Kotaku gets drunk on Shine Runner

Gaming Uberblog Kotaku today singled out Shine Runner as their Gaming App of the Day!

This makes us happy.  Partly because we like Kotaku and getting mentioned by them gives us a little bubbly feeling in our happy parts.  Also because they say things like this:

 The racing portion of the game is simply gorgeous, running blazingly fast on my Samsung Galaxy S II and featuring a graphics slider to tone down the visuals for lesser models. Like Riptide GP before it, this is one of those games that highlights how powerful mobile gaming has become, at least from a technical standpoint.

That kind of talk makes the bubbles bubble faster.   Thanks Kotaku!

Full article:  If Real Life Moonshine Running Had Tech This Impressive We’d All Be Drunk Right Now

Storm the Bayou and Smuggle Moonshine

Vector Unit’s Shine Runner™ coming to iOS and Android December 2, 2011

San Rafael, CA – December 1, 2011 — Indie game developer Vector Unit announced today that its latest mobile game, the water racing/action/strategy hybrid Shine Runner, will be released for iOS and Android devices on December 2.

In Shine Runner, players smuggle contraband goods in souped-up flat-bottomed fan boats, powersliding around twisting backwater bayous in a frenetic race to stay one step ahead of the clock – and the law.

Smuggling runs play out in lushly detailed – and fully destructible – 3D river environments. Players crash their way through levels packed with shacks, docks, chicken coops and outhouses, catch huge air off ramps and levies, and dodge (or smash) other river boats, including belligerent police. Between runs, players sell off their smuggled cargo and look for bargains so they can load up on grey market items like Gator Tails, Snake Oil, Tobacky…and of course, bootleg moonshine. The goal of the game is to maximize profits over a 10 day period.

“Our theme for this game is simple,” says Ralf Knoesel, Vector Unit’s Technical Director. “Two words: ’Redneck Chaos.’ Yes, there’s strategy to the trading meta-game, but personally I just love smashing alligators into chicken coops, punting cops off the tops of levies… I’ve been working on Shine Runner for months now and I still laugh when I’m playing.”

Shine Runner will be available Friday, December 2, 2011 for iPhone, iPad, and Android phones and tablets.

Game Features:

• Amazing Water Physics. Slip and slide through twisting bayous with the most realistic boat physics ever seen on mobile.
• Completely Destructible Game Environments. Crash through docks stacked high with barrels. Demolish shacks and outhouses. Punt gators and chickens. If you can see it, you can smash it!
• Smuggle Your Way to Riches! Buy and sell contraband goods like Moonshine and Tobacky, smuggling them from one colorful locale to the next in a race for maximum profit.
• Gorgeous HD Visuals. Explore a colorful southern world filled with high-detail boats, animated characters, beautiful bayou, marsh, and mountain environments, all running at a silky smooth framerate on your smartphone or tablet – or (on Android) on your HDTV with HDMI out!
• OpenFeint and Game Center Support. Make your name in the Shine Runner Hall of Fame leaderboards or show off your skills with some of the wackiest, most inventive Achievements around.

GameFanatics is fanatic about Riptide GP

GameFanatics has designated Riptide GP one of their "Top Honeycomb Apps for Android Gamers".

This game is incredible, down to the most minute water droplet, and with great gameplay and easy controls Riptide GP earns nothing but praise from me. You’d expect a game with such great graphics and intricate physics to have a few hiccups but I had nothing but a buttery smooth experience. If you own an Android tablet, you’d be doing yourself a disservice by not downloading Riptide GP.

Thanks, GameFanatics!

You can check out the full article with all their recommendations by clicking on this magical hyperlink.

NVIDIA features Riptide GP Tegra 3 update

The good folks at NVIDIA have released a developer video featuring the latest and greatest Tegra 3 enhanced games, including the latest update of Riptide GP!

Gamestop shipping Riptide GP on tablets

Video game mega-chain Gamestop has started selling Android tablets in a select group of stores around the country this holiday season.  The tablets come pre-installed with a hand-picked selection of games, and guess who's on the list?

Riptide GP will be preinstalled on thousands of Gamestop tablets and playable in demo stations at over 200 stores around the country (including Powell St in San Francisco).  We're in pretty elite company, too:  the other games in the lineup are Dead Space, Monster Madness, Sonic CD, and Re-Load.  That's a pretty package of gaming goodness right there.

The other thing Gamestop is rolling out that we're pretty excited about is a bluetooth gamepad, for $39.  One of the great things about Android is you can easily connect a gamepad via Bluetooth or USB; prop your tablet up on the table or connect it via HDMI to your TV, and you've got yourself a game console that travels.  The problem's been that decent Bluetooth gamepads are hard to find -- hopefully the Gamestop intiative will change all that, and encourage more developers to add gamepad support to their games!

More info on the Gamestop deal can be found here, in this article on Inquisitir.

OpenFeint gives thumbs-up to Riptide GP

Social gaming network OpenFeint has named Riptide GP it's Featured Game for the weekend!

We love OpenFeint, because we're addicted to Achievements and to dominating Leaderboards, and we've got it deeply integrated into Riptide GP.  Not only can you bump up your points with funky Achievements and rank yourself against the best players in the world, but you can also race against your Friends' best times in-game.  

Now that Riptide GP is available for multiple Android devices, iPhone, and iPad, OpenFeint has graciously featured us on their home page, both in a banner up top and as a Featured Game.

Thanks, OpenFeint!  

Link to OpenFeint site.

Riptide GP page on OpenFeint.

Only an App developer...

Some days my life seems.... a little unreal.

How else can you explain the picture to the left?  The hottest new iPhone and one of the hottest new Android phones bought by the same person within an hour of each other.

And why?  Not because I'm going to use them.  Oh no.  So we can debug some stuff on them.

Weirdest conversation with the guy at the Apple Store too:

Me:  Hi, I'd like to buy an iPhone 4S!

Genius:  OK, what carrier do you want?  Sprint?  Verizon?  AT&T?

Me:  I don't care.  Whichever you have in stock.

Genius:  Er, OK.  Well what size do you want?  16GB?  32GB?

Me:  Whichever is cheapest.

Genius:  Ah, OK.  And, uh...what color do you want?

Me:  I don't care.  Whatever you have in stock.

Genius:  Really?  Most people ... whatever, OK --

Me:  No wait, white.  [After realizing all our other iPhones are black, so white will help us tell them apart more easily.  Who's the Genius now??]

Genius:  Ok, white.  Well you're in luck, we have just a couple in stock.  These things have been selling out really fast.

Me:  That's awesome, thanks.  What's your return policy again?

The guy must have thought I was a freaking lunatic.  

Actually I'm being kind of a jerk about it -- Sorry, I'm sleepy.  It's actually a really sweet phone.  So's the S2.  The nerd in me would be drooling over getting a chance to play with both of these puppies.  If I weren't so busy.  And if my credit card weren't emitting low moans of ultimate pain and suffereing from inside my wallet.

SHH!  Bad credit card!

Riptide GP Splashes on to iOS and Android This Month

San Rafael, CA – October 6, 2011 — Indie game developer Vector Unit is proud to announce that their critically acclaimed water racing game Riptide GP™, previously an NVIDIA® Tegra™ exclusive, will be released for iPhone, iPad, and high-end Android devices in late October 2011. 

Riptide GP is a speed-infused arcade racing experience featuring realistic, physics-based waves and stunning visuals, ushering in a new era of console-quality titles on mobile devices.  

“We’ve taken all of our console game experience, passion for games, and our proprietary Vector Engine,” said Matt Small, Creative Director and Co-Founder of Vector Unit, “and jammed every ounce of it into Riptide GP to create a big, exciting, over the top 3D racing extravaganza for mobile players.” 

Players stunt, boost and rocket their hydro jets through twisting canals and rivers, futuristic cityscapes, and mysterious research facilities over an ever-changing torrent of unpredictable and undulating water.

Riptide GP goes wide end of October 2011.  

The long days of summer

Wow.  I just realized it's been months since we posted anything up here in the old Vector Unit blog.  Sorry for the extended downtime -- we've been craaaazzzy busy.

What have we been busy with?

Well there's Riptide GP for one.  We haven't really made any official announcements, but I don't think it's any surprise at this point that Riptide GP is on its way to iPhone, iPad, and non-Tegra Android phones and tablets.  We've been hard at work porting the game over and testing it to make sure the game is as fast and fun as possible on a whole range of new devices.  

We've also been working on a brand new game which we're really excited about.  I won't say too much about it, except that it involves water.  And moonshine.  And chickens.  Stay tuned for an announcement sometime in October.

OK well that's enough time in the blogosphere.  Gotta get back to work!