tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53943703815223206442024-03-14T07:11:18.800+00:00Colin Jones and the Potassium FrogColin Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13765638974747073797noreply@blogger.comBlogger292125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5394370381522320644.post-72147238186931720282017-07-27T10:00:00.000+01:002017-07-27T10:00:43.705+01:00Austerity FarmI dunno, you get a bit jaded sometimes. Austerity Farm is a series of (ahem) satirical animations I'll be releasing on Youtube. This is Episode 0, the trailer, which I am assured is the way to do things.<br />
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<br />Colin Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13765638974747073797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5394370381522320644.post-53497972482348785742017-07-25T09:16:00.000+01:002017-07-25T09:16:39.011+01:00CartoonsHere we go, getting busy again now.<br />
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Here's an animation I made for the Cadw Sŵn Welsh course. Funnily enough it's in 4k, although I haven't actually seen it in that resolution yet.<br />
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If you like it, please like it!<br />
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<br />Colin Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13765638974747073797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5394370381522320644.post-75635748773246762602017-01-02T14:06:00.000+00:002017-01-02T14:06:02.558+00:00A second bestsellerYou'll have to excuse me, but this sort of thing doesn't happen that often, and I do get a little excited.<br />
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My second Welsh-language novel, 'Coed y Brenin' has just reached number one in Amazon Uk's Welsh-language ebook charts. Woohoo!<br />
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<br />Colin Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13765638974747073797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5394370381522320644.post-61227372386103534042016-12-13T15:09:00.001+00:002016-12-13T15:09:23.998+00:00Croeso i Gwm Gwrachod - Welcome to Witches' ValleyOoh look, it's Cwm Gwrachod - my new novel for Welsh learners. Bois bach!<br />
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<br />Colin Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13765638974747073797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5394370381522320644.post-17028665654655352372016-12-01T12:40:00.000+00:002016-12-01T12:40:35.806+00:00Tying different timeslots togetherI wish I knew what to say when people ask me what I do.<br />
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Sometimes I'll say I write video games, other times I'll say that I write books, or that I help people learn Welsh. Of course I do all three. Even that's getting too complicated, as I'm starting to write books about different things and in different languages.<br />
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I thought it'd be nice to have some way of tying everything together. Linking stuff if you like.<br />
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<a href="http://colin.cymru/">colin.cymru</a> is the result. It's not so much a website (it isn't a website btw) but a series of links, which I can redirect over time.<br />
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So <a href="http://colin.cymru/">colin.cymru</a> itself will currently take you to my personal website, while <a href="http://colin.cymru/books">colin.cymru/books</a> will magically whisk you away to my Amazon UK Author page, whereas <a href="http://colin.cymru/us">colin.cymru/us</a> will take you to my US Amazon Author page. That way I can leave links in various places and update their destinations if needed.<br />
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Brilliant, eh? For those of you who have an interest in such modern alchemy it's all made possible by a free and open source url shortener at <a href="http://yourls.org/">yourls.org</a><br />
<br />Colin Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13765638974747073797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5394370381522320644.post-8243059596220722352016-10-29T16:40:00.002+01:002016-10-31T15:39:55.552+00:00The Return of Nintendo - One question for you allAt last - something to look forward to. The Nintendo Switch reveal made me realise just how much we've missed the gaming giant's presence over the past few years.<br />
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Will it be powerful enough to compete with the big 2 consoles? Will the battery last long enough for a decent gaming session? Will those little controllers get lost on the train?</div>
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Yes, too many questions right now. But just one question from me:</div>
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<b>Do we want Mario back in all his gameplay glory on a decent console, or do we want him prostituting his inheritance in a dodgy series of casual games on the fag end of tablet gaming?</b></div>
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Where do I sign for that pre-order?</div>
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Colin Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13765638974747073797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5394370381522320644.post-65420735086837964722016-10-05T09:37:00.001+01:002016-10-05T09:37:44.063+01:00The PiMan Speaks!He wouldn't do it for money, he wouldn't do it for fame, but the total recluse formally known as the PiMan has been coaxed out of retirement. Why? The video explains all.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Colin Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13765638974747073797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5394370381522320644.post-40556473260870718962016-09-30T14:13:00.002+01:002016-09-30T14:13:26.460+01:00Slightly Magic Time!What's the hour, you ask in rhyme - on your Pebble, it's Slightly Magic time!<br />
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Potassium Frog. Official watch designer to Bigwiz the Wizard.<br />
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Big day today. As well as Deus Ex Machina and Slighly Magic on Steam, we've got a third launch at the <a href="https://apps.getpebble.com/en_US/application/57ecfb47eb63f7be42000013?section=watchfaces">Pebble appstore</a>.Colin Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13765638974747073797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5394370381522320644.post-58540875297056479302016-09-19T17:46:00.004+01:002016-09-19T17:46:47.927+01:00Madness - You never can tellBack, way back through the mists of time, when I was young and... oh, I dunno, let's not get maudlin.<div>
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Twas a dark and smokey night in Cardiff's Top Rank when Madness took over the timeslot with their blend of music hall, Ska and nutty storytelling. We never knew, that's the thing. We never could have known, who could?<div>
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Listening to their new track Mister Apples has made me realise - you never can tell. If you'd have asked me to predict which group from my youth I'd be listening to in the cold new world of 2016 I would never have said Madness. Funny that.</div>
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Still, it's very much welcome, and I'll take my medicine however it comes. </div>
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Colin Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13765638974747073797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5394370381522320644.post-72771424829729211862016-07-30T16:41:00.002+01:002016-07-30T16:41:41.532+01:00Clearing the DecksIt's been a funny few months, with a slew of new releases lined up for the Frog.<br />
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We'll be putting Deus Ex Machina and Slightly Magic on Steam, in their almost certainly final versions. Deus is down for 30th September release, and I'm toying with the idea of releasing Slightly Magic the same day, which happens to be my birthday.<br />
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I'd go so far as to say that both games are now the definitive versions, and that my two years or so programming them have mainly been well spent. They're both important games in my opinion, and it'll be a weight of my shoulders to see them given a proper release on PC, Mac and Linux.<br />
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There are another couple of surprises for Slightly Magic, but I'm still sworn to secrecy on that front. I thought I'd just write a few things about this final Legacy edition, while it's still fresh in my mind.<br />
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When I got Slightly back, me initial reaction was to sit down and take a good look at the game to see how the old fella looked. It had been 20 years or so since I'd played the game, and monitors have improved dramatically. I was shocked at how good the graphics looked, at least to me. Yes, they were retro, but because the game came in at the later end of the 8-bit machines' lifetime they still seem to hold up quite nicely. Chris Graham did a fantastic job, and to be honest I really wanted more people to see the game.<br />
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I thought the natural thing to do was to reprogram the game, clean up the original, remove a few machine-specific quirks and let others be the judge. Which is where we seem to be now.<br />
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Playing the final game yesterday afternoon, I realised just what I'd done - this game is better than the original. Yes, I dare to say, free from any nostalgia-tinted spectacles this is the version I'd want people to play - the PC, Mac & Linux Legacy Edition.<br />
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Why would that be, you might ask. The graphics, for one, don't flicker in play. Not just the Spectrum attribute-clash flicker, but flickers on screen redraws and speech and menu popups. Plus I do like the new in-game commentary option, because I'll never have the chance to do that again for the game.<br />
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Oh, and the save game, gamepad mapping and audio extras add a certain polish, which I think players of the original would have appreciated. Fast loading, crisp graphics and audio, and the experience of playing on a large tv with a wireless gamepad make for a very rewarding experience.<br />
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What next, after September, you might ask? Well I'll be running a Kickstarter starting August 15th, for a brand-new game featuring Slightly. More news on that very soon. It's a whole new format and a whole new style, but I'm hoping to carry Slightly's legacy forward.Colin Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13765638974747073797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5394370381522320644.post-35671526599921154342016-07-28T17:05:00.002+01:002016-07-28T17:05:37.249+01:00Deus Ex Machina - The Final Cut<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Quite a nice surprise this morning; an email letting me know that Deus Ex Machina, Mel Croucher's classic video game, had been accepted for inclusion on the Steam store. I programmed the C64 and MSX versions of the game in the 1980's and then agreed to do the same for the Anniversary Edition, which Potassium Frog released very recently.<div>
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It feels like we've finally got a proper release for the full desktop version - PC, Mac & Linux. Maybe the world's finally ready for Mel's dystopian nightmare, at least it'll be there for the curious few.</div>
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I let Mel know immediately, and we were soon wondering what extras we could add to this, almost certainly, final edition. It's making work for ourselves, of course, but we both want to send this one off with a splash.</div>
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Colin Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13765638974747073797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5394370381522320644.post-67324675645150288872016-07-11T10:33:00.001+01:002016-07-11T10:34:36.016+01:00Goodbye Slightly Magic?A very strange feeling came over me last Friday afternoon; a mixture of melancholy and release.<br />
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I was uploading Slightly Magic to Steam for late summer release, when it struck me that this would be nearly the last time I'd be working on the game. I do have another format to program, about which I'm sworn to secrecy for the next month or so, but things are starting to feel pretty final.</div>
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Slightly Magic is 25 years old this year, and it seems very odd to be working on the game so long after its initial release. I remember at the time being a little uneasy about Slightly's future; I couldn't see that the game would be available for more than 5 years. After all, who was going to reprogram the thing after all the 8 and 16bit formats had died? I didn't expect it to be me, that's for sure.</div>
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So that's a Good Thing - that the game is still available, and soon to be given a shot in the arm by PC, Mac and Linux Steam release. I won't get my life back, because Slightly is already alive and well in a new game which is almost nearly ready to start demoing. In an odd way I feel I have a duty of care to look after him, if that makes any sense at all.</div>
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Good Things are numerous at the moment, as will soon become apparent, but I'm still feeling pretty down about the EU referendum result. Hard to fathom, for those of you who voted out I'm sure, but true nevertheless. I've also been writing some of the dialogue for Slightly's new game, which I noticed was a little lighter than I'd expected. I think I might be compensating for my general melancholy mood. </div>
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Oh yes, and a funny thing about Slightly Magic. What I've realised, and didn't really expect, is that a lot of new players really appreciate the game. I thought at first they were just being polite, but people have seriously gone out of their way to ensure Slightly's debut on Steam and on Slightly Magic's next, final format. Thank you all, it really does make a difference.</div>
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Colin Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13765638974747073797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5394370381522320644.post-81592000503775495902016-06-01T15:04:00.000+01:002016-06-01T15:04:10.756+01:00The Making of Slightly Magic<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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How fast does 25 years pass? In the blinking of an eye, I fear. For it really was 25 years ago that my game Slightly Magic was released. I'm always a little nervous when I release something new, but in Slightly's case I needn't have been. <div>
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He's done me proud over the years, and so I couldn't let this anniversary pass without throwing a magical bean feast. Actually there'll be more than one magical event this year, but I'm sworn to secrecy on the others for a while.</div>
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However, as a party-starting taster for the awesomeness that's yet to come, a new full-colour art book is available now on Amazon. It's called 'The Making of Slightly Magic' and features some fascinating insights from myself together with the marvellous artwork of Chris Graham. It's well worth a look if you've an interest in games, retro or modern.</div>
Colin Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13765638974747073797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5394370381522320644.post-56972636320410068262016-05-11T16:48:00.001+01:002016-05-11T16:48:59.765+01:00Unfinished News and the Time Flux ParadoxYou'll have to bear with me on this, but it's been a surprising few weeks at Potassium Frog.<br />
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A couple of quite wonderful things have decided to come together which have almost made me squeal with delight. However, due to the nature of games design, secrecy pacts and the Time Flux Paradox I can't say anything about these things for quite a while yet.<br />
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Writing games is a funny business. Anything I'm working on now won't generally see the light of day for a few months, years, or possibly decades. And even some things which I could talk about are probably best left for now, because it's just too early.<br />
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The trouble with that box of lice is that I tend to get bored with anything I can actually talk about since I probably finished with that months, years or decades ago. That's the Time Flux Paradox in a nutshell. Ho hum.Colin Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13765638974747073797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5394370381522320644.post-39645451772009086652016-04-26T14:31:00.000+01:002016-04-26T14:31:03.741+01:00How I became a best-selling author<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yes, it took me by surprise too; one of the perks of occasionally writing in Welsh, I guess.</h4>
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'Coed Y Brenin' is a book I wrote a while ago, for Welsh learners. I'd never published it until 2016 as I wasn't happy with the format. It was originally Welsh and English side-by-side, but I thought that people were in danger of becoming a little lazy.</h4>
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Anyhow, the book seemed to fill a need, as ten days or so after release it found itself at the top of the Amazon UK Welsh-language e-books chart.</h4>
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<em>Croeso i Aberarthur, pentref bach cysglyd yn y De. </em><br /><em>Mae llawer o bobl yn byw yma, ac mae stori gyda phob un. Credwch chi fi.</em><br /><br />Welcome to Aberarthur, a small sleepy village in the South. Lots of people live here, and each has a story. Believe you me.<br /><br />Apparently Aberarthur is a fictional village, in that it exists only in my mind. The funny thing is that as you read this book it will exist in your mind too, but entirely through the medium of Welsh.</h4>
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Colin Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13765638974747073797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5394370381522320644.post-23428330045711316762016-04-22T11:01:00.000+01:002016-04-22T11:01:12.366+01:00Where does the future go to die?The future is an unwritten country. I think that's what Timmy Flux said on the Deadpan Channel last night.<br />
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Me, I've got a ton of unfinished business to trifle with and a collection of papers to rifle through which claim to be my diary. Like they say, if you can even remember there was a Tranquil Generation you are almost certainly confused. Even way back then, in the Endless Summer of Tomorrow.<br />
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So where does the future go to die? And how come there are people in my diary who I've never even met, at least that's what they tell me.<br />
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I write this from my cell in Amnesia Towers, where the guards are very kind, on the third Tuesday of each month. There's a shadow on my window, and an echo of a daydream on the radio; Tom Thugg and the Violets sing a golfing melody like they always did, even way back then. When?<br />
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If a tree falls in a barbershop and there's no-one there to plant it, does it really rain on the moon? And just what is the sound of one hand scratching, and why do stars suddenly disappear, every time you walk by?<br />
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Donny Moonshot, April 2016</div>
Colin Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13765638974747073797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5394370381522320644.post-33631827234540629502016-02-05T09:31:00.003+00:002016-02-05T09:31:43.730+00:00It's what he would have wanted<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Went to a taxi-driver's funeral yesterday.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">The hearse double parked outside the house and beeped the horn to let the mourners know it was there.</span>Colin Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13765638974747073797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5394370381522320644.post-28368740303504365342016-01-26T10:40:00.000+00:002016-01-26T10:40:11.625+00:00Your Stars - Feb 2016I don't believe in Astrology, but apparently that's because I'm a Libra. Anyhow...<br />
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Squirrius, the Nutcollector</h3>
Your cusp is on the ascendant. Prepare to meet thy matchmaker.<br />
<b>Lucky Fish</b>: Pollock<br />
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Scabies, the Elephant</h3>
You enter the room, but everyone ignores you.<br />
<b>Lucky Dog</b>: Ralph, the Spaniel<br />
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Doorbell, the Debtcollector</h3>
Beware of falling marionettes.<br />
<b>Lucky Skin Condition</b>: DandruffColin Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13765638974747073797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5394370381522320644.post-50951519486757937332016-01-08T10:33:00.003+00:002016-01-08T10:33:48.413+00:00This is a lazy game, but what's wrong with lazy?Something struck me the other day when looking through the comments for Cheshire's Cheese Nightmares on <a href="http://steamcommunity.com/id/potassiumfrog/myworkshopfiles/?section=greenlight">Steam Greenlight</a>. Some people seemed to be implying that it was a lazy game. <br /><br />That statement probably sums up the game quite well, I thought, but probably for different reasons. <div>
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What's wrong with lazy? <br /><br />We wouldn't call a musician lazy for recording a song with a single guitar and vocals. We wouldn't call an artist lazy for producing a sketch or a quick watercolour. So why is a video game lazy for not trying to be anything else other than a half-hour or so of easy relaxation? Lazy gameplay; relax and unwind. </div>
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Colin Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13765638974747073797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5394370381522320644.post-66146978397841890002015-10-23T11:43:00.001+01:002015-10-23T11:43:41.409+01:00Slightly MagicI am 'putting myself out there' again. Always a little stressful. <div>
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The reason? Steam, I've found out by handling Deus Ex Machina 2, is an invaluable platform for getting your games in the public eye. </div>
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To get one of your games on Steam it needs to go through a submission process, Steam Greenlight. Games players vote on whether they'd like to see your game available on Steam. </div>
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I'd been wondering about submitting Slightly Magic to Steam, but to be honest thought it might be too retro to catch the imagination of today's players. Anyhow, a couple of recent heart warming emails persuaded me to give it a go. </div>
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If you've a Steam account you can vote for Slightly <a href="http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=540097096">here</a>. Of course, every 'no' vote is a knife through my heart, which is why 'putting myself out there' is a little stressful. Ah, well.</div>
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Colin Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13765638974747073797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5394370381522320644.post-77682312480669458702015-10-06T14:48:00.000+01:002015-10-06T14:48:21.709+01:00Rock BottomIt seemed like a good idea at the time. I spent over a year of my life programming various versions of Deus Ex Machina, probably the wierdest game of all time.<div>
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So, a mere 30 years later, and the game is now packaged neatly with the sequel, the ebook and the soundtracks. How much? To you $2, if you get there fast enough. I kid ye not.</div>
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<a href="https://groupees.com/deusexmachina">https://groupees.com/deusexmachina</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwXpHjYrjNVwvKRzYi2eyKyj4nNw1LEIU7la_JHo9vR4vdHkuLg4ih1OzzbKjrV59FbKfXOYqJ_XjqgHtVZ24Gle1Ry79QsFlRcaZDMhm0a1C8TH_8clZ58Lq0X53XbkhI3eNirABqeyU/s1600/Loader.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwXpHjYrjNVwvKRzYi2eyKyj4nNw1LEIU7la_JHo9vR4vdHkuLg4ih1OzzbKjrV59FbKfXOYqJ_XjqgHtVZ24Gle1Ry79QsFlRcaZDMhm0a1C8TH_8clZ58Lq0X53XbkhI3eNirABqeyU/s1600/Loader.png" /></a></div>
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Colin Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13765638974747073797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5394370381522320644.post-90607826734982784802015-08-28T12:14:00.001+01:002015-08-28T12:23:59.516+01:00So What's So Difficult About Writing Apps?<h3>
Programming? </h3>
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Nope. Programming's easy. There are a even a number of middleware systems you can use to reduce your programming to a minimum. No, that's not the difficult bit. That's much easier than when I started coding in binary and hex in the 80s.</div>
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Ideas? </h3>
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No, ideas are everywhere, waiting to be plucked out of the ether.</div>
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Appstore Submission?</h3>
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Yes. Appstore submission is hard. There are Bindle IDs, icons of various sizes, screenshots, descriptions, international descriptions, age ratings and a whole bunch of other stuff. I actually think getting a finished app into the various appstores is more difficult than creating the thing.</div>
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Making money?</h3>
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Now you're talking. Making money out of apps is the most difficult thing. How do you get your app noticed among over a million - yes currently 1.6 million others? That's where publishers used to come in handy, of course. They had press agents, contracts with ad agencies, all sorts of contacts with the press (when there was a press) etc etc. Now we have social media and bloggers, but the number of apps we're competing against is phenomenal.</div>
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Price Points</h2>
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Appstores have killed games prices. App prices for games are ridiculously low, some people are not willing to pay for an app. Freemium? It can work if you're lucky, and there are always stories of Angry Fish, Wiggle Woggle etc., but you need to shift huge numbers to make it pay. </div>
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Frankly, it's a lottery for the indie developer.</div>
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So what's the answer? Keep plugging away until you die? Run a Kickstarter? If you do find out, please throw me some tips. You can contact me through the website - <a href="http://www.potassiumfrog.com/">www.potassiumfrog.com</a> </div>
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In the meantime desktops still have a role to play. Of course, some games can't currently be translated to mobiles, but most can. And VR is just around the corner. PC, Mac and Linux games still command reasonable prices, and there's a healthy community willing to swap tips and reviews. Getting a game on Steam is most likely essential, of course.</div>
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So the moral of this is I guess that the appstore goldrush has been over for quite a while. Good ideas, well-executed will always be in demand. Formats have dissolved but people still want to be entertained in an original way. Most likely.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb867O2z6yqjhp73EINamp7TaUpSYZrQI6UITcWgiHQenI78mmSuIHJBk01eSraOwZbIjjxg5CWRBzEUO82jinu_ag-ho9tFsemWsfe8_VlE_xZoUg-PPHH8FkzcXIq-7pTuUUojvP7aI/s1600/iPhone4-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb867O2z6yqjhp73EINamp7TaUpSYZrQI6UITcWgiHQenI78mmSuIHJBk01eSraOwZbIjjxg5CWRBzEUO82jinu_ag-ho9tFsemWsfe8_VlE_xZoUg-PPHH8FkzcXIq-7pTuUUojvP7aI/s400/iPhone4-5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slightly Magic - in your favourite appstore now!</td></tr>
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Colin Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13765638974747073797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5394370381522320644.post-4579224848415837332015-08-19T16:46:00.002+01:002015-08-28T10:44:25.478+01:00Testing TimesWe're changing the potassiumfrog.com website, servers and email today.<br />
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Just in case you're trying to get in touch today by email. Seems to take around 24 hours for dns settings to propagate throughout the planet (earth) apparently. I personally don't see what could go wrong.<br />
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Oh yes. If you've emailed today with no luck it might be worth you trying again tomorrow (Thursday) when everything should be tickety-boo. Probably.<br />
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Here's a top secret photo of Slightly Spooky to thank you for your patience. More details soon.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbWUZcriHFy4vRcFzuMgtmcUxYm5GoIgpdOqLlgktL6rji1vF2qUP_XBfQZXHVSLKYTg1f19L7ImB5Fq64krB4d3S9KMBWN0rfAd3Twi8Ixf_2pEWCEZOiRBhYyjzJAimjHFllxd4yRoc/s1600/Screenshot7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbWUZcriHFy4vRcFzuMgtmcUxYm5GoIgpdOqLlgktL6rji1vF2qUP_XBfQZXHVSLKYTg1f19L7ImB5Fq64krB4d3S9KMBWN0rfAd3Twi8Ixf_2pEWCEZOiRBhYyjzJAimjHFllxd4yRoc/s400/Screenshot7.jpg" title="Slightly Spooky first screenshot" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Colin Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13765638974747073797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5394370381522320644.post-16628300914615312292015-02-20T18:04:00.000+00:002015-02-20T18:04:00.103+00:00Deus Ex Machina, Deus Ex Machina 2Don't ask me how it happened, but Potassium Frog is launching both Deus Ex Machina and Deus Ex Machina 2 on desktops. Now. <a href="http://www.potassiumfrog.com/">www.potassiumfrog.com</a><br />
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Not to mention the bumper package The Book, The Game & The Sequel, but they told me not to mention that.<br />
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<br />Colin Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13765638974747073797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5394370381522320644.post-65712722439192033192015-02-09T16:29:00.002+00:002015-02-09T16:29:32.039+00:00After 30 years, it's a hit again...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I wonder if this has ever happened before? After 30 years an 8bit computer game has entered the top 20 in Europe. As I write, Deus Ex Machina is no 11 in Amazon Italy's and number 20 in Amazon Spain's Android games charts. Which currently might not be a blockbuster, but it's not bad considering the game's only been out a few days and we have absolutely no publicity budget.<br />
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Oh yes, I nearly forgot. We're out on OUYA this Saturday. Home TV plugged into the hifi makes the game a completely new experience. Pretty overwhelming, actually.Colin Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13765638974747073797noreply@blogger.com0