into 4 separate episodes, and each episode is very close in gameplay length and content: approximately 2 - 4 hours per episode, depending on your approach.

A La Carte and Season Pass
You will be able to purchase each episode separately, when they become available this year, a la carte style.

When episode 2 is launched, later this year, you will also have an option to purchase a season pass which includes the remaining episodes (2, 3, and 4) for a single lower price.

This gives you a chance to purchase episode 1 to see if you like the game before committing to buying the entire season. If you like episode 1, you will be able to make an additional purchase for the season pass.

If you are not ready to commit to a season pass, you will be able to purchase just episode 2.

How Much Will You Pay?
Here's what we'd like to hear from you:

1. How much will you pay for each episode, in US Dollars?

2. How much will you pay for the season pass (episodes 2, 3, and 4), in US Dollars?

** Please add your feedback below, in the comments. **

If you have any questions, please put them in the comments below and I will make changes to this post if extra clarification is needed anywhere.

Thank you!

Jools

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

PRESS RELEASE: Razor® Global Domination Pro Tour


RENEGADE KID™ TEAMS UP WITH SCARAB ENTERTAINMENT
FOR RAZOR® VIDEO GAME

Renegade Kid and Scarab Entertainment Partner to Unleash
RAZOR® GLOBAL DOMINATION PRO TOUR on Home Consoles!

AUSTIN, TX – FEBRUARY 27, 2014 – Independent video game developer, Renegade Kid, today announced it has partnered with Scarab Entertainment – video game licensee of Razor USA LLC - to develop a unique, adrenaline-charged freestyle scooter experience, titled Razor® Global Domination Pro Tour.

Razor® Global Domination Pro Tour is a robust freestyle scooter experience, where you flip grab, spin, and grind your way to victory by performing dozens of freestyle scooter tricks. Customize your apparel and gear to personalize your Team Razor™ rider. Enhance your performance and take your Razor® scooter to new heights with special upgrades that award you with increased speed and extra airtime. Travel around the world visiting unique skate parks, street jam sessions, and dirt tracks to demonstrate your skills.

"We're thrilled to be working with Scarab and Razor to develop a freestyle scooter gaming experience that compliments the authentically cool brand that Razor has established over the past 14 years," said Jools Watsham, Co-founder and Director at Renegade Kid.

“Renegade Kid was the perfect candidate to help us translate our vision for Razor to the next-generation consoles, and we are honored to have such a talented team on board for this project,” said Karim Farghaly, Founder and CEO at Scarab Entertainment.

Razor® Global Domination Pro Tour will flip, grab, spin, and grind its way onto home consoles in 2015, and is slated for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Wii U. Head over to www.scarabentertain.com for more details soon.


About Scarab Entertainment – www.scarabentertain.com
Founded in 2012 and based in Austin, Texas, Scarab Entertainment is dedicated to making quality apps and games for the whole family. The team consists of industry veterans with over 30 years combined experience developing and publishing interactive entertainment for the likes of Interplay, Sony, Acclaim, Sanrio and others. Scarab has a passion for casual content, a background in iconic pop brands, and a knack for creating award-winning experiences on mobile, social, consoles and handheld platforms.


About Renegade Kid – www.renegadekid.com
Founded in 2007 by Jools Watsham and Gregg Hargrove, Renegade Kid is an award-winning independent development studio based in Austin, Texas. A developer of home console and handheld video-games, Renegade Kid is known for its critically-acclaimed titles including, Dementium, Moon, ATV Wild Ride, Mutant Mudds, and Bomb Monkey.


About Razor USA LLC – www.razor.com
The Razor brand embodies the spirit of fun and freedom.  It defies boundaries and sometimes even gravity. The company was founded in 2000 with the introduction of its now legendary kick scooter, which quickly became an essential ride for anyone on the go. Today, Razor products are available worldwide, with a full range of wheeled goods to inspire and excite riders everywhere, including the 2014 Outdoor Toy of the Year, the Crazy Cart. Cool products and great value have distinguished Razor as a trusted global brand and industry leader.
Based in California, USA, the company sponsors Team Razor, a group of pro scooter athletes.  Razor has helped usher in the action sport of freestyle scooter riding, which has evolved from local skate parks to global competitions and tours.  For more information, please visit www.razor.com.


Trademarks are property of their respective owners.