Christian Nutt on Gamasutra writes:
"Today, ngmoco and Stumptown Game Machine announce the spring 2009 release of Touch Pets Dogs for the iPhone -- a networked virtual pets game, and the first product from the Portland, Oregon studio, founded by Andrew Stern.
Though the demo of the game Gamasutra received at ngmoco's San Francisco audiences initially made the game appear to be a Nintendogs clone, the differences are apparent. This game marks the reemergence of Stern into the world of virtual pets, a field he was at the foundation of, with the creation of the Petz franchise on PCs in the '90s."
Dark and Light Mobile, the highly anticipated survival game by Snail Games, has released its open beta today on April 18, 2024. The beta test is available for Android and iOS devices in the United States, Europe, and Southeast Asia.
Farlight 84 will get the V2.2 update, and the test servers for the next versions are up and running. This update will bring multiple good changes and new features to the game. One such new thing is that the game is revamping the Battle Pass.
With so many games fighting for players' attention and interest losing out over time, time sink games are at risk of eventually losing steam.
It was worrisome to begin with.
It's a niche genre with only a handful of hits that can stand the test of time.
Only a few will catch on. You need a perfect storm to be successful in GaaS and a bit of luck on top of that. But a potential cash cow will keep them trying and some will go out of business because of it.
Helldivers 2 manages just fine…
Keep production costs low… don’t just make custscenes until the mechanics and enemies are perfected first.
Make so much content that you can drip extra content for years, and the game already feels complete without them.
Most importantly: make weapons, enemies, levels, and mechanics that will stand the test of 1000 hours. This might require more devs embracing procedurally generated leveled, which I think separates Helldivers 2 from Destiny’s repetitiveness.