Nitrome News

Icebreaker: Freeze Frame!

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:35:34 BST

Hi Nitromians,

Only 2 days to go until Icebreaker will at long last be available for all you lovely people to purchase!

To help get you ready and help us spread the word we're thrilled to lift the lid on a little side project we have been working on called Icebreaker: Freeze Frame. It is available now so go and give it a whirl!

Make faces as if your trapped in the ice like the Vikings in the game then send that picture to a friend or perhaps just save it and use it as your Facebook profile picture to help us spread word about the game! Alternatively perhaps you have other things you might want to 'freeze frame'. Do show us what you come up with and we might post some of the more striking ones to the Nitrome blog and Icebreaker site!

Freeze Frame: Click Here!

have fun :)

Only one more day to go after this and as a final update before launch we wanted to finish off the characters page. If you head over to the characters page you can now see the full roster of characters that will be in the launch version of the game!

Icebreaker: Release Date!

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:16:54 BST

Hi Nitromians,

We are thrilled to be finally able to announce that Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage is 100% complete! It has already been submitted to Apple and been approved too!

It will be out on the 20th of June... that’s THIS THURSDAY!!!!!

We have an action packed week lined up for you between now and launch and we will be posting something Icebreaker related every day so come back tomorrow :)

Play Back Door!

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 10:35:57 BST

Hi Nitromians!

Today's Pixel Love game is Back Door by Solar Vagrant

We found the dark and quirky humour in this game to be right up our street.

You start off by falling into a seemingly endless void. Are your dreaming? *clunk* nope... but you are trapped!

This was a very cool (and sometimes difficult) escape game.

Play Back Door: Click Here!

Teaser Alert!

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 16:52:50 BST

Hey there Nitromians!

We have got something new to share with you all today. It's in the form of a screenshot from one of our upcoming flash games!

Teaser Screenshot: Click Here!

Play Leaf Me Alone!

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 12:21:52 BST

Hi Nitromians!

Today's Pixel Love game is Leaf Me Alone by Mark Foster and David Fenn

Leaf Me Alone was made for the Ludum Dare 'minimalist' theme!

The game is wonderful and reminds us a little bit of a cross between Fez and classic Zelda. We thoroughly enjoyed the chilled out atmosphere with the friendly open and roam-able levels in this one.

The way the game's simple puzzles are set out in the world make for a forgiving and intuitive play session.

Click To Play!

Awsume Glasses!

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 12:52:30 BST

Hey Nitromians!

We hope you are enjoying our colourful new puzzler Colour Blind. Just a quick question:

Has anybody managed to get the "awesume glasses" yet?

They are super secret and rather cool, just collect all the in-game coins to unlock them. Are you up to the challenge? ;)

Play Colour Blind!

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 15:24:51 BST

Hey Nitromians!

We have just released our latest puzzle platformer, Colour Blind!

Solve the puzzles using the different colour palettes at your disposal and save your precious left eye from the dusty pirate clouds!

Colour Blind: Click To Play!

Have fun!

Play Colossal Clean-Up!

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 11:46:34 BST

Hi Nitromians!

Do you like cleaning up your room!? We thought not! So forget what you think you knew about tidying up!

Today's Pixel Love game is Colossal Clean-Up by Underground Pixel and it's amazingly enjoyable!

It's a really manic time based clean 'em up. You will find yourself chucking loads of tiny blocks at the windows, clearing the floors easily with seconds to spare until it happens... All of a sudden that looming sofa resurfaces and comes flying out of your bag blocking the window! What now!? Better unblock it or find yourself another window!

The art style is really cool; we think your going to like this one :)

Play Colossal Clean-Up: Click Here!

Have fun!

Icebreaker Update 12: More Characters!

Fri, 31 May 2013 17:41:28 BST

Hey Nitromians,

We thought that we'd update you with some more Icebreaker character goodness!

Check out our third update to take a closer look into the Icebreaker universe. Who is your favourite character of the bunch so far?

Icebreaker Update 12: Characters!

Get ready for a very exciting Icebreaker week next week, have a great weekend!

Icebreaker Update 11: God Powers!

Thu, 30 May 2013 18:03:23 BST

Did you know our upcoming game Icebreaker has God Powers in it? Well now you do so click through to find out more!

Let us know what you think of the God Powers we're giving you, and if you can think of better ones why not let us know (note: there is no way they will end up in initial release at this point, but hey it’s fun!)

Icebreaker Update 11: God Powers!

Play Quantum Corps!

Mon, 27 May 2013 18:38:11 BST

Hi Nitromians!

Today's Pixel Love game comes in the form of the gravity shifting, fast paced, action packed side scroller Quantum Corps!

We enjoyed the run and gun nature of this one and felt that the difficulty curve was intuitive to start off with making it easy to pick up the controls early on. It soon turns into a real challenge as you progress though! The artwork is impressive too.

Also, just a quick warning. There are some red pixels in this one! ;)

With that said, have fun trying not to fall off the screen!

Play Quantum Corps: Click Here!

Icebreaker Update 10: Website!

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:54:22 BST

We are a little late in posting this update as the site has been here since the Rovio Stars announcement. We have however been ironing a few things out under the hood with the site so it is now finally how we intended.

Icebreaker update 10: Website - Click Here!

The main thing is that it now displays correctly on an iPad and iPhone! This was quite a lot of work but finally we have it displaying less zoomed out and all of the animations now work!

Also, although it is a bank holiday weekend, we will still be bringing you a Pixel Love game next week on Monday, so remember to join us then!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Icebreaker Update 9: New Logo!

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:10:47 BST

Those of you following closely will have noticed that Icebreaker - A Viking Voyage has revived a new logo since the projects beginning. The new logo is the result of a few weeks experimenting between ourselves and Rovio. The aim was not to change the feel of the logo but to make it easier to read and more usable across all the marketing that was needed.

Icebreaker Update 9: New Logo: Click Here!

New Pixel Love Game!

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:50:58 BST

Hi Nitromians!

Today's Pixel Love game comes from a Ludum Dare entry titled This Is Not A Minimalist Game by Volute

The dialogue in this game is very humorous. You start the game as a player on a quest to collect 100 wizard heads to buy new stuff. Things soon take a very interesting turn!

This Is Not A Minimalist Game: Click Here!

Have Fun!

Friday Update!

Fri, 17 May 2013 18:12:46 BST

Hey Nitromians,

It’s been a REALLY busy but exciting week over at Nitrome HQ. As some of you may have noticed our new Icebreaker Rovio Stars trailer is going down with a big splash.

We are really thrilled with such a positive response. We even managed to get onto NBC news =D

http://www.nbcnews.com/video/in-game/51883811#51883811

We have loads more Icebreaker updates coming next week. So make sure you check out the latest frequent updates on our new and improved Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage website.

http://icebreaker-game.com/updates.html#!update8

The latest update fills you in on the latest batch of characters that you find on your journey through the world of Icebreaker (more to come soon!)

If you want to help us out, please spread the word of Icebreaker by clicking the ‘share’ and ‘like’ buttons on the latest trailer and updates.

Have a great weekend.

p.s We know we missed it this week but we have a great Pixelove game planned for its usual Monday slot :)

Icebreaker Update: Rovio Stars?

Wed, 15 May 2013 16:27:31 BST

So you read our huge news about having Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage published by Rovio Stars?

Update#7: Rovio Stars?

When we started Icebreaker we had no intention of using a publisher. We were not looking for a publisher and even though we had interest from several of the biggest publishers during its development it wasn't really what we wanted.

So what changed? Well nothing really... but there are exceptions to every rule. In the paid app market Rovio is king, they have taken their Angry Birds game and made it a phenomenon and every game they have released has gone on to be very successful. We have a huge respect for what they have built up and they are possibly the only party on the App store that we would and did jump at working with.

The App Store is all about exposure, games are cheap so you need lots and lots... and LOTS of people to know about your game in order to get up the charts. It's only once you chart that anyone outside your fan base will ever hear about you!

As of last December Rovio has a user base of 200 million monthly active users... that's seriously huge! To give you an idea of how huge, that's more than Twitter has! By comparison Nitrome has around 5 million monthly active users, something we’re proud of but not all of those will even own a phone and well… you see the difference!

So what about compromising the game? Well that’s the other great thing… we don't! The game was fairly feature complete before Rovio got involved and they were impressed with what we had done. Everything that we changed after that point enhanced the game and we fully appreciated and agreed with their feedback.

Because of Rovio the game has been tested to death. Not only is it about as bug free as we could possibly make a game it also had a lot of user testing. We got lots of great feedback from this and we were able to adjust areas that people were getting confused or to make some elements more enjoyable.

Also thanks Rovio were thrilled to announce that Icebreaker is not only in English but also at launch supports French, German, Spanish and Italian!

Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage features an in depth dialogue throughout the game conveying a deep and often humorous tale. It is a feature we spent a lot of time on in the game and one of the features that we believe elevates the game above what you would typically find in a puzzle game on the App Store.

Rovio have helped us with the branding and we worked closely to create a new video and art to be used to promote the game. If you haven’t seen the video yet what are you waiting for? Go view it now!

The other major benefit of working with Rovio is that they know better than anyone else on the App Store how to take a hit brand to the next level. There is everything now from the familiar Angry Birds plush toys, to a cartoon series and feature film on the way.

Now don't get too excited, you may not ever see such things from the Icebreaker universe. But if we do have a hit on our hands, then Rovio will help us make the most of it in a way we never could have done on our own!

Icebreaker: New Video!

Wed, 15 May 2013 14:31:08 BST

Alongside the very exciting announcement that were working with the Angry Birds power house that is Rovio comes a brand new video. We closely worked with Rovio on this and as the previous video was very gameplay focused we felt a different direction was needed this time out.

New Icebreaker Trailer: Click Here!

We never could have achieved such cinema quality 3d on our own or done such cool voice acting! We're more than pleased with the results and think it echoes the offbeat humour of the game rather well!

Our Big Icebreaker News - Rovio Stars!

Tue, 14 May 2013 15:17:16 BST

May 14th, 2013 -- Espoo, Finland -- Rovio Entertainment announced the launch of its new mobile game publishing initiative, Rovio Stars, which will feature the best new games from talented and innovative developers. This is the entertainment company’s first foray into including third party titles in its game line-up.

“Rovio Entertainment has positioned itself as one of the powerhouses of mobile entertainment, so moving into publishing is a logical step for us at this point”, said Rovio’s EVP of Games Jami Laes. “We want to help our fans find quality entertainment among the more than 100,000 games available in app stores. That’s where Rovio Stars comes in.”

“In the course of our work, we run into so many fantastic upcoming titles -- games with memorable characters and entertaining gameplay that are also just really fun to play!” said Kalle Kaivola, Director of Development. “These are the sorts of titles we’re interested in. We want to help the developers to give these games that last coat of polish, publish the games and find their audience. We’re focusing on a small, select number of games, and each Rovio Stars launch will be an event of its own.”

The first game to be published under the Rovio Stars program will be Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage by Nitrome Ltd., followed by Tiny Thief by 5 Ants. Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage follows the adventure of a lone Viking, combining a unique ice slicing mechanic with an offbeat humour. Tiny Thief is a beautiful medieval adventure featuring stealth-based puzzles.

“Being involved with Rovio Stars means that we have one of the best marketing teams behind us, as well as visibility to their vast audience. To a small indie studio like Nitrome this is all the backing we could hope for!” said Mat Annal, Managing Director of Nitrome Ltd.

Check out the brand new Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage trailer here: http://rov.io/icebreakertrailer

Developers who are interested in Rovio Stars can find more information at: www.rovio.com/developers

For more information and general media inquiries please contact media@rovio.com

For more information on Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage, and Tiny Thief:

www.rovio.com

www.icebreaker-game.com

www.tinythief.com

About Rovio Entertainment

Rovio is an industry-changing entertainment media company headquartered in Finland, and the creator of the globally successful Angry Birds franchise. Angry Birds, a casual puzzle game, became an international phenomenon within a few months of its release, and is now the number one paid app of all time. Angry Birds has expanded rapidly in entertainment, publishing, and licensing to become a beloved international brand. www.rovio.com

About Nitrome Ltd

Nitrome is an award winning games studio based in London UK, who develop mobile, PC and browser games. With over 100 games to date, the Nitrome website reaches tens of millions of loyal fans each month and individually titles have reached over 100 million plays across the internet. www.nitrome.com

About 5 Ants

Barcelona-based 5 Ants Studio aims to create imaginative and unique games for all ages. Tiny Thief is the culmination of our most enthusiastic work, a delicious adventure you will never forget. Intrigued? Visit 5ants.com

99% Done and BIG News Tomorrow!

Mon, 13 May 2013 17:31:05 BST

We are still busy working away on Icebreaker! Despite the silence there have been 6 of the Nitrome crew busy on the game for quite some time and were making great progress! The game is just about complete now and to show just how close to complete we are we have upped the percentage bar to 99%!

Why is it not finished already? Well mainly it is just a lot of work to make such a huge game...it has just shy of 100 levels and they are packed with story secrets and variety!

There is also another reason however...something that has been going on behind the scenes since the beginning of this year...a secret! Woooo! We're going to be revealing just what that secret is TOMORROW and we hope it will surprise and excite a lot of you when we explain just what it means to Icebreaker! Keep checking this page for the news which will be coming alongside a big Icebreaker site overhaul and a new video! We also have tons of other bits and bobs written up now to be posted between now and the games release so get ready for an Icebreaker news overload!

Icebreaker Dev Diary 4: Click Here!

Test Subject Complete: Updated

Mon, 13 May 2013 15:00:57 BST

Hello all,

We have uploaded a new version of Test Subject Complete. We done a few bug fixes, they are as follows:

More robust reset functionality. – The “R” key for resetting the level had a few bugs depending on when it was pressed. These issues have now been resolved.

Invisible steps! – They are no more!!! If you don’t know about them, then don’t worry! ;0)

Laser sound loop issues. – Again this was related to the reset functionality, this should be no more.

Thank you all for giving us your feedback, especially the guys and gals that do nitrome.wikia.com

We hope you have all enjoyed playing Test Subject Complete, and if you’ve not tried it yet… why not?! Get your gaming head on and head over to the Test Subject Complete game page!

Test Subject Complete: Click Here!

Take care all!