Features - RiverMan Media

February 16 is Pizza's New Release Date

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:35:34 +0000

This just in! For promotional reasons, we've changed Pizza Vs. Skeletons release date to February 16, 2012. Also, check out two recent interviews with us:

- A podcast interview with us on TouchArcade:
http://toucharcade.com/2012/02/06/riverman-media-and-the-trials-and-risks-of-pizza-vs-skeletons-development/

- A written interview with iFanzine.com:
http://ifanzine.com/interview-with-riverman-media/

Just over a week and you'll be smashing some skeletons!

Pizza Release Date Announced / New Screenshots

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:37:16 +0000

We've got good news and good news! Pizza Vs. Skeletons has been submitted to, and approved by, Apple! It will be released on February 25, 2011. We have also released 12 new screenshots of the final build, available on Pizza's official homepage.

Riverman Games FREE for the holidays!

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 17:46:39 +0000

In celebration of the imminent release of Pizza Vs. Skeletons soon after the new year, we're making all Riverman-published iOS games FREE until the New Year! That's right, no strings attached! Go get em!

>> Deathfall HD
>> IKAROS
>> Fat Roll Santa
>> Space Frak HD

Free EAA Interview!

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 00:14:45 +0000

A few days ago I mentioned my friend Armando Soto's new site, Entertainment Arts Academy. I was honored to be one of the first people he interviewed for the site. Now, the next 100 users who use the code pizza will get the entire video completely free! That's right, you can get an hour of my glasses-faced bald head at absolutely no cost to you! How can you resist?

>> Owning Your Own Game Studio with Jacob Stevens

Again, I don't make any money from EAA but I do strongly support its mission!

Pizza Vs. Skeletons Holiday Update Video

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 23:58:06 +0000

Our intended Halloween release date for Pizza Vs. Skeletons has come and gone, but that doesn't mean we're going to leave you without any candy! Here's a little video to tide you over through the holidays. As you can see, the game is looking much more fleshed out than in the last video. There is more real art, there are many more enemies, the level design has evolved, and you can even customize your pizza in over a QUARTER MILLION DIFFERENT WAYS! I'm really proud of how far it's come, but we're still going strong and adding new stuff every single day!

In other news: We have finally zeroed in on a release window and launch price. Pizza Vs. Skeletons will launch in late January of 2012 for the price of 4.99. It will be a universal app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod.

Until then!

Interview on Entertainment Arts Academy

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 23:33:54 +0000

My good friend Armando Soto helped me break into the game industry nearly a decade ago. My experience working under him was invaluable, and his influence plays a huge part in my work to this day. Now, Armando is extending his generosity even further with his new educational venture, Entertainment Arts Academy.

EAA helps bring industry veterans together with aspiring artists through in-depth, inexpensive videos. For hardly more than the cost of a song on iTunes, you can watch instruction from real working artists that earn a living through media design.

I had the privilege of being interviewed by Armando for the site's launch. We discussed the details of owning a small, independent studio. Check out the video below for a preview. Please note: The video below is just a sample of the interview! The full video is much longer. In fact, I'd say that it contains more inside information about our studio than has ever been released in our 6-year existence as a studio! :)

One more thing: If you use the promo code Jacob before Friday, November 4th, you will get $1.99 off any video purchase.

PS: I don't make any money from EAA, but I do highly recommend it!

Thank You, Steve

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 00:25:06 +0000

Dear Steve,
Thank you for showing us the meaning of excellence, the meaning of leadership, and the meaning of contribution. You demanded a lot from us, and you made our lives better, personally and professionally. We will miss and remember you.

-Jacob and Paul

Pizza Update August 13

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 18:14:17 +0000

Fighting the pirate boss aboard the H.M.S. Metatarsals

We’ve got good news and bad news. Bad news first: Pizza Vs. Skeletons is taking longer than we expected to finish. I doubt it will launch by Halloween. The good news is that the reason for the delay is that we’ve continued adding more and more ridiculously fun stuff, and we just can’t stop ourselves! This is definitely not going to be one of those games that you play for 5 minutes and delete. Every moment has something new, exciting, and weird, to offer. It's becoming so epic that I haven’t even played through everything we’ve built yet!

Here’s what’s been keeping us busy:

Quick Pizza Update

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 21:55:23 +0000

Okay, okay, so I know that our weekly development updates stopped cold last month, but I promise, there’s a good reason for it: We have been spending our time packing Pizza Vs. Skeletons with more and more content. This is by far our biggest project ever, maybe by a factor of ten.

Here’s a quick rundown of what’s been going on since last month:

Camera Design for a Super-Sized Character

Sun, 05 Jun 2011 13:56:28 +0000

Camera systems get a lot of attention in 3D games. Reviewers often write something like, “The gameplay is great, but the camera needs work,” or “The sequel drastically improves on the original’s camera system.” The camera can easily make or break a 3D experience. However, in 2D, cameras are usually taken for granted. They are normally relatively simple to design, because as long as they are looking ahead in the general direction of the player’s interest, not much can go wrong. In fact, I can’t think of any situation in a 2D game where I thought about the camera at all!

However, for better or for worse, Pizza Vs. Skeletons will not be lucky enough to get away with a simple camera. Three main factors necessitate a more robust approach: 1) The pizza’s 288 pixel radius consumes 90% of vertical screen space and 60% of horizontal space. I’m willing to claim that this makes the pizza one of the largest playable characters ever to star in a 2D game. 2) The diverse set of goals from level to level means that different vantage points are important at different times. 3) Our 2D engine, significantly enhanced for Pizza Vs. Skeletons, now fully supports scaling and rotation of the camera, so we have to think in dimensions that didn’t exist in 2D’s 16-bit golden age.

Following is an explanation of how we are currently tackling the camera system for each of the ten modes we showed off in last week’s video.