We were asked to demo Mama Hawk as a “favorites of PlayNYC” evening. We took the audience through the many (MANY) versions of the controls, graphics, and modes Mama Hawk has gone through in order to become today’s game. People mentioned they liked seeing the trials and errors of the development process, rather than just the final product, and I cannot wait to see other games’ evolution in the future as well. A fun night with a great turnout! Below is a video of part of our tour:
Kati representing Mamahawk with her tights, Andrew is pretty in MamaHawk pink
Terminal 5 is the site of many wonderful concerts I’ve seen over the years, so it was a thrill to enter the venue from the back entrance, and see the venue bathed in the dappled light of the venue’s signature disco ball, and later, to roam the backstage area.
Computerlunch had a corner spot for the inaugural PlayNYC, a gaming event for our wonderful home town. We transformed our corner booth into Mama’s signature woodland forest diorama, and met many wonderful people.
Clockwise from top left: Twitch stream of Mama Hawk play-through and interview with Andrew and Kati; view of our verdant booth from the balcony at closing time on day 1; a young lady enjoying the arcade version; someone hogging ALL the passes
This was our first time to show a game at an Animé convention, in its first year in Washington, D.C. The cosplay was world-class, and though the inaugural indie gaming area was small, many new fans ended up downloading the early access version of the game from the Google Play store.
Left to right: Genaro and Andrew trying to wrestle a gold ring from Sonic; swag table as attract mode; fellow fowl enjoying catching a glimpse of the Hawk life
Kati sat down with Logan Schultz from Indie Insider podcast to talk about being an art nerd, making a living as a creative in New York, creating art for games, being married to your business partner, and, of course, Mama Hawk. Her interview starts at 1:10.
We somehow ended up as part of a VR super team that included Moshe Ben-Zacharia, Jonathan Oglevie, Rachél Bazelais, Scott Tongue, and neuroscientist Wick Perry for the 2017 Games for Change “VR Brain Jam”. As the creator of the impressive “Body VR”, Mo quickly emerged as the tech lead for the team. After a weekend of brain chemistry crash courses, too much Mexican food and candy, and lots of new friendships, the “Neuromancers” were chosen by their piers and the judges as the winners of the competition.
Left: Rachél and Wick discussing user journey; center: a brain chemistry diagram made out of starburst candies; right: the winning team (minus Mo)
Mama Hawk is nearing completion, and it is bigger and better than ever – we have added more than ten new characters, a power up, achievements, and an updated UI.
We will be presenting the beta tomorrow at Playcrafting NYC’s big Halloween expo, and will be giving out prizes for the high score.
Help us playtest Mamahawk
Join for you to become a multi-tasking super mama (hawk).
For Android download here MamaHawk Open Beta
For iOS send a email to Kati@computerlunch.com with the title “Mamahawk beta”
SwingStar VR was selected as a finalist for the 2016 Global VR Challenge, and we were invited to attend the awards ceremony at China Joy Expo in Shanghai, China. Our game beat out 144 global competitors to win honorable mention, and as a bonus we got to explore the strangely familiar streets of Shanghai in unbearably hot and humid weather, and making friends with local VR enthusiasts and the other finalists. Amazing!
We did it – SwingStar is coming out this Thursday, and all we can say is THANK YOU!!!!!
It’s been quite an experience as a small indie studio to develop a virtual reality game, and we are extremely grateful to you all for coming out and playing the game, and for helping us with your feedback and encouragement.
SwingStar will be out for for GearVR and Oculus Rift Thursday, May 5th or, as we like to call it, “Swinco de Mayo”: $2.99 (GearVR) and $4.99 (Oculus Rift)
Thank you again for your support, and please share the game with your friends!
PS We are currently putting finishing touches on the Vive version, which will be available soon. Also, if you are in the New York area, you can play the newest levels (not released yet) at the Playcrafting Summer Expo on May 4 at Microsoft Times Square.
If you live in the New York area and would like to check out SwingStarVR (and get some of the swag that survived PAX East), come out to IndieCadeEast on Saturday, and say hi. Press inquiries: hello [at] computerlunch [dot] com