Candystand Blog

Video: Cluster Lander - Candystand Release Trailer

2009-11-06T14:57:13Z

Love combat flying games, open-world missions and competing against your friends? You'll want to keep an eye on Cluster Lander, a brand-new exclusive game coming to Candystand in just a few weeks.

You'll be in control of a small cluster lander ship, tasked with exploring the rock cluster in each level to find the coordinates of the next cluster. Along the way, you'll have to watch out for enemies, bombs and lasers -- luckily you'll have some munitions of your own to help!

Ghost runs from each level can be saved and replayed; they can be used as a guide to help you improve your times, or shared with friends (via copy/paste code) so you can rub your sweet run times in their faces.

The just-released trailer above shows off some of the new weapons and abilities making it into the final game, including shields and tracking missiles.

Cluster Lander will be, ahem, landing on Candystand soon! We'll be posting more content leading up to the game's release.

Electric Box on iPhone Getting Five Free New Levels!

2009-11-03T20:45:35Z

As they say, you can never have enough of a good thing! And in the case of iPhone/iPod Touch owners, the good thing comes in the form of a brand-new level pack for our popular App Store game, Electric Box! The downloadable game came with 50 levels originally, which we updated in September to include ten more levels.

We're happy to announce that we've just submitted an update for Electric Box that will add five new levels to the game, bringing the grand total to **65** brainbending physics puzzles in one sweet game. Did we mention that this update is free to all paid owners of the game?

You can head over to our Facebook fan page to check out a sneak peek of all five new levels. No spoilers, though! We're only showing you the puzzle, not the solution or the items you'll use on each level. ;D

The update is currently undergoing review by Apple, and we're hoping that it will be available by the end of the week. If you've already bought a copy of Electric Box, the update will show up in the 'Applications' section of your iTunes Library when it is released.

If you haven't bought a copy... what exactly are you waiting for? There's a free demo version with 10 levels if you're risk-averse, and we bet you'll be jonesing for more when those are done.

Don't have an iPhone or iPod Touch? You can play Electric Box right on Candystand.com! Additional user-generated levels are available, too.

Vector TD on PSP: It's Coming!

2009-11-02T20:47:31Z

This is the PSP Mini game we've been hyping for the last few weeks -- popular Candystand tower defense game Vector TD is coming to the PSP! We currently have a build of the game running on a devkit PlayStation Portable in the office, and it's looking really sweet. We'll post more screens and video in the coming weeks before the game releases as a PSP Mini on the PlayStation Network (we're hoping to have it done by the holidays) -- stay tuned!

Interview: Copy Cat Developer Adam Abeshouse

2009-11-02T16:00:55Z

Did you know that one of our most popular games was developed by a high schooler? It impressed us, too -- match-the-painting puzzler Copy Cat on Candystand.com launched just over a month ago and has already garnered serious praise from sites such as Jay is Games and Gamezebo. We were able to have a quick chat with the developer himself, Adam Abeshouse, in between finishing his senior year and applying to colleges. Check out the interview below!

Tell us about the development of Copy Cat.
I started development after I came up with the idea on a college visit last February. I had been tossing around the idea of reverse-engineering something for a couple of months and all of a sudden in a car ride, the idea for Copy Cat hit me. I worked non-stop on the main game for about 5 or 6 months, then finished up the level editor in a few weeks. It was tough a lot of the time because I had to balance my school workload and it was a pretty large project.

What kinds of games inspired you to create the game?
I was heavily inspired by the reverse-engineering theme of Bart Bonte's great Factory Balls. More abstractly, I was inspired by the trend of “physics games” to give the player a sort of sandbox environment in which anything goes to complete the puzzle. With Copy Cat, I wanted to do the same by giving the player an ultimate goal and any number of ways to get there.

What are you working on next?
Right now I'm throwing around ideas about an online board game-type puzzler (think Minesweeper) and I'm working on a game inspired by some things I've learned in Physics.

What are your favorite games to play?
My favorite games are of the genre “puzzle-platformer.” For the last few months I've been completely obsessed with Jonathan Blow's “Braid.” I also really enjoy most things by Edmund McMillen, most recently Spewer, and I'm a big fan of so-called “art game” developers, like Jason Rohrer, Gregory Weir, and Daniel Benmergui. I have also really been into Tom Sennett and Matt Thorson's “RunMan: Race Across the World,” and Erik Svedang's “Blueberry Garden.”

Play Copy Cat now >

Download Copy Cat for the iPhone/iPod Touch >

This Week in Games, Oct. 26 - 30

2009-10-30T21:31:41Z

Your weekly wrap-up of casual, social and video gaming news. Got a news tip? Send it to robin@funtank.com!

Game Releases

Our crossword/paint by numbers brainteaser, Picma, launched this week! We've shaved a few years off our life by trying to crack the image in each of the game's 100+ puzzles. Have you played yet?

Move over Guitar Hero, DJ Hero's arrived. The newest game to feature a plastic peripheral, DJ Hero lets you live out your record-spinning party-rocking dreams -- with 80 mashup songs and a turntable, the only thing we're missing is a pair of gigantic headphones to clutch while we're bobbing our heads to the beat.

The last episode of Grand Theft Auto IV has arrived on the Xbox Live Marketplace and retail stores. The Ballad of Gay Tony extends the storyline of the main game, following new protagonist Luis Lopez as he navigates the glitz and glamour of Liberty City. Among other things, the expansion features base-jumping and tank-driving. Yeah, it's pretty cool.

Racing devotees got Forza Motorsport 3 this week, a driving game featuring hyper-realistic cars, tons of customization and a built-in video editor. Decals, tuned setups and videos created can also be downloaded and shared (even sold!) with the game's storefront. Earning money by creating content for a popular 360 game? Sounds like our life goal!

News

Mashable's Open Web Awards are now open for nomations! You know who could use a nomination? Candystand for the 'Most Creative Use of Facebook Connect' category! You can vote once a day -- so please do!

You might be trick-or-treating tomorrow night, but what will you do during the day? Games.com and Gamezebo's Halloween casual game roundups might just be the thing to tie you over.

Changes are coming to Facebook which may change the way social gamers are notified of activities in and around games such as Mafia Wars, Farmville and Pet Society. The social network's messaging system will be used for communication between users (invitations to games, gifts, etc) while email will be used for interactions between application developers and users. Games will also get their own section on a redesigned homepage.

Preview: Clockwords Prelude on Candystand.com

2009-10-30T15:59:04Z

Clear your schedules next week - Monday's new game release is going to be a gigantic timesink (we should know - less work got done at Candystand this week precisely because of this game). Clockwords: Prelude is coming to the site, and it's seriously addictive.

Clockwords is part typing game, part tower defense -- you'll need to type as many words as possible to defeat enemy spiders coming to steal your secrets (the story's a little bizarre, but we went with it). Using letters in the chamber will increase the damage you deal. After each level, you'll also have the chance to 'transmute' letters so they are worth more damage each time you use them.

And like all new Candystand games, you'll be able to earn and show off a brand new gold/silver/bronzeTrophy for doing well.

"I can just type any random word? This sounds easy."

That's what we thought too, until we realized that coming up with long words on the fly is far more difficult than it initially looks. At one point, six of us were gathered around a computer yelling words/themes out ("Types of Diseases!" "Dinosaurs!" "Members of the Village People!") -- quite a sight to behold.

Check out the video below for a quick peek at the game before it launches on our site on Monday.

Candystand Guests on AOL Games' Weekly Podcast!

2009-10-29T15:23:55Z

You may or may not know, but before I came over to Candystand this month, I was an assistant editor for AOL Games' casual/social games blog and co-hosted their weekly podcast, the AOL Gameshow. The team was gracious enough to invite me back as a guest last week, where we talked about a wide variety of games and I was able to plug some of our popular titles including Electric Box and Tennis Stars Cup.

Check out the video below, and let us know what you think! With any luck, we'll be invited back to record with them again soon.

Preview: Picma on Candystand

2009-10-28T19:43:43Z

Our new game launching tomorrow: Picma! It's a classic puzzle game known by many other names (Picross, Paint by Numbers, Japanese Crosswords, etc) with a simple premise: complete the image in each grid by filling in the correct squares. The number of squares in each row/column is indicated on the side of the grid (it's like the answer to the puzzle is already there... except it's not actually that easy!). Check out the screens below to get a taste of the game.

We'll be launching Picma live on the site tomorrow morning, so make sure you check back and play! Like all of our new games, you'll be able to win tickets and a gold/silver/bronze trophy for playing, too. Here's what they new trophies look like:

New Blog Coming Soon!

2009-10-27T18:18:17Z

Sorry for the lack of updates this week - we're hard at work on the brand new Candystand blog! Here's what you'll find when we relaunch in a few weeks:

More previews of upcoming games - videos, screens and details about the newest free flash games to join the Candystand lineup.
News - we'll be rounding up the most important flash, online and casual gaming news relevant to you.
Easier commenting - we'll be implementing a new comment system that lets you leave hassle-free comments with almost any type of login.
Cleaner design - we cleaned up a few areas for you to find our blog content more easily.

And last but not least...

Labs! - we won't be fully rolling out this feature for a few weeks, but prepare to have your mind blown when it does! We'll be setting up brand new games right on the blog for you to test out - the best ones will be brought over to the main Candystand site, where they'll be integrated into your profiles and potentially include Trophies and Tickets, too! We're super excited about this new feature and hope to bring you dozens of fresh new games in the coming weeks.

The image up top is a quick wireframe peek at what we're working on.

This Week in Games, Oct. 19 - 23

2009-10-23T14:34:14Z

Your weekly wrap-up of casual, social and video gaming news. Got a news tip? Send it to robin@funtank.com!

Game Releases

Candystand's Tennis Stars Cup launched this week! The 3D tennis game featuring a tournament mode, two challenge modes and gesture-based mouse controls (click and drag in a curve to put a spin on that tennis ball!) is already getting leaderboard junkies twitching - can you get a gold trophy and beat the current high score of 92,795?

Borderlands, a first-person shooter/role-playing hybrid video game, debuted on the Xbox 360 and PS3 consoles (PC version delayed until next week). The demand for the game seemed to take publisher 2K by surprise -- many frustrated gamers reported the game sold out on the first day at local retailers. Why all the hype? It could be the game's near-limitless number of weapons, thanks to a random gun-generation system.

Popular music-rhythm series Rock Band hit iPhones and iPod Touches this week to the tune of $9.99 - many critics praised the gameplay while decrying the relatively high price tag. The App Store download features four-player local multiplayer via Bluetooth, twenty songs (more available for purchase) and the Rock Band gameplay/interface favored by wannabe rockers and party hosts alike.

Lastly, EA's perennial football game broke sales records during its first week of release in European countries, and finally made its way to stateside retailers this week. Nope, it's not Madden, we're talking about the other football -- soccer. That's right, FIFA 10 is out!

News

Brand new PC operating system Windows 7 launched this week - so what does it mean for casual gaming? For one, the new Game Explorer highlights all the games you've installed as well as new updates available for them. Even better? Windows 7 supports touch-input -- it might not be long before you see touch-and-play games along the lines of Nintendo DS and iPhone titles right on your desktop.

As we wrote about earlier this week, sales for a little independent game called World of Goo went through the roof when developer 2D Boy announced that in celebration of the game's one-year anniversary, customers could get the game for any price they chose. Surprisingly, a not-insignificant amount of people actually chose to pay more than the PayPal minimum of one cent.

Rounding out the week's big news - utterly addictive strategy game Civilization is coming to Facebook! No details yet on what we'll be doing in the game, but revered game creator Sid Meier says it'll debut sometime in 2010. If time-sucking social games like Farmville and Mafia Wars are any indication of Civ's gameplay, you can kiss our social lives goodbye when it launches.