Bamboo Page is an app for quick notes and sketches optimized for Windows 8. Capture your creative thoughts as quickly and simple as on real paper and share them instantly with colleagues and friends.
Bamboo Page is available on Windows 8 (and 8.1) for free!
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With a huge thanks to Game Republic and the UKTI, we were able to attend GDC 2012 in San Francisco, USA. It truly is the best video games conference out there, with such an incredible plethora of speakers, panels, tutorials, sessions and a wonderful vibe entirely about the industry we all love: Video Games.
Both Mark (our Director) and Helen (our Creative Director) have wanted to go to GDC since they knew it even existed, so it was almost a ‘dream come true’ for them both. However, they managed to keep their composure and not run around like giddy children (most of the time!) in order to get the most out of what the conference had to offer.
It was great meeting companies from around the world, big and small, and seeing what everyone is up to. We made some great contacts and are looking forward to what that will bring in the future.
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This project for Wacom targets the new Cintiq Companion Hybrid device and provides a one-stop list of products Wacom Recommends, ranging from productivity through to creative apps.
This app comes pre-installed on the Companion.
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We worked with Wacom, the foremost manufacturer of tablets, in order to create several components for the Android version of Bamboo Paper, released in 2012.
Make notes, doodles and sketches in a fully digital notebook. Share images and pages, and even store documents on cloud services (like Dropbox). Bamboo Paper is available on both iOS and Android for free!
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Earlier this year, Microsoft teamed up with TechStars and announced the Kinect Accelerator competition. This was a call for any and all ideas that made use of the Kinect sensor, not limited to just games, but any concept that utilised the features of the device.
Our concept was a game, called: Battlemages
The idea is that two mages stand on platforms a distance apart from one another. By using Kinect, the players strike a pose that summons a magical element: Earth; Air; Fire; and/or Water. Once the chosen magic has been cast, they strike a second pose which is the direction, such as ball (fire-ball) or stream (flame-thrower). Magic is used to both attack and defend.
Winning is simple: defeat your opponent.
But getting that win is a little bit more complex… For instance, water neutralises fire, whereas air intensifies it. Fire can melt earth to create molten lava and air can freeze water to create ice.
By making use of the different types of directions, you also vary how the elements do damage. One can throw up a shield to counter a specific element, but if their opponent switches elements and hits them, then the damage could be catastrophic.
Another unique element to Battlemages is the movement and avoidance. As you physically move around your living room (in front of the sensor) your movements are mapped 1:1 to your character. You side-step left, so do they. You lean right to avoid an incoming fireball, so does your character.
All of these features bring about an innovative and unique game.
Imagine darting left to avoid an incoming rock, then throwing up a pose and unleashing a stream of fire only for it to strike a shield of water… then needing to duck and dive right to miss a jet of air and…
You get the picture.
We submitted Battlemages, along with a 3 minute video of the concept, a 3 minute video of our team and the application form. From this, we were lucky enough to make it through to a further stage in which we needed submit another 20 second video for the concept and another 20 seconds for the team. We also had an interview with Dave Malcolm, the head of TechStars.
The Kinect Accelerator program presented an incredible opportunity for those selected, but unfortunately even after making it as far as we did (last 20 from about 500)… we were not selected as one of the finalists. This isn’t the end of Battlemages! Oh no. And we’re incredibly thankful to both TechStars and Microsoft for holding the competition, considering our game and taking the time to speak with us… and we wish the best of luck to the 11 companies picked for the finals!
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