Jumpdrive Studios (a Portland based indie game company) could not have found a better location to showcase their first video game, XO. The team set up their demo at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry's monthly adults-only “After Dark” event, and turned the controls over to the public for the first time. XO is currently 13 weeks into development, and they plan on releasing the game later in 2015.

“When I heard OMSI was looking for local game-makers, I knew we had to be there,” said Corey Warning, one member of Jumpdrive Studio's small team. “Having people come play our space game at the science center... it's kind of perfect.”

Jumpdrive Studios is making an effort to be at as many local and national video game events as possible. Not just to raise awareness for their game, but also to gain feedback from players of all backgrounds. They frequent meet-ups hosted by Portland Indie Game Squad (more commonly known as PIGSquad) which is a community of local game-makers that get together several times a month. XO was representing PIGSquad at After Dark, along with a handful of other locally made games.

“It's been a stressful couple of weeks,” recalls Warning. “It's not like we just showed up with whatever we had ready at the moment, we've been planning for this for weeks. We spent a lot of time thinking about how people would react to playing the game – what if they didn't understand it, or what if people walked by without even playing? We got this double TV rack that we can push about 9 feet in the air so that no matter how packed the room got, everyone would be able to see us. I made a gameplay trailer that played on a loop on one of the screens, and we printed a bunch of pins and stickers so everyone would have something to take home to remember XO. We really went all out!”

"It's amazing to see where the local indie development community has come from and where it's going. I'm really pleased with how much PIGSquad has been able to support teams like Jumpdrive and how community members' games are becoming so highly polished and professional as a result," stated Will Lewis, who started PIGSquad 4 years ago.

“OMSI After Dark: Mind Games was our highest attended event in almost a year.” said OMSI event planner Sonali Shivdasani, “We were fortunate to have had a variety of local companies in attendance to show off their work which allowed guests to enjoy a diverse range of games to challenge their skills. Gaming events are always popular here, and we will definitely do more in the future. We couldn’t have such successful events without the participation of organizations like XO and PIGSquad, and we appreciate their eagerness to show off their products at OMSI.” The event reached maximum capacity in the first 2 hours, with over 2,100 patrons in attendance.

Warning describes XO as a sci-fi game where you command a rag-tag fleet of starships against an unbeatable enemy. He recently attended the annual Game Developer's Conference (GDC) in San Fransisco with an early version of XO, and was asked to be a guest speaker at the Game Developers Collective's 1^st Annual Indie Night in Seattle.

“We've had some great reactions for XO so far. I think the 80's, vectorized arcade art-style pulls people in, and once they see how the game plays they just have to give it a shot,” Warning reflects. “One of the benefits of showing our game at an event like this is that it's being played by all kinds of people – not everyone is a die-hard strategy game fan. Our goal is to make this a game that's accessible to has many players as possible, and seeing where people get stuck is critical to developing a good experience.”

Jumpdrive Studios plans to bring updated versions of XO to future events around Portland, and they're currently submitting the game to larger exhibitions around the United States. The studio is actively looking for playtesters in the Portland area to help them collect even more feedback.

Relevant links:
More about Jumpdrive Studios from The Portland Mercury
Jumpdrive Studios official site
Corey Warning's GDC postmortem
OMSI: After Dark event site
PIGSquad website
Game Developers Collective official site

Submitted by: E. Thomas

Dungeons & Dragons MMORPG Now Available to Download for Free

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – March 31, 2015 – Today, Perfect World Entertainment Inc., a leading publisher of free-to-play MMORPGs, and Cryptic Studios announced that Neverwinter is now available for Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, in 33 regions across Europe, North America and South America. Neverwinter brings a full-fledged roleplaying experience based on the Dungeons & Dragons franchise with a living world and immersive fantasy storylines to console gamers, all available as a free download for Xbox Live Gold members.

At launch, Neverwinter will include all the content from the base game, all current playable classes including the Scourge Warlock and the Tyranny of Dragons expansion allowing players to experience the latest Dungeons & Dragons adventures with their friends. Neverwinter on Xbox One will also utilize console features including friends list integration and optimized controls to easily transition the MMORPG experience from PC to console. From Tuesday, March 31 through Thursday, April 2, Neverwinter will be available to all Xbox One owners with an Xbox Live Silver membership.

“Neverwinter represents Perfect World Entertainment and Cryptic’s entrance and dedication to the console market,” said Bryan Huang, CEO for Perfect World Entertainment. “Our development team has worked relentlessly to ensure that the Neverwinter experience lives up to console player’s expectations for a high-quality free-to-play MMORPG. We’re excited to welcome players to the Forgotten Realms and continue to build on their experience as we release updates throughout the year.”

Neverwinter is a free-to-play action MMORPG that features fast-paced combat and epic dungeons. Players explore the vast city of Neverwinter and its surrounding countryside, learning the vivid history of the iconic city in the Forgotten Realms and battling its many enemies. Neverwinter is currently available on PC and digitally on Xbox One, available free-to-play with Gold* from the Xbox Games Store.

For more information about Neverwinter , visit http://www.arcgames.com/en/games/neverwinter

*On Xbox, Xbox Live Gold membership (sold separately) required.

Submitted by: E. Thomas