Russell and Mark were at Droidcon last week in Amsterdam. Mark was sitting on the program committee alongside other distinguished Dutch peers. Russell was giving a talk on YoYo Games and the forthcoming release of GameMaker Studio. Droidcon covers everything for the Android platform for mobile devices, which is being developed by the Open Handset Alliance led by Google. So far they’ve held conferences in Berlin, London and in Brussels. It was a diverse mix of game makers, advertising agencies and software types all very interested in our ability to hit multiple platforms with one code base.   

GameMaker Studio is planned for release in Q1 of 2012 and we hope to bring some more news on this development during December. Meantime please sign up here so you don’t miss any news as and when it comes out - http://yoyogames.com/

We are so busy we need to welcome another addition to our expanding team at YoYo HQ! Introducing Gavin Smart whose role is as an Associate Producer, he’ll be tasked with updating different distribution channels, set up games for iOS, Android, Symbain, co-ordinating information and generally supporting production.

Gavin joins us from Rockstar North where he was working with the tools department, testing new features and updates for all of Rockstar’s in-house tools. Previous to this he was at Realtime Worlds where he was a Senior Tester, organising the daily test effort on APB: All Points Bulletin. As well as being an avid gamer Gavin likes to go Climbing, Snowboarding, Skateboarding and practice Shotokan Karate.

Gavin has expressed “I look forward to working with the team at YoYo and cannot wait to get stuck in helping to create some of the next big titles for Android and iOS devices”. Just what we like to hear!

Rick O’Shea set to Cannonball onto iOS and Android 22nd Nov!

We’re very excited to announce that YoYo Games’ latest title, Rick O’Shea, an innovative platform puzzler, will be released on the iOS and Android platforms on the 22nd November!

For a sneak preview, check out our Teaser video below!

Congratulations to all the members who took part and entered their finished game in 72 hours. It took over a week for votes to come in and we now have the winners below!

1st place: Carmageddon by Robert3DG+

http://www.virtualrealmsgames.com/stuff/Carmageddon_JamRelease.zip

Taking place in a futuristic city, the city police have recently got annoyed with how you jaywalk, take candy from babies and act like a jerk. So they've sent out hundreds of military grade hover drones after your ass! Dodge them for as long as you can and use the space bar to fire your machine gun! It may be weak, but the bullets are infinite. Radical!We need a price check... on chumps!

2nd place: Sophia's Spirits by IceMetalPunk and TheUltimate

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/11662651/FallJam/Sophia%27s%20Spirits%20v0.8.zip  

3rd place: PolyGravity by YellowAfterLife

http://solidfiles.com/d/c0906/

This game has 'vector' graphics and is based on dynamically changing gravity. This law of physics changes as you move around and interact with objects, providing challenges. A puzzle game with quirky backgrounds and ambient musice creating atmospheric levels, a fun and challenging 360 platformer.

Honorable mentions;

4th place: Zombie Zoo Murder Case by Yal

http://www.box.net/shared/8kodvfeqpkvjrt5jj04y

5th place (Joint): The Deep Sky by TrueValhalla, Gaming 101 by makerofthegames

http://www.howtomakeanmmorpg.com/download-the-deep-sky.html

Nocturne and Zeddidragon deserve special credit due to their invaluable help in the organisation of this Jam. Thank you chaps, keep up the sterling work!

There was some amazing entries this time around, we recommend you have a look and play. For the list of the full 59 games entered please click here - http://gmc.yoyogames.com/index.php?showtopic=523036

★☆★ON SALE NOW FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY! ★☆★

Have you played the beautiful neon puzzler Reflexions yet? No..?! Well here’s the perfect excuse to grab it now..

This Thursday saw YoYo’s recent game – Reflexions - on promotion!

With its simple controls and beautifully styled HD visuals, Reflexions is the perfect distraction at work, home or anywhere you happen to have a couple of minutes to sit down, relax and unwind your mind.

Reflexions is ON SALE for just $0.99 between Thursday 10^th November til after Thanksgiving on 25^th November only. Normally retailing at £1.49 on Android and $1.99 on iTunes, this is the perfect time to grab this amazingly beautiful game.

Android - https://market.android.com/details?id=com.yoyogames.droidreflexion

iTunes - http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/reflexions/id458343795?ls=1&mt=8

“The sharp visuals combine with the gentle chimes and shuffling beats distract you” Pocketgamer 

“Crisp and tight neon lines, evoking the likes of TRON, sing on retina screens” Square-Go.com 

“Hidden gem: Reflexions bringing some retro gaming love” Droidgamers.com

Community News 

The GameMaker Community Jam has been better than ever with increasing game entries and voting will end today, Friday 11^th.  We will announce the winners once voting has ended and reveal the gamers choice next week.  It’s not too late though if you want to play and cast your vote, pop along to http://gmc.yoyogames.com/index.php?showtopic=523036&st=0&p=3853562&#entry3853562

YoYo Games wish to give a big up to indie developer Curve Studios who released ‘Stealth B*st*rd’ a week ago. A 2D platformer filled with traps that requires the player to creep about, ducking behind cover and hiding in the shadows and being sneaky aka Super Meat Boy meets Metal Gear Solid! Not only is this a brilliantly fun game to play, it’s completely free!

Curve Studios, famous for developing ‘Explodemon!’ & ‘Fluidity’ games, developed ‘Stealth’ using GameMaker. Designer Jonathan Biddle says “I’ve been using it (GameMaker) for nearly seven years and really enjoy it. It’s very quick and flexible, and it’s surprising what it’s actually capable of.”

For those that enjoy being horribly dismembered through 28 levels we suggest you give it a go... http://www.stealthbastard.com/