For the past twelve years, the Independent Games Festival has been a platform upon which indie game developers could showcase their work and receive some constructive feedback in return. The event is held annually at the Games Developer Conference and is the best place to see up-and-coming developers strut their stuff. This year, we got to talk to a developer whose team used Utility on their Macs to produce an engaging top-down platformer, and two developers who are utilizing the accelerometer on the iPhone to develop imaginative mobile games.     Puzzle Bloom puzzlebloom.com First up, we have a game from a team of students from The National Academy of Digital Interactive Entertainment (DADIU), who managed to put together this artsy looking puzzle game in no more than four-weeks time. The game is called Puzzle Bloom, and the premise of it is to assist a kindred tree spirit named Canotila in restoring the vitality of the land in which she lives. You control her using your mouse, and you can use the scroll wheel to zoom in and out. The protagonist moves by jumping on top of various animals and moving them around the map, solving puzzles along the way. Unfortunately, the team of developers have disbanded, as most of them have graduated since finishing the game and moved on to full-time jobs. However, both levels of Puzzle Bloom have been left up on the internet for passersby to casually play, so head on over to the Puzzle Bloom site, or watch our video for a quick demo.

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Independent Developers Show Off their Mac and iPhone Games

Back in January, we reported on the blurry images of some ancient Apple Newton prototypes that were doing the rounds on the internets. Since then, Grant Hutchinson, who was mentioned in that article, has taken a fantastic set of photos of the Newton “Cadillac” prototype. We asked him if we could show you some of those

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Gallery: Fabulous Pics Of The Apple Tablet That Never Was

Section: Rumors , Macintosh / Apple Hardware , Desktop Macs , Mac mini According to sources over at Apple Insider, we may see the first Macs sporting HDMI connections on the market in the near future. Apparently, prototypes of a new Mac Mini have been seen that contain connections for both DisplayPort and HDMI, but otherwise look the same. While the Mac Mini is at the lower end of Apple’s market as far as computers go, it does make sense that it would be one of the first (other than the Apple TV) to have an HDMI port since it is built upon the principle of bringing your own peripherals. Interestingly enough, the Apple TV HDMI spec allows for the transfer of both audio and video rather than just video like DVI or DisplayPort ports, eliminating the need for a second audio cable connection to the device. This would make it even easier to place a newer Mac Mini as a sort of digital media hub in one’s home. While it is just a rumor, I’d love to see an HDMI connection on the Mac Mini rather than just simply updating the specs as they usually do. Via [ Apple Insider ] Product [ Mac mini ] Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell . | Comment on this Article »

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Rumor: HDMI may make its way to Macs

Apple’s Mac mini could become the first line of general purpose computers to support high-definition video later this year, a report Monday suggests. A HDMI connector is located near a DisplayPort connector on prototype Mac mini units. The mini is often used to stream video to home theaters. The AppleInsider report cites two unnamed “people familiar

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Apple Preps Hi-Def Macs

After the rumor-fest surrounding Apple’s mystery device was stanched the moment Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad, a new trend has emerged; SDK Mining. This is the art of digging through the iPad’s operating system to uncover clues about hitherto-undisclosed functionality. Since the iPad and iPhone SDKs are so very close in core functionality, SDK Miners have been trying to unearth something (anything!) we didn’t already know about the iPad. I suspect most people simply glance over these reports, shrug, and move on without comment. After all, we’re a bit tired of tablet rumors by now, right? But looking at some of the comments in the articles (linked below), there are some people who take it all very seriously indeed. And that’s probably a mistake, as I’ll explain shortly. Before I do, here’s a quick rundown of what we think we know so far from the SDK Mining that has happened in the last five weeks. January 29 Engadget confirmed that the OS SDK contained support for Video Calling, File Downloads, SMS and even Handwriting input; We’re told that there are hooks to accept and decline a video conference, flip a video feed (which suggests a front-facing camera) and — most importantly — run the video call in either full screen mode or in just a portion of the screen. That means you’ll be able to chat and do other things at the same time, which could mean there’s at least some type of multitasking going on here.

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iPad SDK Mining a Big Tease, But Let’s Stay Level-headed

(Images courtesy of Agile Web Solutions) It’s no surprise to find that iPhone and iPod touch developers have been busily reworking their apps since the iPad was unveiled at a media event last month. One developer is bursting with so much excitement that they’ve given a preview of what’s to come on their company blog. Agile Web Solutions is a favorite among Mac users for their popular 1Password software — a one-stop depository for website passwords, saved identities, credit card accounts and much more. Their accompanying iPhone app (available in both basic and pro versions) manages to pack most of the desktop version features into a compact form, but clearly the iPad’s extra real estate will be a huge blessing for the 1Password team. “We aren’t content to leave you with using that 2x button on our iPhone app. It’s an iPhone app!” writes developer David Chartier on Agile’s blog . “And while it is the Best 1Password iPhone App Ever (if we may so humbly say ourselves), the iPad is an entirely different beast, and we’re giving it the utmost attention it deserves.” The screenshots featured here — which are only part one, with more promised soon — are currently mostly design mockups and not fully functional as yet. But the interface changes to adapt to the iPad certainly show that the Agile team is working hard to adapt their software in the best way possible. “Check out those gorgeous icons, the item list with alphabet scroller, and the stylish bolts that really bring the item detail area together,” the post continues. “And yes, we have popovers! I told you we’re hitting the iPad in a big way. “We’re not finished yet, but we think we’re on the right track. We want to bring you the best 1Password on iPad experience possible, so let us know what you think of our prototypes here in the comments!” 1Password fans can head over to Agile’s Switchers Blog to weigh in with their own feedback.

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Agile Gives a Peek at 1Password for iPad

Engadget has just published another picture of the tablet prototype, which clearly shows a forward-facing camera. Earlier rumors, which weren’t very plausible, said the tablet wouldn’t have a camera. The latest spy shot (if it’s real) also clearly shows the size. That’s an iPhone in the corner, and by the looks of it, the tablet’s screen is larger than 10-inches.

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Engadget’s Clearest Tablet Picture So Far Shows Camera

Filed under: Hardware , Rumors , Apple The tension is palpable as we all wait patiently for the start of Apple’s event featuring “new stuff,” and it seems that a little birdie has stuck his neck out and flown some forbidden images over to the crew at Engadget. What you see is a cell phone-sourced image of a prototype tablet which looks to be running some sort of mapping application. The hardware details are largely obscured, but what is obvious is that there is a definite home button — much like the one on the iPhone . Additionally, there seems to be a cut-out in the casing which could reveal a front-facing camera. Using some image editor trickery, Engadget has also determined the screen size to be as expected, roughly 10 inches. These images seem plausible to me mainly for the fact that they reveal very little information. Also, the fact that the hardware details are hidden from the photographer seems very Apple-esque. If I remember correctly, Apple did something similar during the development of the iPod . Over in the Twitterverse , notable Apple watcher (and TUAW founder) Jason Calacanis is claiming to have had in his possession a pre-release Apple Tablet; he had some back-and-forth with Matt Schlicht of Ustream , who also intimated that he got an early Apple present. Some of the hardware details that have been “leaked” are a front- and rear-facing camera, 10-inch OLED display, HDTV tuner, and a low-power mode specifically for reading ebooks. The information about the multiple cameras and low-power mode are definitely plausible; however, the use of an OLED display and inclusion of an HDTV tuner would indicate some sort of funny business. Given that Apple is in the business of selling HD television shows, it seems weird that they would make it easy to get that same content for free

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Eleventh hour rumors brew new details on Apple’s tablet

Filed under: Hardware , Peripherals , Odds and ends , Apple , Apple History It’s this week! It’s almost a sure bet that we’ll finally, after all of these years , see the Apple tablet unveiled this week, and to celebrate, Frog Design ( the company responsible for many of Apple’s designs back in the day) has given Wired some old shots of prototype tablets from the Cupertino company … from 1983. Of course, Apple has released tablet-like devices before, and they’ve been thinking about this type of computer for a long time . But back in 1983, they apparently commissioned some concepts for an unreleased tablet called “Bashful” (so called because it was designed to work with the Snow White “industrial design language” that Apple used back then in the //c and other releases. As you can see above, the tablet isn’t exactly “elegant” by today’s standards, but it is interesting how similar it actually is to many of today’s smartphones and handhelds, considering that we’re talking about almost 30 years ago now. One model had a floppy drive attached (which was gigantic), and apparently they even considered a version with a phone on it as well. We still don’t know for sure what Apple’s release this week will look like, but it’s fascinating to think just how far back the planning for this week’s unveiling actually went. Frog Design releases 1983 tablet prototypes originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:30:00 EST.

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Frog Design releases 1983 tablet prototypes

Filed under: Retail , Apple Along with the “Geniuses” and “Creatives” currently available at the Apple Store, there’s a new type of employee that’ll be wandering the store floors. Apple “Experts” are set to debut in about two weeks at retail locations around the country. The men and women selected as Experts will move up into what seems like a more elite sales position, with their jobs being not only to educate the incoming public about everything Macs can do for them, but to “create the next generation of Apple fans” — in other words, sell as many computers as they can. 2010 should be an interesting year for Apple retail — not only do they have that prototype store planned in Palo Alto, but they’re working on growing some of their locations as well and trying to build up more “flagship” stores like New York’s Fifth Avenue store and Chicago’s Michigan Avenue location. Sounds good to us; visiting the Apple Store is always interesting, and if they’re planning to mix it up even more, we look forward to the surprises. [via AppleInsider ] Apple ‘experts’ coming to a store near you originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Apple ‘experts’ coming to a store near you originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:30:00 EST.

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Apple ‘experts’ coming to a store near you