Summary

Let's sum up the Frogames situation for a year!

Well, I suppose some of you never heard about Frogames before.
Frogames is a small indie game studio based in Reims, France - in the middle of the Champagne's vines.
We are 3 motivated and fun-loving people. We make games, content packs, and we work as freelances.


So, what happend since Jully 2007?
Our great success last year was Penguins Arena, not only because the game was released, but also because it was the first place winner of the Intel game demo contest! Since the release we launched 3 free updates to add more features to the game (penguins customisation, level editor, new game modes...)!
At the same time, we launched the CS:Warriors and Commoners, a massive characters content pack that allows thousand of combinations to create unique NPC.
Developing and creating those 2 products was a lot of work, as well as taking care of the marketing and the promotion after the release. But the indie life is not "la vie en rose", and I had to stop some projects (once again, sorry for Pelorea Frank!) to get more free time and to work more on paid projects.





Last year I worked on Arctic Antics, a very interesting project for Robert. Unfortunatly, this picture is the only one I'm allowed to show atm :)




Joshua contacted me at the beginning of August 2007 and asked me if I was interested in working on Shelled Online. In fact, I helped a bit on the first Shelled game. The concept of this sequel was excited and my instant answer was yes!
This game was produced by Joshua and programmed by Gary. And I worked on the art part.
I'm proud of what we made. The game was released a few weeks ago and I invite everybody to download and play the demo. Right now! Really :)
It's a very good action game with tank customisation, destructable environments and many solo or online game modes!
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD THE DEMO.




Finally, the work began on the CS:Wizards a few months ago.
Initially I planed to work on a CS:Women and Wizards pack but it appears women are going to be more challenging than I expected. I prefere 2 separated characters packs, so I will be able to release the first one more quickly.
So what is the plan? Staffs, sticks, robes, hats, grimoires, potions, spells incantations animations etc... and of course, all that new stuff and the first CS pack are compatible!
When? I expect a launch next September.





Now, let me propose you a book and 3 games I really enjoyed this year :

- Game Story & Character Development.
I'm very new to story telling and this book is really great if you want to learn basis, like me. There is a lot of examples and a lot of comments by well know game developers.
It will not make you the greatest writer, but it will allow you to create simple and well done stories. A must for any game developer.

- MarioKart Wii
Yes, I love this game! Cute and fun. Instant action. Challenging. My only grief is the solo mode is too short.
Hopefully, it allows multiplayer online games. Here is my MarioKart ID : 4253-3701-8629, and my Wii number : 3013 2408 8899 5687.
I want friends all over the world!

- warbands
This game was developed by Eric Schwegler, using TGB.
It's a well done Advance Wars clone. Charaters are really fun, and one of the bad guys is a mime! (I really love when bad guys are French).
My only comment is about the lack of consistence of the art part.
If you love that type of games, take a look at Battalion, a free flash Advance Wars clone.

- Spore Creature Creator
It's not really a game, but it's damn fun to create unbelievable monsters in a minut. This editor is incredibly powerful and I dream about a similar shape editor. I can't wait the full game. Here are 2 of my creatures.







final touch : various works from intern projects, secret projects and very secret projects!




(I really like the last picture. I think this art style is perfect for story telling)



Thank you for reading this blog entry. Next time, more about MiniOne Racing and Dragon Hatchery!



Christophe
www.frogames.net
www.frogames.com