Might & Magic Clash Of Heroes Interview With Ubisoft And Tag Games

The long-awaited Might & Magic Clash of Heroes finally hit the App Store at the end of January, picking up a 4.5 out of 5 stars in our review. We've since spoken to the teams behind the game at publisher Ubisoft and developer Tag Games - here's what they had to say about the challenge of porting this popular title to touchscreens.

Can you tell us a bit about your development backgrounds and how you came to work on Clash of Heroes?Tag Games: Although Tag Games are mobile and tablet games specialists our team have lots of experience in console and handheld console game development. Members of our team have worked on big console titles such as the Grand Theft Auto series, Crackdown, APB reloaded. We had a passion for Clash of Heroes being big fans of the original console game and this, combined with our technology and experience, meant we were selected as idea partners for porting Clash of Heroes to mobile.

Clash of Heroes for mobiles has been eagerly awaited since it was announced. What were the challenges the team faced in porting the game to touchscreens?

Ubisoft: When porting the game to touchscreens, our main challenges were about usability and controls (especially on smaller devices). We made a lot of prototypes to test the controls, and see what design was the best. For instance, we tried to display the game in landscape and portrait, before finally noticing that portrait couldn't be considered:

- The recommended touch areas for Apple devices are 44 pixels for non-Retina devices and 88 for Retina devices. In a portrait mode we need to fit 8 columns of units across the screen. The maths do not work as a screen width in portrait is only 320 pixels. This would mean that if units had no space between them, and no borders and no GUI, they could be 40 pixels wide. As a conclusion, landscape allowed for larger units making them easier to select.

- All the backgrounds and node data is set up for a landscape view. Having adventure mode in portrait would have meant that those nodes would not have worked and the backgrounds and node data would have to be adjusted.

We also had to face some technical challenges regarding the app size and the memory used by it compared to the large amount of assets and their quality. We finally made it, offering Retina assets. Unfortunately, it means the app size when installed is still huge, but we couldn't improve it better without sacrificing the assets' quality.

Can we expect to see any additional content for the game, or will you be sticking to a straight port of what's already available?Ubisoft: Our mandate was to stick to a straight port of the HD version, so the chance to see additional content for the game in the future is really small. That said, we definitely think that the current content is huge, thanks to its five solo campaigns (20+ hours of gameplay) and the asynchronous multiplayer (endless hours of gameplay).

Something we mentioned in our review is that we'd love an undo option for errant moves during our turn. Can we expect that option to be included in a future update?

Ubisoft: Well, we decided to not implement this feature to respect and stick to the original design from Capybara. So it's not a technical constraint, but more a legacy constraint we chose to follow. Moreover, adding such a feature would greatly reduce the challenge for players, as they'll be able to experiment and choose the best move. Anyway, players need to think before acting!

Will Clash of Heroes be released on any other mobile platforms, such as Android?

Ubisoft: Yes, it will! We're currently working on the Android version which should be released as soon as possible. We can't yet commit on a date as we're also dedicating ourselves to supporting the iOS version, fixing major issues and implementing some improvements. For instance, the behavior of NPC interaction - right now, you have to click on the node, not on the NPCs themselves.

What's next for the team? Can you share any information with Modojo readers about your next mobile project?

Tag Games: We have a number of really exciting projects in development, but unfortunately are unable to speak about most of them right now! What we can say is that we are working hard to improve the current Clash of Heroes game and are looking forward to future opportunities to work with the team at Ubisoft.

Read our cheats and tips for Might & Magic Clash of Heroes

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Facebook tests ‘games only’ activity feed, might drop games ticker

Facebook is testing a games-only activity feed that groups all friends’ game stories in one place. The social network is also considering scrapping the games-only ticker that appears along side canvas apps.

As detailed on the developer blog, the new games-only activity feed is actually a sub-menu option under the apps and games dashboard called “Friend Activity.” When selected, the view condenses all friends’ game stories into one feed organized by most recent stories first. This effectively creates a one-stop destination for games on Facebook — which is something the social network has tried to avoid in the past even as Google+’s rival games platform embraces it.

Meanwhile, Facebook is deciding whether or not to keep the games activity ticker. The blog reports that the feature hasn’t been a significant driver of traffic and that Facebook is looking into other options “improve and simplify” the games experience. Games bookmarks are here to stay for the time being, however, as Facebook reports they do drive significant traffic and re-engagement. Both features have been updated several times since launching over the summer.

Other discovery features announced include the News Feed and Timeline units we’ve seen this month, both of which play into the theme of social discovery. The current unit that appears for games in News Feed not only shows recent game activity for friends, but also identifies games by genre. The “recent games activity” section in Timeline currently only displays game achievements, but the new unit (pictured, right) adds high scores and a bookmarks section for most-played games. It’ll be interesting to see if the unit can also display friends’ comments or Likes on individual game stories.

Lastly, Facebook reminds developers that app profile pages will be discontinued on Feb. 1, which means all Likes and vanity URLs need to be migrated to an existing Facebook page before the change goes into effect.

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Facebook tests ‘games only’ activity feed, might drop games ticker

Facebook is testing a games-only activity feed that groups all friends’ game stories in one place. The social network is also considering scrapping the games-only ticker that appears along side canvas apps.

As detailed on the developer blog, the new games-only activity feed is actually a sub-menu option under the apps and games dashboard called “Friend Activity.” When selected, the view condenses all friends’ game stories into one feed organized by most recent stories first. This effectively creates a one-stop destination for games on Facebook — which is something the social network has tried to avoid in the past even as Google+’s rival games platform embraces it.

Meanwhile, Facebook is deciding whether or not to keep the games activity ticker. The blog reports that the feature hasn’t been a significant driver of traffic and that Facebook is looking into other options “improve and simplify” the games experience. Games bookmarks are here to stay for the time being, however, as Facebook reports they do drive significant traffic and re-engagement. Both features have been updated several times since launching over the summer.

Read the rest on our sister site, Inside Social Games.

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This is your kid on video games, and it might not be so bad [Video]

by Joe Osborne, Posted Jan 23rd 2012 5:45PM

Some of the more unfortunate readers might remember a line like this from their parents: "No, you're not getting an Atari! Those video games will make you stupid!" But are video games really that bad for little kids? Fox News Charlotte's Derek James decided to take a look at what effect video games might have on the little ones, introducing his adorable son as the guinea pig.

A study by the NPD Group estimated that the amount of gamers between 2 and 5 years old has jumped 17 percent since 2009. Maybe that's because today's new parents grew up with Atari or Nintendo, and want to pass on that addiction joy to their little ones. That said, James opted to ask a child psychologist about the effects of games on toddlers. The verdict? Check the video below:

[Via Kotaku]

[Image Credit: Destructoid]

Do you let your younger kids play video games? What effects do you think video games could have on toddlers and younger children? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.

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Tags: baby game, baby gamers, baby games, fox news, gamer, games, gaming, Kids games, kotaku, toddler gamers, toddler games, toddlers, video games

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This animated spoof, 'Slaves of FarmVille,' might go too far [Video]

by Joe Osborne, Posted Nov 30th 2011 11:20AM

Just about everyone has one of these in their lives: a slave to FarmVille. Animation team New York Dragons might have taken that phrase a teeny, tiny bit too far in this video submitted to the ADA Sport web video competition, "Slaves of FarmVille." Let's just cut to the chase: the video attempts to humorously liken being a slave to FarmVille to, well, being a slave in the 19th century.

The surprisingly well animated clip follows Phyllis Johnson's (arguably hilarious) downward spiral into FarmVille addiction. The story takes a bit of a dark turn, however, when it's revealed that FarmVille's "master" looks like either Colonel Sanders or the classic representation of an 1800s plantation owner. We're going with the latter on this one.

Phyllis eventually escapes to an "Underground Railroad" ... and you can pretty much see where this is going. Granted, this video isn't blatantly offensive, but its allusions to the biggest scar on America's history that may be distasteful at best. Though, we're not sure whether including an Indian man was necessary at all. (However, nothing beats this little gem we found recently.) Check out the video below:

[Via FarmVille Freak]

Do you think this video took the whole "slave to FarmVille" thing a bit too far? What's the funniest FarmVille spoof video you've seen? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.

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Tags: ada sport, addiction, farmville addiction, farmville animation, FarmVille Freak, farmville video, new york dragons, slaves of farmville, slaves of farmville video, social game addiction, spoof, video, zynga

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You might be able to invest in Zynga just in time for Turkey Day

The fabled Zynga initial public offering (IPO) of legend draws near, the prophets of Mt. Reuters foretell. Jokes aside, the San Francisco-based social games maker could go public--meaning you and I could buy Zynga stock--the week before Thanksgiving. At least that's what two anonymous sources told Reuters on Monday, but these plans, of course, could change.

You know, like they've changed several times before? Since its original announcement in July, the exact date of the FarmVille maker's IPO has been pushed back more times than the company would likely care for. According to most reports, the IPO is set to inject another $1 billion into the already filthy rich company. Recent valuations mentioned in filings with the Security and Exchange Commission set Zynga at around $11.5 billion, which is more than what competitor EA is said to be worth.

The company has delayed its IPO in fear of a shaky market, but recently held Zynga Unleashed, a press event that announced a number of new games and initiatives like Project Z. While this was certainly to show off what the company had in store for its fans (and to show off its spiffy new offices), we're sure Zynga was looking to impress investors and analysts. If successful, this move could set the big red dog on the track to becoming the most valuable game company around. And with 70 times voting power on his share of the company, you can be sure that CEO Mark Pincus (pictured) will be at the reins.

[Via Business Insider]

[Image Credit: Getty Images/Bloomberg]

Would you ever invest in Zynga if and when it went public? What other effects do you think this move might have on the games industry overall? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.

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E3 2011: Playdom's City of Might goes to war with Zynga's Empires & Allies this summer

by Brandy Shaul, Posted Jun 10th 2011 1:36AM

Don't they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery? I hope Zynga will feel mighty flattered then, as Playdom unveiled a new Facebook game at E3 this year - City of Might. During my limited demo of the game (I wasn't actually allowed to play, but rather was shown a scripted series of events), I learned that City of Might combines the city-building elements of City of Wonder with resource management and player-vs-player combat. Instantly, we're left with comparisons to Zynga's Empires & Allies which just launched days ago.

For City of Might, you'll need to collect resources to build more units, and can then use those units to plan and execute invasion strategies on other players. While combat is a bit interactive, it's mostly cinematic, and you'll only be able to place your units on the enemies' maps and then add more units mid-battle if your troops wind up defeated. From what I saw, it appeared that the rest of battle was automated, as each side shows their damage as small numbers that float rapidly up from the unit or building in question. If you don't succeed your first time in battle, you can call in the help of friends for a rematch. These friends will allow you to earn bonuses to your damage and armor stats, giving you a better chance at success. There are air and ground units to choose from, but this demo didn't make it clear as to whether naval units would complete the expected trio.

Where City of Might looks to have a one-up on Zynga is through the use of an in-game chat system, allowing you to interact in real time with other players, whether they are your Facebook friends or not. In this way, you won't have to have tons of personal friends playing the game on Facebook to actually play the game with other real people.

As for an expected launch, we can look to see City of Might drop its first bomb on Facebook later this summer. We know there are many more features still being completed that will eventually be added to the game, but details are heavily under wraps as of right now. You can see a small preview of what the game looks like at the top of this post, but we'll make sure to give you a more in-depth overview of the game as we get closer to launch.

What do you think of the idea of Playdom's City of Might? Do you think anything could have the power to defeat Zynga? Let us know in the comments.

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Tags: city of might, city of wonder, city-buildig, disney, e3, e3 2011, playdom, pvp

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