Today I uploaded the first expansion for my game Magic Stones, “The Bonelord”.
Is still BETA version even if I think there shouldn’t be any serious bugs 🙂

If you want to try, check those links:
http://www.winterwolves.net/games/MagicStonesTrial.zip (mac)
http://www.winterwolves.net/games/MagicStonesTrial.exe (win)

you’re welcome to report any bugs or give feedback!

I read on indiegamer forum the “sad” news of my friend Cliff being fired from his daily job. That sucked for him I suppose, but I am glad that someone as talented as him now joined the indie developers world.
I supposed now he will have mixed feeling, but if things will go well for him (which I hope), I’m sure he will be more than happy of the indie lifestyle!

…if things go bad, he can alwasy try to relocate in New Zealand, since he’s british he should have big chances of getting in there 😉

I was talking with Emmanuel (funpause owner) yesterday about the importance of having a forum. He objected that since he makes prevalently casual games, he thinks that his customers would find a forum quite useless.
Instead for software houses like mine who makes complex games, definitely not casual (like UBM or Magic Stones) having a forums can really help.
Help both you and other players/customers.
You first as developer: as you may know if you’re a programmer, there’s always a very well hidden bug somewhere in the code, and more people can test and easily report it (like in a forum). I fixed many bugs thanks to comments of people in forums. I also post there if “that bug XX was already fixed in version 1.31” so even other people who have same problem can just take a look and find a solution for their problem.

Yes it happened again!!! I can’t stop playing it!! the improvements over the previous game are incredible!! even if is more difficult to play. The shards thing is quite annoying to be honest, I kept dying in a zone called “Weiling Caves” and every time I tried to search it back, I just died again! 🙂
Luckily after 72h of real time they disappear…
In the meanwhile, Magic Stones is featured on Apple.com and I’m very pleased of that 🙂 not only casual games need recognition!!

Had tough days lately, with the release of Magic Stones and … cats. Is really hard to mantain concentration while 4-5 cats roam freely through the house, jumping, screaming, crashing things.
My girlfriend just don’t understand how is hard to mantain concentration and work in such conditions. She wants to help the cats because they’re ill, weak, outside is cold, etc. But I suppose we need money to live (and to feed the cats).
How I am supposed to get money without working? this sucks, when you work at home people think that you’re always no holidays doing nothing.
Is a really common thing, other developers told me that they have same problem, maybe not with cat but with kids or simply their wife.
Instead of being grateful that we can stay together, girlfriends and wives usually break our balls. Is so hard to find someone who understand you completely! not that in this particular case is so difficult…hope things will get better.