InstantAction Beta Blog

Shacknews Photoshop Contest

The Shack has it's grip on 5 "keys" to the Legions private beta and wants to pawn them off on you artistic folk (maybe those who aren't as well).  All you need to do is use the provided images and paste them into real world events, preferably news.  Make it funny, make it fun.  Following are some of the submissions so far.

You've got until 11:59pm CST on April 1st (that's a Tuesday) to get your entries posted.  Head to Shacknews for full contest details.  Open that legal copy of Photoshop or equivalent photo editing software and get to the creating. 

-Dr Wiley

Another Chance to Win

What happened?  Were you one of the people that fell asleep during the last contest to get in on the Legions private beta?  Well it's your lucky day.  The first contest is over, but a second one has begun.  30 more InstantAction users will gain access to the Legions private beta.

How do you win this contest?  Do what you were doing before, but do it harder!  Just get the most friends to sign up between now and 4/9/2008 and you've got it.  Access to the Legions beta. 

No, this isn't some cruel April Fool's Day joke either.  Log in, click that friends tab up on the top there, start adding email address and send them out!

I've created an image for those that prefer visuals.  Below you'll find an aid on how to invite friends to InstantAction.  My Photoshop skillz are lacking.

-Dr Wiley

Last Call for Legions Private Beta Access

Consider this your final notification for the Legions Contest.  The contest will come to a close Monday, March 31st.  That means you still have the entire weekend to invite your friends, parents, grandparents, friends grandparents, and anyone else that you hold dear.  Get to the inviting and get access to the Legions Private Beta.

Here's what you receive if you win:

• Access to the Legions Private beta for you and two of your closest buddies.
• A limited edition Legions avatar for use on InstantAction.
• Undying admiration from all of your friends and fellow players on InstantAction.

For full contest rules click this link.

Here are the top 20 on the list so far.  Once again in no particular order:

Mugwet    
Pakpak    
Von_Schpam
Oenone   
mimelim
Badazz    
-niKo-    
Ethelwulf 
nasir91   
Gryphon   
Apcizzle   
the_overlord
konrador
got-haggis   
Kg1120    
Buhlitz   
Wufei74   
forthewin206
Hikaru501 
pwnpies   

Invite invite invite!  Oh and have a good weekend.

-Dr Wiley

ActionTokens and You.

Remember those tokens that you've been accumulating since you joined InstantAction?  You can now begin using them to unlock the complete InstantAction experience.

You may be wondering, “what can ActionTokens do for me?”

Fortunately I have an answer. 

Beginning today, ActionTokens  allow you to access:

• -New Levels and Maps: get more out of your favorite InstantAction games.

• -Premium In-Game Items: new characters, power-ups, and other exclusive extras means more ways to play.

• -Special Site Privileges: such as the ability to invite a friend to join your party even if they do not own the same level, character, or other game-related item as you do.

And what do you do if you don't have enough tokens to unlock something?

You will be notified if you have an insufficient amount of ActionTokens and will be given the opportunity to purchase additional tokens.  From there unlock until your heart is content.

That should about do it.  Feel free to post here if you have any questions.

-Dr Wiley

Josh Williams and Mark Frohnmayer at Startupalooza

Josh Williams(CEO of GarageGames) and Mark Frohnmayer(Co-Founder of GarageGames) will be speaking about and giving a demo of InstantAction at this year's Startupalooza.

Read the full story at the Startupalooza website.

Starupalooza is an interactive forum for the Portland tech startup community. Find out about cool tech startups, learn from successful tech entrepreneurs and meet local tech-business people in a candid, no-BS environment.

Legions Contest Reminder

This is just a friendly reminder that the Fallen Empire: Legions Private Beta contest is underway. 

The quick details:

Who?  The top 30 people with the most friends that have signed up win!

When?  The contest runs until March 31st.  This also includes friends that have signed up since the launch of InstantAction(we don't want to discount all your hard work).

What?  The winners will receive access to the Private Beta for themselves and 2 friends.  Winners also receive a limited edition Fallen Empire: Legions avatar.

Why?  Because we love you...and we know you want to play Legions.  :)

Click here for the full details of the contest.

In case you were wondering we have a list of the top 10 so far.  Here they are in no particular order:

Von_Schpam
Pakpak
Oenone
got-haggis
Mugwet
Badazz
-niKo-
Bond007
Ethelwulf
nasir91

Get to inviting if you want to be part of the Legions private beta.

-Dr Wiley

ZAPPED!

ZAP! aka Zero All Productivity is not just a name, it's your future. This frantic and addictive multiplayer space shooter will threaten your job security as you spend hours blasting your friends and challenging your enemies.

ZAP! has now been added to one of the playable games on InstantAction.  ZAP! features multiple game types such as CTF and Hunters, an array of weapons, and many different power-ups.  You'll also find bots(ranging from easiest to extreme difficulties) in this game, so you can practice your skills.  When you're ready to go up against real people jump in a game and start blasting.

Goodbye productivity and hello ZAP!

Check out the Legions Blog

The Legions blog is now up and content is being posted by the Legions developers.  Aside from reading posts from the developers of Legions you'll also find information about upcoming contests, game info,and more. 

Check out this post from Tim (Director of Fallen Empire: Legions) about his artistic endeavors.

Here's an example of what you'll see:

In case you missed the link at the top, here it is again: http://legionsblog.instantaction.com.  Don't forget to bookmark that goodness and subscribe to the RSS feed.

-Dr Wiley

Legions Developer Chat

If you missed the chat with Tim Aste, Director of Fallen Empire: Legions, no worries.  You can watch it here, or you can re-watch it if you were participating in the live chat.  This was actually a huge success and a lot of fun so we plan on doing more in the future.

-Dr Wiley

Fallen Empire: Legions Private Beta Contest

The Fallen Empire: Legions private beta is right around the corner, and we want to give you a chance to be among the first to jump into the fast-paced FPS melee. The 30 InstantAction users who get the most friends to sign up by 3/31/2008 will be granted access to the private beta.

Winners will also get to invite 2 friends into the beta, and receive a limited edition Legions avatar.

Read below for contest details, including terms & conditions, a friend invite how-to, and prize details.

Details, screenshots, and videos of Fallen Empire: Legions:

Youtube videos

Legions on IGN

1up Coverage

ShackNews Interview

Terms & Conditions:

1) Contest Deadline: All friend invites must be submitted - and all invitees must complete their registration by 3/31/2008 PST.

2) The 30 winners will be those who have invited the most friends with a confirmed InstantAction account by the stated contest end date.

3) GarageGames/InstantAction employees and their families are not eligible to enter the contest.

4) By participating in this contest, the winners agree to have their name used in any advertising or promotional material related to this contest without financial or other compensation beyond the specified prizes.

5) GarageGames/InstantAction reserves the right to investigate and verify any prize winner and disqualify any winner who it finds, in its sole judgment, has not complied with these Terms and Conditions.

CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT BY A USER OR ENTRANT OR ANY OTHER INDIVIDUAL TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEB SITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE FALLEN EMPIRE: LEGIONS PRIVATE BETA CONTEST IS A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, IA RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES AND COSTS (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ATTORNEYS' FEES) FROM ANY SUCH PERSON TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

How to invite friends to InstantAction:

Login to InstantAction

Click on the 'Friends' tab at the top of the screen.

Click the 'Add Friends' tab.

Fill in the email addresses of friends you want to invite and hit 'Send'.

Prizes:

30 winners will receive:

-   Access to the Fallen Empire: Legions private beta

-   The ability to invite up to 2 other friends into the beta

-   A limited edition Fallen Empire: Legions avatar for their InstantAction profile.

Winners will be announced 4/2/2008 on the InstantAction blog and the Legions blog (coming soon). All winners will be notified by email as well.

Questions? Contact support@instantaction.com with the subject line “Legions Beta Contest”.

Chat with Tim Aste, Project Director of Fallen Empire: Legions

It's finally here.  Today at 3pm PST you'll be able to ask questions and get answers from Tim Aste.  So be here or be a square.  Alternatively you can head to the Ustream page to access the interview.

InstantAction on G4

The segment "Web Tools" on Attack of the Show recently featured InstantAction.  The video has an awesome run-down of features from Eugene Morton, and explains how it'll help reduce productivity even more while at work...or home.  Check out the video and read the full post over at G4TV.com

-Dr Wiley

Legions Q&A

Don't forget tomorrow is the day you can chat with Tim Aste from the Legions Development Team.  Following you will find some details about the event:

• When?  March 20th at 3pm
• Where?  I'll post the live feed and chat in this blog.  Alternatively, you can head here: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/legions-live-chat
• What?  Ask questions regarding Legions and get answers.
• From Who?  Tim Aste will be answering those questions.
• Why?  Because you can finally get answers to those questions you've been wondering about since the announcement of Fallen Empire: Legions.

Set your alarms, tell your friends, create accounts or get there early so you can be approved by our moderator.  Exciting times.

-Dr Wiley

MBO Tricks: Sprawl

It's here!  This is the first installment of Marble Blast Online Tricks from Hikaru501.  This video will give you some hints and strategies on the map Sprawl.  I really can't believe some of the stuff he can do.  I gave it a shot the other day and was able to pull off some of these tricks, but it'll take a bit of work for me to perfect the rest of them. 

You can catch a higher quality version on 360-live.com, or if you want to watch the lo-res version, check the YouTube video below.

-Dr Wiley

Chat with the Legions Team

On March 20th you'll have a chance to chat with your favorite Legions developers.  This Thursday, starting at 3 pm PST, the developers will be answering questions via Ustream.tv.  The Q & A session will last approximately 30 min. long and will be recorded so you can watch it again and again. 

I'll be reminding you again as the date approaches, and giving you more details to log in, but get your questions ready now.  It should be a bunch of fun.

-Dr Wiley

InstantAction Around the Web

If you didn't notice the handy links in the sidebar, I'll share with you a list of other places you can find more InstantAction news, images, etc.  Check it:

• Blog (obviously): http://blog.instantaction.com/ - put a link in your blogroll, or anywhere else it makes sense; subscribe to the feed; leave comments

• Delicious: http://del.icio.us/instantaction - add to your network; subscribe to a feed

• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=702810864 - friend us; write on our wall

• Facebook Product Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Instant-Action/5498354486 - become a fan; contribute to the discussion section

• Flickr: http://flickr.com/photos/8639712@N08/ - add us as a contact; favorite our photos; leave a comment; send photos to post

• Forums: http://forum.beta.instantaction.com/smf/ - contribute to the discussion

• Twitter: http://twitter.com/instantaction - follow our updates; subscribe to our feed

• YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/actioninstantaction - friend us; subscribe to our feed; favorite our videos; send us videos to upload

-Dr Wiley

InstantAction TV

You asked for it and we've brought it.  The next episode of InstantAction TV is ready for your viewing pleasure.  This time we had a chance to talk with Andy Yang, General Manager of InstantAction, and Joe Maruschak, General Manager of the GarageGames Studio.  Sit back, grab a glass of orange juice, and enjoy the words of these fine folks.

-Dr Wiley

Epileptic Gaming talk InstantAction

Josh Williams, CEO of GarageGames, was recently interviewed by Epileptic Gaming.

Epileptic Gaming is a weekly Internet TV show about Video Games and the Culture that surrounds it. Airing LIVE every Thursday at 7PM EST (4PM PST) on EpilepticGaming.ggl.com, the hosts aim to bring you the best in gaming news, reviews, and interviews.

This episode covers Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Microsoft and Blu-ray, Infinity Ward on WWII Shooters, Grand Theft Auto 4, and of course InstantAction.  You'll get some new footage of Legions and a demo of ThinkTanks.  The InstantAction section jumps in around 45 minutes.  So check out the goodness.

You may have also noticed the slick new look to the blog.  We're working on getting some other visual aspects changed on other areas of the site as well.  I think it's spiffy.

-Dr Wiley

InstantAction Spotlight

This week we bring you Beggin-Strips. 

I've known Beggin-Strips for a while now, originally from the Great Games Experiment.  Been a great contributor on both sites and I'm glad to see him on InstantAction.

Gamername: Beggin-Strips

"I first started playing video games when my sister and her boyfriend(now her husband) bought me a Sega Genesis, I used to stay up and play until I fell asleep.  I still have the console in my closet somewhere. I can't remember what Christmas they gave it to me, but I do know I was really really young. I then got an SNES played Super Mario Brothers, Donkey Kong, and many other games. Then came the computer...my parents bought it in 1995 or 1996 one of the two, not sure...anyway the first online game I played was Starcraft, which was released in 1998.  I played the hell out of that game. One day I went to EB Games looking for a new online game to play and there it was, Starsiege Tribes, the box art caught my eye, and sure enough I bought it, had to beg my parents to buy it for me.  In 1999 I would have been 10 years old. I installed the game and loved every minute of playing it...except for the fact I had dial up and my computer had a hard time running it on low settings...those were the days. Then 2001 came along I got Tribes 2 for christmas yeah late buying Tribes again, except instead of being a year late, only a few months. I was 12 when I started playing Tribes 2. Playing Tribes 2 on the computer I had wasn't possible , so I had to beg and plead to get a new computer, and unfortunately still had dial-up until about 2003. That made the Tribes games rock even more being able to play it with High graphics on Tribes 1, and low on Tribes 2(yeah T2 was a resource hog lol) with a good ping, and no lag.

I used to play Tribes under the name guy15401 how amazingly unclever that name was, I was then dared I wouldn't change my name to a dog treat, obviously I picked Beggin-Strips, I almost picked the name Kibbles-N-Bits. The name Beggin-Strips just stuck with me. In 2004 I joined The STAR Clan, something that at the time was not a bad thing, but over time I realized I regret being a part of it. However the friends I met in STAR including MrSkunk, TheRaptor, Tiddly-Wink, HBarr, Dewee, Thalagyrt. It also introduced me to the Rebel Dawgs the clan I currently reside in and plan too stay. I met DUN_DUNNA in the STAR server we used to reak havoc on players in the Assault Tank, <=RD=> had set up a friendly scrimage with STAR and thats when I met all of the other <=RD=> folks including Gigawa, Ladydeath, Moose, Mach92, Kraska... so on. STAR started to fall apart at its very foundation, because the leader was controlling to the point where if you played any game STAR automatically had to be the clan that you were in. So when the exodus happened I ran to LadyDeath and requested to be a dawg which I am very glad I did.

I have been following many of GG's Projects wanting to help them with their endeavors, hoping their next project would be a new Tribes, the first project I got to help out GG with was being in the beta for the Great Games Experiment, facebook for gamers. Now I am very happy to be able to help out with InstantAction, and looking forward to beta test Legions!

I started toying with html making websites, so I started majoring in Information Sciences and Technology at Penn State University, needless to say its not what I wanted to do.. So I am taking a break for school, and getting more and more interested in game design. I can honestly say that Tribes, is what inspired me to mess with skinning, scripting and all that.

I truly enjoy Tribes, and want everyone who hasn't experienced its greatness to do so, and thats what made me help people get Tribes 1 or Tribes 2 running on their systems as the more difficult it has become to be able to play them with Tribes 1 not having the official master server anymore, the Sierra Updater being broken so on. Thats what made me create my 2 setup guides Tribes 1 Setup and Tribes 2 Setup giving back to a franchise that I love."

Thanks for hopping on board Beggin.  Looking forward to more of the great feedback you've been giving.

-Dr Wiley

Marble Blast Online Tricks

Hikaru501 has posted this video on YouTube highlighting some of his fancy techniques in Marble Blast Online.  I'm amazed at some of these feats.  Is it chance or skill I wonder?  I would imagine skill, since he destroys me about 110 to 20 every single game.  Revel in the video, learn some tricks, BEAT HIKARU! 

He's told me that there is more coming, click the link to head to his channel and subscribe.  Maybe one day we will all be as good as this.

-Dr Wiley

Game Dev Contest Winners!

The time has come: we're finally ready to announce the winners of the 2008 InstantAction Game Developer Contest.  So here they are:

-----

1st Prize Winner

Cannon Battle

Developer:
Mark Thurow

Cannon Battle Video:
Gameplay Vid

Why it won:
Cannon Battle defines the kind of game we're looking for on InstantAction: a quick-play 3D RTS with exceptional core gameplay mechanics and a unique style of play.

Cannon Battle allows you to fire your artillery manually as you construct buildings and conquer territory, combining hectic reactionary tactics with the planning and strategy that RTS games are known for.

Survival/Switching Gears

Developer:
Affectworks

Switching Gears demo:
www.switchinggearsgame.com

Survival .plan:
www.garagegames.com/blogs/45181/14313

Why it won:
Affectworks sent us two very different games, which are both great for very different reasons.

Survival is a first person zombie-pocalypse game where building a shelter to stave off the zombie hordes is key to your survival.

Switching Gears is a platformer with a variety of polished gameplay mechanics set in a comedic robotic world.

What they win:
Each 1st Prize winner will receive one Unity Indie license ($199 USD value) and a Torque Game Engine Advance Indie license with Torsion ($335 USD value).

Grand Prize Winner

Trash: Wasted Earth

Developer:
Inhuman Games/Eipix

Trash info/screens/vids:
www.inhumangames.com/

Why it won:
Trash: Wasted Earth brings to the table everything you can do in a mainstream RTS, but does so in indie style.

Based on the popular indie game Trash, the new version looks to take it to the next level with more options, more units, more players, and improved graphics.

What they win:
The Grand Prize winner will receive one license to Unity Pro with Asset Server ($1,999 USD value) and one Torque Engine Suite, which includes: Torque Game Builder, Torque Game Engine, Torque Game Engine Advance, Torque X Pro, Torsion, Torque Network Libraries, and art content packs ($1340 USD value). Finally, and most importantly, the winner will receive an InstantAction publishing contract.

-----

Congrats to all our finalists, and to all those who submitted a game. It's amazing how many quality submissions we received on such short notice. Next year's contest promises to be bigger, better, and (probably what you want to hear most) longer, so start planning your submissions!

In the meantime, we're always looking for great games to add to the InstantAction library. Even if your game did not make the cut this time around, we'd love to see your game. Contact Randy Dersham (randyd@garagegames.com) for information regarding publishing on InstantAction.

The finalists for the contest provided some great links to more info about their submissions, which can be found in the comment section of the Finalist Announcement blog: www.garagegames.com/index.php?sec=mg&mod=resource&page=view&qid=14327

All winners will be contacted shortly with details

It's Alive! InstantAction Open to the Public

InstantAction today invited gamers across the globe to enter its public beta.  Offering fully 3D, console-like games in a web browser, InstantAction is launching with four games available to the public today.

“Initial feedback on InstantAction from gamers has been very positive and we are ready to pull the covers off and let everyone take a look,” said Josh Williams, CEO of GarageGames. “Even though it’s early, and there is a lot more to add and improve, InstantAction is already impressive. Now with the community’s help, we’re going to work on making it truly mind blowing.”

With the public beta, four games – MarbleBlast Online, Screw Jumper, Think Tanks and Wideload Shorts’ Cyclomite – are already playable. More games will be added in the coming weeks, including the much anticipated FPS, Fallen Empire: Legions.

Early comments from beta testers have filled the InstantAction feedback boards. Regarding MarbleBlast Online, one tester said of his first experience with the title, “This game is surprisingly a lot of fun to play.” While another tester praised Wideload Shorts’ Cyclomite proclaiming “Cyclomite is my new favorite addiction on InstantAction.com. It's good, crazy fun.”

Social gaming is a core part of the InstantAction experience. Gamers can host parties and invite their friends to jump into a game via a URL link which can be sent via email or IM. Gamers can also seamlessly switch games and move their party with them.

“This is only the beginning. New games and features will be added each month,” added Williams. 

InstantAction goes Open Beta

InstantAction will be moving into open Beta Friday (shhh, many have found that you can actually get started today). This means all users will be able to play games as soon as they register!  We wanted to let you followers of the blog know as soon as we had an official date and that time has finally come.  If you are reading this and haven't signed up yet, at that time you'll be able to register and get right into the action.  If you've already registered, you can go ahead and login NOW!  I'll be on and I'm sure you'll run into many other members of the InstantAction team, so be sure to say hello.

Thanks to everyone that has been reading, keep checking back and I'll be posting more info as I get it.

www.instantaction.com

**UPDATE**

Joystiq - GarageGames' InstantAction beta open to the public, c'mon in

 

-Dr Wiley

ThinkTanks Mentioned on Penny Arcade

I don't know if any of you frequent Penny Arcade, but if you don't, you may want to check it out today.  In today's post Tycho compares the art direction of Battlefield: Heroes to ThinkTanks, and "it's a good thing."   

It's cool to know that Tycho has played ThinkTanks since he's also a fan of Tribes and Marble Blast.  Hopefully he'll get on InstantAction and you'll be able to play against him.  I wonder if he's any good. 

Anyway, those guys over there are extremely funny and have great comic strips 3 times weekly.  Check it out.  Laugh and cry over their musings, and be overjoyed that you can play ThinkTanks soon.

Here's something they did Tribes related a while back.  Pretty funny.  I'm tellin' ya.

-Dr Wiley

IA Art Contest Winners

The art contest has come to a close and the winners have been announced.  Saw some great artwork, there are many talented people around here.  Anyway, let's get to the winning pieces. 

FIRST PLACE: Delkaes

SECOND PLACE: RIGGER

THIRD PLACE: Pak

There you have it folks.  If you want to check out some of the other submissions head over to http://forum.beta.instantaction.com/smf/index.php/topic,444.0.html. 

In addition to this contest we've added a new forum section, IA Fan Art. So if you've got some artwork you want to share go ahead and post it there.  Interested in seeing what you people can do.

-Dr Wiley