Ben Moore is a business development executive, most recently with Mighty Rabbit Studios. He follows, analyzes, and capitalizes on gaming industry trends from social to mobile to console. Ben also co-founded Raleigh Game On, a recurring event that brings local gaming talent and local gamers together. He';s a passionate gamer, loves chocolate stouts and Skryim, but most importantly, he';s a Triangle Game Development enthusiast.
Whether or not you're a hardcore gamer or “pwn” things on a regular basis, Durham's own premiere game news outfit, The Escapist, will be hosting one hell of neighborhood block party for you. This is their first annual Expo at the Durham Convention Center, September 14th-16th, and it aims to appeal to everyone.
My first thought was that this might be a clone of the East Coast Game Conference, Game Developers Conference (GDC), or Animazement. After actually looking at what the event has the offer- well, these folks have something pretty original on hand.
Not only will guests include big name talent in the game industry but there will also be music, a lawn showing of the classic “Flash Gordon”, laser tag, card tournaments (Magic: The Gathering), etc. What REALLY piqued my interest was their decision to host one of the largest games of “Humans vs. Zombies” to date, a type of moderated tag popularized on college campuses where human players can use dart guns or their own socks to ward off swarming zombie hordes (no eating faces allowed). --Read On
If you've been following the buzz surrounding the game industry, you should be no stranger to the heavily debated topic of the “shakeout” facing the traditional console development business model. Google “console developer”, search under news, and you'll find many of the top links sucking you into an ongoing argument of how the mobile gaming industry is either enhancing or derailing the future of console game development.
So What's the Fuss?
Here's the fuss- until the emergence of the mobile device as a seriously profitable market channel, it has been a relatively easy-bake cake walk for large publishers/developers to focus their publishing efforts targeting a moderately reliable target demographic for AAA game titles. With the continued increase of the quality and quantity of mobile apps, these gamers are splitting their game expenditure into the mobile medium. Consumer power has influenced an industry into a “who moved my cheese?” scramble to re-strategize their business model. --Read On
Jay Nakai and Brad Willson both had the opportunity to strengthen their chops working for Virtual Heroes, a Raleigh serious games developer, with Brad having also served a stint as supervisor for development support with Rockstar San Diego. Before long, both decided to drink the Kool-Aid of indie game development (which seems to be flowing strong round these parts), and Nakai Entertainment was born into the fold of Triangle startups.
Their first collaborative title introduced the quirky side-scroller (iOS, Android) Ninja Hamster Rescue. While the game wasn't the breakout hit they were looking for, it showed some serious promise and sparked higher expectations for what the pair could achieve as new developers in the future.
I can't but help but root for the home team on their iPad title Shatter Crash. You can get it here in the App Store, and for a very limited time it's only 99 cents (Retail is $1.99).
I had an opportunity to check under the hood and kick a few tires on the new toy they've been whittling away on for the better part of a year. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the two, but hopefully I won't have to for long- because the game actually looks fantastic. Releasing today, this local duo has something for iPad owners to look forward to. --Read On
Whether or not you're a hardcore gamer or “pwn” things on a regular basis, Durham's own premiere game news outfit, The Escapist, will be hosting one hell of neighborhood block party for you. This is their first annual Expo at the Durham Convention Center, September 14th-16th, and it aims to appeal to everyone.
If you've been following the buzz surrounding the game industry, you should be no stranger to the heavily debated topic of the “shakeout” facing the traditional console development business model. Google “console developer”, search under news, and you'll find many of the top links sucking you into an ongoing argument of how the mobile gaming industry is either enhancing or derailing the future of console game development. 
Jay Nakai and Brad Willson both had the opportunity to strengthen their chops working for Virtual Heroes, a Raleigh serious games developer, with Brad having also served a stint as supervisor for development support with Rockstar San Diego. Before long, both decided to drink the Kool-Aid of indie game development (which seems to be flowing strong round these parts), and Nakai Entertainment was born into the fold of Triangle startups.