So you read our huge news about having Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage published by Rovio Stars?
Update#7: Rovio Stars?
When we started Icebreaker we had no intention of using a publisher. We were not looking for a publisher and even though we had interest from several of the biggest publishers during its development it wasn't really what we wanted.
So what changed? Well nothing really... but there are exceptions to every rule. In the paid app market Rovio is king, they have taken their Angry Birds game and made it a phenomenon and every game they have released has gone on to be very successful. We have a huge respect for what they have built up and they are possibly the only party on the App store that we would and did jump at working with.
The App Store is all about exposure, games are cheap so you need lots and lots... and LOTS of people to know about your game in order to get up the charts. It's only once you chart that anyone outside your fan base will ever hear about you!
As of last December Rovio has a user base of 200 million monthly active users... that's seriously huge! To give you an idea of how huge, that's more than Twitter has! By comparison Nitrome has around 5 million monthly active users, something we’re proud of but not all of those will even own a phone and well… you see the difference!
So what about compromising the game? Well that’s the other great thing… we don't! The game was fairly feature complete before Rovio got involved and they were impressed with what we had done. Everything that we changed after that point enhanced the game and we fully appreciated and agreed with their feedback.
Because of Rovio the game has been tested to death. Not only is it about as bug free as we could possibly make a game it also had a lot of user testing. We got lots of great feedback from this and we were able to adjust areas that people were getting confused or to make some elements more enjoyable.
Also thanks Rovio were thrilled to announce that Icebreaker is not only in English but also at launch supports French, German, Spanish and Italian!
Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage features an in depth dialogue throughout the game conveying a deep and often humorous tale. It is a feature we spent a lot of time on in the game and one of the features that we believe elevates the game above what you would typically find in a puzzle game on the App Store.
Rovio have helped us with the branding and we worked closely to create a new video and art to be used to promote the game. If you haven’t seen the video yet what are you waiting for? Go view it now!
The other major benefit of working with Rovio is that they know better than anyone else on the App Store how to take a hit brand to the next level. There is everything now from the familiar Angry Birds plush toys, to a cartoon series and feature film on the way.
Now don't get too excited, you may not ever see such things from the Icebreaker universe. But if we do have a hit on our hands, then Rovio will help us make the most of it in a way we never could have done on our own!
Alongside the very exciting announcement that were working with the Angry Birds power house that is Rovio comes a brand new video. We closely worked with Rovio on this and as the previous video was very gameplay focused we felt a different direction was needed this time out.
New Icebreaker Trailer: Click Here!
We never could have achieved such cinema quality 3d on our own or done such cool voice acting! We're more than pleased with the results and think it echoes the offbeat humour of the game rather well!
May 14th, 2013 -- Espoo, Finland -- Rovio Entertainment announced the launch of its new mobile game publishing initiative, Rovio Stars, which will feature the best new games from talented and innovative developers. This is the entertainment company’s first foray into including third party titles in its game line-up.
“Rovio Entertainment has positioned itself as one of the powerhouses of mobile entertainment, so moving into publishing is a logical step for us at this point”, said Rovio’s EVP of Games Jami Laes. “We want to help our fans find quality entertainment among the more than 100,000 games available in app stores. That’s where Rovio Stars comes in.”
“In the course of our work, we run into so many fantastic upcoming titles -- games with memorable characters and entertaining gameplay that are also just really fun to play!” said Kalle Kaivola, Director of Development. “These are the sorts of titles we’re interested in. We want to help the developers to give these games that last coat of polish, publish the games and find their audience. We’re focusing on a small, select number of games, and each Rovio Stars launch will be an event of its own.”
The first game to be published under the Rovio Stars program will be Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage by Nitrome Ltd., followed by Tiny Thief by 5 Ants. Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage follows the adventure of a lone Viking, combining a unique ice slicing mechanic with an offbeat humour. Tiny Thief is a beautiful medieval adventure featuring stealth-based puzzles.
“Being involved with Rovio Stars means that we have one of the best marketing teams behind us, as well as visibility to their vast audience. To a small indie studio like Nitrome this is all the backing we could hope for!” said Mat Annal, Managing Director of Nitrome Ltd.
Check out the brand new Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage trailer here: http://rov.io/icebreakertrailer
Developers who are interested in Rovio Stars can find more information at: www.rovio.com/developers
For more information and general media inquiries please contact media@rovio.com
For more information on Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage, and Tiny Thief:
About Rovio Entertainment
Rovio is an industry-changing entertainment media company headquartered in Finland, and the creator of the globally successful Angry Birds franchise. Angry Birds, a casual puzzle game, became an international phenomenon within a few months of its release, and is now the number one paid app of all time. Angry Birds has expanded rapidly in entertainment, publishing, and licensing to become a beloved international brand. www.rovio.com
About Nitrome Ltd
Nitrome is an award winning games studio based in London UK, who develop mobile, PC and browser games. With over 100 games to date, the Nitrome website reaches tens of millions of loyal fans each month and individually titles have reached over 100 million plays across the internet. www.nitrome.com
About 5 Ants
Barcelona-based 5 Ants Studio aims to create imaginative and unique games for all ages. Tiny Thief is the culmination of our most enthusiastic work, a delicious adventure you will never forget. Intrigued? Visit 5ants.com
Hey Nitromians,
I know it has been a while since we last talked about Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage and I know a lot of you expected it would have been launched by now due to a comment on the Touch Arcade article which mentioned a January release. Well that obviously didn’t happen but rest assured that this is not vapourware... The game has actually never had so many people working on it and we have not at any point stopped working on it. It is getting close to being wrapped up and we will have more news coming soon. Until then thanks for your continued interest... It will be worth the wait!
While you wait check out this new screen shot from a later level in the game and note that we have also updated the progress bar to show that we are still erm.....progressing :)
Icebreaker: Dev Diary #3 - Click Here!
A lot has happened since the last update. We hope you enjoyed the trailer as much as we enjoyed your great response, it has helped boost our motivation to soaring heights for the home-stretch of Ice Breaker's development!
We thought it would be a great idea to show you just how far the iOS game has evolved from the original flash version. Check out the latest Icebreaker Update for some indepth analysis and cool new development shots!
Hey nitromians,
We have a very special reveal for you today. Our first iOS title Icebreaker:A Viking Voyage has a brand new trailer.
Also we have updated the Icebreaker micro-site with an all new awesome design.
What are you all waiting for...Go and check them out NOW!
Remember to please help spread the love for Icebreaker by sharing/liking the video and telling all of your gaming buddies.
Hey Nitromians,
Check out our official trailer over on Touch Arcade for Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage
We will be responding to comments over on Touch Arcade so please direct your feedback for this there! Enjoy :)
Touch Arcade Article: Click Here!
There has been a little gap in updates as we wanted to announce what we have been up to with our Touchy and Greenlight projects but that does not mean we have not been beavering away on Icebreaker at the same time….nobody sleeps here don’t you know!
This update covers a little about the characters in the game. Because our web games have a short turnaround time we rarely get to explore the characters in the game world so we made sure to make the most of it this time.
We explore the characters mainly through in game conversations they have. It is quite like how we did it in our Rubble Trouble games but we have made more tools to explore this further than we did in those games.
Icebreaker Update - Characters: Click Here!
Hey Nitromians,
We recently got sent this awesome piece of artwork. It's some great Icebreaker fanart created by a Nitromian by the name of Cesar.
Icebreaker Fanart: Click Here
Thanks Cesar, great work! :D
If you have any fan art you have made about Nitrome please do send it in! We love everything we get sent especially if it is our work applied to something we have never seen before. We will feature the best, most striking and most unusual pieces in our blog.
We're very pleased to announce that Icebreaker has been voted Best Physics game of 2009 on Jay Is Games!
Thanks very much to everyone who voted!
