Hot News On The Android Front

Kind of excited about this news via Gizmodo today. It seems Google has decided to not only assert control over their mobile platform Android (one of our more favorite plaforms to design for *cough* check out a game we made for it*cough*) but finally design a phone that meets their design and functionality expectations from top to bottom. 

So, preview pics of the darn thing? Yes! Right Here:

 

Though there have been rumors of a fully Google-produced phone in the past, there are...well...rumors again. Gizmodo seems to speculate that HTC, being the proprietary manufacturers of all things Android, will design the official Google hand unit. If you ask us, we don't think Google is trying to come out with a definitive handset for the purposes of doing things exactly how they've been done before. The device will likely be a proposition to all 3rd party manufacturers as to how to design Android-based devices from now on and that means that they'll probably try to outsource the job from elsewhere.

Stay tuned for the real answer kids...

Top 5 Glitchiest PC Games

Just in time for you to begin deciding what game or games to spend all of tomorrow with, Game Central has reviewed the Top 5 PC games with the most glitches, so, you know what not to trip over while you're cruising through a full day of turkey and gaming bliss. The order go as such:

1. SkyNET 

Too non-sensical and erratic, half-finished 

2. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl 

"Artificially difficult" and illogical. Tons of audio errors and inactive game buttons

 

3. Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor 

Slow, stuttering, plus uninstall caused potential destruction of system files

 

4. Divine Divinity 

Amateurish concept, shrieking noise when game freezes, too many post-release fixit patches to count

      

5. Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magic Obscura 

Broken quests, frequent crashes, need we say more?

 

So, this Thanksgiving holiday play our newest, most brilliantly designed game to date: Decades. It's a PC game (also available for iPhone/iPod Touch, Android, and PC) that won't leave you frustrated and wanting to tear your hair out. Instead, you'll be cruising happily through historical and pop-culture trivia, while enjoying beautiful, fast-paced graphics. Check it out here: www.decades.com. It's addicting and FUN.

Full article from Game Central here.

Comedic Violence Is OK Right?

We're never ones to tout violence, but, we do love us some Office Space and sympathize with the recent downsizing/restructuring at Pandemic over in the lovely city of Burbank, CA. It is for this reason that we give you probably the funniest post-firing vid ever (second only to the original from whence it came, you'll recognize this scene as part of the third act of one of the greatest comedies of all time).

The video, as you might have guessed, is a take-off on the printer smashing scene in Office Space and is brilliant. But, just as an FYI, SMERC does not condone use of the "N word" (nah ah) and we're a little "eh" on the overuse of all the mother effers in the song.

Also, after watching the above this instantly came to mind:

Happy birthday to the ground!

What? It's the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. If you think we don't already have Turkeybrain, you're wrong.

Give the Gift of Song

We don't much care what the critics say, we absolutely love us some virtual instrument gaming. Which is why we fully stand behind MTV's extra push of "The Beatles: Rock Band" during the holiday season.

 

Activision has been courting much controversy with their gaming ventures lately, but, we do think that the particular brand of benevolence this version of Rock Band has been receiving from the media is a testament to both the band's legacy and the unique connection the franchise has been making with it's audience.

Developers Scaling back on Android

We've reported on our own frustration with the Android Marketplace store. It is largely unuseable unless you know what you are looking for. In a sense, it is too democratioc and early blunders like only allowing 325 characters to describe your game and no pictures make one think that Google simply has no idea how to prioritize interaction for a user interface or facilitate proper promotional tools and opportunities for developers in it's app store.

Gameloft, a noteable mobile heavyweight, seems to feel like it isn't worth it at this point:

"We have significantly cut our investment in Android platform, just like ... many others," Gameloft finance director Alexandre de Rochefort said at an investor conference.

http://www.macrumors.com/2009/11/20/game-developers-scaling-back-android-efforts-as-iphone-continues-to-dominate/

We're hanging in there, continuing to develop for this platform. We believe in it and think it has the most potential to become the dominant juggernaut it promises to be. A little help from Google would go a long way here.

Here are three simple starts:

1) Allow external web links to applications and games

2) Revamp the store- better featured section and enable recommendations

3) Make it easier for users to get to and purchase the paid applications.

Friday Night Video Bonus

We here at the SMERC blog are pretty big fans of other blogs like 1UP and Wired's GameLife blog, so, it follows that we would be big fans of the Retronauts podcast, a collaborative effort between editors of those two blogs, plus some others.

GameLife editor Chris Kohler and varying others have formed the group as a way of discussing vintage video games and tracking their history. In this weeks clip on the Retronauts' site the group continues their trek through Tokyo in search of retro game shops in the district of Nakano

You'll see the boys climb some stairs and geek-out wildly on everything around them, including chocolate (?), including the ultra colorful apparel of that region and everything on the public walls. Why IS everything in Japan so colorful? 

Either way, the Retronauts are truly enjoyable because they're not just industry surveyors, but, really authentic fans of gaming concepts and visuals.

Job: Concept Artist

We are looking for an excellent concept artist for a contract position. Ideally you live in the NYC area, but that is negotiable. Qualities we admire: professionalism, friendliness, and the ability to communicate. Examples of people we think are excellent concept artists: 

http://creaturebox.com/

http://goodbrush.com/ 

To apply please send an email politely introducing yourself and a link to your online portfolio to: jobs.at.smerc.dot.com

Applicants without online portfolios will not be considered.

Follow us on this blog, twitter or facebook to be the first to find out about job openings.

Decades Slays, All The Others Just Stand By In Awe

Check out this review of Dungeon and this review of the new lame for dead promo Left 4 Dead if you need to find out about games and apps that are a little behind the times or just plain confusing. Check out THIS ANNOUNCEMENT if you need to find out that one of the brightest, best, most multi-platform games this year just became available for iTunes, Android, PC and Facebook.

We've JUST announced Decades for all four gaming platforms and that makes the game one of our widest releases to date!!!

If you have any sense in you you'll click over to www.decadesthegame.com to find out more and if you're preferential of one platform over another, here are the separate links for access to each one:

On Facebook: apps.facebook.com/decadesgame

On iTunes: itunes.apple.com/webobjects/mzstore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=329690750&mt=8

On Android: www.decadesthegame.com/android

On PC platform: www.decadesthegame.com/playnow 

Decades is brilliant, addicting, and truly truly fun. Enjoy and thank us later!