Hi Guys,

I was interviewed during the Ms TEchdays 2011 by Marie Rufo from Capecalm TV, the interview is in French and English so most of you can enjoy.

We are talking about R.O.G.E.R, our diagnostic Serious game.

Check the article here:
http://capecalm.tv/2011/03/01/microsoft-supports-roger-1st-medical-serious-game-on-kinect-enmicrosoft-techdays-2011/

French video

English Video

Hi There,

We have this crazy idea that learning about your safety and the of the ones who surround you on your place of work should be fun.

What we don’t like:

- 2 hour video on VHS from the 80′s with an awful voice telling you what to do when the building is on fire

- Super 8 hour boring traning were you have to listen to the same guy from 10 years ago with his powerpoint 98 slides

- Text Quizzes that test your safety skills and give your good grades because you studied well

What we Love

-Video Games

-Natural interfaces (Kinect, PS Move, sound recognition)…

-Serious games that use the latest technology to make your life safer

-Active experience in which you play with your friends, gain points, get better

-A game in which you are the center of the experience, a place where you can make mistake and see the result of them

That’s why we are working on Safety Measures, the most Unique Security and safety Serious game, letting you play with your colleagues to make your workplace safer whilst having fun doing it.

We are looking for industrial partners who want to join the adventure and be the first in the world to integrate the most innovative Safety Serious game to date.

Are you the one? Drop us an email: contact@fishingcactus.com

Ok, it has been a long time coming, but after some prolonged polishing, Powerball is finally ready for the App Store in the upcoming days.

The game will be available in two versions: free-to-play with 6 in-app purchasable Powerballs and full-content version for all you Powerball aficionados out there!

Rant: On reviewers setting consumer price expectations.

These days it’s a common thing to read quotes like “the game is overpriced for what it offers”, “the game should have a campaign, without it, I’m not buying it”, “really, only 50 levels?”.

Fine, no problem about this, WHEN TALKING ABOUT 50€/$ games!

Those quotes actually come from 1$ games’ reviews, and not only from the consumer themselves (who I don’t expect to be familiar with game development), but also from professional reviewers. I’m doing a fair bit of “everyone in the same basket” here, no offense.

I’m addressing this issue after reading this review of SHIFT Extended (PSP Minis) which states: “At 3.99, it is extremely over-priced, regardless of the number of levels available”… Now let’s consider that SHIFT Extended has gathered very positive reviews and is ranked high up there with the best PSP Minis games, offers around 4 hours of gameplay, took some months to produce and that…well, 3.99$ is less than the price for a movie ticket. (not trying to advertise SHIFT Extended, just making clear it is viewed as a fairly good game).

Is this a far-sighted advice to consumers from someone who is supposed to know how game development works?

Don’t think so.

Read the rest of this entry »

We will be in the next edition of Digimedia so make sure you check out our latest ad campaign in this awesome magazine!

Here is a low res preview for you:

It has been now three weeks that three cactus soldiers came back from one of a kind event in Antwerpen.

The concept of this event (or jam) created few years ago is rather simple:

• Take a bunch of people interested in game developement.
• Mix them all together
• Give a theme they have to start with
• Shake them for a whole sleepless week-end
• And there you go, you have several games created that are ready to be played

Now multiply by the number of Jam organised which is 170 in 44 countries and this is what you get in 48 hours:

6500 people teaming up to create around 1500 games on the same theme!

So few guys at Fishing Cactus went. Here is our story:

Read the rest of this entry »

Hello world! Our games on the Android platform have just been released!

SHIFT

Android device owners (2.1 and up) can now enjoy our Shift, the critical acclaimed platform/puzzle game when and where they want.

This version of SHIFT was developed together with Handmark, whose SHIFT page is the central point to find all the necessary information about the game.

Click here to check it out!

2 other brand new games are available

OXO is similar to the Tic Tac Toe game you loved as a child, but a bit more challenging and now available wherever you go with the mobile game.

If you’re a fan of challenging casual puzzle games such as sudoku, crossword puzzles, jumble, dots – OXO is the game for you!

This game is available both as a free ad-supported and a classic ad-free versions.

Subway is a fun retro, arcade-style game testing your reflexes! Control your own subway network by triggering rail switches to make sure the trains arrive on time to prove you are a cool-headed station master! A retro 2D game featuring fast-paced gameplay that will get you hooked ’till the last train has reached its stop!

Featuring 5 survival maps with different art and music, Subway is a stylish survival game!

Now go ahead on the Android Market to get hours fun!

Shift Extended, a brand new version tailored for the minis and, of course, based on the successful Shift series, is now available on both EU and US PSN stores (available on both PSP and PS3 in the minis). It is available for 3.99$ / 3.99€.

It features unique set of levels (160 in total) as well as never seen game mechanics in the Shift series. If you don’t have an iPhone, are addicted to platform games and you have a PS3 or a PSP, this is a must buy!

Zallag, our publisher on this game did a great communication job and posted several trailers around the web. Here is the second one!

A nice achievement for Fishing Cactus and ArmorGames as almost all AppStores (US, BE and FR at least) featured Shift 2 iPhone.

With an average rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars and ranked #27 out of 100 on the paid AppStore, we can say that we are on the road for another Apple success. Not to say we moved our asses and brought some great values to the sequel (120 levels, 30 bonus levels, 35 achievements, leaderboards, challenge friends online) and I must say the level designers at Fishing Cactus did a great job when designing all those new levels! We are all very excited and proud that you, players out there, liked what we created.

And for those who are waiting for it, here is a new Shift2QRCode (use your camera to unlock a new level in the game):

And for those who don’t know what I’m talking about, this QR code unlocks a unique level in Shift 2 iPhone and if you get them all it will unveil something special. The question is: are you smart enough to discover the secret?!

For those who are still undecided here are some great reviews of the game:
- AppSpy (4/5)
- 148Apps.com (4.5/5)
- AppSafari (4/5)

You can download Shift 2 on the AppStore by following this link.

Stay tuned for more Shift news, we have some heavy work under progress we hope we’ll be able to share soon.

We wish you a happy and festive new year. Simple as that!