Bonfire’s We Farm tips
I hope any readers with iPhones and iPads have been getting stuck into Bonfire Studios’ first game “We Farm“! The crew over at Bonfire have updated their studio blog with some tips on tricks to help you become a better farmer and get the edge over your friends. The blog posting also contains the id’s of some Bonfire staffers – make a note and you might find yourself playing with someone from Bonfire Studios!
Check out the Bonfire Blog for all the farming tips you need!
Bonfire Studios releases its first game “We Farm” for iPhone / iPod Touch / iPad
Bonfire Studios today announces the release of its first iPhone game “We Farm” . We Farm is a strategy game for iPhone where players can build their own farm and raise animals to earn rewards such as blue ribbons to progress through the game. The official description is as follows:
We Farm is a new kind of animal. Build a barnyard, raise critters and bring home the blue ribbon.
Invite your friends to take pictures with your prize-winning pig and patron businesses on your farm. Visit theirs for inspiration. And compete for the title of finest acreage this side of the Mississippi.
- Raise horses, pigs, sheep, ducks and even ostriches, then compete for the blue ribbon at the county fair.
- Make your farm your own with over a hundred buildings, animals and decorations
- Plant veggies, fruit and flowers to earn your keep
Share your farm with your friends to earn extra coin and XP
If anyone has ever played FarmVille on Facebook you may find a similar expierence with We Farm but on the iPhone/Pad platform. If your interested in finding out more a video says a thousand words so take a look at this demo video demonstrating how the game works when building your first barnyard.
It looks like a great game and I wish Bonfire all the success with its release. Unfortunately I do not have an iPhone at the moment so am unable to offer a review but I would love to hear your comments. Post a reply to this blog or drop me a line on Twitter! Meanwhile I can provide some quick FAQ’s…
When is the game available?
Its available right now on the iTunes store for immediate download and is available FREE. So if you have an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch then what are you waiting for? Head over to the iTunes Store to purchase or click the link below:
Purchase We Farm in the App Store
How much does it cost?
This game is free to play 🙂
Who are Ngmoco?
Ngmoco are publishing the game. You may have heard of them before as they have also worked in partnership with another studio formed by Ex Ensemble staff, NewToy with thier game “We Rule“.
When was this game released?
The game was available for download July 29th 2010.
Where can I find more information?
The official website for We Farm can be found at: http://www.ngmoco.com/we-farm/ which contains screenshots, videos, descriptions and blogs for the game – well worth checking out!
What’s next for Bonfire Studios?
Bonfire promises to produce further games for the iPhone / Pad platforms so keep an eye out for more iPhone games from Bonfire Studios soon!
Bonfire Studios developing for mobile platforms – iPhone, iPad, Android?
A recent job listing on the Bonfire Studios website suggests that Bonfire may be pursuing game development opportunities with the mobile market including Apple’s iPhone / iPad and Google’s Android OS.
Bonfire Studios is seeking a talented programmer who loves programming games for mobile devices to join our team and share in the creation of our games and technology. The ideal candidate has industry experience in the mobile space including iPhone, iPad and Android, and has shipped mobile titles to his or her credit. This is a position that requires excellent time management skills and the ability to work in a self-directed manner.
Certainly seems like the studio has plans to develop some kind of mobile game. It is not known if mobile games are the core focus of the studio, it may well be the case that they are developing games for PC and / or consoles as well. The studio is also looking for network programmers for Xbox Live and PSN. More details about the new mobile job description appear below. Food for thought!
Required:
You have mobile game industry experience and we want to hear about it, including at least one shipped game on iPhone, iPad or Android platforms. You are a great programmer with excellent debugging skills and good design sensibilities. You love working with other people on a team and prize good communication. Burning passion for gaming and game development. Preferred:
You have multiple shipped mobile games to your credit. You have experience working in Microsoft Silverlight. You have a degree in Computer Science or similar discipline (Physics, Math, EE, etc.) Instructions:
Email us at: jobs@bonfire-studios.com. Attach your resume and cover/introductory letter in Microsoft Word (or compatible) format.
NewToy’s “We Rule” live in the Canadian App Store – Worldwide release incoming!
Great news for NewToy their latest iPhone game We Rule has now been approved by Apple and is live in the Canadian AppStore. No doubt it will soon be available worldwide very shortly so keep an eye on your App stores!
The game is a free download so if you live in Canada check it out right away!
NewToy’s “We Rule” iPhone game website goes live and in review at Apple
NewToy have announced the launch of the official We Rule website for their upcoming iPhone game over at the Ngmoco community. http://werule.ngmoco.com/ The website has a bunch of screenshots for the upcoming game, here are some examples:
Your kingdom. Your rules. Take charge of a living kingdom. Farm, build and expand your realm. Check back at anytime, anywhere.
Looking forward to seeing this game go live and enjoying the success of previous NewToy titles!
Ngmoco VidDoc of NewToy’s “We Rule”
Ngmoco have released a video blog where Matt Roberts walks us through a preview of the game. My first impression is that it looks very similar to the Farmville genre – “Social gaming” on Facebook. With We Rule you’ll have much greater control than just planting and harvesting crops, theres building management and the ability to visit other kingdoms and trade merchandise. While it should be noted the game does require a persistent (always on) data connection it should be great to play casually when your on the train or bus for instance. Coverage depending of course!
Take a look at the VicDoc below to see what its like:
NewToy announce new iPhone game “We rule” in collaboration with Ngmoco
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.
Words with Friends – Geek Sugar’s download of the day
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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!
Happy Holidays
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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:
Paul Bettner: Newtoy to become a “Nintendo of the iPhone”
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NewToy’s Paul Bettner an ex programmer at Ensemble Studios was one of the first to start up a new games company out of Ensemble’s ashes. Paul is now talking to Gamasutra about the new start up company and how he in-visages the companies future. Paul hopes that NewToy can appeal to the unique iPhone market taking into account the platforms easy connectivity and user interaction. The Gamasutra article explains how well the “Chess with Friends” application has been doing since launch, although missing out on the Top 100 the game has had some excellent download numbers:
Chess With Friends came from that philosophy. The game got good support from Apple, which featured the game prominently on the App Store as Pick of the Week in March. The vote of confidence led to a nice jump in sales.
But it still didn’t break the top 100 Apps on the sales ranking list on the App Store, meaning visibility for the game would be low. For iPhone developers, making the top 100 is a crucial requisite for having a successful game.
Bettner said he didn’t pack up and go home. There is a life outside of the Top 100, and it involves sustained growth of a game’s sales and good consumer retention, two things possessed by Chess With Friends and its Scrabble-style counterpart, Words With Friends, he said.
Combined, Chess and Words, which both have ad-supported free and paid versions, have been downloaded 500 million times so far. They draw 50,000 active users daily, and are tracking 200,000 for September, Bettner said. The ratio of free to paid versions is 5:1.
Check out the full article on Gamasutura.
As NewToy continue development on new and exciting applications such as the much awaited “World War Robot” with acclaimed artist Ashley Wood.
Good luck NewToy!
