Why Supernauts will be a game changer, the making of Samurai Siege, and Apple surprises developers with Swift and Metal

Last week's top five stories

• 5 Clash of alliances: The making of Samurai Siege

  

  There's nothing wrong with standing on the shoulders of giants in an attempt to find success.

  In fact, UK based developer Space Ape doesn't shy away from the source of its 'inspiration', instead openly acknowledging that its strategy title, Samurai Seige, clearly builds on the uber-successful Clash of Clans formula.

  "We decided we'd only work in the intersection of games we like to play AND games that people had shown they wanted to play. The sports game met neither criteria so in retrospect was doomed to fail," explained Space Ape co-founder, Simon Hade.

  "First we identified half a dozen genres that were performing well: games people had demonstrated they wanted to play. Then we ruled out a few [because] we couldn't relate to them. They were not games we liked to play.

  "Finally, we brainstormed ways that we thought we could improve on the best in each genre."

  
  

• 4 Amazon offered us $600 million for Cocos2d-x, says Chukong CEO

  

  Last week Chinese publisher and tools firm Chukong Technologies decided to postpone its planned US IPO, and raise a few eyebrows in the process.

  Since then, an internal email has suggested that the move was delayed due to a problem with the combined valuation of two parts of the company.

  According to CEO, Chen Haozhi, while the firm's game development and publishing arm is profitable, the cross-platform Cocos2d-x tools division brings in almost no revenue.

  Understandably, this has caused some confusion, with Haozhi stating that the company's profits have been 'underestimated' as a result.

  
  

• 3 The grand reveal: Why Grand Cru's much-delayed Supernauts just might lead the fight for F2P

  

  Grand Cru Games' iOS title Supernauts isn't even out globally yet, but it's already managed to set itself apart from other App Store residents.

  See, for an iOS game to be in development for over two years in an era where mobile games are being pumped out by the second is something of a big deal.

  Of course, that means there's a lot of pressure on the folks over at Grand Cru to deliver on Supernauts' unquestionable promise, but it needn't worry too much, because our Finnsider believes that the firm's game about world crafting might just be world changing.

  "If one were to imagine combining these two disparate worlds to achieve peace and harmony [and create a world] where free to play gamers and other 'real' gamers frolic together," said Steve El-Sharaway, a.k.a. The Finnsider.

  "[A world] where purchasing in game items was without stigma, and where unicorns grazed upon the rainbow grass, the task would be dismissed as absurd.

  "So, of course, that is more or less what Grand Cru's ambition is with its well overdue debut game, Supernauts."

  
  

• 2 Mobile is still a strange beast to us, says AdventureQuest Worlds creator Adam Bohn

  

  The legendary, or perhaps infamous, rise of F2P on mobile has provided a huge opening for Flash developers looking to make the leap from web to mobile development.

  Often though, the trip across the pond can be a lot harder than anticipated, largely because developing for mobile is an entirely different ball game, full of restrictions, rules, and regulations that just aren't an issue on the web.

  "It was supposed to be a quick two months project, but ended up at eight months," explained Adam Bohn, CEO of Artix, speaking about the development of symbol matching RPG, Battle Gems.

  "We want to bring to mobile what we have on the web; that's giant dynamic worlds we update constantly.

  "We have a large and loyal audience on the web, but mobile is still a strange beast to us,"

  
  

• 1 Apple surprises developers with iOS 8's Metal graphics API and Swift programming language

  

  In a move that caught many by surprise, Apple revealed that its iOS 8 SDK will contain two new development technologies.

  Lifting the lid at its WWDC 2014 keynote, the Cupertino giant unveiled Swift, which appears to be the longterm replacement for Objective-C, and, more notably, Metal, a new graphics API that Apple claims will offer a huge performance increase.

  Specifically designed to work with iOS 8 and the A7 chip, Apple has been working with tools companies such as Unity, Epic, and Crytek to make sure that the technology will be supported by a variety of engines, hinting that console quality gaming might be on its way to mobile sooner rather than later.