Juniper Games announcements
 

So, Juniper Games' site has been redesigned, and two extra games have been announced. I can't say I know much about their themes, due to not being a reader of the comics, and my mind collapses when I try to work out how he's figured out how to get the three games made in two years, but I'm just glad that we've got a decent chance of having three experiences of his "high interaction density" philosophy in the near future. Congratulations, on managing to get the games into production, Steve. (Damn, that sounds overly familiar, being as my only contact with you has been by voyeuristically reading your blog and forum posts...) Those two Sapphire Claw screenshots still take my breath away every time I look at them.

Yay for Steve! Bring it on!

Hey, it's Steve were talking about here. He can work for a week in a row without even blinking. ;)

Keep up the good work, Steve. So far all the games seem amazing.

A Mr Smoozles game! Woo! :D The strip is hilarious; I wonder what kind of game it's going to be (judging by the released picture - more of a puzzle/arcade, but it's hard to tell).

Anyway, great news! Making two new announcements suggests that despite some problems with finding a publisher Mr Ince is stil enthusiastic about his new company, which is a positive sign. And, [wishful thinking]who knows, maybe that means we will hear some good news concerning Sapphire Claw in the nearest future?[/wishful thinking]

Yay for Steve Ince!

Good Luck Steve!

The two arcady games might be a good laugh.

Can't wait for Saphirre Claw though:9~

Wow, looking good, Steve. The Adventure RPG sounds interesting. I'm hoping it'll involve "levelling" up your robot with spare parts strewn about.

And yeah, how he's managing all this is beyond me. Looking for staff members? ;)

Thank you so much.

I've never been having so much fun. You're going to love "Nutso". :)

There will be levelling up, but in a more structured way that fits in with the adventure style of gameplay. There won't be random battles.

Not only 1 but 3 games by Juniper Games. Awesome news :) Steve, best of luck. Looking really good.

I'm very excited about this awesome news update!.:D

Keep up the good work, Steve, and good luck on managing your new company.:)

There is nothing more satisfying in life than doing something you love. Congratulations on the new games Steve! :)

*giggles*

*giggles*

Finally! Great wacky ideas are making a comeback! :9

:)

http://www.ukresistance.co.uk/2005/1...-launched.html

Too many dark games out there at the moment?

LOL! :) Seriously, it reminds me of the good ol' days, when all these nice people (in stinky garages, under cold neon light, as some legends have it) came up with all those crazy ideas and were even able to realize them as they wanted to. (I like dark games, though. Gotta get my hands on Call Of Cthulhu, if it will ever see a PC release at all, that is.. :frown: )

The thing is that there's almost only dark games out there at the moment. There should be both dark ones and the wacky ones.

I agree. When I ask "are there too many dark games?" I don't mean that there should only be non-dark games, but that we need to create a better balance. Hopefully my games will be able to go some way towards that.

So there! :)

Do dead fish swim? :D

Hm, that's a very good question indeed. :D

http://images.epilogue.net/users/alvarez/newZfish.jpg

Is'pose sometimes, somewhere they do. :D

"The Electronic Zombie Fish from Mars" - I'd love to play that game. :)

It's an Invaders clone...

Mr Smoozles!

http://www.juniper-games.com/smoozles/Screenshots.htm

What a cute kitty!! :)

Try here if you'd like to get to know him better, Mel. :)

EDIT: Thanks for the heads up, Kolzig.

Thanks :)

That site is a hoot.
Some of the comments too. ("Lighten up you big fanny.")

But I'd agree that it's actually a serious subject.
We do need more "lighthearted" games.
Not every adult wants to play dark gritty games all the time.
It's one of the reasons I'm looking forward to 80 Days. Not only is it lighthearted, it looks different from most of the games currently coming out.
And those Sapphire Claw screenshots look great too. I'm looking forward to dealing with the "interaction density" in that gameworld.

Of course I'm also looking forward to Scratches...

Things are looking great for Steve Ince's company. :)

Every new piece of info he releases about his three new games is like an early christmas present for me.

I just love Steve's take on games. His games are so light, happy and colorful, such a fresh breath of air from all the dark violent games we are exposed to.

Thanks for all the positive comments everyone.

Now that's exactly the reaction that makes me want to create games in the way I intend to do.

This may get me flamed, but there's something I wanted to ask Steve.

Consider exhibits (a) and (b):

http://www.steve-ince.co.uk/juniper_games2.jpg

http://www.juniper-games.com/JG_top_banner1.jpg

I'm wondering what prompted the change in logo, especially as the first one looks, in my opinion, way better? The top one is simple, clean and makes me think of cartoony games (in a good way) through your choice of font, while the second one looks like Generic Company Logo #2345™.

Now, I'm certainly not saying that you're not entitled to change the logo, and I'm certainly not suggesting that the second one looks absolutely atrocious (though it does remind me of the kind of terrible designs I've come up with using Pageplus), but I'm wondering why you made the change. I'm no artist, mind you (as several people will be able to testify), so I feel rather dirty criticising you!

I do hope you're not going to tell me that the arrow pointing upwards and forwards is symbolic of Juniper Games' progressive nature and striving to reach the very top of its game...

Anyway, everything else looks very promising (and I don't just mean visually). So keep up the good work! :)

Is the direction you want to take closer to :

-Monkey Island 1 (serious synopsis, tongue in cheek humour)
-Sam and Max (twisted and absurd)
-Day of the Tentacle (typically cartoon, tongue in cheek)
-None of the above, and why the hell would you want to compare my games to anything else?
-Other games I didn't mention
-:Z

I'm asking this because there are many ways to make "a lighter game", and I'm wondering which way you'll choose.

That's not a good reason, then? :)

That's actually the sort of "mission statement" that turns me off when I read it, so it certainly wasn't behind the new design.

A number of people have commented on the new logo, also unfavourably, so I may have got it wrong. I was trying to create a "J" shape from the "sphere", but I don't think it's obvious enough. While I like the simple nature of the old logo, the colour scheme wasn't right and the text was a little squashed and looked as though it was fighting the design.


Thanks for the kind words.


Yes.

You'll likely see elements of all of the above, mixed in with all my other influences from Calvin and Hobbes to Wallace and Gromit. :D

That's just mean. :\

:shifty: In other words, your main influence will be Steve Ince's.

Sometimes these things are difficult to quantify. Because I've been around the block more than a few times my influences are great and varied.

For instance, I still remember the excitement when the Batman TV series appeared in the 60s. And I thought that Marine Boy was wonderful and that Oxy-gum was a marvelous invention. :D

But it's that kind silly seriousness (or serious silliness) that I love in a kind of tongue-in-cheek way.

I also preferred the old logo.

Whether that is just a natural reaction to change or symptomatic of a dislike for the new one is up for debate.

If you stick Steve Juniper in the google image search you get

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/3...juniper0wv.jpg

So maybe you want a bonsai tree as your logo to symbolize small, meticulously formed games .

With a new name of "Steve Juniper Bonsai Tree Games"?

:)

An alternative logo can be seen here: http://www.juniper-games.com/logovote.htm

You can vote (if you're registered) at the forum here: http://www.juniper-games.com/phpBB2/....php?p=870#870

:)

I like Logo B better, and the original even more (see Lacey's post) :) .

Yeah, B wins out of those two hands down.

Though I pine for the old colour scheme.

But seriously, thanks for running a poll in response to the comments you've received from people :).

If enough people believe that something isn't right, then there's no point me hiding from the obvious.