Posted by Ross
Thu, 5th Jan 2012
It’s good to be back here on the Laughing Jackal blog. 2011 was a great year for Laughing Jackal but we’re determined to make 2012 an even better one. It’s certainly started off well as I’m delighted to be able to tell you that Hungry Giraffe has now been submitted to Sony for approval. If all goes well we’ll be able to give you a release date and price shortly.
Of course work never really stops here at Laughing Jackal and we’re already hard at work on our next project: a return to the PS3. Mystery Game X* is possibly our most ambitious game yet, as we mix together two genres we’ve not really explored before. As I type this half the office is gathered around a very early prototype and judging from the sounds emanating from that corner of the room, it’s safe to say that there’s a lot of excitement about it.
While everyone’s obviously excited about what’s in store for 2012, I do feel we should remember what’s happened in 2011, particularly when our games have been mentioned in so many end-of-year lists :). With Cubixx HD being named The Koalition’s best PSN/XBLA game, OMG-Z beating out a batch of fantastic JRPGs to be named number 1 in GameZone.com’s top 5 PSP games of 2011 and in PushSquare’s Top 50 PlayStation Games ’11. Our adaptations of Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone’s Fighting Fantasy books weren’t forgotten either, with Fighting Fantasy: Talisman of Death featuring in Pocket Gamer’s Top 10 Games of the Year 2011 – PSP Edition, while also being the #1 user-rated minis title on the PAL PSN Store!
That’s not all of course, as Cubixx HD was also nominated for best puzzle game award in News 10’s 2011 Game Guy’s Choice Awards. Voting is open until Monday the 9th so if you want to check out the nominees and cast your vote you can do so here.
*The game is not actually called Mystery Game X. :)
Posted by Ross
Thu, 22nd Dec 2011
Merry Christmas everyone!
Since this is the last Laughing Jackal blog of the year I thought it would be a fun idea to take a look back at all the games we have been working on in 2011.
It’s been a very busy year for us as we’ve not only released 6 games in 2011 but we’re currently working on a few more games including Hungry Giraffe and a Top Secret PS3 project. But enough about what we’re doing at the moment: let’s go back into the past :).
Our first game of the year was the mighty Duael Invaders, a return to one of our favourite genres: the space shooter:
This slick puzzle shooter is still the only PlayStation Mini outside of Japan to feature multiplayer and the game can be played in both co-op and versus mode as well as single player. While the single player (in which you control two ships) could take a while to get your head round, this only makes it more satisfying when you do. As PushSquare said “when everything clicks, it makes you feel like the greatest human being alive”.
Duael Invaders was our first game to be released exclusively for PlayStation Plus users, something that worked well for us as we did it again with what is perhaps our most popular PlaySation Mini: the gore-fuelled, chain reaction shooter, OMG-Z:
The critical reaction to OMG-Z was stunning, with the game peaking at number 4 in the Metacritic list of the highest rated PSP games of all time and at the time of writing it is still sitting pretty inside the top 10. Eurogamer called it “...a monstrously addictive quick-fire affair that utterly nails what on-the-go handheld gaming should be about.”, in their 9/10 review.
All through this period we were hard at work on our first ever full PS3 game, the fast-paced arcade action puzzle game Cubixx HD. Cubixx was our first PlayStation Mini and was the game where our team really came together, so the chance to revisit the game for our first PS3 title was very welcome indeed:
While there was a lot of stress and hard work involved in getting Cubixx HD finished, we were delighted with the improvements made over the original Cubixx. The multiplayer was suitably manic if you get a few friends over and the online high score tables, new enemies and game modes really gave the single player content a new lease of life. The changes clearly went down well with reviewers, with Official PlayStation Magazine UK giving it 8/10 and calling it: “One of the most gloriously addictive, knuckle-bitingly frustrating experiences you can have on PSN.”
Our next two games saw us make a return to what seems to be our spiritual home, the PlaySation Minis platform, as we released our first two adaptations of Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone’s Fighting Fantasy series. Fighting Fantasy: Talisman of Death and Fighting Fantasy: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain:
These two games were really special for most of us, as we grew up with the Fighting Fantasy series. I know if you told the childhood me that I would one day work on the Fighting Fantasy series and even get to have a few email conversations with Steve Jackson (I managed to avoid fanboying all over him :-)) I’d never have believed you! Some of our team went one better and actually got to meet Steve, who was a great help in answering any questions we had about how the books were meant to play. Reviewers were again very positive, with Noobfeed rating Warlock 85% and calling it “…a true joy.”
Which brings us nicely to the present day and our latest release, Orbit, which went on general release on PSN earlier this week and is perfect if you’re looking for some gaming fun before you open your Christmas presents.
Thanks for putting up with me on this little tour through Laughing Jackal’s 2011. Tomorrow is our last day here before the Christmas Holidays, but we’ll be back on the 3rd of January 2012, ready to recommence work on Hungry Giraffe and our incredibly awesome secret PS3 project. Until then, feel free to keep commenting on our blog and we’ll confirm them when we get back.
Thank you for all your support in 2011. Let’s all hope 2012 is another great year for Laughing Jackal.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all! :D
Posted by Ross
Wed, 21st Dec 2011
Hi everyone. Orbit has today escaped the gravitational pull of being a PlayStation Plus Exclusive and has made it’s way to general release. You can sign up for Doc’s galactic adventures now in North America for just $3.49. Doc will also be recruiting in Europe from today’s PlayStation store update for just £2.49.
So sign up now to help secure the future of Space Exploitation!... er… I mean Space Exploration!
