Blog for Eric Fritz at GarageGames.com

Survey Time!

Eric Fritz — 2006-07-06T17:43:10+00:00

Here at GarageGames, we are always trying to improve the products and technology that we produce. We have our own ideas about which direction those improvements should take and which features we think should be next on the list to add in or receive some attention, but it's always nice to get feedback from those who are using the product on a daily basis.

To that end, we have devised a survey to give us feedback on Torque Game Builder and how it compares to some of the other tools out there people are using to make 2D games. It should only take a few minutes to complete and we would appreciate anybody and everybody taking the time to provide us with this valuable information.

Thanks in advance for helping out! Click here to take survey.

Where is Torque Game Builder?

Eric Fritz — 2006-06-07T18:46:26+00:00

June 7th has arrived, where are the goods? The answer is that the build we had ready to go will be released later today as Early Adopter Release Candidate 2 (RC2). We are delaying the official 1.0 release until early next week for a number of reasons. As many of you know, we are introducing a new pricing structure with the official release. This requires several changes on our back end to ensure a pleasant buying experience and smooth release. SKUing the product, properly explaining the pricing structure on our website and other materials, and providing easy navigation to those seeking information are some of our primary concerns.

What this means to you as a community is, first, that we are extending the period of Early Adopter into early next week. That means you can still buy TGB with Source at $100 (or $80 if you already own TGE). Also, our TGB devs are chomping at the bit to use these few extra days to continue to polish the product. You all have provided excellent feedback, and Justin, Matt, Adam, Josh, and Melv are all hard at work responding to that feedback by fixing bugs and other issues that crop up. See Tales of the Rampant Coyote for a recent review of TGB, and you'll notice later today with the release of RC2 that many of Jay Barnson's issues have already been fixed. It is this dedication to the quality of the product that we plan to continue for the life of the product, long after the official release.

Again, sorry for the delay, but we are working to make this launch as smooth as possible. Thank you all for your support!

The Big Move

Eric Fritz — 2006-06-05T20:57:45+00:00

We are now residing at our new office! It's like homecoming for goldfish, getting out of their little baggie into that big ol' fresh aquarium. All we need now is some plants in the office, and maybe a treasure chest or two to complete the analogy.

We've got desks and computers but some of the brass tacks (like working phones and a "real" internet connection) are still on their way. As a result, we may have trouble responding to all support or other communications. At this point, the forums and email support forms are your best bet for getting a quick response. Please bear with us, we should be back up to speed shortly.

We still plan on delivering a photo-tour of the new digs once we're settled, but here's a quick "moving in" preview:

Benjamin's look of consternation belies his barely contained joy with his new office space.

The "Skylight" office (currently sans skylight) features a lovely view of 5th Ave.

Tim and Ben's response to "Who was responsible for getting our phones hooked up?" (There's someone standing behind me, honest!)

Gratuitous "around the water cooler" photo as Davey prepares to use Crane Technique on Robert, while Zach stands idly by, oblivious, and Josh looks on from the foreground.

Fun with Acronyms: TGB, BIG, IGC, PP

Eric Fritz — 2006-05-14T18:37:18+00:00

Howdy all, new guy here.

"New" being a relative term; I started work with GarageGames at the beginning of the year. This, being my first blog post, is a good indication of how busy I have been since starting. Either that, or a good indication of how much Puzzle Poker I've been playing. More on that later. First though, what the hell have I been doing for 4 1/2 months?

Torque Game Builder (TGB)

I'm sure by now you are all aware that the release of TGB is imminent. You should also by now be aware that it is kicking some serious ass. Part of what I have been working on is to make sure that all of our marketing efforts and promotions surrounding TGB are ready to go at the launch of the product. You may have noticed our new TGB Landing Page. (The Features page is a work in progress, so don't pass judgement on that yet.) This is the design we will be moving forward with on the website, creating easily navigable Landing Pages for each of the three engines, as well as each of the various "solutions" using Torque. Rick recently posted a blog entry looking for a webdev. Well, we found one (or, he found us) and he starts next week! So you should start seeing website changes happening at a steady clip from here on out. In addition to website changes, we are really putting a lot of effort into a BIG promotion for the release of TGB, which brings me to...

Break Into Games (BIG) Competition

I don't want to steal Jay's thunder so I can't say much about this other than it's gonna be BIG. The competition will begin upon the launch of TGB and will culminate at the 5th Annual IndieGamesCon. Speaking of which...

IndieGamesCon (IGC)

Early Bird Registration is now open! IGC will be held October 6-8 at a new (and much larger) venue this year. Sign up early for the best deal; prices increase on July 1. Head on over to www.indiegamescon.com to check out the latest info. There isn't a whole lot there yet, but those of you familiar with IGC know it is an event not to be missed. Those of you unfamiliar with it...well, it's an event not to be missed! More information on speakers and group discussions will be added as those details are finalized.

Puzzle Poker (PP)

Last, but certainly not least, I've been playing a LOT of Puzzle Poker. Shortly after I showed up, someone pointed me towards this game on the demo machine. It was built using TGB, was in development, was getting close to being finished, and could use some playtesting. Well, four hours later, I'm pretty sure the emphasis had shifted from playTESTING to PLAYtesting. Now, I don't like to brag (but I sure do love to talk smack! What does that say about me as a person?), but have you looked at the Puzzle Poker leader board? I tried looking, but all I could see was the name SecretSauce. Please, do me (and yourself!) a favor, and go download the demo. Please. I need some competition. It's lonely at the top.

Fear not, Apple users, your chance will come. The OSX version is on its way.

One more thing, I'd love to see a console version of Puzzle Poker for the sole reason that then I would be able to make my Wii do PP.