PRESS RELEASE: GDC announcement – Nnooo announces return to Nintendo WiiWare™ with escapeVektor™: Chapter 1.

Australian based games developer Nnooo has revealed details of their new game under development for Nintendo WiiWare which they will be showcasing at this year’s GDC. Titled escapeVektor: Chapter 1, the game is a retro styled arcade game in which the player controls Vektor, an entity trapped inside the player’s Wii™. Read the rest of this entry »

PRESS RELEASE: Nnooo releases second developer diary of Spirit Hunters Inc.

Australian based games developer Nnooo has released the second in a series of developer diaries showcasing Spirit Hunters Inc™, their next game for Nintendo DSiWare™.

Spirit Hunters Inc is a role playing game in which the player hunts, battles and captures spirits which inhabit our world. The game uses the front facing camera of the Nintendo DSi™ to create an augmented reality, merging computer generated spirits with the player’s real environment where the battles take place.

“The development of the game is really taking shape and we are delighted to be able to show the battle mode which will represent a large part of the player’s in-game experience”, said Nic Watt, Creative Director at Nnooo. “Now that we have some of the sound effects and player abilities in place, we are able to give a much better feel for what it’s like battling against the spirits.”

The player is part of an international task-force called Spirit Hunters Inc which is charged with capturing mischievous spirits and sending them back to the spirit world. Players will have to hunt down these spirits and coax them out of their hiding places before doing battle with them through their Nintendo DSi. On capturing spirits, players will be rewarded with experience points and in-game currency with which they will be able to level up, replenish health, buy useful spirit hunting items and traps and learn new battling abilities.

“We are very excited about how the game is developing”, said Watt. “Augmented Reality is a really exciting new area for games and we think that Spirit Hunters Inc is really making use of all of the Nintendo DSi’s features. We are also planning a version for the Nintendo 3DS™. More details about this will be revealed in the future.”

Spirit Hunters Inc is scheduled for release on Nintendo DSiWare later this year.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4gF2AV6OGQ

Nnooo was one of the sponsors of this year’s Sydney Game Jam. Sydney’s Game Jam event is part of the Global Game Jam movement, where for 48 hours over a weekend in January, games makers, whether they are amateur or professional, form themselves into small teams to create a playable game from scratch.

It’s amazing what can be created in such a short space of time, and incredible that this happens around the world over one weekend. At the time of writing this article, over 1,400 games had been registered with the Global Game Jam site. The Nnooo team was in attendance at the Sydney event, with Steven offering help where needed and Nic a member of the judging panel. It’s a serious business making a game in 48 hours but the atmosphere is overwhelmingly one of co-operation and sharing knowledge between teams.

The picture below shows the winning team at the Sydney event, Team Inevitable whose game was called Press 3 to Breed. You can see more pictures on our Facebook site. Click here to access the album.

PRESS RELEASE: Nnooo announces the launch date of myDiary™ for Nintendo DSiWare™ in the Americas.

myDiary, the latest release in the highly successful myLifeCollected™ range, goes on sale in the Americas on Monday 31 January. myDiary allows users to organize their lives by keeping track of appointments, making daily journal entries and even setting daily alarms. It also features icons to indicate the time, volume and current battery level.

“myDiary is a logical extension to our myLifeCollected range.”, said Nic Watt, Creative Director at Nnooo. “Our vision with this range was to extend the DSi™ from portable games console into a games and multimedia device. The myLifeCollected range, which also includes our range of myNotebooks™ and myPostcards™, gives people the chance to do just that.”

In myDiary, users can tap on a day to write and review notes and add alarms to keep track of important events and birthdays. myDiary can be customized to your personal taste by using the 12 unlockable background and ink colors.  There is also a security function to keep daily notes private.

“We are delighted with the reaction to this line of applications” said Watt. “The release of myDiary in the Americas marks the end of the current myLifeCollected series. Our next projects will bring our focus back to gaming, with Spirit Hunters Inc, a social RPG for the DSi using augmented reality. We are also working on an exciting new game for Nintendo WiiWare™ which we will be announcing soon.”

myDiary will cost 200 points and will be available from Monday 31 January in the Americas. It is already available in Europe, Australia & New Zealand.

Well, what a nice start to the year. In Wiiloveit’s Best of Nintendo Awards 2010, Spirit Hunters Inc was voted most anticipated DSiWare game for 2011. Click here for the link.

Yes, we are giving away not one, but two sets of Spirit Hunters Inc wallpaper and avatars in this free and fun game! If light is your thing then go directly to door 7 where our bright and shiny spirits await. But if you are drawn to the dark side, behind door 15 is where our shadow spirits lurk! You’ll have to earn them though. Be warned, this game is difficult and incredibly addictive. Just click on the image below and good luck!

It has been a long time coming but at last the New South Wales government has produced an initiative which will help the state’s independent games community. This might go some way towards closing the gap which currently exists between the industry-supportive Queensland & Victorian governments and New South Wales. The initiative takes the form of a $1.5m fund per annum for the next 3 years, available to eligible businesses immediately. Eligible businesses include games studios and mobile or online content developers with funding categories ranging from early stage development through to established businesses looking to accelerate their growth to the next stage of development. Support is also available to attend international markets and trade fairs such as GDC in San Francisco. For more information click here.

Well, Steven “Ogy” Ogden managed a last minute comeback and took the title of 2010 Nnooo Mo Bro! And we didn’t even count his own vote for himself. Congrats to the Ogy. The spirit isn’t very happy though, we think it’s already planning its strategy for next year. We’ve donated to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and beyondblue, as promised.

Ogy - serious, even in victory!

We’ve returned from our Mission in Snowdriftland just in time to post the final Mo-off picture. Who do you think has the best facial hair, Steven “Ogy” Ogden or the spirit? Vote now and we’ll donate to the Movember charities for each comment.

Who has the best Nnooo Mo?

Want some cool free stuff for the holiday season? Then look no further. A free game, some free wallpaper and avatars for Spirit Hunters Inc and other cool indie games, and a free online advent calendar to count down the days to Christmas! Just click on the image below to take you to your mission!

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