development blog
   

2010-01-07 >> NEWSLETTER - 2010-01-07

Mobile 1UP's latest newsletter is now available online: 20100107-newsletter.txt


2010-01-01 >> MAC OSX - PLATFORM SUPPORT

Mobile 1UP games are now available on the Mac OSX desktop platform!

A demo/trial copy of the game is typically provided - so you can get a taste of the game; simply follow the download links to try out the games. On each game that supports this platform; we will show the above graphic - click on it and it will reveal a link to our online store for you to purchase the games! We will be adding Linux and Windows versions soon!


2009-12-23 >> MERRY XMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR

Mobile 1UP sends out warm wishes for a merry xmas and happy new year. We hope everyone enjoys the festive season and manages to define a whole set of new years resolutions for a fresh, new and exciting 2010!

Seasons greetings!


2009-12-06 >> GAME DEVELOPMENT (WIP): Hoards of the Deep Realm

Mobile 1UP is almost done porting Hoards of the Deep Realm to the iPhone / iPod Touch platform. A game originally written for the MicroBee personal computer in 1986 - lives on, complete with new artwork, audio and excellent gameplay optimized for mobile devices.

 

 

We are putting some final touches on the game - but it will be available within the new year on the app store; unfortunately it wont be available as an XMAS present - but we are sure it will be worth the wait! The game will include 140 levels and be priced at $2.99 USD.


2009-11-29 >> NEW PLATFORM: intel moblin (mobile linux)

Mobile 1UP has initially focused its development on iPhone / iPod Touch - however, from day one - we were always designing our games to run on any platform by utilizing our internally built cross-platform development engine.

A mobile platform soon to become hot is Intel's "moblin" platform (www.moblin.org); which is a mobile variant of linux - currently targeted towards netbook portable computers, but they also have a series of mobile devices coming to market! It is free to download - so, try it out!


We spent a few hours updating our abstraction layer to support this platform and you can see the results of our efforts above! It wont be long before you will be able to use our games on this platform. We will keep you posted on our progress with these developments.


2009-11-08 >> NEWSLETTER - 2009-11-08

Mobile 1UP's latest newsletter is now available online: 20091108-newsletter.txt


2009-10-21 >> EMPLOYMENT : 2D / cartoon artist services required

Mobile 1UP is looking for a talented 2D / cartoon style graphic artist to assist with an upcoming game - bound to be a huge-hit due to its simplicity and playability. The underlying game concept is already developed (logic, et al) so the task will involve:

  • icon creation
  • title screen creation
  • in-between level screen creation
  • a suite of level building block tiles to build 120+ levels

Mobile 1UP is interested in contract work (paid services) but can also negotiate royalty sharing conditions. If you think you have the talent and want to be involved in a great retro classic remake - please send your portolio / application to support@mobile1up.com.

Serious applicants only!


2009-10-18 >> EFFEKTZ: source code available

Ever wondered how Mobile 1UP code looks?

A number of people have contacted us asking how we did our Effektz demo - so we have now made available the source code to each visual effect. The code license is "public domain" so you are free to do whatever you want with it - let us know if you use it!

Mobile 1UP utilizes a cross-platform development engine for all its mobile development - so there is actually no iPhone / iPod Touch specific code within our games. This allows us, if we ever wanted to, to make our games available on other platforms with very little effort.


2009-10-15 >> NEW GAME: abiosis : chains

We couldn't let our code go to waste - especially something so addicting!

Mobile 1UP has updated its version of Chain Rxn to include new artwork and introduced a slightly different gameplay (penalty for fail) and has submitted it to the Application Store. We have a few ideas for a sequel to the series - to tempt your mobile gaming taste buds.

 

 

We put some snazzy graphics on the game (space feel) - which are actually spray paint art we commissioned one rainy weekend. The initial version has been shipped without a sound track - but we are working with an audio genius to provide a spacey / ambient mood.

The game is priced at $1.99 USD and will be available soon.


2009-09-24 >> CHAIN RXN - OFFICIAL VERSION IN DEVELOPMENT

It's amazing how the world revolves - especially in the iPhone / iPod Touch world.

Mobile 1UP implemented it's own version (after failed attempts of contacting ZwigglerApps) of Chain Rxn for the iPhone / iPod Touch devices because even within the mix of clones available; a version with matching the original concept was missing; as a free download.

The good news is that ZwigglerApps now has an official version of Chain Rxn undergoing review in the Application Store with Apple; so we have removed our version from distribution.


2009-09-17 >> NEWSLETTER - 2009-09-17

Mobile 1UP's latest newsletter is now available online: 20090917-newsletter.txt


2009-09-15 >> GAME PRICE : SALE OVER!

The gw-series, after months of being marked down on sale are now reverted back to their original prices; the best value is the bundle at $4.99 - $0.83 per game (savings - almost 60%)!

>> WORLD TRAVELS

Aaron Ardiri is on the move!

After a long hard summer - it is time for a break (late vacation). If you are located in or near the cities of Burgas or Yambol, Bulgaria - you are welcome to join me for a beer and see what we are working on! Be sure to send us an email to organize it!


2009-09-06 >> IPHONE DEVELOPER BLUES

Mobile 1UP has been an active iPhone / iPod Touch developer for almost a year so we have seen our fair share of ups-and-downs of the Application Store experience and how developers work with the platform. We are quite experienced developers - but we have recently been very angry / frustrated with the whole Application Store process / environment.

  • application submittion requires at least 14+ days
  • communication with the developer is sparse; if anything goes wrong
  • NEW: keyword (search) approval is bound to binary approval proces

In mid August, we submitted a new game to the store - two weeks had passed, no response; so we popped an email to Apple asking whats up. We finally received an email saying we used a keyword that was not valid - there was nothing wrong with our application. Did it need 14 days to tell us the keyword was invalid - this could have been done much earlier?

Instead of just removing the inappropriate keyword that had issues (btw: it was "facebook") and approving the application - as a developer you must change the keywords and then resubmit the application binary and go through the complete submission process again; crazy.


2009-07-28 >> NEWSLETTER - 2009-07-28

Mobile 1UP's latest newsletter is now available online: 20090728-newsletter.txt


2009-07-15 >> IT'S SUMMER TIME - GREAT WEATHER

It has been a busy month for Mobile 1UP - we have been busy bringing the gw-series to a close; by bundling all six games into one and offering it at a reduced price ($0.49 each) - not to mention saving precious space within the iPhone launcher.

Mobile 1UP has started work on some new titles - but in the short term decided to go back to the "programming roots" and build a series of demo scene effects - with our new program called "Effektz"; classic real-time computer effects. It is a free download - enjoy!


2009-06-17 >> IPHONE 3.0 SUPPORT

Mobile 1UP's applications have been successfully tested and run without any issues on the latest version of iPhone operating system - released by Apple earlier today.

WARNING - GW "CLASSIC" GAMES
If you purchased the classic gw-series games - be sure to manually back-up the games before updating your iPhone to the latest edition. Since the games are no longer available in the App Store - you will not be offered to download the games after updating your device.


2009-05-28 >> GUEST SPEAKER: EXCITERA MOBILE CUP 2009

Thursday, May 28, 2009
5:30pm - 8:00pm
The Prince's Gallery (SSE/HHS)
Holländargatan 32
Stockholm

Mobile 1UP was invited to speak at an education workshop around the excitera mobile cup 2009 - specifically focusing on iphone development and how to go-to-market and learn from industry experts. Presented specifically for KTH and School of Economics students.


2009-05-21 >> NEWSLETTER - 2009-05-21

Mobile 1UP's latest newsletter is now available online: 20090521-newsletter.txt


2009-05-17 >> GAME PRICE : MARKED DOWN - LIMITED TIME ONLY!

The gw-series games are now marked down to the super-low price of $0.99 USD each!


2009-05-10 >> STATUS UPDATE

The gw-series is nearing completion as the re-artworking process (as a result of Nintendo's cease and desist request) is coming to an end each is converted and Apple approves the applications for distribution.

  • gw-lab : a remake of gw-egg (new version)
  • gw-monkey : a remake of gw-chef (new version)
  • gw-escape : a remake of gw-fire (new version)
  • gw-jetpack : a remake of gw-parachute (new version)
  • gw-monster : a remake of gw-octopus (new version)
  • gw-retreat : a remake of gw-helmet (new version)

We are considering releasing a gw-series pack; which we would price accordingly - and it will include all six games as a single package. It would save space on your springboard - not to mention a savings of on the games themselves, if interested - contact us!

>> HIGH SCORE SYSTEM

We identified a small issue in the high-score submission process that meant no scores were being stored within the database engine; it was a minor typo in our script - oops. Thanks to access logs for the web server process; no high scores were lost - we simply re-processed all the high score submittion requests.


2009-04+ >> MESSAGES ARCHIVED

older blog entries have been archived and are no longer relevant or visible.

DISCLAIMER:
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