Kotaku Australia » Tori Floyd

The Intern Has Left The Building

Tori Floyd — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 22:00:36 +0000

I’m not one for long goodbyes, so I’ll try and make this quick. Today, ladies and gents, is the last day you’ll see me fetching sandwiches and scrubbing the dirty floors of Kotaku Tower. My internship with Kotaku is up, and it’s been a pretty sweet ride. Everyone has been really great, from the editors to the readers, and everyone else I’ve met while here, and I can come away knowing that even I spent 95% of my time in pink flannel pajamas, I’ve had a truly rewarding and educational internship.

The stories I’ve had a chance to write while here have also had a big impact on me. If you’ll indulge me in a trip down memory lane for a second…

Casual Gamers Worth Billions

Tori Floyd — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 20:52:58 +0000

The appeal of casual games is a no-brainer at this point. Everyone can enjoy a quick game of Solitare, or while away some workplace boredom with Diner Dash. But as someone who’s never really paid for any of my casual gaming fun, I was impressed by statistic from the Casual Gaming Association that consumers paid $US 2.25 billion for casual gaming last year. 75% of those who bought casual games were women, and 72% were over the age of 35. With Fahey’s mom a future Wii Bowling champion, and my mother a devout Scrabolous addict, I’m not surprised that women over 35 make up the biggest part of the paid casual-market pie, I was just impressed by how high the number was.
All this leaves me with just one thought: there’s actually a Casual Gaming Association?

Games Girls Play [Forbes]

New Kiddy MMO Gets $US 3.2 Mil In Funding

Tori Floyd — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 19:00:02 +0000

As if MMOs for teens and adults aren’t bad enough, Fluid Entertainment (Disney Princess Castle Party, Disney Mix, Pokémon Play It!) has decided that children need a Warcrack of their own. They’ve secured $US 3.2 million in backing for the development of a new MMO aimed at children. With only a few entries in this genre so far, Fluid is going after a relatively untapped market. The game will have an environmental theme, and according to the press release, boast “unprecedented levels of engaging gameplay for children’s MMOs, while infusing the compelling narrative with a meaningful purpose”. The MMO will be an original title, meaning it’s not likely to be based off any of Fluid’s previous partnerships with Hasbro, Disney, or Mattel. We can all rest easy that it won’t be World of Hannah Montana. Thank goodness.

Fluid Entertainment Gets $US 3.2 Million for New MMO Veteran children’s game developer secures backing for original game.
March 12, 2008 – Fluid Entertainment, a California based interactive entertainment developer, today announced it has secured $US 3.2 million in Series A funding led by Trinity Ventures. These funds will support the development and launch of a new, entirely original MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) game for children. Fluid Entertainment will announce more game details in the coming months.

“Fluid Entertainment is led by a creative team with more than a decade of experience developing interactive, educational, and – most importantly – fun entertainment for kids,” remarked Tim McAdam, general partner at Trinity Ventures. “The company has been in business since the late 90s, and is widely known for developing well regarded games for children. With three other gaming investments in our current portfolio, we were looking for the right play in the children’s MMO area, which is an open canvas with only a few incumbents. Fluid has a veteran team, a great history, and a clear and progressive vision that positions the company to become a leader in this arena.”

Fluid Entertainment will use the financing to complete development of an engaging, interactive, and environmentally themed “green” game for kids. Slated for launch later this year, the game will feature unprecedented levels of engaging gameplay for children’s MMOs, while infusing the compelling narrative with a meaningful purpose.

“It’s an exciting time for everyone here at Fluid Entertainment as we drive toward launching an enormously imaginative, vibrant, and innovative new online ‘playscape’ for children,” said Greg Jones, CEO of Fluid Entertainment. “We’re thrilled that the venture community shares our exciting vision, and this financing ensures our ability to execute.”

Fluid Entertainment’s introduction of an original MMO property comes at a time of immense growth in the interactive entertainment field. According to the ESA (Entertainment Software Association), the computer and video game industry broke sales records in 2007, surpassing $9.5 billion. This figure reflects 28% growth from the previous year, with largest growth reflected in the “Family Entertainment” genre, which grew 110%. Additionally, a recent study published by eMarketer, predicts that MMOs, also called “virtual worlds,” will be played by 53% of children and teens, a projected 20 million users, by the year 2011.

Working at the forefront of digital entertainment since the genre’s earliest years, Fluid Entertainment has a long history of creating educational, engaging and entertaining media for children. The company boasts partnerships spanning a decade with such publishers as Hasbro, Berkeley Systems, Disney, Mattel and The Learning Company.

For more information on Fluid Entertainment, please visit: http://www.fluidentertainment.com

About Fluid Entertainment
Based in Mill Valley, California, Fluid Entertainment is an independent children’s interactive entertainment developer founded in 1998 by industry veteran Scott Mathews. With experience creating high profile licensed interactive products based on properties including Harry Potter™, Disney, the Powerpuff Girls, Pokémon and many others, Fluid Entertainment is currently developing an original MMO title for children.

About Trinity Ventures
Trinity Ventures (http://www.trinityventures.com/), a 21-year veteran in the venture business with more than $1 billion under management, partners with exceptional entrepreneurs to build great companies. Trinity Ventures focuses on early-stage technology investment opportunities with a particular emphasis on the digital media, Internet services, mobility, security and software markets. Trinity has invested in more than 100 ventures, including such leading companies as Aruba Networks (NASDAQ: ARUN), Blue Nile (NASDAQ: NILE), Crescendo Communications, Extreme Networks (NASDAQ: EXTR), Forte Software, Illustra, LoopNet (NASDAQ: LOOP), Photobucket (acquired by News Corporation: NWS), Speedera Networks (acquired by Akamai Technologies: AKAM), Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) and Sygate Technologies (acquired by Symantec: SYMC).

Press Release via IGN

Holocaust Survivor Criticises WWII Game

Tori Floyd — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 16:20:00 +0000

British game developer Luc Bernard is under fire from a Holocaust survivor for his newest game in the works, Imagination is the Only Escape. Survivor Jack Kagan of Belarus said that he was outraged at the idea of the game, that the Holocaust is a very serious subject for all of humanity, and no one should make a game like this one. Bernard responded that the game was meant to educate people, particularly children, about the events of the Holocaust. Kagan wouldn’t buy it, though, and said that people should be educated about the Holocaust by watching and reading things instead. After all of this back and forth, there isn’t even confirmation yet that Imagination is the Only Escape will actually be released anywhere. Nintendo so far has said there are no plans to release the game in North America, and Nintendo Europe says it is “not yet been contacted by developer Luc Bernard regarding the release”.

Personally, I think this is absurd. As a kid, I was fascinated by the Holocaust, and I think making this material more accessible for children is more than a good idea, it’s downright essential. If this is the only way some people will learn about something so important as the Holocaust, then this game should absolutely see the light of day. Not to mention I find it incredibly hard to stomach that a game educating people about the events of the Holocaust is under fire, when there are so many games glorifying the violent aspects of the war.

UPDATE: Bernard has contacted us, and said that he’s explained the remarks to Kagan, who now wishes him the best of luck and agrees with the idea. He says he has also been contacted to move the title from the DS to the Wii, and Alten8 remains the only company that appears willing to take on the risky game. Bernard says they’ll distribute the title on their own if need be.

Survivor outraged by Nintendo game [The Jewish Chronicle]

Xbox 360 Remains Blu-ray-less

Tori Floyd — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 16:00:06 +0000

While there was some speculation of the Xbox 360 supporting the Blu-ray HD format, Microsoft’s Aaron Greenberg has put that idea to rest. He says that Microsoft is not currently in talks with Sony about integrating Blu-ray into the system. Nor are there any SKUs for Xbox 360s with Blu-ray in the works. So there you have it. From Greenberg’s mouth to our ears, there’s no Blu-ray in the future of the Xbox 360.

Microsoft says no Blu-ray for Xbox 360 [Reuters, via Game Pro]

Cop Called Out On Blaming Violent Games

Tori Floyd — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 15:40:09 +0000

It’s pretty standard now to hear people close to law enforcement, be they lawyers or police officers, blame much of the violent crime committed by youth on violent video games. Apparently, gamers and game journalists aren’t the only ones to notice this, as a reporter for the Naples Daily News questioned when one police officer attributed the reason for a violent crime to a game.

Captain Tim Guerrette of the Collier County, Florida Sheriff’s Office, apparently referred extensively to video games and their influence during a conference, where Daily News reporter Victoria Macchi was in attendance. In her article, she refers to what Guerrette said, but also notes some of her own research:

An American Sociological Association report released in early 2007, however, dismissed the link between video game violence and homicidal behaviour in children as unfounded.
Moreover, the report claimed that in the decade following the 1993 release of the first-person shooter game Doom — which Guerrette mentioned several times on Tuesday evening as a possible trigger of youth violence — juvenile arrest rates actually went down by 77 percent.

Macchi did exactly what any good journalist should do, presenting both sides of an argument and not just the story on the surface. Kudos to you, Macchi!

Police Official Blames Games, Reporter Calls Him On It [GamePolitics.com]

Mushroom Men Info Dump

Tori Floyd — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 15:00:00 +0000

Section 8 Info Dump

Tori Floyd — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 14:00:35 +0000

Insecticide Info Dump

Tori Floyd — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 03:40:36 +0000

If you’ve been buggin’ for a new action adventure game, it may be time to check out Insecticide for PC and DS. The game takes you on an adventure through the seedy underworld of insect culture, playing an insect cop and her partner, solving crimes as only insects can. I suggest developing compound eyes for taking in all the vids, art, and screens of the game, after the jump.

Legendary Info Dump

Tori Floyd — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 02:00:03 +0000