News

Backseat Driver Introduces Interactive Storybooks for the iPad; Supports Reading for Kids with Dyslexia

05-Feb-13

VA-based publisher Backseat Driver Games announces the launch of Three Billy Goats Gruff, Princess and the Pea, and Jack and the Beanstalk, a series of interactive storybooks for the iPad.

 

Aimed at kids 4-10 years old, these unique adaptations of classic fairy tales feature a group of friends who are taken into magical worlds where they get to meet princesses, slay giants, outwit menacing trolls, perform tricks, and many more.

 

Each app features over twenty pages of illustrated content, beautiful graphics, enjoyable animations, and karaoke-style text for easy reading. Kids can opt to listen to a storyteller/voiceover or read the storybooks themselves. Kids with dyslexia can opt to use a special font designed to aid them in their reading.

 

Backseat Driver started in 2011 and has been expanding aggressively ever since. CEO Todd Walderman says, "We’re planning to launch 17-20 games and storybooks this year. We're thrilled to be in the edutainment space, building applications that are not just educational but also rich with features, exciting activities, and endearing characters. Right now we're focusing on the iPad, but we're planning to deploy versions for Android users as well. That should be within the next month or so." Learn more about this fun app from its microsite. or download them for free directly through the links below:

• Princess and the Pea
• Three Billy Goats Gruff
• Jack and the Beanstalk

 

About Backseat Driver Games:

Backseat Driver is a publisher of educational and interactive content for kids. Its games and apps focus on values education including budgeting, responsibility, decision making, cooperation, diversity, respect, and others. Backseat Driver also offers interactive storybooks that cater to kids with dyslexia.

Through BD games, parents and educators can empower kids to pursue further learning in their own ways, with a guarantee of a safe and enjoyable experience at all times. For more information about Backseat Driver, visit its website http://www.backseat-driver.com or Facebook page www.facebook.com/BackseatDriverGames

Repost article from http://backseat-driver.com/news/

News

Backseat Driver Offers 3 Children's Storybook Apps for Free starting this February

05-Feb-13

Backseat Driver, a leading publisher of kid-friendly games and applications, announces that 3 of its iPad apps for kids are now available for free for the entire month of February 2013. The $1.99 or 100% slash-off is available in the iTunes Store for a limited time only.

The interactive storybook apps, namely The Princess and the Pea, Jack and the Beanstalk, and 3 Billy Goats Gruff, are featured under the Kids & Educational Games category in iTunes. The apps aim to provide children with fun and engaging tools for early language and reading development.

"Our apps combine eye-candy, high-quality graphics, and immersive sound effects that kids will enjoy. In addition, the apps allow kids with dyslexia to read easily via special fonts that aid them in their reading. At Backseat Driver, we make learning easier and more interesting through beautiful characters, exciting animations, as well as simpler and intuitive navigation. The kids can enjoy the apps with little or no assistance at all from parents," says Todd Walderman, Backseat Driver CEO.

Other key features of the apps include:

• Adorable characters, simpler storytelling
• An option for kids to listen to a voiceover or read the storybooks themselves
• Exciting animations within pages
• Karaoke-style text for easy reading
• Special fonts for kids with dyslexia
• Quick and easy navigation
• Fun and delightful graphics and illustrations

Backseat Driver has been expanding aggressively since it was established in 2011. According to CEO Todd Walderman, the company is planning to launch up to 20 games and storybooks this year. Their goal is to establish a stronger presence in the edutainment space and build applications that are not merely educational, but rich with features, exciting activities, and lovable characters. Aside from offering interactive storybooks that promotes reading, Backseat Driver also emphasizes budgeting, responsibility, decision making, cooperation, diversity, respect and many other values in each of their apps, which also include Lil Kitten Shopping Cart Game, a New and Noteworthy app in iTunes.

 

Backseat Driver is concentrating on iPad apps but plans to launch Android versions within the next two months as well.

 

About Backseat Driver:

Founded in 2011, Backseat Driver is a provider of various interactive and educational mobile games for children aged 4-10. It endeavors to continually assist parents and educators deliver lessons through fun and engaging ways. Through the BD games online learning portal, kids are empowered to constantly develop their young minds independently in a safe and enjoyable manner. Visit their website at http://backseat-driver.com/about/

 

Repost article from http://backseat-driver.com/backseat-driver-offers-3-childrens-storybook-apps-for-free-starting-this-february/

News

RYO in Game Developers Conference 2012

15-Feb-12

RYO Media and RYO Games keep the ball rolling in the game development industry as they attend this year's Game Developer's Conference (GDC) & Game Connection America happening on March 5 - 9, 2012 at the Moscone Center & Sir Francisco Drake Hotel in San Franciso, CA.

This is the second year that RYO Media joins the world's largest professionals-only game industry event. RYO's Todd Walderman, Sunjay Pandey, Don Larmee, and Christine Rom will be among the over 19,000 participants comprised of programmers, producers, game designers, audio professionals, and other stakeholders in the dynamic game development industry.

"It's an exciting opportunity for RYO Media to hobnob with game publishers, advertisers, and developers," says RYO CEO Todd Walderman. With over 400 lectures, panels, tutorials, and round-table discussions, the GDC sets the trends in the gaming industry. "We will be at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel and we're excited to discuss monetization strategies and options for publishers and advertisers alike," Walderman adds. "Our RYO Games team will also be present to explore new collaboration possibilities in game publishing and development."

RYO Media is the provider of Wovenly™, a technology platform for accelerating audience acquisition as well as optimizing revenue from online communities, mobile games and applications. With RYO's optimization platform, a developer can integrate the solution and achieve critical mass and conversions more rapidly than conventional methods will permit.

News

Creating multi-platform casual games

10-Feb-12

After its phenomenal success on the iOs platform, Angry Birds was made available for mobile phones using the Android OS, Symbian, Windows 7, and on Playstation Portable. Lately, it is playable on Google's Chrome web browser. Obviously, games and apps that run on multi-platform devices reach a bigger market, so more casual games game developers are now making their apps available across different OS.

Here are some tips on making hit casual games for multiple platforms:

1. Love 'em all

Be torn no longer between the iOS and the Android OS- you can play your favorite game on both. Most multi-platform casual games run across various operating systems: Apple iOs, Google Android, Linux, and Blackberry Playbook to name a few.

2. Rise above challenges

Developing cross-platform casual games is all about unifying the diverse nature of several technologies. These are some of the roadblocks that game developers meet and how to overcome each:

• Screen resolution and DPI - each mobile device has a different screen resolution and ratio of dots per inches. For example, take a look at how each tablet differs.

Gaming device	Pixel size	Dots per inches
BlackBerry PlayBook	600 x 1024	192
Apple iPad 2	768 x 800	240
Samsung Galaxy 10.1 Tab	800 x 1280	142

Content scaling should be adjusted to each device to ensure that images are not cropped or pixelated.

• Different input methods - how do players interact with the app- do they do it through mouse, keyboard, or touchscreen? Reconciling different inputs is crucial. For instance, a mobile device may support multi-touch gestures (like the iPad), but other gadgets can't do the same. Game developers should be able to come up with alternative input methods without sacrificing the gameplay.

3. Speak their language

Some platforms are restrictive to the programming language used. But thanks to new cross-platform development tools, game developers can now be multi-lingual. Here are just some of them:

Open Source	OS covered
RhoMbolie	iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile, RIM, Symbian
Widgetpad	iOS, Android, WebOS
PhoneGap	iOS, Android, Palm, Symbian, BlackBerry

4. Go Social

The popularity of casual games is attributed to their easy-share feature. Imagine creating a cross-platform app that can be played on different devices and can be shared on social sites. It will gain a strong following of casual gamers in no time. Developing multiple platforms games is about taking fun to a whole new level by making apps more available for different players - no matter what their gadget may be!

News

Advertising through casual games-- does it work?

09-Feb-12

You bet it does! With the unprecedented popularity of online and mobile games these days, casual games have become one of the most compelling advertising platforms. It particularly helps in company or product branding and boosting inquiries and sales.

Currently, there are two types of casual games that are used in advertising campaigns across different industries and sectors: the advergame and the ad-supported game.

Though these two terms are often used interchangeably, there is a big difference between them when it comes to marketing techniques and in game developing strategies. The distinction, however, is not apparent to end users or gamers.

Games with ad-supported content have advertising banners or icons placed strategically inside the game's interface. These ad-supported web games usually earn through CPM (cost per mile), thus the advertiser pays for every 1, 000 impressions or views that the game gets.

On the other hand, advergames have the advertiser's message embedded inside the game play. Advergames rely on subliminal marketing although the brand or product logo is often placed purposefully on the background.

So, what is the best form of casual game in terms of ad delivery? It depends on what kind of message you want to tell your consumers. As soon as you pin down your message, you can then decide how to deliver it.

To help you make up your mind, we've put together some tips. So if you want to:

share/post games on your website or blog build backlinks to your own website through game results have clickable ads to generate revenue have dynamic ads around game or through pop up banners link to another page for e-commerce through a clickable icon in the game employ Direct Response Advertising	make game area less cluttered distribute game through cd and dvd other than through web brower make a game with a bigger file size use multimedia cross-branding to promote a product (tv ad simultaneously launched with a web game) include downloadable apps (ringtone, wallpaper) in your casual game develop a game without budget constraints
Go for an Ad-supported casual game!	Make an Advergame!

After making up your mind, it's time to call in the game developers and discuss your objectives. Aside from getting your advertising goals together, it is equally important to deliver them in a great game. Remember, the more the players have fun with your casual game, the more successful your advertising will be.

Good luck!