Children of the Sun burst onto the indie scene like a muzzle flash on a dark night. Publisher Devolver Digital dropped the game’s first trailer on February 1, showcasing frenzied sniper shots and a radioactive art style. A Steam demo highlighting its initial seven stages went live that same day and became a breakout hit during February’s Steam Next Fest. Two months later it landed in full and to broad acclaim. This explosive reveal and rapid release timeline mirrors the game itself — chaotic but contained, swift and direct, sharp and bright. Though it feels like Children of the Sun popped into existence over the span of two months, it took solo developer René Rother more than 20 years to get here. René Rother As a kid in Berlin in the early 2000s, Rother was fascinated by the booming mod community. He spent his time messing around with free Counter-Strike mapping tools and Quake III mods from the demo discs tucked into his PC magazines. Rother daydreamed about having a job in game development, but it never felt like an attainable goal. “It just didn't seem possible to make games,” he told Engadget. “It's like it was this huge black box.” Rother couldn’t see an easy entry point until the 2010s, when mesh libraries and tools like GameMaker and Unity became more accessible. He discovered a fondness for creating 3D interactive art. But aside from some free online Javascript courses, he didn’t know how to program anything, so his output was limited. “I dabbled into it a little... Continue reading at 'Engadget'
[ Engadget | 2024-04-18 19:45:11 UTC ]
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The dark, freezing woods of Sweden are the perfect breeding ground for terrifying tales of naughty children who get what they deserve. This week, Simogo -- the developer of beautifully macabre game Year Walk, and mysterious narrative experiences De... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2015-09-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In 1995, the year Amazon opened the virtual doors to its online bookstore, the company posted revenue of $511,000—a total that jumped to $15.7 million in 1996 and skyrocketed to $147.7 million in 1997. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-09-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With the third China Shanghai International Children's Book Fair four months away, the fair organizers have been busy expanding the program to reflect a growing Chinese market for international titles. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hatched over coffee 20 years ago, the Hub City Writers Project has grown into an indie press, a nonprofit bookstore and driving force behind the literary arts in Spartanburg, SC. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The winners for the Best Children's Publisher of the Year were announced in Sala Borsa in Bologna on Monday, March 30. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-03-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Led by hits from David Walliams, Jeff Kinney and Egmont’s Minecraft stable, the UK children’s market hit an all-time high in revenue and market share in 2014, and exceeded sales of Adult Fiction for the first time since accurate records began. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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SPX, an annual festival for independent and self-published comics, opens this weekend, September 13-14 in North Bethesda, Maryland with such artists as Lynda Barry, Keith Knight, Charles Burns and others. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Forbes Media used the 61st annual Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity as a platform to announce that it has expanded its magazine audience by more than 20 percent over the past year. According to GfK MRI Spring 2014 data, the magazine has reached its pinnacle in readership, growing... Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2014-06-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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At its annual awards ceremony, Children’s Books Ireland honored, among numerous others, Mary-Louise Fitzpatrick's "Hagwitch" as Book of the Year. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-06-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The 20th Audio Publishers Association Conference kicked off with a "State of the Union" address from APA President Michelle Lee Cobb at the Javits Center in New York City on Wednesday morning. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This week in children's apps, we usher in spring with new apps featuring familiar faces – Little Critter and Dr. Seuss. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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North Korean dictators Kim Jong-Il and Kim Il-Sung were credited with writing children's books featuring thinly veiled metaphors for North Korean political theory. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-03-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This past weekend, with an emphasis on education and bookseller and author togetherness, GABBS & SIBA’s show in the Springtime was a success. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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There is something “seriously amiss with the way secondary schools encourage young people... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-03-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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An informal survey recently carried out by Publishers Weekly found that most stores where children's books had a strong presence are doing well financially. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-09-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Random House enjoyed a record year in 2012, with worldwide sales up 23% and profits up by 76%. In... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-03-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A preview of the 50th Bologna Book Fair includes the TOC Bologna program, Sweden as the Guest of Honor Country, and a list of award winners recognized during the fair. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-03-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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For two decades, Brain Quest’s curriculum-based question-and-answer game has entertained kids – lots of them. Workman, which launched the line in 1992, reports sales of close to 37 million copies of Brain Quest editions for children at the pre-K through seventh grade levels. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-07-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Twenty years after it was founded by former Pantheon publisher Andre Schiffrin as a nonprofit publisher with a mission statement to publish “in the public interest,” the New Press is on something of a roll. The house has a new bestseller—Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow—spacious offices in... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The bookstore chain landscape has undergone seismic shifts over the past 20 years and will enter the fall with approximately 1,100 fewer stores than dotted the country in 1991. Just as it is today, Barnes & Noble was the country's largest bookstore chain 20 years ago, closely trailed by... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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