If you’re going too, give me a shout at @binaryrebels!

Now time for some partying..

As for us, work on the iPad version is progressing, and should arrive.. shortly!

We just got back from PAX Prime and PAX Dev and it was great! We met a ton of awesome indie devs and played some new games you should definitely watch for. We were particularly enamoured with Don’t Starve, a 2.5d survival game that harkens back to Minecraft’s early survival gameplay, but expands to it and adds a very cool macabre look. Also in attendance were Monaco and Johann Sebastian’s Jouste, always crowd pleasers.

Way too many indie games to count, if you have the chance I highly recommend you attend a PAX. (If you’re in Australia you’re also in luck as they recently announced PAX Aussie Edition.)

The free episode features:

• 5 new ninjas, 6 new dinos, and 21 more levels
  A host of new ninjas come to the rescue as new snow dinos are encountered. Golem ninja creates snow clones while Boulder Ninja knocks dinos around. Dinos counter with Glaciersaur, which lays down ice to speed up other dinos, and Boardersaur, which travels lightening quick over snow.
• New Snow dynamics
  Snow will build up on the field, slowing down both ninjas and dinos. Snow ninjas will not only be immune to snow but will exploit it to their advantage. Unfortunately, dinos have also adapted to the cold.
• Revamped Item system
  Instead of passive bonuses, they are now equipped, and a bunch of new items mutate ninja jobs. Some will get regenerative armour while others passively buff neighbouring allies.
• Redone UI
  With the added features we revamped the UI so it’s shinier and more intuitive.

Screenshots

What are we doing now?

Right now we’re working on an iPad version, an Endless mode, and a free version. The iPad version will have some slightly up-rezzed graphics, but to take advantage of the additional screen real-estate we plan to increase the size of the battlefield. In full-on 2x the controls aren’t as responsive as on the smaller format, so expect the something like 1.25-1.5x the original format

In endless mode, you’ll be trying to last as long as possible against increasing hordes of dinos. Available jobs are now random and temporary, lasting only a few waves, while the composition of the horde will constantly change, challenging your ability to react to different threats. Reach a checkpoint and you’ll have some breathing room to heal up and prepare for the coming waves.

Also, hello Seattle! PAX dev and PAX Prime are happening at the end of the month, and we’re headed over there!

Well, as you may know, it’s kind of a 1.5 man shop over here so we’re working hard to get new stuff out, especially the new episode! As part of equippable items we’ve completely redone the entire interface so it’s nicer and shinier. We’ve just finished 90% of all the art for Episode 2, and are moving on to the fun stuff, gameplay and polish. Along with that we’re hoping we can get you an Endless mode and an iPad version!

We really appreciate anyone who’s bought the game and has held out for the next episode; we promise it’ll be worth it.

In our coming release we’ve more than doubled the amount of content in the game. We’ve redone the tutorial so it’s more intuitive and item system has been overhauled. Items are equipable and they’ll actually modify the behaviour of ninjas. For example, Shiruken Overload will lend piercing weapons to ninjas adjacent to Giant Shiruken Ninja. They’ll be items for every ninja in the game.

On top of that, there’s Episode 2. All the snow mechanics are in place and we’re working on finishing the art assets. So all that’s left is some background art and polish. After that we’ll be adding an endless mode that’ll unlock even more items in adventure mode. We know gamers want an iPad version so we’re looking into adapting the game to the larger format.

For a release date, we’re thinking the next of next month, but it’ll be done when it’s done.