Flaregames soft-launches Nonstop Chuck Norris, trend predictions for 2017, and which games turned a corner in 2016?
As we step back into our jobs after a pleasant break from it all over Christmas and New Year, it's important to reflect on what has been and think ahead to what will come.
Or so our readers thought based on this week's Hot Five, which starts off with our look at the five free-to-play games that turned a corner in 2016.
Second up is a collection of predictions for the trends we'll see in 2017, from a number of industry experts who think that brands and transmedia content will be the next big things.
Chuck Norris, resolutions, and Korean RPGs
Thirdly, German publisher flaregames has soft-launched the intriguing Nonstop Chuck Norris, a branded version of its popular Nonstop Knight game which swaps swords for roundhouse kicks.
And finally, our industry experts tell us their New Year's resolutions for 2017, and we take a look at the making of Angry Birds Action-esque Korean RPG Knight Slinger.
Click the link below to find out more about the stories that caught our readers' attention last week.
#5: Angry Birds Action meets Korean RPG: The making of Knight Slinger
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Angry Birds Action meets Korean RPG: The making of Knight Slinger »Imagine, if you can, a world in which Angry Birds was first devised by a studio that makes Korean RPGs - it actually sounds pretty cool to be honest.
You can stop imagining though, as Gamevil has released its latest title Knight Slinger, and we know all about the making of the game.
"The combination of RPG and slingshot was fairly new in the market then," said Producer Danny Park.
"We couldn’t refer to any existing games and had to iterate all the time to reach the right balance."
#4: Mobile games industry experts tell us their New Year's resolutions for 2017
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Mobile games industry experts tell us their New Year's resolutions for 2017 »A new year is a time to reflect on your past and think about the future - what kind of person do you want to be in 12 months time?
But instead of just finding out which devs are planning on quitting smoking in 2017, we also wanted to know what resolutions they would impose on the games industry as a whole.
"If I had to enforce anything on others in the industry, it would be to have hardware developers cram more RAM into their devices," said Butterscotch Shenanigan's Seth Coster, who is desperate to make bigger and better games for mobile.
Torulf Jernström had a slightly more succinct response, however: "Don't do straight rip-offs of other games".
#3: Flaregames soft-launches new Nonstop Knight title Nonstop Chuck Norris
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Flaregames soft-launches new Nonstop Knight title Nonstop Chuck Norris »What's the next step when you have a successful game and feel its time you moved on to making a new title? Brand the heck out of the game you already have, of course.
That's what flaregames is doing with Nonstop Knight anyway, as it has just soft-launched the rather curious Nonstop Chuck Norris.
Instead of looking after a knight through the game, you'll instead watch the action hero who birthed one of the first memes roundhouse kick enemies in the face.
You can also buy a Doge bundle, and it would not be a surprise if there was even more meme-centric humour in the final game.
#2: What will be the big mobile games industry trends in 2017?
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What will be the big mobile games industry trends in 2017? »Everyone loves to look to the future and think about what will be and what won't be - especially those in the mobile games industry.
So while we had the opportunity, we asked a few experts about their predictions for the big trends that we will see in 2017.
"We will also see a continued trend with the IP-based games," said Next Games CMO Saara Bergstrom.
"The days of poorly executed IP-based games are long gone now as IP holders see the value of authentic, fans first approach and so we will see more great IP games out there."
But Debora Alejandra Nara of Etermax reckons we'll see more Apple TV games first and foremost, as well as new transmedia products.
#1: 5 free-to-play mobile games that turned a corner in 2016
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5 free-to-play mobile games that turned a corner in 2016 »In the world of free-to-play and games-as-a-service, it's important for developers to remember to keep their games updated and engaging so players will keep on returning.
Some games let this slide a bit, but sometimes they'll pick back up through some hard work and dedication - much like the five games in our list of titles that turned a corner in 2016.
First on the list is Angry Birds 2, a game whose developers admit they went "too vanilla" with its first launch, and which could have used more depth to attract a bigger audience.
But in 2016 Rovio made steps to do just that, transforming it more into an "RPG-lite" by adding PvP and daily challenges to draw in more engaged players.