“I am the Chair and Creative Director of a new start-up studio called Swallowtail Games and my first game Tick Tock Toys has just been released on the App Store!

“I’ve been gaming and using computers since I was very little. My first computer was an Amiga 500, which I still have great memories of. As I got older, I started thinking about seriously pursuing games as a career. I was always told that you needed to be excellent at maths to work in games, but there so many different skills involved with making a game.

“I ended up studying Games Art and Design at Norwich University of the Arts, learning a wide range of skills from 3D modelling, animation, drawing and design. I also began to study games from a more academic perspective.

“I started to see how women characters are poorly represented, often sexualised and most of the time appearing as supporting characters, or even as prizes for the main hero. I found myself always dissatisfied with the female characters, so it just made we want to get into the industry even more. For my final year dissertation, I studied why there are so few women in the games industry, looking into individual games, feminist theory, developer interviews, evolutionary psychology and art history.

“I also found problems with the games industry outside of the actual games! During university, I attended the Eurogamer Expo, a huge event that showcases up and coming game titles to the public. While queuing to get inside, a few security guards told me that I must be in the wrong queue, assuming I was trying to find the Earl’s Court Wedding Show!

“In 2011 I entered a 10-week competition run by Abertay University in Dundee called Dare to be Digital with friends and other students I met online from Abertay. Together we developed my game idea Tick Tock Toys, which went on the win the competition, as well as the BAFTA Ones to Watch Award in March 2012. It was an exciting night, and I met so many great people – and even saw a few celebrities!

“Now Tick Tock Toys is available on the App Store, and I am so happy that it has gone from a small idea I came up with to a published game! I am very happy with the game and proud of my team. I am so keen to make more family friendly games that people can enjoy together.

“For too long has gaming been seen as a hobby for boys, but now it’s all starting to change. Currently, 47% of gamers are women, and if we get more women into the development side of games, I’m sure we’ll see some even more amazing and innovative games being created.”

Download the game from iTunes – https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/tick-tock-toys/id581681651?mt=8

@TeamSwallowtail
http://www.swallowtailgames.com/

The computer giant have brought out the ‘super slim’ 500GB PlayStation 3 in two limited edition colours. There’s a choice of Garnet Red for the girls or Azurite Blue for the boys. Or, not to be sexist – alternatively you could just match it to your living room colour scheme.

If you don’t already have a PS3 at home, this is the perfect opportunity to get one. Apart from the usual gaming action, it comes with Blu-ray player functionality, a world of online services from catch up TV like BBC iPlayer and 4oD, through music video services like VidZone, movie download services like Netflix and Lovefilm plus you’ll get access to PlayStation’s very own Sony Entertainment Network with offers movie and music downloads via the PlayStation Network.

The new game has an innovative set of 16 new toy figures that can be separated at the waist and mix and matched. By doing this the player not only created some odd looking creatures but also combines the figures’ different attacks and characteristics.

These Swap Force figures have the same tactile feel of the other Skylanders. Strong magnets hold them together and enable children to articulate the toys during play away from the game. A minor point until you see the new possibilities this creates for youngsters.

Because of this these new characters will be welcomed by players and parents alike. They epitomise the physical-virtual cross over that makes Skylanders such an interesting game to play. I spoke to Guha Bala, studio head for Skylanders Swap Force, and asked him to talk us through the new game:

Click here to see video

Likely to be less popular are characters returning for the third time, the Series three figures. These are reposed in a similar fashion to the Series two figures last year and offer a special Wow-Pow attack. The tension here is that players may have already purchased and invested time in the old versions of these toys and now have to decide whether to miss out on new powers or buy the figure again.

There are also eight more Light-Core Skylanders in Swap Force. These popular figures light up when you put them on the Portal and have a special smart bomb effect. Players will be interested to see which of the Skylanders characters get the light-up feature this year. If Swap Force mirror’s Giants approach here it is likely that some of the light-core characters will be selected from the 16 new Skylanders that are also being introduced this year.

Adding up the 16 Swap Force, 16 Series three, eight Light-Core and 16 new Skylanders this is quite a haul for those who feel the need to collect them all. Of course, as we highlighted previously, the key thing for parents to understand is that you only need to buy the starter pack to be able to complete the whole game.

This year however, there isn’t the option of reusing your existing Portal peripheral. The new Swap Force figures are only compatible with the new USB Swap Force Portal. Although the new Portal will support all the old Skylanders figures the Portals from Spyro’s Adventure and Giants won’t work with Swap Force.

There will no doubt be more to discover when the game is unveiled fully – something anticipated to be at the upcoming New York Toy Fair. We’ll report back with more details as they arise.

—
Andy Robertson (@GeekDadGamer) produces Family Gamer TV and the Family Gaming blog.

Disney Infinity uses physical toys to access in-game characters in a similar fashion to Skylanders. But here, of course, they are the Disney characters we already know and love rather than the newcomer toy creations from Activision. Place these Disney characters on the game’s own Portal of Power (Infinity Base as they are calling it) and they instantly appear on the screen ready to play.

The game will be available for the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Wii U and Nintendo 3DS when it launches in June.

In addition to the collectable toys there are also a series of tokens. Some of these provide special objects while others offer character upgrades when they are placed underneath particular figures on the Infinity Base. The clever (or frustrating) thing is that you can’t just go out and buy these tokens as they are sold in ‘blind’ packs of two. Players will need to trade these with each other if they are to obtain the full set.

This is a double-edged sword. Certainly it offers families a lot of fun – who doesn’t like collecting things, right? But, it also adds another layer of expense to an already costly hobby. Provided parents see the additional figures and tokens as a ‘nice to have extra’ rather than essential, the value Disney Infinity offers is pretty good.

The game comes in a Starter pack (£54.99-£64.99) that includes three figures, the Infinity base and three play-sets. This means that you can play the following three adventures that last around six hours each:

The Incredibles

Monsters University

Pirates of the Caribbean

The gameplay is more advanced and varied that Skylanders, offering not only platforming, fighting and shooting but also driving, city and ship management as well as less combative tasks around the Monsters University play-set.

In addition to these franchise specific experiences you can bring all your toys together for the ‘Toy Box’ mode. This grants players the ability to create their own challenges, landscape and scenery through a simple interface. Seeing Mr Incredible racing Sully or Captain Jack is a surprisingly entertaining prospect as these franchises are usually kept separate.

For families Disney Infinity certainly ticks the right boxes, and offers something distinct to Skylanders Giants. Its split screen gameplay will suite a wider demographic and avoid the annoyingly tethered feel of Activision’s game. Equally the online multiplayer (up to four friends) will suit older players who want to play or create with other people not in the same location.

The first wave of Disney Infinity will just be the start however. By creating a more modular approach to movie tie-in games Disney Interactive can now release new franchises, figures and play-sets as the year progresses.

With the figures and starter box already being listed in the UK they are likely to appear on Amazon.com any day now. I’m using the following links to track them as I imagine getting in early will be the way to ensure you get the figures you want. Now I just need to get the kids to decide — easier said than done.

Here’s a run-down of the first figures that are starting to appear online, if Skylanders is anything to go by getting in early will be what the savvy parents will be doing:

Pirates of the Caribbean figures:

• Jack Sparrow (Included in the Starter Pack)

• Hector Barbossa (Included as Single Pack and Sidekicks Pack)

• Davy Jones (Single Pack)

The Incredibles figures:

• Mr. Incredible (Included in Starter Pack)

• Elastigirl (Included in Sidekicks Pack)

• Dash (Single Pack)

• Violet (Single Pack)

• Syndrome (Single Pack)

Monsters University figures:

• James P. Sullivan (Included in Starter Pack)

• Mike Wazowski (Included in Sidekicks Pack)

—
Andy Robertson (@GeekDadGamer) produces Family Gamer TV and the Family Gaming blog.

The Wonderbook takes the idea of a pop up book to the next level. It looks and feels like a regular book, but once it’s put in front of the PS3 Eye camera it’s completely transformed, with content bursting from each previously blank page.

Book of Spells is the first release in a series of games that will use the new book peripheral, and this one is specially for fans of the Harry Potter series. The premise is that it’s a spellbook found in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizadry 100 years before Harry joins as a member of Gryffindor.

It’s been developed with the collaboration of JK Rowling, author of the boy wizard series, and features a good bit of new content written by her especially for the game.

Players get the chance to learn and practice spells that Harry and co will be eventually using in their quest against the evil Lord Voldemort. These include skills such as shrinking, growing, and levitating – you might find yourself dropping the jar of eyeballs just to see them scatter all over the place. To do this, you make use of your movement sensitive Move control, which becomes a magic wand.

Although this is aimed at the seven-12 age bracket, mum and dad will love playing along. The novelty of actually seeing yourself in the game takes a long time to wear off – and little ones never seem to tire of waving to themselves in the TV screen. Be warned though, adult gamers may have to sit on their hands to stop themselves snatching the Move off younger players and showing them how to do it properly.

Although this is essentially a one player game, it feels like the whole family can get in on the action – one person doing the spell, another turning the pages of the book – which looks so real on screen you can hardly believe it – and others shouting encouragement (or criticism!)

For Harry Potter fans – and even those who aren’t massively into the series of books and films – this is a great buy, scoring top marks for originality, look and the interactive factor. It’s a good investment too, as Sony have promised a steady stream of Wonderbook games, with ones already in development including BBC Walking with Dinosaurs, Diggs Nightcrawlers and some Disney titles. Story time will never be the same again.

The basics

Skylanders is a video-game and toy franchise that uses figures to grant access to characters and areas in the videogame. A starter pack provides the game, a portal peripheral used to bring the toy characters to life in the game and three toy figures.

The Skylanders Giants videogame retails for £49.99 for a starter pack or £39.99 for a booster pack if you already own the original game. The figures sell for between £8 and £15. There are 40 or so toy figures available for each Skylanders game.

The novelty is that the game saves progress to the toy figures wirelessly via the portal. They can be taken on and off the portal at any stage to swap characters in the game. They are also compatible with any version of the game. So, for example, you can take your Wii figures to a friend’s house and use them on their Xbox version of Skylanders.

The toys

There are four different types of figures you can buy; each is distinguishable from its packaging. Series 1 figures (with a green base) are from Spyro’s Adventure. Series 2 figures (with an orange base) are reposed versions of the original figures re-released with Skylanders Giants. New light up Lightcore figures were released for Giants and illuminate when they are on the portal. Eight Giant and eight new normal figures were added to the collection for Giants.

The first game in the series, Skylanders: Spyros Adventure, supports all figures with green bases that were released with it. It also supports characters for Giants (with orange bases) that existed originally. Check packaging for compatibility.

The second game in the series, Skylanders Giants, supports all figures. Original green based figures bring all their upgrades with them into the new game and can upgrade to a higher level. Series 2 re-posed versions of the original figures also get a special Wow-Pow attack and the ability to switch upgrade paths at will. The light-up Lightcore figures get a special smart bomb attack when they join the game.

The video game

Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure and Skylanders Giants both offer similar gameplay. This is a two-player simultaneous action adventure where you shoot and fight enemies and solve puzzles – quite similar to the Lego games although without the split screen.

Skylanders Giants offers more interactions from a wider set of figures. It also offers a difficulty level that enables young (or advanced) players to be accommodated and provides another reason to replay the game once it has been finished. The 360 and PS3 version of the original game has a very difficult final boss (also true but less so on the Wii).

Collecting

You can complete both Skylanders Giants and Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure with just the starter pack characters. Additional figures do extend gameplay by granting access to new characters and areas, but are a “nice to have” rather than necessity.

To be able to access every area in Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure you need one figure in each of the eight element groupings. The same figures can be used to access every area in Skylanders Giants although you also need one Giant to access other areas – which the game comes with.

You can identify which grouping a figure is in from its packaging and the materials of its base. You can also look on the bottom to find the element symbol, or check details in the game by pausing to access the menus.

The figures are not all available at the same time. Shops stock new models in groups with new waves of figures made available during the life of the game. Second hand figures often sell on eBay for much more than their retail price due to their rarity.

Certain figures are available in a limited edition “Legendary” variant that provides increased stats in the game. Some of these variants are only available from a particular retailler. Some are only available in a certain country. Additionally there are a large number of novelty figures that can be found at random at retail. Silver, Gold, Glow in the Dark and even Flock covered figures are much sought after although do not make a big difference in the game.

Saving money

The game contains video trailers for each toy character that are triggered as you play. These advertise new toys that players need to purchase if they want to use the character in the game. It is worth noting the above point that these are optional extras not required to complete the game.

You can use the portal from the first game with Skylanders Giants. To this end there is a Portal owner’s expansion pack that offers better value to returning players. Portals for Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure were battery powered for Wii and PS3, whereas for Giants they are wired. This is to enable the portal to draw more power for the light-up Lightcore figures.

—
Andy Robertson (@GeekDadGamer) produces Family Gamer TV and the Family Gaming blog.

Appsing

What better way to get your festive or New Year’s Eve party started than with a good old fashioned sing song? With a microphone and speakers, the Appsing turns your smart phone into a portable karaoke machine. All you need to do is download your favourites from the appstore and you’re good to go.

£39.99 from all good toy stores or www.red5.co.uk

Speck iGuy Case

Little ones can be kept amused for hours with a gaming app – but the fun stops if the iPad slips out of little fingers and ends up in pieces on the floor. But the iGuy is a great solution to iPad danger, protecting iPads or iPad minis from bumps and scrapes. The legs and arms transform it into a sweet little computer person, and act as a stand or just provide something for kids to easily hold onto.

£24.97 for iPad 4/3/2 and £22.97 for iPad mini in a range of colours from MobileFun.co.uk

AppQuiz

Forget charades or scrabble, this is the next generation of after-dinner party games. Download the free app and plug in your device and you can stage your own quiz show in the comfort of your own living room. There are thousands of questions to test the general knowledge of all the know-it-all dads out there, but will they be quick enough on the buzzer to beat the rest of the family?

£29.99 from all good toy stores or www.red5.co.uk

Arcadie

What if you could be transported back in time to the Eighties, but without the dodgy fashion and haircuts? The Arcadie can’t quite promise that, but it does offer the thrill of button bashing down the arcades that some members of the family might remember from the era. Think Eighties games with the added auchenticity of an old style joystick and buttons – all you need is the free app, which is loaded with retro games – then slot your iPhone into the unit, no wifi, power cables (or spare change) required. It’s hard to tell who will like this more, children or kids from the Eighties.

£14.99 from www.firebox.com

AppLingz

Anyone who ever had a Tamagotchi will know how much fun it is to have your own virtual pet to care for. The Appling takes things one step further, changing your iPhone or iPod touch into a furry little friend who responds to touch, motion and voice commands. All you need is the free AppLinz app from the Appstore and you’re all set.

£14.99 from all good toy stores or www.red5.co.uk

Nintento Land

Nintendo Land Wii U

Nintendo’s new console may seem similar to the original Wii, but Nintendo Land’s set of games is a case in point of how the new Game-pad controller makes a big difference. Playing with five people at the same time lets everyone get in on the fun. Whether playing hide and seek with Mario Chase, shooting aliens in Metroid Blast or hunting ghosts in Luigi’s Mansion this offers a substantial amount of family fun.

Wonderbook: Book of Spells

Wonderbook for PS3

What better way to spend Christmas than in the world of Harry Potter? Wonderbook: Book of Spells not only has new writing from J K Rowling but also creates a whole new way to play video games. Put the blank pages of its big blue book in front of the PS3 camera and they spring to life with all sorts of interactive creatures and pop-up elements. More games for the Wonderbook peripheral will also be out in the New Year.

Skylanders Giants

Skylanders Giants PS3, 360, Wii, Wii U, 3DS

This toy collecting craze, that also has videogame functions, is top of many children’s Christmas list for good reason. Skylanders Giants uses the toys to access special characters and levels in the video-game and saves progress back to the figure itself with no wires or buttons. You can even take your figure to a friend’s house and use it in their game no matter which console they have.

Clockwork Racers

Clockwork Racers iPad, iPhone

This simple racing game starts with players winding up their vehicles on the iPod Touch or iPhone touch screen before using them to race each other around a variety of courses displayed on a central iPad (or big screen via AppleTV). The novel play style and simple controls makes it great for gamers of any age, and there are plenty of levels to download to keep them entertained for hours.

Kinect Sesame Street TV

Kinect Sesame Street TV 360

This is the first of a new series of games for the 360’s hands-free Kinect controller that is aimed at pre-school players. The game uses a TV show style format with Sesame Street characters and then includes optional interactions. Because it continues even if the player gets things wrong this is well suited for the often overlooked younger gamers. More episodes will also be available to download in the New Year.

Paper Mario Sticker Stars

Paper Mario Sticker Stars 3DS

This is a Mario game with a difference — it’s a role play adventure rather than a platform game. This means things are slower paced and the story is much stronger –meaning it depends on much more than reaction times and button pressing. Paper Mario on 3DS is more a strategic and features a novel sticker-collection challenge, and it’s even better if played on the 3DS XL’s larger screens as the whole family can join in and suggest the best way forward.

Need for Speed Most Wanted

Need for Speed Most Wanted PS Vita, PS3, 360, PC

Racing games used to be about going round and round the same small track. Need for Speed Most Wanted changes all this with an open world to explore. This not only means that families can play the game at their own pace but can also plan their route from the start to the finish line. Most impressive is the Vita version that squeezes the full game onto Sony’s new handheld.

Mutant Mudds

Mutant Mudds 3DS eShop

This will have mum and dad reminiscing about the video-games of their youth while the kids enjoy the 3D platforming action. Mutant Mudds is an old school platform game with an innovative layered world that players navigate by jumping back and forth. Music and visuals are a nod to games from the Spectrum and Commodore era while at the same time looking bang up to date.

The Unfinished Swan

The Unfinished Swan PS3

This is a beautifully narrated modern-day fairytale on the PlayStation 3. Players navigate a black and white fantasy world by throwing paint to reveal the path ahead. This simple interaction leads them into a story about a little boy looking for his mother and the painting she hadn’t finished painting. The result is an emotional tale about the challenge of growing up — enjoyable and educational at the same time.

AppMates Cars 2 iPad

This driving game is controlled by placing a real plastic car on the iPad screen to explore the digital world of Pixar’s Cars films. The car is not only designed to ensure it doesn’t mark the screen but also offers a natural way for children to play. This tactile and engaging experience includes nice touches like car headlights on the screen in-front of the toy, day and night modes and new maps to download. It’s ideal for families with younger racers or Pixar fans.

—
Andy Robertson (@GeekDadGamer) produces Family Gamer TV and the Family Gaming blog. He is also editor of the Ask About Games site for Ukie.