Sugar, Spice and Not So Nice Trailer!

Take your first scrumptious look at Candy Peak, the newest kingdom in the Kefling world - coming oh so soon to A World of Keflings on Xbox Live Arcade! Sugar, Spice and Not So Nice... in a land where everything is made of candy, not everything will be sugary sweet!

Announcement to come shortly! What are you most excited about? Leave a comment!

Sugar, Spice and Not So Nice Trailer Coming Friday!

Feeling hungry for some A World of Keflings Candy Kingdom DLC? Then check back this Friday to get a first in-depth look at the new Kingdom, characters and gameplay in the new trailer for 'Sugar, Spice and Not So Nice'. There might be a few surprises. Trust us, it'll be worth your while... *hint, hint.*

Avatar FameStar Update Gives New Content to A World of Keflings for a Full Year

 Aug. 10, 2012 – The Kefling world just got a lot bigger thanks to a free update that released earlier today, adding support for Microsoft Studios’ Avatar FameStar program to A World of Keflings. The program, which offers players the chance to earn Fame and other rewards by completing in-game challenges, adds a substantial amount of new content to the game including a full year’s-worth of free weekly quests, a new kingdom to build in and more.

The new kingdom features sandbox-style gameplay reminiscent of the first Keflings game, A Kingdom for Keflings. Once in the new kingdom players will discover they can now build Kefling-sized ships that will sail the many seas and waterways scattered across the new map. They will also encounter the Rockstar Kefling, a new quest-giving Kefling who will set them to each weekly challenge. Completing these challenges gives players the chance to earn Fame that will help them level-up in the Avatar FameStar program and earn cool rewards like Avatar FameStar costumes. Each completed weekly quest also unlocks a blueprint for one of the more than 50 unique ships players can build for their Kefling fleet.

But completing weekly quests is just one way players can earn Fame in A World of Keflings. Today’s update adds a slew of challenges, similar to Achievements, that players can tackle to earn Fame. Some challenges must be completed while playing the main campaign, while many others are achievable while playing in any of the game’s kingdoms, including the new Rockstar Weekly Challenge kingdom, the alien kingdom from the It Came From Outer Space DLC and the candy kingdom from the soon-to-be-released Sugar, Spice and Not So Nice DLC.

Today's update also includes a fix that allows players to see their avatar props in-game! To see their prop appear in the Kefling world players must ensure there is sufficient empty space surrounding their avatar for the prop's animation to perform and then either select the newly added prop emote (found in the center of the emote menu) or wait until their avatar goes idle. Either action will trigger the prop animation to play.

Another fix includes unlocking a unique Twisted Pixel emote for players who own and have earned an achievement in Comic Jumper.

###

Friday the 13th!? It's your lucky day!

This weekend we're giving away our iOS space station sim game, Kaloki Adventure, for FREE!

The sale starts today and ends late Sunday night, so get it while you can! Download your copy here: http://bit.ly/N6pCHE

Race against time to create thriving space station in Kaloki Adventure, a humorous space station tycoon game! See if you have what it takes to solve challenges, manage your station's resources, entertain visiting aliens, and keep your customers happy - all while trying to rake in some serious cash.

Kaloki Adventure is the iOS version of our XBLA sim/tycoon game, Outpost Kaloki X. The game was redesigned in 2009, integrating native touch controls for the iPhone.

Play A World of Keflings With Us Tonight!

Tonight at 5 p.m. PDT a bunch of us devs from NinjaBee are logging on to Xbox Live to play A World of Keflings for a special 'Game With The Devs' edition of PlayXBLA Monday!

We're going to be talking Candy for Keflings and answering any question you can think of about the new DLC. We'll also let you be the first to hear some teasers about what Keflings has going on AFTER a Candy for Keflings comes out. It's some good stuff, so don't miss it!

The event is only an hour long, so don't be late! We'll be hosting games as well as jumping into as many Live Multiplayer games as we can. So don't be late! To avoid confusing people, we'll be playing in the main game's campaign, not in the It Came from Outer Space add-on.

Here's a list of our gamertags to keep an eye out for:

Gamertag	Name	Job
WWTimeyWimey	Andrew	Marketing
T G Welfman	Eric	Programmer
OminousMike	Mike	Designer
TAR like FISHY	Tara	Designer
PlumPants05	Casey	Artist
NinjaBeeArt	Brent	Art Director
DreamBean	Steve	Designer
Smorgasbot	Jared	Designer
NinjaBee Wahoo	Matt	Office Manager

In the mean time, hopefully these screenshots can tide you over until tonight. See you then!

Fan Art

After seeing the concept art below, a 3D artists named Milivoj Popovic

contacted us and asked if he could take our concept to 3D.

Here is what he did. It's pretty cool looking. 

You can see more of his art here:

www.lemonade3d.com/milivoj 

He may even put up a tutorial describing how he did it.

Game in a Day Follow-up: Drawrmy Updated

The game in a day event is done, but we're still making improvements. Drawrmy got an update! The new version includes a working gallery, a working hidden enemy feature, better AI, and  improved visuals and effects. Music was disabled (feedback was it got old fast). We'll keep you posted on future updates! Have fun with the game! Please share with your friends!

Drawrmy (Updated version) - http://ninjabee.com/public/cur/game/drawrmy.html

Drawrmy (Original Game in a Day version) - http://ninjabee.com/public/build808/game/drawrmy.html

Curse of the Space Mummy - http://www.ninjabee.com/public/Curse_of_the_Space_Mummy1.zip 

(Download to play)

Mission Accomplished! 2 Games in 11 hours!

The games are complete! Both Drawrmy and Curse of the Space Mummy are done - 14 people, 12 hours, 2 games. Give 'em a spin, tell us what you think!

Curse Of The Space Mummy - http://www.ninjabee.com/public/Curse_of_the_Space_Mummy1.zip

(Download to play)
This game can be played with either a controller, keyboard and mouse, or just keyboard. If your ship gets destroyed look for the green smoke to see the enemy you are possessing (re-spawning).

Drawrmy - http://ninjabee.com/public/build808/game/drawrmy.html

(Play in-browser)
Draw your units to create your drawrmy. The colors you choose affect your attack and defense stats (think Rock, Paper, Scissors). Red is strong against blue, blue is strong against yellow, yellow is strong against red. Keep this in mind when creating your characters and when choosing which units to attack.

Let us know what you think! We can only do so much in such limited time, but if people like the games we might just keep working on them :)

(PS - XBLA Code winners are Skylar Wolf, Andrew (posted 5:25 p.m. on Friday), Mark Litzinger and Chun Lau. If you haven't been contacted send an email to contest@ninjabee.com with your contact info and we'll pass you your code. Congrats!)

Game in a Day - Game Descriptions

Time to introduce you to the games with a short overview - let's start with Drawrmy (yep, Draw + Army, pronounced dr-army).

Maybe one way to describe this game would be to say it's like Stratego meets Pictionary meets Rock Paper Scissors. It's a army creation and battle game where the player first creates their own units and pits them against enemy forces in turn-based battles. The colors you draw with are strong and weak against other colors. For example, red beats blue, blue beats yellow, yellow beats red. The catch though, is that you can't see the enemy's forces. So be careful because attacking reveals your strengths, and weaknesses, to your opponent.

Now, for Curse of the Space Mummy. A game where the player takes control of an ancient curse as it possess enemy ships, exacting vengeance on those who disturbed its tomb. But a curse can't die. If your host ship is destroyed the curse possesses the enemy ship that destroyed it. The game uses a classic, dual-stick scheme.

Both games are for PC and you'll be able to play them for free if we can finish in time!

Here are some pics of the team - working like crazy to get these done.

Game in a Day - And the game will be...

Last night we got together, pitched our game ideas to the team and voted on which game to make. We started with 10 awesome game ideas with everything ranging from puzzle alchemy games to zombie napoleon platformers. But in the end the voting came in and we picked...

TWO GAMES!

We're going to be ambitious. Team got split into two games. And they are...

Drawrmy

and 

Curse of the Space Mummy

More details about the games are coming as the day moves on, but the teams are ramped up and working feverishly to get the games up and running. Images, video and game details to follow.

Post questions in the comments section and we'll try to provide info in upcoming blogs. Keep checking back, we're trying to post every hour, so stay tuned! (Don't forget, commenting on posts today gets you a chance to win XBLA codes)

NinjaBee Game in a Day!

We want you to come to our game in a day event tomorrow! Well, not really. What we mean to say is we want you to virtually come to our game in a day event.

Tomorrow, Saturday May 5, a bunch of the devs at our studio are getting together to try to make an entire game in just one day... and then release it!

We're going to be doing hourly updates throughout the day so you can follow our progress as we go. Keep checking back here on the NinjaBee blog and follow us on twitter @NinjaBeeGames to get more real-time updates.

Obviously, if we don't finish in a day we can't release it, so make sure you're here to cheer us on! We may just give out an XBLA code or two randomly to people who comment and any of tomorrow's (or this) blog posts. *wink*wink

We're choosing what the game will be tonight. Any requests?

Ninja Lightning Pack!

Usually a ninja strikes in silence from the shadows, but sometimes it uses lightning.
That's right, lightning.

www.indieroyale.com is hosting a sale of 5 NinjaBee games on PC: Ancients of Ooga, Cloning Clyde, A Kingdom for Keflings, Outpost Kaloki, and Band of Bugs!

The quicker you jump in and purchase, the cheaper you can get the bundle. Or, if you're feeling generous, pay extra, which knocks down the current price for others. This deal is only going to last for the next 100 hours, so you gotta be quick to catch the lightning!

The Friday Review: Serious Sam 3 BFE (PC)

Serious Sam 3: BFE
review by Stevil

Take the story, character development, and tactical cover mechanics in today's shooters and throw them on the ground, you're an adult!

What you have left is a challenging first-person shooter experience in its purest form.

This game is all about the combat. If you are looking for an epic story to go along with the explosions then look elsewhere. While a game that's light on story may cause more elitist gamers to jerk their noses up in disgust so violently they barrel roll off the sofa, I'm fine with minimal story as long as it sufficiently explains character motivations and the context of events. In Serious Sam 3 the story goes something like "Aliens are bad, we need to kill a lot of them."

Frantic battles against truly absurd numbers of bad guys are where this game really shines. Single levels can contain 1000+ enemies and they enjoy attacking suddenly, from more than one direction, and in massive waves. The fact that enemies are pouring in from all directions really keeps you on your toes and encourages a running gun battle through the large and very well designed levels. Enemies come in many shapes and sizes, as well as unique behaviors and inherent weaknesses that can be exploited. While there are some great new monsters, fans of the franchise will recognize many a familiar face among the hordes—such as the nimble and deadly Kleer Skeletons, as well as different varieties of the heavy-weapon toting Biomechanoids.

Each enemy type is best defeated by combinations of different tactics and weapons and you can expect to find many different enemy types in each battle. Battles are dynamic and your already slim chances for survival are maximized when using the right tool for the job, much like a muscle bound Bob Villa spreading intergalactic justice one smoking barrel at a time.

One of the areas Serious Sam 3 really shines is in the large selection of weapons it offers, 13 to be exact. Each weapon plays well, has its own feel, and covers a unique area in which it excels. Earlier I mentioned that using the best weapon for the job is your best bet for making it out alive; however it is still very possible to stick with just the one or two weapons that strike a resonance with your inner Chuck Norris and survive. I had a great time taking on some of the biggest and baddest enemies in the game with my sledgehammer, just to see if I could, and if I played my cards right I usually could. Very challenging but also very satisfying.

Serious Sam 3 runs on Croteam's new Serious engine and on higher settings it does look pretty; although at times I felt like the lighting could get a little weird (too much/little light intensity and some other very minor issues). The environments are detailed and well rendered as are the enemies. Be sure you're hardware is up to the task—those sweet graphics are going to tax your system. There are engines out there that are superior, however I think the Serious engine has potential and look forward to seeing it developed further.

 I would recommend this game to anyone looking for a solid, fast-paced shooter. It delivers in all of the important areas and it delivers on them well. I would also recommend playing with a friend,

CO-OP is an absolute blast. Seriously!

The Friday Review: X-Com: UFO Defense (PC)

X-Com: UFO Defense
-review by CJ

Why am I reviewing an 18 year old game? Because if you haven't played it yet, you should. Considering that it is an 18 year old PC game, there's a very good chance you haven't. Even if you aren't normally a fan of the tactical turn-based strategy RPG horror shooter genre... Oh wait...that's not a genre. It's a game called X-Com: UFO Defense. Mixing a bunch of genres can be risky, like when you throw a bunch of vegetables and stuff into your juicer in hopes of downing your daily dose of "healthy" as quickly as possible, but end up creating a sickly brown liquid that may or may not actually be edible anymore. However, X-Com is more like a well concocted blend of ingredients that you might not think work together, but then when you try it you just can't get enough. Like cinnamon on chocolate ice cream (seriously). Ok, so what is it? X-Com is, at its heart-of-hearts, a turn-based strategy game. You move your men around a map trying to find sneaky aliens and kill them before they kill you. Between combat scenarios you research new tech, expand your base, build new bases to increase your global coverage, and basically wait in fear of the next announcement of "UFO detected". Now let's get right down to what you can expect to find.

PROS:

-Complex yet simple. There's a lot going on in X-Com, but the game mechanics are simple enough that even without any guiding hand (see CONS), you can figure it out. Even though there's a lot to do, it doesn't feel overwhelming.

-Emotional. It may be just me, but every time I hear an alien shot I tense up. I watch with horror as it hits one of my soldiers, ending their lives forever. Or sigh in relief as it passes them by, a near miss.  The mortality of your soldiers makes you care about them, especially when they've survived three missions, have been promoted to Captain, and are the best shot in your army.

-Mystery. Never knowing what lays beyond the ramp of your dropship at the beginning of each mission makes each battle feel like a new experience. What enemies will I be facing? How many? Where are they? Each map is procedurally generated, and when and where UFO's appear is random as well. Besides that, you never know what's happening just out of range of your base's sensors. As I guard Africa, is Europe being invaded?

-Great environment. The quiet, creepy music, the fog of war, the empty farm houses and fields of wheat, the creak of a door opening when all you can see is a screen that says "Hidden Movement" during the alien's turn...this is what an alien invasion should be like! Few gaming experiences are equal to your first encounter with extra-terrestrial life in X-Com.

-Many, many more! Seriously, it's $5 on Steam ($2.50 at time of writing, yay sales!). Just try it.

CONS:

-No help. I don't mean in the game, I mean about the game. If you're downloading the game it's not likely to come with a manual (my Steam version didn't). A nice F1 screen that told you what all the different buttons did would be a great start. An explanation about how research and manufacturing work would be awesome. These are things you can figure out on your own, but by the time you do you will probably want to start a new game, so that you can take advantage of all your new found knowledge from the beginning.

-Possibly impossible. After dozens of hours of playing, you may find yourself between a rock and a hard place. Money is running out, and alien forces are becoming increasingly overwhelming. This can happen from just plain laziness, of course, in which case it's your own fault, but even if you are being careful, the randomness of the game can put you in these positions while you remain ignorant, until it's too late to fix. Although this is rare, when it happens it is extremely frustrating.

SUMMARY: X-Com: UFO Defense is a unique game that every gamer should play at least once. I have played it multiple times, and still find myself enjoying it whenever I pick it back up. Although there is a new version coming out later this year (by a studio I trust with such a mission, and that I'm very excited for), I can't imagine it ever fully replacing the original.

The Friday Review: Puddle (XBLA, PSN, PC)

Puddle (demo)
review by CJ

Well, so far we've given you mostly great games to look up, but this time I've got beef. Actually, I like beef, so I'll call it turkey. It may look like chicken, but don't be fooled! Puddle is about guiding liquids through a maze of obstacles by tilting the map left and right, and letting gravity do the rest of the work; however I sense a far more nefarious purpose lurking within those seemingly harmless, oozing liquids.

"Reviewing a demo?" you say. "Is that fair?" you ask. Yes. In this "Golden Age" of gaming, there is so much good content being released on nearly a weekly basis, that I simply don't have time to play every good game that comes along, let alone the bad ones. I believe this is why demos are so necessary, as it allows the consumer to decide for themselves which games are worth their time. I didn't even finish Puddle's demo. I mention that I played only the demo as a disclaimer. I suppose it's possible that the worst levels were put into the demo to display the ultimate level of difficulty the game eventually achieves, but since it was a demo, I expect that it is a representation of the majority of the game's levels, rather than the exceptions. Now let's get down to the bottom of this gooey mess.

PROS:

- Puzzles. It claims to be a puzzle game, and it delivers. If you love puzzles, are a glutton for punishment, and have so much time on your hands that you are sick of all the great games flooding the market, this may be enough reason for you to try out Puddle.

CONS:           

- Trial, error, and luck. If you like to solve puzzles through logic and quick reflexes, play something else. When your options are pull the left trigger or the right trigger, there's not a whole lot of thinking going on. Most of the puzzles are solved through endless repetition until you get a favorable result; which is an unknown variable. A single lost drop early on may mean not having enough liquid to survive later down the line.

- Long and complicated. Other than the early learning levels, you aren't going to pass on the first try, as you can never tell what's coming, and more often than not a single miss-tilt, even for just a moment, can mean sudden, or eventual death. At times I found myself plodding along, as slow and carefully as I could, so that nothing could surprise me, just to find that what I needed was some serious speed and momentum, and that it was my caution that killed me.

- Start over. No checkpoints. This may not be unusual for puzzle games, but for me this was the breaking point. Nothing is worse than finally getting to the end of the level, after twenty tries, just to be taken out by the final obstacle, and having to start all over from the beginning again, taking another ten tries to get to the end again, just to have a second chance at figuring out how to get through to the end. And it may take five tries on that final puzzle before you get by.

- Impossible. Seriously. There were a couple levels of the demo that I just gave up on (one before I could even get anywhere significant) because of how ridiculous the difficulty was. Mostly this is because of the above mentioned problems, but even without them, there were some obstacles which I simply could not get past.

SUMMARY:  I'd rather have an anvil dropped on my head than play Puddle again. It would be less painful. Maybe I'm just not cut out for this level of difficulty, but I don't know anyone who would rather get angry at a game than enjoy it.

The Friday Review: Bug Village (iPhone, Android, W7 phone)

Buggin out...
 -review by TRON

I was introduced to Bug Village while strolling through the office minding my own business. Two coworkers were hovering over their Android devices discussing what appeared to be a living, colorful, miniature city.  When I took a closer gander at the pint sized colony, it was indeed a small insectopia teaming with life.

Bug Village is a quest filled town builder with a back yard, down to earth feel. The game centers around building colonies of small structures made from a variety of natural objects. The structures attract new insects to the village, and these new residents can gather resources to increase the size of, or customize the colony. The game is full of quests that give the player extra resources and experience for completing. The experience accumulates into levels that raise the maximum number of structures that can be built in the colony.

Brass Tacks:

The Nifty:

+5 Customization - With a wide assortment of dwellings and decorations the user has plenty of objects available to make their very own unique playing experience. The dwellings that the player has access to can be upgraded to add a new visual spin on the structure, on top of adding additional functionality. The decorations come in a wide variety from fences, chairs, tables, lights to landscape changes like pots. With so many objects to choose from the visual combinations are endless.

+4 User Interface - The game's User Interface reads like a mid-summer night's dream, guiding the player with ease through menus and options. The icons for each section are polished and well thought out. The sliding menus when selecting a structure, decoration, or food item, glide sleekly from selection to selection with ease. The game does an excellent job symbolizing the action that will be performed with each UI element.

+4 Graphics - The graphics seemed to fit the game style and feel really well. The cartoon, bubbly characterization kept the game visually interesting and enchanting. With a wide assortment of structures, decorations, and food items, the game did an awesome job tyng all of these objects into the theme. The game ran smoothly on my Samsung Galaxy S with silky camera movements and animations.

The Cruddy:

The game is based in real time, which can lead to a lot of waiting around for things to do or happen. The player can purchase or perform tasks for coins to make tasks instant but that pulls the player out of the game. The player can purchase acorns, the main currency of the game, to build objects but they are limited by what is currently unlocked.

The player is not really able to get ingrained in the game due to the short play times. This issue is caused by the slow and sometimes painful progression of the real time system. The issue is further compounded by the way structures and decorations are unlocked through quests. The player can unlock the structures and decorations by using coins, but I think this destroys the gaming experience.

Conclusion:
Bug Village was a lot of fun to play. With so many objects available to customize my micro village I will continue to play for some time. The game is great for people who do not have a lot of time to spend playing a game in long spurts.

The Friday Review: SPAZ (PC)

Space Pirates and Zombies
review by Peter

Space Pirates and Zombies calls up memories of games like Star Control. You explore a procedurally generated galaxy filled with life, blasting anything you want into floating debris. It strikes a good balance between tactical and arcade game play, and does a magnificent job of presenting a galaxy that feels alive. One example of this is the completely random content in systems without specific missions or events. Sometimes you will warp in and find an asteroid field littered with resources, other times you will warp into the midst of battle. Life goes on even when you aren't present to observe it.

You start with a very small fleet of ships and a quest to reach the center of the galaxy. You directly control your ships one at a time, but can give very basic commands to the other ships in your fleet. Ultimately, battles will hinge on your skills as a pilot more than as a commander. You have what amounts to two forms of currency, rez and goons, which you can collect from missions for the various factions and characters you meet throughout the game. You can also do things like hanging around hotels or mining outposts, and scavenge what you need. The flexibility in resource collection is pretty nice. A lot of the time I would just run blockades guarding the warp gates in the general direction I wanted to go and pick up what I needed as I went. You will meet only a few factions in the game, but they are not in communication with each other, so souring the relation with a faction in your current system will not affect relations in any other system. The disconnect between the various systems in the galaxy feels very contrived at times, but it allows you more tactical freedom.

The physics are surprisingly detailed. Projectiles will glance off your ship at high angles. Explosions will push you around. The weightlessness of space is portrayed well.

The story is a little thin, but it's mostly a vehicle to keep pushing you through the game, so it's a minor annoyance. The voice acting by Totalbiscuit was fun. I have seen people complain that it is bland, but, considering the game's universe, I feel it adds to the atmosphere of the game perfectly.

The graphics are not ground breaking by any means, but there is great attention to detail, and the amount of ambiance floating behind you is incredible.

The humor is a constant treat. The random broadcasts; the quips of "rescued" goons in space; the description of ships and modules; and even the holiday mods the developer's created, all add to the fun and quirky feel.

With 33 ships to collect and 70 unique components to add to them, there is endless variability in what ships you can design. You can hunt down specific technologies to make an agile brawler, or a clunky ranged missile launcher. It's all up to you. There is a definite feeling of grinding for resources and technology, but if you are like me you won't notice too often. After all, there's nothing more satisfying than punching through an enemy fleet with a ship custom fitted to you, and with a new galaxy generated for each play through replay value will not be an issue.