» WP7

A Beanstalk Tale coming to WP7

Gerald Terveen — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 19:32:09 +0000

These jumping games are in – but for a platform like Windows Phone 7 they seem to be perfect. Manouvering a character to hit small platforms using the tilt controls of a phone seemed near impossible to me though. I´m impressed with the video above showing “A Beanstalk Tale” from DiNoGames – not only has it quite good graphics for a small indie developer, it also shows how well the tilt controls work. That´s actually a game I would buy.

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WP7 – MyLittleTowerDefense demo available

Gerald Terveen — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 18:14:37 +0000

Windows Phone 7 is not yet available – so if you want to give gamers a shot at trying your game you have to use a different platform. Conveniently ck7studios choose Silverlight and that means most probably you can give their upcoming WP7 game a try here.

The demo got 5 levels, instead of touching your screen you will have to use the mouse. Gives you a good idea of how it works though … nice little game that would be perfect for some easy mobile gaming.

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Hungry Castaway coming to WP7

Gerald Terveen — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 01:06:52 +0000

This seems to be a rather simple WP7 game coming from SmartyPantsGaming where you have to pick fruits thrown by monkeys while avoiding bombs. Simple games are often fun and I like that the video shows both the controls via tilting the phone and using touch screen. Since the games seems to get pretty fast in later stages at least the touch screen controls must work very well – too bad they don´t show how the tilt controls hold up on that level.

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iPhone and Blackberry are dead…

Gerald Terveen — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 22:30:11 +0000

… or at least the Microsoft Employees are burying them in a fun fake funeral to the sounds of Micheal Jacksons Thriller to celebrate the “release to manufacturer” of Windows Phone 7 (that means that from now on they can start producing).
I do have some doubt that Windows Phone 7 will have that effect, but at least I´m sure there will be lots of zombie games thanks to the indie support of WP7 (the best reason to get one).

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Arkedos OMG for WP7

Gerald Terveen — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 15:32:28 +0000

Microsoft is slowly starting their hundreds of millions dollar marketing campaign for Windows Phone 7 (go here for the first trailer) and game developers begin sharing interesting infos on the games coming to WP7.

There are some familiar names you might already know from the Xbox Live Indie Games scene. Like the french developer Arkedo – they will release “OMG – OUR MANIC GAME” for the WP7. Their game Pixel was my first video review and the first post on indienerds.com, a great platformer with extremely cute graphics that combine retro gameboy style with modern effects.

OMG looks like a shooter with a twist. You can tap on enemies so they will unleash their full bullet potential, making the game more difficult while also giving a lot more scorepoints. With real achievements for you gamertag and worldwide leaderboards this title is most certainly one of the most promising games within the WP7 collection of upcoming games.

For a lot more screenshots just hit the MORE button:

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What´s up with Windows Phone 7?

Gerald Terveen — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 18:57:30 +0000

The last few weeks I heard more and more developers talking about WP7 – so I decided to ask someone I knew is kind of an expert on the topic to explain it.
So here comes what Michael B. McLaughlin has to tell us about Windows Phone 7:

Windows Phone 7 has been making big waves in the developer community over the past few months. If you haven’t heard of it yet, don’t worry: Microsoft has been working overtime to make WP7 a phenomenal experience when it launches this holiday season and so far that’s meant focusing their attention on helping developers make some outstanding games and apps for the platform. But with all the major mobile providers and many of the best phone manufacturers already lined up – WP7 promises to be an experience you won’t want to miss.

So what exactly is it?

Windows Phone 7 is centered around several hubs that integrate your digital life with your daily life. While you’ll certainly enjoy the Office hub, the Music + Videos hub, the Pictures hub, and the People hub (for all your social networking), you will absolutely love the Xbox LIVE-integrated gaming hub!

keep on reading after the more button…

Now you can play games, earn achievements, and climb your way up the leaderboards of some of your favorite Xbox 360 games no matter where you are. Of course the gaming hub isn’t just Xbox LIVE: many of your favorite Indie titles are already well on their way to appearing on the Windows Phone 7 platform thanks to the power of the XNA framework that underlies both platforms. Thanks to the ease and simplicity of the XNA development tools, you can expect many wonderful games to be on the marketplace when WP7 launches in a few months with many more coming steadily in the months following its release as developers learn how to harness the power of the amazing hardware specs that all Windows Phones are required to meet. From the powerful 1GHz+ processor to an 800×480, capacitive four-point multi-touch screen, to DirectX 9 hardware acceleration through the GPU, not to mention the (at a minimum) 5 megapixel camera, built-in accelerometer, and cellular and wi-fi connectivity, amongst other things (like a built-in FM radio), even the most basic of models will contain some serious hardware.

Microsoft has been involved in the pocket computer and smart phone industry for over a decade, starting with the Pocket PC platform in April of 2000. To date their mobile products have seen wide use in the enterprise market but consumer devices have been a different story. Enter Windows Phone 7, a complete redesign from the ground up.

With its clean and vibrant Metro interface providing a beautiful, modern-looking interface, the Phone is a pleasure just to look at. But it goes well beyond a pleasant surface.

You’ll hear a lot more about Windows Phone 7 as the holiday season approaches. Personally, I’m already liking what I see.

Links

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Michael B. McLaughlin retired from a career as a lawyer in 2009 in order to pursue his lifelong passion for programming. He is currently building a small studio dedicated to building Xbox LIVE Indie Games and Windows Phone 7 games and apps. He blogs primarily on programming-related topics at geekswithblogs.net/mikebmcl and tweets regularly @mikebmcl.

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