You might be wondering what’s been happening in the Smashworx lair. Or more importantly, what’s going on with our super-cool, most awesome iPhone game Propaganda Lander. Have no fear my pretties, Jess here to sate your need for development news.  After some “we need to make a couple of bucks” action, we are back to the grindstone, slaving away on The Rickster’s whims.  We’re been tinkering with the accelerometer as a new way to fly the ship. Lo and behold, I can now actually steer the ship! Score one for Tommy and Nik.  Most of their efforts so far have been in enabling me to master steering.  They figure if I can steer the lander with a modicum of skill, every level of player (chimpanzee and other) should be able to steer it as well.  We intend to leave the button/thruster system in for those who prefer a different feel but my preference is currently in the accelerometer court.

Tommy has designed a rockin’ level editor so I can plot land and set all sorts of parameters in the construction of the levels.  Now the term “rockin’ level editor” may not incite a fury of excitement for you humble readers but as one who has spent far too much of her life (that I can never get back mind you) wrestling with buggy level editors that refuse assets, drop floors, deny any type of after-the-fact editing and offer the flexibility of an 80 year old after a VFW dance off, Tommy’s homespun level editor is a dreamboat.  I’ll try and put up some video of the new levels once we fix the emulator.

Nik has been hard at work with the GUI and other interface assets.  Through a giant discussion on how a timer should be presented, we’ve finally agreed that rather than a clock or gauge, we would represent time through how much fuel the lander has.  I bring this up because one of the lessons of making a game that I’ve picked up is how much one tries to make every asset relative to each other and the overall game production. By forgoing an obtuse clock system, the idea of “space vehicle” is upheld with the notion of fuel consumption.  This is a much nicer fit.

We keep working and Propaganda Lander keeps getting better.  Stay tuned for news on release dates, development news and general groovy times!

Here at Smashworx Studios we are gearing up for GDC.  What does that entail exactly?  Well, Jess eats oranges and drinks tea, Nik eats oranges and talks about zombie pirates and Tommy eats oranges and plots the downfall of the US government.  After our warm-up, we do some stretches, then we nap and wake up to play a couple of hours of the original Legend of Zelda.  Now refreshed, Jess begins to craft presentations relative the the companies Nik will meet with.  We think its important that the Smashworx brand is represented in a beneficial..ahem lucrative…light to these prospective customers.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with GDC, it is an annual convention that tries to pack as many geeks, publishers, and developers in one building as possible.  The whole lot is shaken until most are nauseous and gassy but a few persist and make very interesting business relationships.  We sure hope we’re part of the lucky few instead of the sweaty mess.  Hopefully, we’ll see you there and we can all share a hearty laugh and intricate high five.