Last week we’ve posted our first Concept Blog for Galaxy on Fire – Alliances. And those of you who’ve taken the time to read through it will have gotten quite a bit of first-hand information about the ancient artifacts, which you can use in the game to level up your command ships and respective fleets. And that’s where we continue today with the second concept blog for our red-hot mobile strategy MMO. This time, however, we’ll no longer talk about the artifacts themselves, but rather will we introduce you to the so-called citadels, which contain almost infinite amounts of the said artifacts underneath their high-tech shells. Designed by a highly advanced civilization and scattered all over the galaxy by the devastating shockwave of a cataclysmic cosmic event, the citadels could best be described as monumental structures that melted into the surficial areas of their host planets millions of years ago.[full]
A first idea sketch of the artifact mountains (also known as citadels) on the one hand and the mysterious treasures they contain on the other...
With the aid of their integrated auto-repair mechanisms and survival technologies, the citadels had not only been able to keep their key functions intact after crashing onto the concrete surfaces of the orbs in question, but they also managed to stay fully operational through the aeons. Therefore, these age-old retainers of an ancient civilization’s long-forgotten legacy are now being discovered and claimed by contemporary explorers and entrepreneurs, eager to take possession of the mysterious secrets and tremendous powers within their cores.
The final concept artwork which served as guideline for the actual 3D renderings of the citadels in our upcoming mobile multiplayer strategy game Galaxy on Fire - Alliances.
Despite their high-tech composition, the look of the citadels is rather inartifical and natural. We ultimately agreed on a “mountain”-like design, because it illustrates the complete merging of the advanced technology with the planet they crashed onto. Instead of remaining to be foreign objects, the citadels have deeply merged into their surroundings over the centuries – to the point where they’ve become an inseparable part of the planet they’ve once landed on. Consequently, they can also not be moved away from the crater site, but rather do the players have to take the whole planet into their possession, if they want to take hold of a citadel and harvest the valuable artifacts it contains. And considering the nice bonuses you’ll get from equipping your ships with red, blue and yellow artifacts, claiming dominion over as many citadels as possible might not be the worst of options.
Welcome to the very first Concept Blog for our upcoming mobile strategy MMO Galaxy on Fire – Alliances. Like a “light version” of the Developer Diaries, the Concept Blogs will focus on one particular asset or aspect of the game and introduce it to you in more detail. In addition, they’ll also feature some cool artworks, scribbles and graphics that (in most cases) have not been published anywhere else before. The first assets we’re going to talk about in more detail are the so-called artifacts, which are remnants of an ancient civilization that bear enormous powers. In GOF-A, they can be harvested from special planets and used to increase the stats of your command ships and their respective fleets. In total, there are three different kinds of artifacts, all of which have different qualities and grant different bonuses.[full] While the blue ones can be used to improve your ships’ defense, the yellow ones can be used to increase their speed and the red ones can be used to boost their fire power.
The 3D renderings of the ancient artifacts in Galaxy on Fire - Alliances have been designed on the basis of the concept artworks displayed above.
In regard to their visual appearance, the artifacts have been designed as rock fragments nerved by glowing energy fibers. Other attempts, which got discarded in the meantime, include crystal-, alien- and tech-like designs.
Despite its pretty cool look, the "alien/organic" design for the artifacts got discarded because the Alliances team felt that it would not fully incorporte the mineral-like nature of these items.
In the end, however, we went with the rock-like look for two reasons. On the one hand, that look shows right from the start that the artifacts are minerals that have to be unearthed from deep underneath the ground. And on the other hand, it also conveys that they contain some kinda mysterious energy within their cores. Therefore, after quite a bit of trial and error, we ultimately settled with a design fairly resembling scorching-hot chunks of volcanic rock…
Just like the "alien/organic" design, the "tech" design is another pretty nice attempt that didn't make it into the game...
The colors of the three different types of artifacts correlate with the special glow in which your command ship will be wrapped as soon as you equip with an artifact. Since a combination of two or three different types of artifacts on one and the same ship is not possible, one has to choose carefully which command ship to boost with which kind of artifact.
By equipping your command ship with red artifacts, you can increase its firepower quite a bit.
With the production of Galaxy on Fire – Alliances still being in full swing, the concepts and 3D renderings displayed above are not 100% final. However, there’s a good chance that the assets that end up in the final version of the game will only differ slightly (if at all) from the ones shown in this blog.
In the past couple of months, it’s become a little quiet here on the blog. But that’s (hopefully) going to change very soon. Why, you might ask. Well, because it’s Dev Diary time again! Yes, that’s right! We’re very happy to present you the first Developer Diary for our upcoming mobile sci-fi strategy MMO Galaxy on Fire – Alliances today and we’re eager to announce that from now on we’ll be posting an exclusive blog about the development and production of the most ambitious project that Fishlabs has ever tackled every single week until launch day! We’ll post a Developer Diary every first Thursday of the month and a so-called Concept Blog on all subsequent Thursdays! While we’re going to tackle a selected variety of bigger and more elemental issues in the Dev Diaries, we’ll introduce you to smaller assets such as structures, planets, characters and space crafts with the aid of the weekly Concept Blogs.[full] Sounds good? Of course, it does. So let’s not waste any more time and cut to the chase right away. Because I’m sure a lot of you would like to find out how the title Galaxy on Fire – Alliances came about.
The star map shows the individual territories of the alliances in GOF-A. Among others, you will also be able to highlight strategically important targets, such as planets containing citadels, for your allies.
The naming of Galaxy on Fire – Alliances was by far not as easy as one might think. The only thing that was clear right from the start was the fact that the iconic “Galaxy on Fire” moniker should be used for our new game we well. After all, we’re very eager to expand the Galaxy on Fire IP and take it beyond the confinements of the sci-fi shooter genre. Consequently, we’ve gone through several meetings and countless discussions before we ultimately agreed on a title that – at least in our opinion – illustrates and underlines what the game is all about, namely a battle-driven multiplayer strategy game in a sci-fi setting. While the word “Galaxy” points out that the game takes place in futuristic scenery, the word “Fire” implies that there’s a whole lotta fighting going on in said outer space environment. And last but not least, the addendum “Alliances” makes it clear that you’ll have to team up with others and display a fine amount of strategic finesse if you want to dominate the servers of GOF-A (as our community has already nicknamed the game). After all, multiplayer gaming is where Galaxy on Fire – Alliances really shines and shows its strengths. Among others, the individual alliance members can not only send each other support troops and coordinate attacks, but they can also communicate directly with each other through the integrated mailing system and mark strategically important targets on the star map. Therefore, it was particularly important for us to highlight the crucial role of GOF-A’s manifold multiplayer features right from the start by incorporating them into the title of the game. All in all, we’ve put several dozen suggestions, such as “Colonies”, “Pioneers”, “Citadels”, “Dominion” or “Reign”, up for discussion. In the end we chose “Alliances”, because we felt that it best represented the nature of our game. And it has got a pretty nice ring to it as well, hasn’t it?
In GOF-A you will be able to observe the epic space battles from the bridge of your command ship. Here's an early concept of the bridge of a Terran battle cruiser.
Okay, guys. That’s it for today. I hope you enjoyed our first Developer Diary about the naming of our first multiplayer game. What do you think? Did we nail it with Galaxy on Fire – Alliances or would you have favored another title? And are you already curious about the upcoming Concept Blogs? In the next couple of weeks, we’re gonna give you some additional insight into the powerful artifacts of GOF-A as well as the ancient citadels that contain them. Stay tuned!
As most of you might have heard, the Game Developers Conference 2013 is currently taking place at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Since this is one of the major gaming events of the year, some of our best men and women have boarded the plane to Frisco. Besides meeting business partners, sealing deals and finding out what our peers and competitors are up to in 2013, one of the key tasks of our GDC personnel is the showcasing of our upcoming multiplayer strategy game Galaxy on Fire – Alliances to the attending members of the gaming press. After all, GOF-A constitutes the biggest project that Fishlabs has ever tackled and hence we cannot wait to fill the whole world in on the progress we’re making week after week. Right now, it’s still a bit too early to come up with the first developer diary, but that doesn’t mean that we cannot already give you guys a little insight into the latest happenings at the Alliances front.[full] One pretty cool way to get up-to-date about the development of our new title is checking out the following interview with our CEO Michael, courtesy of Pocket Gamer. Against a beautiful San Francisco background, Michael explains, among others, the role that cooperative gameplay will play in Alliances and the graphical treats that we have up our sleeves for our fans. Check it out!
And while you’re at it, be sure not to miss the in-depth video presentation of the Galaxy on Fire – Alliances, that our Marketing Director Kai has given for Touch Arcade earlier this week and that got published just a few hours ago. When I had originally written this blog, said video had not even been available, so I needed to re-arrange my text a little and cramp in another video. After all, this is by far the most comprehensive and revealing introduction of our first multiplayer title that’s been posted on the web so far! We’re particularly proud to finally show you the spectacular, fully animated battle report in action. It’s a truly awesome feature that does not only look really great but also give the whole game a lot more depth. This is mostly because of the fact that the battle shown on the screen will actually be influenced by the battle taking place in the game. That means that, for example, the ships that pass by your commando bridge will actually be the same types of ships that you’ve send out to launch the attack or that have been stationed to protect the planet. And they will also use their respective weaponry. Hence, if you’ve used a lot of heavy bombers to attack the planet in question, you’ll see the detonations of your nukes on the planet’s surface and so on!
And last but not least, we’d also like to recommend you to check out a nice little article about GOF-A courtesy of 148 Apps, which contains, among others, a lot of hi-res screenshots of Alliances. So if you’d like to get hold of some kick-ass images of the Vossk commando bridge or the Nivelian planet structures, you’re gonna find them over there. Enjoy!
Today’s the six-month-anniversary of Supernova, the second add-on to the Galaxy on Fire 2 saga on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch as well as Macintosh computers. And to celebrate that event, we’ve decided to offer the expanion’s soundtrack as a free download on the official GOF2 website. Therefore, we’ve asked you precisely one week ago, to help us name the six tracks of the respective soundtrack. And, as expected from such an awesome bunch of people, you guys came up with a helluva lot of brilliant ideas! All in all, more than 20 fans from all over the world sent in their title suggestions and we really had a hard time picking our favorites among so many thoughtful, creative and enjoyable nominations. But we ultimately came up with a selection of fan-submitted titles that not only sound pretty splendid but also reflect the topics and themes of the respective tunes quite well. In the following, we’d like to take a little time to introduce each of the six titles to you and also let you know what made us choose this particular title to represent the track in question. So here we go…[full]
Without a gamma shield onboard, the hazardous radiation of the Supernova systems will turns your ship into space junk faster than you can activate your Khador Drive...
01.) “Quantum Mysteries” (suggested by NatureXwars via our Blog)
The first track of the sound track is the new theme of the Deep Science foundation. Since this secret and remote consortium of brilliant scientists are constantly racking their brains to unravel all kinds of mysteries and achieve one scientific break-through after the other, we figured that “Quantum Mysteries” would be a fitting title for this spherical sound collage.
02.) “Heartbeat Radiation” (suggested by Trubo XL via our Blog)
As soon as you enter the gamma-poisoned Supernova systems, the radiation starts to inflict severe damage on your ship’s hull. Hence, one could metaphorically say that staying too long in the dangerous Supernova systems will slow down your vessel’s heartbeat… until you either jump out of the danger area in time or find a tragic end amidst the fires of a dying star!
03.) “The Ambush” (suggested Yuzuki via our Forum)
As soon as you hear this heroic yet somehow intriguing song, you know that trouble’s on the way! Because that kinda music only occurs in the game when the devious stealth fighters are about to launch another devastating attack. So you’d better ready your weapons and prime your missiles or else there’s no chance you’re gonna survive this ambush!
04.) “Stealth Blades” (suggested by Riki via our Blog)
“Stealth Blades” is a perfect title for the second stealth fighter theme, because it sounds poetic and powerful all at the same time. And it conveys the same underlying feeling of danger and distress that also creeps through your veins as soon as the hazardous ghost fighters appear on your HUD.
05.) “Evil Awakens” (suggested by tankcrusher via our Blog)
No, this is not a brand-new song by Slayer or Venom, but the theme of the main villain in Galaxy on Fire 2 – Supernova! And since that villain turns out to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing, the title “Evil Awakens” fits pretty well. Now let’s just hope you’ve got enough firepower onboard to lay the evil one to sleep for good!
06.) “Renegade Justice” (suggested by Seth Shepard via Facebook)
Now we’re talkin’! Although “Renegade Justice” sounds like the subtitle of an unreleased sequel to the Death Wish or Dirty Harry movies, it’s actually the title of the final song of the Supernova soundtrack, which blasts through your headphones whenever you engage in a dog fight with one of the galaxy’s most wanted criminals! And since these extremely dangerous terrorists, saboteurs and drug smugglers are without a doubt among the most vile characters of the entire galaxy, it’s about time that someone stands up to these vicious renegades and brings ‘em to justice! And I wouldn’t be surprised, if YOU were that someone… so what are you waiting for? Mount some EMP nukes, load your Dark Matter lasers and go bounty hunting!
After you've finished the storyline of Supernova, you can fly the stealth fighters yourself. However, in order to do so, you either need to finish the game in "Extreme" or collect all gold medals.
Well guys, that’s it! Thanks to everyone who send in their suggestions (no matter whether they got picked or not) and helped us to name the songs properly. We’ve now uploaded them to the media section of GalaxyOnFire.com, where you can stream ‘em via the integrated media player or download ‘em for free in mp3 format. We hope you enjoy the songs and have some fun listening to them!
Hey guys, we need your help! Later on this month – on March 21st, to be precise – the critically acclaimed Supernova add-on for Galaxy on Fire 2 will celebrate its semi-annual anniversary! And we thought that this might be a perfect opportunity to upload the expansion pack’s soundtrack to GalaxyOnFire.com and offer the respective mp3 files to our fans as a free download. But there’s one problem: So far, all six songs do only have working titles, such as “Deep Science”, “Gamma Ray Systems” or “Wanted Board Criminals”. That worked fine for us during the production of the add-on, but it’s no longer enough now that the tracks are about to be released officially. Hence, before we can upload the tunes and share them with thousands of dedicated GOF2 fans through our official website, we need to name the songs properly. And that’s where you guys come into play![full]
GOF2 HD - Supernova does not only feature beautiful 3D graphics in console-quality, but also a fantastic soundtrack -- which you can now download in mp3 format for free from GOF.com!
When we made the soundtrack of the main game available for download, we had already gotten some great help from our community member Alexander, who went through the hassle of extracting the sound files from the game and giving them proper titles even before we put the mp3 files on our website. And since the whole thing worked mighty fine back then, we’ve decided not to think of fitting titles ourselves, but give you guys the chance to contribute to this matter and make your own suggestions. You can stream all six songs from the Supernova soundtrack in the media player below and type in your ideas for the song titles in the comments. We’ll then pick our favorites and upload the whole soundtrack including YOUR titles to the official Galaxy on Fire website by the end of the month.
Okay everyone, that’s it for now. We hope you’re looking forward to upload the Supernova score to your iPod touches and iPhones very soon. We cannot wait to read your title suggestions and we hope that a lot of you will take part in this little community participation event. So c’mon… blow your speakers with some ear-shattering, Mkkt-Bkkt-approved space rock!
In late December of last year, we already announced on the official Galaxy on Fire fan page on Facebook that we might have a pretty cool announcement up our sleeves for you in early January. While we had originally planned to let the cat out of the bag right after we’d returned to work from our company holidays, we ended up postponing the announcement a little, because we wanted to wait until the product we were about to introduce had received another round of polishing and thus would look even better on the screenshots that would go along with the introduction. Plus, it took us a little longer than expected to agree on the final and definite title of the game in question and it wouldn’t have made sense to introduce it to the public with an interim title, which might still undergo several changes in the days and weeks after the announcement.[full]
In GOF - Alliances for iOS and Android you will be able to increase your fleet's power and capabilities with the aid of ancient artefacts that bear enormous powers.
But now all these things are settled and we’re happy, proud and excited to introduce you to Galaxy on Fire – Alliances, our very first massively multiplayer online game for smartphones and tablets! Yeah right, we’re finally bringing cooperative and competitive gaming to the GOF universe! This time, however, the general gameplay mechanics and overall gaming experience will be quite a bit different from the previous Galaxy on Fire games. Because in Alliances you’ll not be flying your own space ship from one end of the galaxy to the other and kicking a lot of space pirate ass on your interplanetary journeys, but rather will you be building, managing and expanding your own galactic empire in a remote and hitherto unexplored star cluster on the outer edge of the universe.
Huh, it's pretty hot in here... but I guess that's inevitable if you build your star base on a Lava planet.^^
As you might have guessed by now, Galaxy on Fire – Alliances will not be an action game like the first two installments of the GOF saga. Instead, it will be a massively multiplayer online strategy game with real-time elements that will require you to build up your own star base, gather resources, assemble a fleet, form alliances and, of course, conquer new territories. If it has always been your dream to rise from a mere henchman of the Terran Federation, Vossk Empire or Nivelian Republic to an intergalactic overlord who rules a gigantic empire with an iron fist, you’ve now got the chance to make this dream become reality. And if you’re not that fond of brawls ‘n battles at all and rather prefer a peaceful administration of your delegated star systems, that shouldn’t hold you back either, as conquest and diplomacy play an equal share in Alliances and there’s more than one way to claim the interstellar throne and become the undisputed master of the universe.
That's what the bridge of a Nivelian battle ship looks like... the action-packed battle reports are going to be some of the biggest eyecatchers in GOF - Alliances!
In the weeks and months prior to the title’s launch on the App Store – which is currently scheduled for Q3 of 2013 – we will surely fill you in on all the different aspects, phases and steps of the production and development of Alliances. And believe me, we’ll surely have a lot of cool stuff to talk about, because not only does Alliances mark the biggest and most ambitious project in the history of Fishlabs, but also will it contain tons of spectacular features that you won’t see every day in a multiplayer strategy game for smartphones and tablets. Among others, these features include state-of-the-art 3D graphics and full English voice-overs, just to name a few.
Lo and behold! Many of you will already know the Vossk Battlecruiser from its appearance in Galaxy on Fire 2 - Supernova and we hope that you'll enjoy adding this floating behemoth to your fleet in GOF - Alliances as well!
So let’s hear it from you, guys. Judging from our latest press release and the first couple of screenshots and concept artworks, what’s your first impression of Alliances? Which of the three races are you most likely gonna choose and which of your fellow Fishlabbers and GOF2 players are you looking forward to the most to either form an alliance with or crush into cosmic dust? Post your answers and whatever else you’d like to share about Alliances in the comments. And, if you haven’t already done so, make sure to “like” www.Facebook.com/GalaxyOnFire as well. Because that’s where you’re most likely gonna find exclusive screenshots and other pre-release stuff on a more or less regular basis from now on until the title’s finally released.
Hey guys, as you might have heard, our sci-fi epic Galaxy on Fire 2 has been nominated for 148 Apps’ „Best App Ever“ award in numerous categories. Until January 25th, 2012, the 148 Apps community will be able to cast their votes and make their fave game become the most awesome app of the year… erm, sorry… ever! In each category, ten iOS and ten Android titles will be struggling with their peers for the desired title and Galaxy on Fire 2 is right up there with some of the most popular and accomplished games on the mobile market![full]
In the category “Best Game Graphics”, both the Xperia PLAY-version for Sony Ericsson’s PlayStation-certified gaming smartphone and the HD-version for iPhone 4S and iPad 2 have been nominated and they all find themselves in the best of company. Real Racing 2, Shadowgun, Infinity Blade 2 and Madden NFL 12 are only a few of the games whom the 148 Apps crowd considered to be the best looking apps of the last year!
When it comes to the “Best Action Game”, GOF2’s spectacular space battles and fierce dog fights surely make it a worthy candidate for the title as well. Add to this the afore-mentioned top-notch graphics as well as the slick handling via the Xperia PLAY’s unique gaming controls and you’ll end up with an outstanding sci-fi shooter that hardly leaves anything to be desired! However, in this category the competition, such as Modern Combat 3 or Assassin’s Creed, is pretty fierce as well.
Since the HD-version of the game takes full advantage of the iPhone 4S and iPad 2’s dual-core A5 chip and really maxes out those devices’ capacities to bring an unprecedented outer space adventure to your smartphone or tablet and hence Galaxy on Fire 2 HD has also been nominated in the “Best Use Of Hardware” category. Infinity Blade 2 is the only other game in the list, which otherwise consists of tools and gadgets such as the electronic field guide Leafsnap or the navigation app Localscope.
And last but not least our action-packed science fiction saga centering around the rough’n’ready space adventurer and war veteran Keith T. Maxwell is also nominated in the categories “Best Simulation Game” and “Best Adventure Game” where it takes on, among others, Game Dev Story, Minecraft Pocket and Samurai 2: Vengeance.
Needless to say, it would be totally awesome if we’d win any of these competitions! So if you got a few moments, please follow the link below and vote for Keith & Co. in the respective categories. Thanks a lot, fellow space pilots, and see you soon in a galaxy far, far away…
On November 5th, 2011, the eighth installment of the German games industry’s leading recruiting event Making Games Talents took place at the University of Hamburg. It was the second time that the high-flying job fair organized by IDG Entertainment and supported by Gamecity: Hamburg took place in the beautiful city of Hamburg and the first time ever that Fishlabs Entertainment participated and presented itself to a total of 150 students, all of which are eager to pursue a career in the games industry after they’ve finished their studies. At Making Games Talents 2011, Fishlabs Entertainment was represented by our CEO Michael Schade, our PR and Marketing Manager Marc Morian, our Marketing Assistant Daniel Sadowski and our Game Monetization Trainee Hanno Trennt and we competed for the favour of the attendees with seven other high-profile representatives of the German video game industry[full], such as Bigpoint (Battlestar Galactica), InnoGames (Tribal Wars), Crytek (Crysis 2) or Spellbound (Gothic IV). The overall concept of Making Games Talents is quite a bit different from that of other job fairs because at these particular events it’s not the talents, who introduce themselves to potential employers, but rather is it the companies, who present themselves to the programming, game design and graphics prodigies of tomorrow.
Fishlabs Entertainment at Making Games Talents 2011
Across the day, Michael held several speeches and presentations, including a key note about Hamburg as Germany’s prior video gaming location as well as a brief introduction of Fishlabs Entertainment and a more in-depth presentation of our company and our most spectacular titles, such as the action-packed 3D outer space adventure Galaxy on Fire 2 Full HD or the stunningly beautiful premium racer Sports Car Challenge. Infront of an intrigued audience, Michael elaborated on the huge advantages and promising perspectives of the mobile market and explained how smartphones and tablets have already replaced consoles as the world’s most widespread gaming platforms and how Fishlabs has managed to establish itself as a key player in the industry by co-operating successfully with blue chip clients and carriers such as Apple, NOKIA, Sony Ericsson and Samsung on the one hand and by releasing high-quality premium games in state-of-the-art console quality on the other! The importance and potential of the mobile market can hardly be overestimated these days and yet this industry is still lightyears away from having reached its peak!
Our CEO Michael Schade introduces Fishlabs Entertainment to a total of 150 video game-loving students at Making Games Talents 2011
Due to its slick organization and brisk attendance, the event turned out to be a full-scale success for us, not only because the whole Fishlabs crew had a great time and lots of fun at Making Games Talents 2011, but also because the students present showed a lot of interest in our company and even picked Fishlabs Entertainment as the most sympathetic and well-liked developer of the day! That’s really amazing and we’d like to say a big “Thank You” to Heiko Klinge and the rest of the Making Games team as well as everybody who visited us at our booth and listened to our presentations. You guys totally made our day and we really hope this wasn’t the last time we took part in a Making Games Talents event!
To give all those who couldn’t be there a little impression of what Making Games Talents 2011 was like, check out the video above and let us know in the comments what you like best about our company and our games! For more information about Making Games Talents, check out their official website (http://www.makinggames.de/) and like them at Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/MakingGames).
Mayday, Mayday… here’s Keith T. Maxwell speaking. I’m a former wing commander of the Terran Space Fleet and currently working as a gun for hire for the Deep Science research association. I’m currently on my way to Her Jaza system and I’ve just experienced a strange and rather peculiar abnormality in the time space continuum. Unexpectedly, my Hawk fighter was struck by a gleaming white light and a few seconds later, when I opened my eyes again, my on-board computer systems were all of a sudden switched to an operating system called Android. A little while later, I received a call from a certain Tim Harrison, who introduced himself as the Head of Content Marketing & Strategy at Sony Ericsson, one of the galaxy’s biggest and most advanced manufacturers of progressive means of communication and other highly developed technical assets and gadgets, saying that “Galaxy on Fire 2 was one of the earliest titles to launch on Xperia PLAY, and has continued to enjoy critical acclaim and great success across multiple platforms. So we’re particularly pleased to be bringing Xperia PLAY owners this stunning game for free – and offer the Valkyrie update exclusively – this holiday period.”[full]
This call was followed by another message from my old friend Michael Schade of Fishlabs Entertainment, who added that “Not only has the Galaxy on Fire series set new standards for the sci-fi genre on mobile devices, but also does our popular outer space adventure have its seeds on feature phones by Sony Ericsson. Back then our action-packed space trader had been fully optimized for Sony Ericsson’s K-series and it had been given one award after another by the mobile gaming press. Today, we still max out the hardware and the gaming controls of the PlayStation Certified Xperia PLAY to the fullest in order to offer all sci-fi fans an out-of-this-world gaming experience on a totally unique smartphone.”
An advanced Cronus vessel of the Deep Science faction approaching Mkkt Bkkt's floating den of iniquity, the infamous Kaamo Club!
At first I didn’t really know what to make out of this, but after I had connected the dots, it became crystal-clear to me that Fishlabs Entertainment had just released Galaxy on Fire 2™ – Valkyrie, the critically acclaimed add-on to their award-winning sci fi shooter Galaxy on Fire 2™, exclusively for Sony Ericsson’s PlayStation-certified Xperia™ PLAY smartphone. And that’s not all. To celebrate this long-awaited release, Galaxy on Fire 2™ itself will be offered to all Xperia™ PLAY users as a free download on the Android Market until 1/1/2012!
Now, if that ain’t a reason to open up a bottle of Behen Wine! Ever since its initial release on the App Store, the Galaxy on Fire™ fans have been asking for an Android version of the Valkyrie™ add-on as well and now it’s finally live and ready to be obtained via in-app purchase for U$ 4.99/ € 3.99/ £ 2.99. So board your missiles and burst your engines, gentlemen. The galaxy is waiting to be set on fire on your Xperia™ PLAY device!
In the new black market system Shima, all kinds of shady deals are being negotiated...
For further information on Valkyrie™ in general, and the Xperia™ PLAY version in particular, please check out the following links.
Last week we’ve posted our first Concept Blog for Galaxy on Fire – Alliances. And those of you who’ve taken the time to read through it will have gotten quite a bit of first-hand information about the ancient artifacts, which you can use in the game to level up your command ships and respective fleets. And that’s where we continue today with the second concept blog for our red-hot mobile strategy MMO. This time, however, we’ll no longer talk about the artifacts themselves, but rather will we introduce you to the so-called citadels, which contain almost infinite amounts of the said artifacts underneath their high-tech shells. Designed by a highly advanced civilization and scattered all over the galaxy by the devastating shockwave of a cataclysmic cosmic event, the citadels could best be described as monumental structures that melted into the surficial areas of their host planets millions of years ago.[full]
Welcome to the very first Concept Blog for our upcoming mobile strategy MMO Galaxy on Fire – Alliances. Like a “light version” of the Developer Diaries, the Concept Blogs will focus on one particular asset or aspect of the game and introduce it to you in more detail. In addition, they’ll also feature some cool artworks, scribbles and graphics that (in most cases) have not been published anywhere else before. The first assets we’re going to talk about in more detail are the so-called artifacts, which are remnants of an ancient civilization that bear enormous powers. In GOF-A, they can be harvested from special planets and used to increase the stats of your command ships and their respective fleets. In total, there are three different kinds of artifacts, all of which have different qualities and grant different bonuses.[full] While the blue ones can be used to improve your ships’ defense, the yellow ones can be used to increase their speed and the red ones can be used to boost their fire power.
In the past couple of months, it’s become a little quiet here on the blog. But that’s (hopefully) going to change very soon. Why, you might ask. Well, because it’s Dev Diary time again! Yes, that’s right! We’re very happy to present you the first Developer Diary for our upcoming mobile sci-fi strategy MMO Galaxy on Fire – Alliances today and we’re eager to announce that from now on we’ll be posting an exclusive blog about the development and production of the most ambitious project that Fishlabs has ever tackled every single week until launch day! We’ll post a Developer Diary every first Thursday of the month and a so-called Concept Blog on all subsequent Thursdays! While we’re going to tackle a selected variety of bigger and more elemental issues in the Dev Diaries, we’ll introduce you to smaller assets such as structures, planets, characters and space crafts with the aid of the weekly Concept Blogs.[full] Sounds good? Of course, it does. So let’s not waste any more time and cut to the chase right away. Because I’m sure a lot of you would like to find out how the title Galaxy on Fire – Alliances came about.
As most of you might have heard, the Game Developers Conference 2013 is currently taking place at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Since this is one of the major gaming events of the year, some of our best men and women have boarded the plane to Frisco. Besides meeting business partners, sealing deals and finding out what our peers and competitors are up to in 2013, one of the key tasks of our GDC personnel is the showcasing of our upcoming multiplayer strategy game Galaxy on Fire – Alliances to the attending members of the gaming press. After all, GOF-A constitutes the biggest project that Fishlabs has ever tackled and hence we cannot wait to fill the whole world in on the progress we’re making week after week. Right now, it’s still a bit too early to come up with the first developer diary, but that doesn’t mean that we cannot already give you guys a little insight into the latest happenings at the Alliances front.[full] One pretty cool way to get up-to-date about the development of our new title is checking out the following interview with our CEO Michael, courtesy of 
Today’s the six-month-anniversary of Supernova, the second add-on to the Galaxy on Fire 2 saga on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch as well as Macintosh computers. And to celebrate that event, we’ve decided to offer the expanion’s soundtrack as a free download on the official GOF2 website. Therefore, we’ve asked you precisely one week ago, to help us name the six tracks of the respective soundtrack. And, as expected from such an awesome bunch of people, you guys came up with a helluva lot of brilliant ideas! All in all, more than 20 fans from all over the world sent in their title suggestions and we really had a hard time picking our favorites among so many thoughtful, creative and enjoyable nominations. But we ultimately came up with a selection of fan-submitted titles that not only sound pretty splendid but also reflect the topics and themes of the respective tunes quite well. In the following, we’d like to take a little time to introduce each of the six titles to you and also let you know what made us choose this particular title to represent the track in question. So here we go…[full]
In late December of last year, we already announced on the official 
