AUSRETROGAMER

Australia's Retro Gaming and Pinball E-Zine

You are here: Home / Archives for Announcements

Announcements

Code Breakers: Women in Games

By

Press play on Code Breakers, an exhibition curated by ACMI and the first of its kind in Australia celebrating the achievements of women working in the games industry.

Code Breakers celebrates emerging and established female game makers in an interactive and immersive exhibition. Visitors can get hands-on with an array of playable games – from indie through to commercial hits and new releases – all made by Australian and New Zealand women working in different capacities: as directors, programmers, developers, digital artists, writers, producers and designers.

Katrina Sedgwick, Director and CEO of ACMI says, “Despite women making up almost 50% of game players, they account for less than 10% of the games industry. Code Breakers seeks to shatter stereotypes and celebrate the women who are breaking down barriers and building vibrant, creative careers within a global industry that is increasingly diverse. Our hope is that the industry will soon reflect the diversity of the gaming community it seeks to serve.”

Nicole Stark, Co-Founder Disparity Games and Art Director and Designer on Ninja Pizza Girl

From platformers and role-playing strategy digital board games through to graphical adventure and racing games, Code Breakers offers something for everyone at every skill level. Deliver pizzas and crush bullies in Ninja Pizza Girl, join an animal clan in Armello or race souped-up cars in Need For Speed: No Limits.

Code Breakers ponders important questions in a post Gamergate landscape: What does a more inclusive games industry look like? How do we encourage this diversity? In Code Breakers, each maker reflects on the sometimes challenging journey they’ve made into this male-dominated industry, revealing the human stories behind their games via a custom built exhibition audio tour.

“I think this exhibition is an excellent way to give Australians a peek behind the curtain of game development, and highlight that women are playing an integral role within the industry. I really hope it helps to inspire girls and women to begin making their own games,” says Rebecca Fernandez, a games programmer who worked on recently released PS4/Steam titles Tricky Towers and Armello.

Lisy Kane, Producer at League of Geeks

The game makers featured in the exhibition include: Lisy Kane, Producer at League of Geeks, co-founder of Girl Geek Academy and one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 in the games category; Katharine Neil, independent Game Developer and director of the hugely controversial and influential game Escape From Woomera; Maru Nihoniho, Founder and Managing Director of Metia Interactive and recipient of a New Zealand Order of Merit for her service to the gaming industry; and Siobhan Reddy, Co-Founder and Studio Director of Media Molecule, named in Fortune‘s 10 most powerful women in gaming.

Siobhan Reddy, co-founder and studio director of Media Molecule

Code Breakers has been curated by ACMI in collaboration with an advisory committee consisting of key industry figures Kate Inabinet, Animation and Games Industry lecturer at RMIT and creator of education based games for children; Helen Stuckey, media arts curator, researcher and Program Manager of Games at RMIT; and Leena van Deventer, a game developer, writer, educator and Co-Director of WIDGET (Women in Development, Games and Everything Tech).

A free exhibition, Code Breakers: Women in Games premieres at ACMI on Tuesday 25 July and runs until Sunday 5 November 2017. Information at acmi.net.au/code-breakers

source: ACMI

 

The ZX Spectrum Is Reborn As The Next

By

All you one-eyed C64 lovers licking your wounds after the cancelled Commodore 64: For the Love of a Machine Kickstarter (Ed: which we are still devastated about), please look away now!

Just when those smarmy Speccy owners were popping the champagne in celebration of the rubber key computer’s 35th anniversary, the ZX Spectrum Next makes its appearance on Kickstarter.

source: ZX Spectrum Next on Kickstarter

Not only do Speccy owners celebrate a huge milestone for one of the most enduring computers, but they also have the opportunity to grab a brand-spanking new ZX Spectrum Next! With a brains trust that reads like a who’s who, including original Sinclair computers designer Rick Dickinson, the Next is in fine hands.

A day into the £250,000 crowdfunding campaign, the Next will definitely come to fruition with the goal well within reach – the question remains, how high will the pledge amount go?!


source: Henrique Olifiers

 

Better Than A SNES Mini: Special Iron Commando Edition RetroDuo Handheld

By

Phwoar, just when you were feeling down in the dumps with the announcement from Nintendo that they were pulling the pin on the NES Classic Mini, Piko Interactive comes out with a one-two knockout punch full of cheeriness!

No, we aren’t talking about some new boxing game from Piko Interactive, we are referring to their new SNES beat’em up games – Iron Commando and Legend, and their collaboration with Retro-Bit to produce a limited quantity of the Special Custom Edition Iron Commando (or Legend) RetroDuo Handheld!

Having played and reviewed the RetroDuo, we can say that we are quite excited to see an updated custom edition with a fantastic new SNES pack-in game (of your choice)! As this is an IndieGoGo campaign, there is a limited quantity of these custom edition units, so you will have to get in quick to grab one at the early bird price.

For those of you that already have a SNES and are hungry for some new beat’em ups to feed your 16-bit Ninty console, then head to Piko Interactive’s IndieGoGo campaign to check out Iron Commando and Legend.

source: Piko Interactive – IndieGoGo

 

GoldenEra: The Untold Story Behind The N64’s GoldenEye 007

By

Hands up those of you that haven’t played GoldenEye 007 on the Nintendo 64. If you have put your hand up, then we strongly urge you to rectify the situation and play this game at this instant – it is that damn good!

For the rest of you, we all know how awesome and revolutionary Rare’s game was on the N64. GoldenEye 007 was so good, that it created the template for all First-Person Shooter (FPS)  games that proceeded it, even till this day!

We would love to know more about the team and what went on in making this landmark game, but we all know how secretive Rare is, especially its enigmatic founding brothers, Tim and Chris Stamper. But, we are happy to report that our prayers have been answered!

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of GoldenEye 007, Melbourne based, Roller Coaster Productions is aiming to create a documentary on this influential console shooter, with the aim of exploring the untold story behind the game. The film, aptly titled GoldenEra, will examine how a young and inexperienced team were trusted to work on such a huge licence, how the game continued in spite of its cancellation, and most importantly, how they motivated each other to surpass all expectations and create a game that would shape the genre and delight players for years to come. GoldenEra will also delve into personal anecdotes from the game’s developers, critics, fans and celebrities – discussing how it shaped them and their lives. This documentary will celebrate the game that revolutionised the way we play together, in our lounge rooms and bedrooms with friends and family around the world. GoldenEra’s crowdfunding campaign and teaser trailer have already launched on IndieGoGo, so go and take a look and back it if you can!

GoldenEra – The untold story behind the game from Drew Roller on Vimeo.

We are quite confident in the pedigree of the GoldenEra filmmakers, Drew Roller and Narayan Pattison, with both having extensive content creation and film making experience, so this documentary is in very good and experienced hands. We’ll eagerly watch this IndieGoGo campaign!

source: GoldenEra Documentary

 

SKYCURSER Is Coming Soon To Shoot Up Your Arcade

By

Who says that the arcade is dead? If you are sick of seeing redemption machines at your local amusement centre, then perhaps the new horizontal shoot’em up, SKYCURSER will draw you back for some good old fashion blasting!

Griffin Aerotech’s SKYCURSER takes players through some gorgeously drawn worlds in which they must battle mutant hordes to save the planet. SKYCURSER has a total of four missions with a reward scoring system that keeps things quite competitive.

The game runs on a platform called Airframe and its creators have also promised free game updates. A year ago, the Griffin Aerotech team expressed hopes that the open-source nature of Airframe would attract other independent designers to create games for arcade cabinets and controls. This means that operators could potentially swap several games on the same Airframe using only a USB stick, which brings back memories of swapping those good old Neo Geo MVS cartridges.

There’s a Pro (USD$700) and Deluxe (USD$1,200) version of the kitted game, each coming with necessary software and hardware while the Deluxe has additional conversion art. The game is also available in a dedicated arcade cabinet ready to hit the floor (USD$3,499). Conversion kits are expected to ship by June 2017. For information on purchasing the game in a dedicated cabinet, click here.

The arcade industry needs more of these good old fashioned arcade games, like SKYCURSER, to draw back the 80s and 90s kids (now adults) into arcade centres for them to have fun while introducing their own children to the kind of games they played at their age many moons ago.

image source: Griffin Aerotech

 

Australian Jordan Tredaway Wins Division B At PAPA 20 World Pinball Championships

By

Young Australian pinball wizard, Jordan Tredaway wins the PAPA 20 (Professional & Amateur Pinball Association) World Championship B Division!

The 16 year old Melbournian showed poise and maturity beyond his years by beating veterans double and even triple his age from across the globe in the world’s most prestigious pinball championship. We managed to grab Jordan as he was tucking into a well deserved dinner to ask him how he was feeling right now, “Ecstatic! Feels like a dream come true”. Also flying the flag high for Australia was Martin Robbins, whom also had a fantastic tournament.

14 year old Jordan (JTH) smashes Game Of Thrones at PAX Aus 2015

Jordan’s PAPA 20 (Division B) win was just reward for his hard work and consistent pinball tournament wins in Australia. We first met Jordan at Supanova in 2015 when he won the Under 18s Pinball vs. Supanova Championship at the tender age of 14! With his current IFPA world ranking at 231, we are pretty sure that this win at PAPA 20 will propel him in the top echelon of pinball wizards, and who knows, perhaps an A Division win at next year’s PAPA 21!

The PAPA World Pinball Championships is the most renowned event in all of competitive pinball which is held annually in Carnegie, Pennsylvania USA.

PAPA 20 competition floor!

Jordan in action!

Martin Robbins keeps an eye on the standings, while Jordan keeps an eye on the competition!

Jordan Tredaway, PAPA 20 Division B World Pinball Champion!
image sources: Martin Robbins and Carme Martinez

Jordan’s impressive points tally in Division B at PAPA 20

 

Learn To Make Your Own Video Games With PICO-8

By

Finally, my childhood dream of making games in my bedroom can come true!

How to make games with PICO-8 Kickstarter is exactly what we have been seeking – an easy-to-learn and all-in-one development tool that allows you to draw sprites, design levels and add sound effects and music. The programming itself is done in an extended version of Lua, a widely used and easy to learn programming language.

This Kickstarter (by Tassilo Rau) is for the book on how to make games with PICO-8*, which comes with 100 full-colour pages in a child-friendly layout, with reasonably sized textblocks and lots of illustrations. While the book’s primary target audience is kids and teenagers, us adults will get a hell of a lot out of it too. Feel safe in knowing that this book will help you to take your first steps to making games.

With the Kickstarter campaign ending in about two days, you better hurry and secure your tome so you can start making your own video games!

source: Tassilo Rau on Kickstarter

*Note that PICO-8 is not included with this book, so you will have to increase your pledge by USD$14.99 or buy the license separately. PICO-8 can be used on Windows, Linux, Mac or a Raspberry Pi with a 700MHz CPU and any video card.

 

PAPA World HQ Site On The Market!

By

REPLAY FOUNDATION OUTGROWS WORLD HEADQUARTERS
World’s Largest Pinball Tournaments to Continue

With PAPA 20 around the corner, Replay Foundation, the NPO that operates the Professional & Amateur Pinball Association (PAPA) brand of tournaments, has just announced that it is placing the PAPA World Headquarters, a facility in Scott Township, just outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on the market. This facility currently houses more than 700 rare and valuable pinball and arcade games in the Replay collection.

PAPA Buildout – January 2004

Since its founding in 2011, Replay Foundation has operated two of the largest pinball tournaments in the world, the PAPA World Pinball Championships and the Pinburgh Match-Play Championship. In 2013, the PAPA World Headquarters, which opened for the first public PAPA event in the Pittsburgh area in 2004, was donated to Replay Foundation and used to operate these events. The Pinburgh championship quickly outgrew the PAPA World Headquarters facility and was moved to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, as part of the annual ReplayFX event, starting in 2015.

PAPA 7 – September 2004

PAPA 9 – August 2006

This reduced the headquarters to hosting only one public event each year, and that event, the PAPA World Pinball Championships, has exceeded the facility’s capacity for the past several years. Consequently, the headquarters is being put up for sale on the commercial real estate market, effective immediately, with a transaction expected to close sometime after the PAPA 20 event this month. Replay Foundation will not be reducing the size of its collection, nor are there plans to discontinue the PAPA World Pinball Championships.

PAPA 13 – August 2010

PAPA 19 – April 2016
source: PAPA

“We recognize that our followers have thirteen years of nostalgia and great memories of the headquarters, but the facility has hit its limits in terms of attendance and logistics, and of course parking was always a nightmare,” said Kevin Martin, chairman of Replay Foundation. “We are very optimistic about the continued growth of our events and the PAPA brand, and we look forward to making further announcements regarding PAPA 21 and next year’s Circuit Final.”

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Pinball Press
Pinball Press brings you news from the world of pinball – events, product reviews/updates, interviews and the people in pinball!

If you have any pinball news to share, hit Pinball Press on Twitter

 

 

 

PAPRIUM: A New Brawler On The Sega Mega Drive

By

Strike Harder, Beat Stronger!

Do you yearn for a Streets Of Rage-like game for your old trusty Mega Drive (Sega Genesis to our American friends)?

Well yearn no more! WaterMelon Games, the development crew that makes cool retro games like Pier Solar, are back with their latest (and possibly greatest) 16-bit killer game, PAPRIUM (aka: ProjectY)!

PAPRIUM is a post-apocalyptic, outrageous head-kicking brawler made in the spirit of classic beat’em ups like Double Dragon, Final Fight and Streets of Rage. This brand new Sega Mega Drive (Genesis) game is being built from the ground up and is expected to smash on your 16-bit Sega console in 2017!

PAPRIUM has been lovingly crafted at WaterMelon’s Magical Game Factory using Investor’s votes and suggestions, which have helped shape the game! Make no bones about it, this game has been developed by a team driven by true passion and 16-bit excellence.

PAPRIUM is the biggest Sega Mega Drive game ever made (over 80-MEG!), featuring multiple game modes, speed (uncompromised 60fps!), 24 levels and up to 5 selectable characters! Come at us PAPRIUM, we are waiting!

We have pre-ordered ours, so if you want to do the same, go here.


source: WaterMelon Games

PS: Thank you to Anthony Durso for bringing PAPRIUM to our attention!

Pimp Your Vectrex Controller

By

Even in its original guise, the Vectrex is one unique and gorgeous piece of gaming hardware! The all-in-one vector gaming system has been a long-time favourite of collectors, hence its hefty price tag.

If you happen to have a Vectrex and you want to make it pop, then perhaps some custom controller overlays of your favourite Vectrex games from German store, arcadeartshop, would be an ideal way to personalise your machine. Arcadeartshop also allow for individual designed controller overlays, all you need to do is send them the graphics and they’ll do the rest!

With a choice of glossy or rough laminate, these custom controller overlays are a cool way to add some colour to your Vectrex and protection for your controller. Priced at €5 (plus shipping) per overlay, we reckon that they are very reasonably priced – we’ll get a couple, thanks!

source: arcadeartshop.de