Ludometrics

A Secret Project Update

Fri, 28 Sep 2012 16:30:00 +0100

We finally remembered to start a blog, and what better way to introduce it than by giving you an update to the oh-so-secret project we announced a few weeks back (that's the browser-based game we're working on in conjunction with our friends at Denki, for those who don't know).

Early answers to some presumed questions you might have about the project at this stage:

No, we can't reveal the name of the game yet.
No, we can't show you anything of the game yet.

That said, some lucky folk may get a chance to play the game real soon now. Today we're finalising our latest build of the game (#39, created over the last 9 weeks stat fans), and I can exclusively reveal that the game is indeed fun.

Stay tuned, as we'll have more to say in the very near future.

Secret Project: Phase 2 Complete

Thu, 18 Oct 2012 17:30:00 +0100

So it's been almost three weeks since our last/first update, and you might be wondering exactly what's going on here at Ludometrics central.

We just finished what is being referred to by those in the know as "Phase 2" of the secret project (one whole day ahead of schedule, for those keeping track), and this tweet from yesterday pretty much describes the scenes this week:

The leaderboard on [REDACTED] is now so competitive certain people are photoshopping their scores. Others are just hacking the source.
— Ludometrics (@ludometrics) October 17, 2012

Although we're all feeling reasonably smug with our high scores reaching into the millions (apart from me, who's losing, again), we know that as soon as this thing appears in the wild those scores will be ranked about 1,673rd in the world (and lower). Such is the nature of making games.

"And when will this hitherto unseen game appear in the wild?", I imagine I hear you asking aloud. I don't have a specific answer to that, but "soon" is probably the right ballpark. Before Christmas 2012, certainly. We think. Probably.

We're Twitching

Mon, 29 Oct 2012 15:00:00 +0000

The newly-minted multi-award winning games site Hookshot Inc. has recently started a lovely podcast. I listened to Episode #2 over the weekend, where the four Hookshotters tackled the word 'twitch' (as it relates to games, rather than the ornithological hobby).

As it happens, 'twitch' is a word close to the hearts of everyone toiling away here in the Ludometrics Lounge for reasons which will become obvious. The podcast itself (which has an eminently reasonable time requirement of about 23 minutes) is well worth a listen, so I won't talk too much about it here, although I do like the definition of twitch games having a sort of purity of play.

What I will do, however, is add my own definition of what twitch gaming is to me: you have one thing to do, so you'd better start doing it really well if you want to climb the leaderboard. As it happens, that's exactly what [REDACTED] relies on. Just as with Canabalt, the one thing you had to do was jump, so it will be with this game. No jumping in our game, though. Or perhaps there is?

Anyway, listen to the podcast and you'll have a good sense of where we're heading.

Winter Update

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 07:00:00 +0000

We recently promised an update on each of our games before the end of the year, and lo! here it appears. Let's take each in turn, shall we?

Matching Set: We've been working on adding some new achievements for all you avid matchers in the world, and this update should see the light of day in January 2013.
Pet Store Panic: This game has been suffering from what might be colloquially referred to as "technical teething troubles". It looks like these are all close to being resolved, so look for this finally being released early next year via the fine people at Big Fish Games.
Quizball: Since this game was a tie-in with Euro 2012, we're not doing anything with it at the moment.
REDACTED: Can we talk about this yet? Maybe, soon, perhaps. Maybe that's why we've been so quiet.

Don't forget you can follow us on Twitter here, find us on Facebook here and of course sign up for our elusive newsletter at the bottom of the page. You never know what might show up...

Say Hello to Bips!

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Happy New Year, and welcome to the future (again)! We'd also like to welcome you to Bips!, the new game we've been working on with our friends at Denki.

Some of you perhaps noticed that we've been testing it over the New Year period, but now we're throwing the doors open to the uh... open beta of the game.

Bips! brings classic arcade-style play to Facebook (at least in our opinion!), and is very much in keeping with Denki's post-core philosophy: in other words, it's designed for people who love to play games, but don't have a huge amount of time to actually devote to games (for whatever reason). People like me.

The game relies on reflexes and your skill, just like the classic arcade games that inspired us. There's only one direct control, which will allow you to travel down the screen rather than up. And the aim of the game? Collect the treasure for high score. As simple as that. And if you top the leaderboard amongst your friends, you'll earn more tokens with which you can play the game.

This is just the beginning, of course. There's no shortage of ideas here about what to add to the game, and we'll be pushing out regular updates over the next few weeks (the best way to find out when we update is to like the game on Facebook here).

But we also know that those who play the game will have their own ideas. We look forward to hearing what those might be, but more than anything, we look forward to you playing the game and having fun!

Play Bips!

Bips! The Two Week Update

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 02:10:00 +0000

It's been a couple of weeks since we announced Bips! had gone into open beta, so we thought we'd do a quick round up of what's happening.

The most noticable change in the last couple of weeks is the addition of achievements to the game, to help provide an extra layer of challenge for players.

Aside from that, we've been fixing a variety of bugs (thanks to all who have reported them), and generally tidied up the game a little bit based on feedback.

We've also had some very nice coverage of the game from ScottishGames.net, Forbes, and Inside Social Games. Here are some of our favourite quotes:

Bips! is one of the simplest, slickest and most compelling games of recent years.
Even in beta Bips has a lot of depth (and addictiveness) but there’s more to come.
Bips is an excellent game that is simple to understand, enormously addictive and a lot of fun.

We're glad so many are enjoying Bips!; we're continually working on the game and we'll be back with another update very soon!

Play Bips! Now