Hot of the press from HaloWars.com. Today an announcement was made by Robot Entertainment Community Manager, Duncan “Aloysius” Stanley talking about the end of Robot’s primary involvement with the Halo Wars Community. The announcement reads as follows:
On February 28th, 2010, Halo Waypoint will be begin to officially support both Halo Wars and HaloWars.com. Waypoint staff will transition in over the next month to support operations of HaloWars.com and the Halo Wars matchmaking and stats servers. Over the past year, Robot was very proud to roll out 4 Title Updates for Halo Wars, provide technical support on the forums and provide a place for volumes of fan fiction. Robot was proud to be a part of this community for the past year, and we hope we served you well.
Along with supporting operations, Halo Waypoint has exciting plans for Halo Wars. Look for announcements in the near future.
So long and thanks for all the fish!
This was quite an unexpected announcement as in most cases the developer is responsible for the games communities. For example, Rare looks after Banjo and Lionhead looks after the Fable communities. However, it seems Microsoft is not so keen to continue having Robot watch over the Halo Wars community. Presumably, now a year on from Ensemble’s closure the agreement struck between Robot and Microsoft to look after the Halo Wars community has expired and possibly as a result of cost cutting Microsoft are brining the management of the website in house.
Come February 28th a new moderation team will be drafted in from Microsoft’s, 343 Industries – the “Waypoint” team. Its been a bumpy road for Halo Wars fans having to go through another major change in the way the game is supported. First the closure of the original developer Ensemble, then the removal of the second developers community presence. Microsoft do not seem to be treating the strategy version of the Halo IP very well!
Although the announcement states “exciting plans for Halo Wars” are in the works, one must wonder how “exciting” these plans can be without a developer attached to the game anymore.
Hopefully there will be more details to follow about this announcement in due course.
What about Age Community?
Some good news is that the Age of Empires community will still be looked after by Robot Entertainment as before.
Robot Entertainment has updated its hiring page with some interesting new job positions. The company is looking for a new web developer, web graphics artist and a community manager. One can deduce that these new positions must be to help Robot launch a brand new community website for their next upcoming title. Much in the same way Ensemble did with Age of Empires and Halo Wars it is expected that this new community website will run in a similar way. With the Halo Wars community website the forums were online years before the game was released to allow players to engage in the games development with developer blogs and concept art. Hopefully with these new positions at Robot we can look forward to an excellent engaging community website for the mystery title!
It certainly looks like Robot are up to something and that once these positions are in place we can expect a website to be launched in the future. Of course with a website launch also comes a press release about a new game, it looks like there are exciting times ahead!
Check out the job listings below:
Position: Web Developer
POSITION ID: 10WEB01
LOCATION: Robot Entertainment, Inc. office located in Plano, Texas, USA
Robot Entertainment is looking for an experienced, web developer to join the company full-time. An ideal candidate will be comfortable working in a collaborative environment creating web experiences that support and interact with our computer gaming entertainment products. A web developer with game industry experience is a plus, but well qualified candidates looking to enter the games industry will also be considered.
Responsibilities:
Create and develop websites using standards-compliant HTML/XHTML and CSS markup
Collaborates with other developers to implement interactive content and graphics
Maintain and update existing sites with fresh content and graphics when needed
Work closely with artists to explore creative ways of delivering great experiences under tight constraints
Create dynamic and scalable interactive Flash applications
Contributes design and quality control ideas
Qualifications:
Minimum 3-5 years of related experience
Strong HTML/XHTML, CSS, JavaScript, Action Script 3, ASP .NET C#, and XML/web services skills
Highly proficient in Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, InDesign and Dreamweaver
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Ability to work with other creative people and take input at a fast pace within deadlines
Experience in the gaming industry a plus
Willingness to work additional hours when needed
This is a full-time, professional exempt position. Open to United States citizens or those individuals who are legally residing and working in the USA. Robot will not facilitate or sponsor candidates for US work visas or US residency “Green Cards” for this position.
Position: Web Graphics Artist
POSITION ID: 10WEB02
LOCATION: Robot Entertainment, Inc. office located in Plano, Texas, USA
Robot is searching for an experienced Web Graphics Artist to design our new game website experiences. The ideal candidate will have a keen sense of aesthetic design and layout, plus a penchant for intuitive user interfaces. This person will also feel at home in a collaborative team environment while maintaining ownership of the design. This is a great opportunity for a web artist looking to apply their skills and knowledge in exciting new challenges.
Responsibilities:
Work with creative staff to design inspiring websites that extend and enhance the visual appeal of our games
Generate artwork that is consistent with the game’s look and design
Work closely with the web developer to create dynamic web content using current technologies like Adobe Flash (or equivalent)
Maintain ownership of the web design from concept through launch and updates
Requirements:
Successful background in website design with major online or integrated web agency
Well developed sense for intuitive user interface design
Highly proficient with Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Flash (or equivalent)
Strong traditional 2D sketching and composition skills
Creative, self-motivated, enthusiastic, and flexible
Enjoys brainstorming and iterating within a team environment
Passion for computer/video games a plus
* Submit online portfolio or work samples with resume to be considered.
This is a full-time, professional exempt position. Open to United States citizens or those individuals who are legally residing and working in the USA. Robot will not facilitate or sponsor candidates for US work visas or US residency “Green Cards” for this position.
This is a full-time, professional exempt position. Open to United States citizens or those individuals who are legally residing and working in the USA. Robot will not facilitate or sponsor candidates for US work visas or US residency “Green Cards” for this position.
Position: Community Manager
POSITION ID: 10CMW01
LOCATION: Robot Entertainment, Inc. office located in Plano, Texas, USA
About the Job:
Building a strong community connection is a significant piece of Robot Entertainment’s future. We are looking for the right person to extend the company’s vision in a community outreach effort that engages our fans.
This is an opportunity to make a substantial contribution to our team by taking ownership of all community efforts.
We want a self-starter who welcomes input and excels in a collaborative environment
Responsibilities:
Build and boost our community connection by improving adoption, engagement and satisfaction
Use marketing savvy in promoting Robot and its games to the media and fans
Champion the community’s needs to the development teams
Inspire passion, excitement and dialogue through contests and other promotional programs
Collaborate with the development team to define, design and create new community features, plus enhance existing ones
Oversee public points of contact (email, forums, social networks), moderators (internal and external) and evangelists
Requirements:
Positive, growth-oriented attitude towards community management and communication
Comfortable working with the rhythms of the game development process
Passion for helping people and empowering community members to find answers
Excited about the challenge of building a community from the ground up and nurture it in the upcoming years
Desired Skills:
3+ years managing an active online community for a computer/console game company
Experience with social media and other cost effective buzz-generation techniques
Familiarity with virtual goods economics
RTS game player and fan of the Age of Empires franchise are pluses
Working knowledge of community platforms, systems and website software
Budding iPhone developers NewToy lead by ex Ensemble programmers has announced a new iPhone project in collaboration with Ngmoco a well known publisher on the iPhone platform. The new game titled “We Rule” sees players creating thier very own unique kingdom where they can heavily customise the kingdoms realms, shops, businesses, buildings, banners and crops. The official blurb from the Ngmoco website continues:
You will collect taxes from your citizens and manage a variety of shops and businesses – from bakeries and inns to lumber mills and ore mines.
There do not seem to be any screenshots of the game yet, but stick around and we’ll try and dig some out. Meanwhile check out what you can from the the graphic below. Certainly seems to be a big project but no doubt the Bettner brothers at NewToy are up to the task. For more information on the game the press release follows below and a link to the website.
ngmoco has a new social game, We Rule, in the works. We’re excited to share it with you.
In We Rule, you will govern your very own kingdom. You will act as a city planner and landscaper—customizing your realm with buildings, banners, and botany. You’ll decide what crops to plant and ensure they are harvested on time. You will collect taxes from your citizens and manage a variety of shops and businesses – from bakeries and inns to lumber mills and ore mines.
We’re also pleased to announce we’re collaborating with App Store star Newtoy to create this innovative, next-gen social game. Newtoy has a strong development pedigree on a host of platforms – before iPhone and iPod, the team helped create Age of Empires and Halo Wars. More recently they’ve engineered smash mobile hits Words with Friends and Chess with Friends.
Soon you’ll have a chance to build a kingdom of your own. We’ll be revealing more about the game soon. And if you’d like access to exclusive info and screens, chat with gamemakers and help us make We Rule better, join the ng:community.
Bruce Shelley has been interviewed by a German online magazine GamersGlobal.de. Most of the interview talks about Settlers 7 and Bruce’s role in the games development. It looks like he’ll be bringing accross Ensemble game design philosophies such as playtesting and making the game easier to play for gamers. However if you listen to the first few minutes of the interview Bruce talks about the closure of Ensemble Studios where he believes it was a mistake and says that the studio was closed due to Microsoft thinking it wasnt a strategic studio anymore. He goes onto say that Ensemble were making different games outside of the genre but those games kept being cancelled by Microsoft. Clearly Microsoft did not give the studio a chance to explore titles outside of the RTS genre, a big shame on Microsoft.
Its been just over a year when Ensemble Studios closed its doors (29th Jan 2009) and we have seen lots of news where the developers have set up new companies such as Robot, Bonfire, NewToy, Fuzzycube and Windstorm and we have seen some of the developers join posts in other prestigious companies such as Paul Jaquays now working at CCP North America. However news has been scarce about iconic Ensemble developer and co-founder Bruce Shelley, until now.
Today it was widely revealed that Bruce Shelley has joined Ubisoft’s Blue Byte studio where he will be working as consultant on the RTS game “Settlers 7″. It looks like nothing can keep Bruce away from RTS video game development! You can find out more about the game and see Bruce in action as he describes the economy structure of Settlers 7 in the YouTube video below.
Also check out the high res download of the video over at BigDownload.com
Settlers 7 open beta now open
More good news is that the Settlers 7 game that Bruce is working on is now accepting beta signups so that you can get a first look at the game. More details about that available here: http://www.fileplanet.com/promotions/settlers-7. Note also that an ubi.com account is needed for registration so be sure to get that setup first.
Remember-EnsembleStudios.com will be following developments of this game closely and will update with any more Bruce Shelley blogs or vidlogs. Keep an eye out!
Halo Wars is now available on the Xbox Marketplace under Games on Demand. Gamers who have yet to try Halo Wars can download the game today from the Xbox Live. The games box art also shows a new header with the game now bearing a “Platinum hits” graphic. Good news all round! Here are the details you need to get more information:
Content: Halo Wars
Price: Check pricing for your region
Availability: Asia, Canada and US
Dash Text: (Online Interactions Not Rated by the ESRB) This game supports English. Download the manual for this game by locating the game on http://marketplace.xbox.com and selecting “See Game Manual”. Halo Wars is a strategy game based on the legendary Halo® universe. Command entire armies of Spartans, Warthogs and more into combat as you join the crew of the “Spirit of Fire” to battle the alien Covenant. Designed from the ground up for the Xbox 360, Halo Wars let you effortlessly command powerful armies in epic battles. There are no refunds for this item. For more information, see www.xbox.com/live/accounts.
The awesome cut scenes in Ensemble’s Halo Wars have received a runners up place in Kotaku’s best cut scenes of 2009. There is no question that the quality of the cut scenes in Halo Wars are the best yet in any Halo game, rendered fully in outstanding CGI. A YouTube video with all the 30 minutes worth of cut scenes can be found below and also at the Kotaku website where you can read about the Halo Wars runners up award and other games with great cut scenes.
NewToy’s Words with Friends iPhone app has exploded since its launch in August 2009. Today the app is featured as GeekSugar.com’s download of the day.
Remember when Plants vs. Zombies was taking over my life? It’s officially been ousted as my number one time-suck, replaced by Words With Friends,
If you have an iPhone and havnt played Words with Friends, what are you waiting for? Download the free edition from the iTunes store today, just search for Words with Friends!
Christmas eve today and I wanted to wish all the blog readers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Last year was a sad time for the Ensemble crew but this year things are looking up. Studios like Robot, Bonfire, Windstorm, NewToy and Fuzzycube amoung other ventures seem to be going very well with the latter two already performing exceptionally well on the iPhone platform. Will 2010 reveal any teasers for Robot, Bonfire and Windstorm projects? We hope so! Stay tuned for updates over 2010. Meanwhile, here’s a little greeting from your friendly Robots:
Today is a great day for Halo Wars fans kicking off with Robot’s announcement that the fourth title update for Halo Wars will be going live tomorrow on the 18th December. This patch implements many of the proposed fixes as discussed before, these being:
Balance:
Grunts now do more damage to air units
The Scarab now has 25% more health and does 25% more damage
Gremlins now requires 2 reactors to be built
The Arbiter now takes 25% more damage while raging
Hunters now focus their Assault Beam much faster
Brute Chopper is more effective vs. air
Bug Fixes:
The Cryo/Reactor Glitch has been fixed
The Multiplayer Lobby should now work better for people with misaligned controllers
Y-Abilities should no longer have their cooldowns reset erroneously
Profiles that had problems accruing points in Multiplayer should now be able to gain points properly
Meanwhile over at IGN Halo Wars was awarded the “Best Strategy” game of 2009 on the Xbox 360 platform saying that:
“PC diehards may cry foul at the idea of a real-time strategy game on a console. Halo Wars is enough to silence them. It strips away some of the depth and excessive management required out of a PC game and boils the formula down to quick strategy and exciting confrontations”
Harter Ryan, Executive Producer on Halo Wars at Ensemble Studios who now works at Robot Entertainment had this to say on the official Halo Wars community website:
“We’re proud of Halo Wars and its reception by both the Halo and Xbox 360 communities. Winning IGN’s Strategy Game of the Year is a great honor and is a fine reflection of all the effort that went into creating the game at Ensemble Studios and Microsoft Game Studios.”
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