TransGaming has gotten back to us with a response to our story last week about Puzzle Quest iPhone randomly deleting heroes.

According to Paul Nowosad, Marketing Director at TransGaming, an update is being submitted to the Apple Store this week. This “version 1.1″ will fix the bug “as well as address some graphical issues.”

Hit the jump for full details on the fix.

“Pretty much what happens is, as soon as people load up 1.1, they’ll have all their characters restored provided they didn’t delete that character to begin with,” Paul said in a voicemail message. “For anybody right now who has one character [that's been deleted], it’s not an issue. If they had more than one character, they’re actually in the system, they’re just not able to be seen. If they were to delete a current character [after loading up 1.1], they would have access to the other one. The best thing to do is load in 1.1 version [and see which heroes show up].”

Version 1.1 of Puzzle Quest is being submitted to Apple as we speak, which means the official release for the patch is technically TBD. But it sounds like it won’t be long now before I get my level 8 bard back.

Puzzle Quest is no stranger to gameplay bugs in any of its myriad releases, but the iPhone version deleting characters takes the cake for the “kick in the shins” category.

According to forum posts on touchArcade and my own awful experience on a six hour car ride, heroes are randomly deleted from the game. You’ll save a hero and quit out as per normal, but when you go back in and select Continue Quest or Change Hero, that character will be inexplicably gone. When this bug occurs, you cannot recreate the character because the game claims that the hero already exists – but no matter how many times you quit out and reload, you won’t ever get that hero back.

Calls to Puzzle Quest iPhone port handler Transgaming Technologies were not immediately returned, but touchArcade reports that the company is “looking into” the problem as well as into gripes about not being able to read the tutorial text.

Puzzle Quest for the iPhone was released December 23 for the App Store and retails for $9.99 USD. It’s the first of three installments for the Puzzle Quest series, with Chapter 2 to come “soon,” according to the original press release.

If you’ve not gotten a chance to play the update on the 360, I would highly suggest picking up the PS3 version and playing through again. The Bard in particular is an amazing class with some very interesting mechanics that ads a little more strategy to how you play the game.

Puzzle Quest plus expansion for PS3 [Eurogamer]

“It has been a wild and exciting ride for us at D3Publisher to watch Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords progress from a unique release on handheld platforms to one of the most beloved puzzle game franchises of today, raising demand from gamers everywhere to be able to play it on their platform of choice,” said Yoji Takenaka, President and Chief Executive Officer of North America and Europe, D3Publisher.

Gah! I just want to hug this man and punch him at the same time, but not as much as Crecente, who actually contacted both companies and harassed them about making the port. Thanks, Brian. Look for Puzzle Quest to hit the iPhone and iPod Touch later this fall, at which point I will begin spending all my time in the bathroom.

TransGaming Launches Into iPhone Marketplace with Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords

Toronto, Canada,- September 29, 2008 – TransGaming Inc. (TSX-V: TNG), announces the company’s expansion into the development of applications for Apple’s portable devices commencing with Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords® from D3Publisher for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords has been honored with numerous awards and accolades including the prestigious Best Downloadable Game award at the11th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards. The title is a natural fit for Apple’s mobile devices and, coupled with TransGaming’s industry experience and technology, will impart a user experience that is being fully customised for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords for the iPhone and iPod Touch portable devices builds on an existing relationship between TransGaming and D3Publisher. “The iPhone and iPod Touch are natural extensions to TransGaming’s existing Mac business and we are focused on bringing only the highest quality content to these devices. Puzzle Quest is an outstanding franchise and we have no doubt this game will have incredible appeal to a broad range of gamers”, commented Vikas Gupta, CEO & President of TransGaming. “We have established a leadership position in bringing top tier games to Mac and we are now setting our sights on the Apple mobile market opportunity.”

“It has been a wild and exciting ride for us at D3Publisher to watch Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords progress from a unique release on handheld platforms to one of the most beloved puzzle game franchises of today, raising demand from gamers everywhere to be able to play it on their platform of choice,” said Yoji Takenaka, President and Chief Executive Officer of North America and Europe, D3Publisher. “After making the rounds on consoles, PC and Mac, we are thrilled to have TransGaming bringing it back to a handheld device, and not just any handheld, but the iPhone–a platform that D3Publisher looks forward to utilizing to reach a whole new group of gamers with this title and many more to come.”

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords offers players a unique combination of classic RPG elements and fun puzzle mechanics. Designed specifically to entertain both casual and hardcore gamers Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords incorporates strategy, role-playing elements and a persistent storyline in a puzzle board setting that is sure to deliver an immersive gaming experience.

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords is rated “E 10+” (Everyone 10 and older–suggestive themes) for most platforms by the ESRB and is rated “RP” (Rating Pending) for iPhone. The game was originally developed by Infinite Interactive Pty. Ltd. and published by D3Publisher, Inc. The game is being customised for iPhone by TransGaming Inc. and will be available for purchase on the iTunes App Store this fall.

Cube – September 18, 2008 for $US 9.99.
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords – September 18, 2008 for $US 14.99.
WTF: work time fun – October 2, 2008 for $US 9.99.
PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient – October 2, 2008 for $US 9.99.
PQ2: Practical Intelligence Quotient 2 – October 16, 2008 for $US 14.99.
Dead Head Fred – October 16, 2008 for $US 14.99.

You know, for ten bucks, I could maybe see some PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient in my life.

D3Publisher to Bring Classic PSP (PlayStation Portable) System Games to the PLAYSTATION Store for the PC for Download in North America

PSP System Gamers Will Now Have Access to Favourite D3P Titles Including the Original and Wildly Popular Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, Critically-Acclaimed Dead Head Fred and more—no UMD Required!

Premier publisher of interactive entertainment software, D3Publisher (D3P), will bring its classic PSP (PlayStation Portable) system titles to gamers for download via the PLAYSTATION Store in North America beginning this September. PSP system owners will no longer need a UMD to play critically-acclaimed PSP system titles such as WTF: work time fun, a crazy collection of fun and addictive mini-games, the original Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, 2007’s multiple award-winning cult hit that blends match-three puzzle gameplay with strategy, character-building elements and a persistent storyline, Dead Head Fred, a head-swapping, third person-action game and more.

“D3Publisher is always looking to make fun and original gaming experiences easily accessible to everyone,” said Yoji Takenaka, president and chief executive officer, North America and Europe, D3P. “We believe that making these classic PSP system titles available via digital distribution gives the games a new opportunity for discovery and the gamers a second chance at hours of enjoyment.”

D3Publisher’s Line-Up Includes:

Cube – Offering highly addictive puzzle solving action, Cube challenges players in single or multiplayer modes to make their way through suspended 3D worlds of platforms and mazes jam-packed with collectible items and obstacles. Cube will be available for download on September 18, 2008 for $9.99.

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords – The genre-bending title that took the gaming community by storm at the top of 2007 incorporates strategy, role-playing elements and a persistent storyline into a match-three puzzle board setting, has received numerous awards including Best Downloadable Game at the 11th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, a Best Puzzle Game of E3 2007 Award from IGN.com and the esteemed iParenting Media Excellent Product Award for 2007. Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords is designed specifically to entertain both casual and hardcore gamers-on-the-go with its deep immersion, five to fifteen minute play sessions and turn-based play style. Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords will be available for download on September 18, 2008 for $14.99.

WTF: work time fun – A crazy collection of fun and addictive mini-games, WTF drives players to perform sometimes trivial, sometimes mind-bending, but always fun jobs in pursuit of the almighty dollar. WTF will be available for download on October 2, 2008 for $9.99.

PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient – Using a measuring system that was created under the guidance of Professor Masuo Koyasu of Kyoto University in Japan that determines players’ ‘Practical Intelligence Quotient’ or PQ, players move blocks, avoid walls and lasers, pull switches and manoeuvre with maps to reach their goal to solve more than 100 3D logic puzzles. As players solve the puzzle within a shorter time frame and with fewer moves, their PQ scores improve. PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient will be available for download on October 2, 2008 for $9.99.

PQ2: Practical Intelligence Quotient 2 – A follow-up to PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient, the critically acclaimed PQ2 calculates players’ intelligence by using the PQ scoring system as they solve more than 250 mind-bending puzzles. PQ2 will be available for download on October 16, 2008 for $14.99.

Dead Head Fred – In Dead Head Fred, players will adventure as Fred Neuman, a private detective savagely murdered and then resurrected in a bizarre scientific experiment without his memory or his head. Players will embark on a quest for vengeance as they solve their own murder by using the severed heads of enemies to battle their way through challenging but bizarre environments. Dead Head Fred will be available for download on October 16, 2008 for $14.99.

We recently caught up Steve and asked if he could provide us with an update on how the game was going:

In this game, codenamed Warlords-Online for the moment, you create a Warlord character and play puzzles to gain gold. You then use that gold to help your character conquer the World of Etheria. All this takes place in an internet environment where other Warlords are trying to help their chosen races conquer the world too.

Fawkner says it’s a present to everyone who’s supported Puzzle Quest and the Warlords series of games over the years. I have to say – it’s a tasty sounding gift.

We also asked him a bunch of questions regarding Puzzle Quest, the Australian games development scene and balancing hardcore and casual gameplay.

Hit the jump to read the interview!Kotaku AU: How did you get started in the industry? Do you have any specialties (design, coding, etc?)
Steve Fawkner: I wrote my first game back in 1983 when I was 17 years old. Back in the 80s you did everything in the game: coding, design, art, sound and QA!

However, as I moved through the industry over the next 10 years, I specialised in design, even though I frequently found myself doing a lot of coding and even a fair amount of artwork. Today, 90% of my work on a game is all design. I don’t get much time to write code any more, which makes me sad.

Kotaku AU: What are the advantages of doing games development in Australia? The disadvantages?
Steve Fawkner: Australia is a great place to make games. Our industry has a real culture about it that is quite distinct from the USA and Europe. We work hard, we work smart, we are creative and we form great teams.

We are uniquely situated between the USA, Europe and Asia. Our origins and allegiances are split between those 3 major markets and nobody else in the world (except our Kiwi friends) can say that. I’m very optimistic about what we can achieve here.

Disadvantages? Well, although we are close to our major markets culturally, we are a long way geographically. I think that distance makes it sometimes a little harder for us to form and maintain the relationships that we need to survive. But that’s a problem with an easy solution – we just need to work harder sustaining our relationships.

Kotaku AU: Have you ever thought of packing up shop and moving the studio elsewhere? Where do you think you’d go?
Steve Fawkner: It has honestly never occurred to me. I’m Melbourne born and bred and I love this town. Occasionally, in winter, like all Victorians, I think it might be nice to live in Queensland, but then again we’re two hours from the ski fields here in Melbourne, so that more than makes up for the colder weather.

Kotaku AU: How did you come up with the idea for Puzzle Quest? Did you intentionally set out to create a game that mixed hardcore and casual elements?
Steve Fawkner: I love Bejeweled and I love RPGs. It seemed kind of natural to experiment and put them together. I was really making the game for myself though – I wasn’t aiming at a particular audience. I find that I do my best work when I’m creating something just because I want to play it.

Kotaku AU: How hard is it to find the balance between hardcore and casual? What “warning signs” should a developer look out for?
Steve Fawkner: We never gave much thought to the hardcore/casual divide until we had a playable version of Puzzle Quest. Once we realised that we had a game that could bridge this gap though, we did quite a lot of useability and focus testing with different groups. That testing will soon tell you whether you’re hitting the mark for a game with broad appeal. If you can’t afford a formal test of this type, make sure your friends and family – especially the ones of the non-gaming variety – enjoy the game.

Kotaku AU: What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt from Puzzle Quest?
Steve Fawkner: The biggest lesson for me from Puzzle Quest is that design can still win out over graphics. Ideally you want to produce a game that has both, but Puzzle Quest is a graphically simple game, and it’s still been quite successful. That’s very heartening for a designer to see.

Kotaku AU: Of the platforms you’ve developed for, which do you feel is the easiest to work with? The hardest?
Steve Fawkner: PC will always be the easiest platform to work on, because the tools and development pipeline are the easiest to manage. Of the console platforms, Xbox 360 is an absolute delight to develop on because of its similarities to PC. The hardest would certainly be the Nintendo DS – it’s a great platform with great games – but its difficulties stem from the fact that it is very low-spec machine and a lot of compromises have to be made to get a game to work.

Kotaku AU: Of the platforms you’ve developed for, which do you feel is the best for small/new developers to start on?
Steve Fawkner: We still prototype and do our main development on PC, then port to all other platforms. It’s by far the easiest way. I would recommend small/new developers do the same – a PC prototype is a great thing to have. For the console platforms though, small/new developers should try to get onto the Xbox 360 Live Arcade. The games are a manageable size and the platform is very close to the PC that they’re probably familiar with. Wii Ware and PSN would be my equal second choices.

Kotaku AU: Do you believe Australia provides enough opportunities for game developers? How mature do you feel the industry is in the country?
Steve Fawkner: Overall, we have some great mid-to-large-sized studios in Australia. I haven’t seen many good graduates who can’t get a job here, and experienced developers are in high demand. We also have good support from our governments, both state and federal. So for programmers, designers and artists I think we have plenty of opportunity.

There are whole areas of the industry in Australia that are under-developed though. Due to the lack of publishers, we miss out on much of the business side of the cycle. QA, production, marketing and business development are really only represented in the larger studios – it’s very difficult to find those people here because there is no fertile ground to grow them.

Kotaku AU: What is your opinion of MMOs? Do you think the genre is a good place for a new/small developer to start?
Steve Fawkner: I love MMOs – I have suffered unhealthy addictions to most of the major ones at one time or another. But I think they are absolutely the wrong place for a small developer to start unless they are doing something very conservative that is largely web-based.

MMOs have so many requirements that are mixtures of technical issues, design problems, and logistical nightmares – I think a studio should really have one or more successful releases in their portfolio before they get this ambitious.

Kotaku AU: At Game Connect last year, you mentioned that Infinite was working on a free web-based game to tie in with Puzzle Quest and the developer’s future titles. I don’t suppose you could provide some more information regarding this project and what stage it’s at right now?

Steve Fawkner: We have a free web-based game in development – mainly as a thank-you to all of the fans who’ve been so good to us with both Puzzle Quest and Warlords over the years.

It is planned that it will eventually link to Puzzle Quest, as well as to a number of older Warlords games.

The initial version will be stand-alone, however the link to Puzzle Quest will be provided a little later.

In this game, codenamed Warlords-Online for the moment, you create a Warlord character and play Puzzles to gain gold. You then use that gold to help your character conquer the World of Etheria. All this takes place in an internet environment where other Warlords are trying to help their chosen races conquer the world too. It’s a simple game, but quite a lot of fun, especially if you enjoy a bit of casual puzzle gameplay mixed with a bit of world domination.

Kotaku AU: Can you confirm whether Puzzle Quest will be coming out on PS3 and Mac and if so, are tentative release dates available?
Steve Fawkner: We haven’t made any official announcements about this yet, but with Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords being so successful on six platforms already, we are still evaluating how we can bring the game to a wider audience.

Kotaku AU: What games are you playing now?
Steve Fawkner: I’m just getting over a Guitar Hero III addiction. I’m playing Akkadian Warriors from Xbox 360 Live Arcade quite a bit. I’m also still battling my way through Gears of War on Xbox 360. On DS, I’m playing Pokemon Diamond when I’m travelling.

Kotaku AU: Other than your own titles, what games are you looking forward to in the next 12 months?
Steve Fawkner: I’m waiting to see Dark Sector, Age of Conan and Warhammer Online, and of course anything that Popcap might release!

Thanks for your time Steve. I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say we’re looking forward to seeing what Infinite Interactive comes out with next.

Puzzle Quest PC Download [GamersGate]

More details at the official site.

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords [Xbox.com]

Both theme and picture packs for Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords are now available for download on Xbox Live Marketplace. Shhhh, don’t tell Fahey. The theme pack runs for 150 points and the pictures will cost you 100.

You know, no matter how much I like the themes or picture packs I have so far always regretted buying them. They tend to get annoying over time, I’ve found. Is that true with everyone or is it just me?