Big Fish Games Blog

Big Fish Games Studios is proud to announce the release of Mystery Case Files: Dire Grove!

Details are slim at this point, but the first image from the game has taken over the front page of the Mystery Case Files Fan Page. We were able to get our hands on the raw image from Studios and have included it below.

We'll keep you posted as more information becomes available including more game art, trailers, release dates, etc.

Closed for the Season

Our collection of the top 25 Halloween game downloads available on the web. Herein you'll find zombies, vampires, ghosts, skeletons, and other assorted monsters (even Dracula is creeping around!). You better check your belt because you're about to have your pants scared off...

As always, each of the Halloween themed games shown listed below can be downloaded and played for FREE...just make sure you have the lights off and a couple candles burning for ambiance (you might want to lock your doors as well...)

We hope you enjoy this year's collection of the Top Halloween Games online. Have a safe and happy holiday!

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We’re happy to report Nick Chase: A Detective Story is being featured on the iTunes App Store this week! Along with Shrek Kart and Rock Band, Nick Chase can be seen on the rotating header on the Apps home page. That’s good company to be in!

This marks the first release from Big Fish Games to be featured by the App Store and we’re extremely happy about it. We’re publishing games for the iPhone and iPod touch as quickly as we can with many great titles targeted for future release.

Nick Chase is currently rated as 4 Stars and we think it is more than deserving. Here is what people who’ve played the game are saying...

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Big Fish Games’ Studios is proud to bring you the first images from the upcoming release of Hidden Expedition: Devil’s Triangle. Following your epic trip to The Amazon, pack your bags and get ready for a trip into one of the most mysterious regions in the world. It's your job to piece together the mysteries of this historically dangerous and largely uncharted area bounded by the Atlantic coast of Miami, San Juan, and Puerto Rico.

Many long hours went into the creation of the Devil’s Triangle. We were lucky enough to convince Moksha Marquardt, a member of the Hidden Expedition Team, to take a moment and share his thoughts on the development of the game.

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Big Fish Games’ Studios is proud to announce the release of Nick Chase: A Detective Story for the iPhone and iPod touch.

Nick Chase, a hard-boiled Private Investigator, is in need of a job. Lucky for him, one arrives from a man known only as The Collector. Solve a variety of puzzles and find hidden clues to uncover the mystery behind the missing manuscript penned by Leonardo Di Vinci.

Explore gorgeous hand drawn scenes with a gritty film noir style in this one of a kind adventure game where everyone is a suspect!

The game plays like an interactive film noir graphic novel with amazingly beautiful hand drawn scenes. Use your own detective skills to find evidence in hidden object scenes and solve a wide variety of puzzles. You can also listen to your iPod library while playing with fully integrated OS3 music controls (although we recommend you don’t...the Nick Chase soundtrack is great for setting the mood).

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Big Fish Games’ Studios is proud to announce the release of Nocturnal: Boston Nightfall for the iPhone and iPod touch.

Play as recently deceased Claire unraveling the secrets of her undead powers in this shadow-soaked Hidden Object game! Solve elaborate puzzles on your path to becoming a Nocturnal or Brethren. Quickly seek out mystical hidden objects to enhance your eldritch powers! The night is beckoning, will you answer?

Scour 30 different locations; from subway tunnels to graveyards as you seek to master brain teasing mini-games while traveling through fascinating comic book like scenes.

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Join the Hidden Expedition Adventure Team on another exhilarating journey!

The newest edition of Hidden Expedition takes you to another famous locale: The Bermuda Triangle, otherwise known as Devil’s Triangle. Follow along as a world renowned explorer and piece together the mysteries of a historically dangerous and largely uncharted area. Discover clues hidden amongst the islands objects, unlock intriguing new worlds by solving unique puzzles and complete the voyage with your investigative skills. This fascinating journey provides you with a quirky look into one of the most mysterious places on Earth, and lets you uncover the possibilities of the unknown.

Watch the official teaser video for Hidden Expedition: Devil’s Triangle on the Big Fish Games YouTube channel.

Download Hidden Expedition: Devil’s Triangletoday!

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Have you ever heard of a sizzle reel?

In the gaming industry, a "sizzle reel" is something very similar to a game trailer. However, the sizzle reel typically shows a bit more of the actual game play and less marketing footage - although, I guess it’s all marketing footage when you think about it...

The studio who creates the sizzle reel wants to release footage that helps bridge the gap between what the game is about and how the game plays. In addition, interesting content such as story boards or concept art is often included to ’spice things up’ a bit. Sizzle reels, of course, are meant to help build buzz and get fans even more excited about the upcoming game release.

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Download Drawn: The Painted Tower

In what seems like Christmas in September for this blogger, Big Fish Games’ Studios has released the third pack of teaser content for Drawn: The Painted Tower in as many days.

Following on the heels of early sketches for Drawn: The Painted Tower and concept art for Drawn: The Painted Tower comes screenshots taken from actual game play.

The Painted Tower is the first installment in the Drawn story and promises to be an amazing gaming experience for Big Fish Games’ fans.

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Big Fish Games’ Studios is proud to announce the release of Drawn: The Painted Tower on Friday, September 4th, 2009.

"We are extremely excited to release Drawn: The Painted Tower. In this first installment of the Drawn story, we have focused on creating a richly painted world with differentiated game play and fantastic puzzles."

"Drawn represents the collective efforts of a strong and dynamic development team and reflects the overall values and vision of Big Fish Games; To bring the best experiences possible to our customers. I think Drawn will surprise current customers and will appeal to new users as well. Play Drawn for an enticing and mind-bending visual treat." - Brian Thompson, Art Director

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With the release of Drawn: The Painted Tower just around the corner, we took the time to visit with Big Fish Games' Studios and see what insight we could share about the game.

Of course, if you're reading this, you've likely seen the Drawn: The Painted Tower trailer. If not, here is where you'll find the Official Drawn: The Painted Tower trailer video.

However, we were hoping to get our hands on something a bit more raw. Big Fish Games' Studios came through with a collection of early concept sketches for us to share.

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Big Fish Games’ Studios is proud to announce the release of Atlantis Sky Patrol for the iPhone and iPod touch.

It’s your job to take flight and knock out more than 100 doomsday devices that have been planted around the world.

Travel to each destination on the map and eliminate chains of marbles by strategically matching colors in sets of three. Knock out cleverly placed stationary marbles to block additional chains from entering the track and destroy the device on each level. Easy to learn, but difficult to master, this unique new twist on the classic marble-popping game is nearly impossible to put down!

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Big Fish Games’ Studios is proud to announce the release of Hidden Mysteries: Civil War for the iPhone and iPod touch.

Travel back in time to join General Alexander, loyal follower of Abe Lincoln, for a riveting Civil War reenactment. Members of a secret society left letters and clues that will lead you to millions of dollars in gold, cash, and coin - if you can find them!

Scour 18 hidden object levels that lead you through the original Civil War battlefields as you advancing through time from the Battle of Fort Sumter (1861) to Lee’s surrender at Appotomattox (1865). Cross rivers and grassy knolls to unearth Hidden Mysteries of the Civil War.

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Big Fish Games’ Studios is proud to announce the release of Rainbow Web 2 for the iPhone and iPod touch.

Rainbow Web II welcomes you again to the wonderful world of the Rainbow Kingdom - now on your iPhone and iPod touch!

The Royal Palace is still in the grip of the Sorcerer Spider, who has weaved a web of spells, making the palace into the last citadel of evil in the magic kingdom. Match gems on webs, play a Hidden Object mini-game, and put together jigsaw puzzles to rid the land of evil.

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Big Fish Games' Studios is proud to announce the release of Hidden Expedition: Titanic for the iPhone and iPod touch.

Return to the wreck of the great steamship RMS Titanic as you travel back to 1942 and dive to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. As a member of the Hidden Expedition Adventure League (HEAL), you must explore the wreckage of this once-majestic ship and collect antique artifacts for the Titanic Museum.

Scour 17 locations on the ship over 14 dive missions as you search for cleverly-hidden clues that will lead you to the ultimate artifact: The Crown Jewels.

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Big Fish Games’ Studios is proud to announce the upcoming release of Drawn: The Painted Tower.

Due out later this summer, Drawn: The Painted Tower immerses players in a kingdom where shadows have darkened the landscape. A legend tells of a young girl who will rise above the darkness to restore the light. Within the stone walls of the Painted Tower, the girl lives out her dreams in near solitude imagining the world as she sees it, filled with magic and wonder. But darkness has gathered around the tower and she has been imprisoned by its curse. Only someone who believes in the magic of dreams can unlock the secrets...

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Big Fish Games’ Studios is proud to announce the release of Cooking Quest for the iPhone and iPod touch.

Congratulations, you’ve been awarded a coveted entry for the Chef’s Challenge contest in Foodville’s Restaurant Row!

Grease the cast-iron skillets as you gather ingredients to smoke the competition away. Manage your budget as you create multi-course gourmet meals in Foodville’s most elite restaurants. Can you stand the heat and become a Master Chef? Start at Chop City Steakhouse on Restaurant Row and find out in this time-management Cooking Quest.

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Big Fish Games’ Studios is proud to announce the release of Hidden Mysteries: Buckingham Palace for the iPhone and iPod touch.

In Hidden Mysteries ™: Buckingham Palace you must peel back the curtains on one of the grandest buildings in the western world to look for treasure and uncover its deepest secrets.

Learn fun facts about several royal locations while you search for hidden objects and play ingenious mini-games. Follow romantic notes strewn across beautifully rendered scenes in this exciting sequel to Hidden Mysteries: Civil War. Learn fun royal facts as you play clever mini-games and use collected items to solve challenging puzzles.

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Today we're excited to announce the first game release from our new development team in Vancouver, BC! Unwell Mel, a popular game found only in our Game Community, is now available for download.

The new Vancouver team that is responsible for bringing you this new game - including artists and developers - allows us to more effectively expand our genre expertise without sacrificing our depth, quality and creativity.

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Prior to the release of Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst, a press kit was created to help promote the game. This kit was delivered in an official Mystery Case Files satchel and included a version of the real case file featured in the game. This case file was created to give those who had the opportunity to read it a unique glimpse inside the return visit to Ravenhearst Manor.

The content of the case file helps lay the framework for the game as it briefly mentions the events leading up to the return to Ravenhearst Manor. Readers are taken back to Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst and Mystery Case Files: Madame Fate to help set the stage for the next chapter in the Mystery Case Files series.

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Big Fish Games’ Studios is proud to announce the release of Virtual Villagers: A New Home for the iPhone and iPod touch.

These poor villagers washed up on shore after surviving a horrific volcanic eruption. It’s up to you to guide them in learning how to survive in this real-time simulation game.

Islanders learn by doing, but you might have to keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t give up too easily. They need to become farmers, builders, scientists, parents and more in order to thrive on this new island.

You are the leader and the only one who can help the villagers build a proud new home. How will you lead your tribe?

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Big Fish Games Studios is proud to announce Diana Fortune in the Lost Temple of Gold, a new free online game available for Big Fish Games Community players!

Join archaeologist and adventurer Diana Fortune as she travels to the overgrown jungles near Tikal to explore a recently discovered Mayan temple. The floor of the temple is mostly quick sand, so you'll have to create paths for Diana using ornate stepping stone tiles. She can use these paths to travel around and collect valuable treasures to send to local museums!

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With so much buzz around mobile gaming on the Apple iPhone, it was only a matter of time before a Big Fish Games title made its way to this capable and exciting platform. Following on the heels of the successful development and release of Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir for the Nintendo DS, Hidden Expedition: Everest was targeted as the first release for the iPhone. Learn more about this great title and other Big Fish Games for the iPhone and iPod touch.

Shawn Wood (Lead Artist) and Tyson Chihaya (Lead Programmer) were tasked with transitioning Everest from the PC to the iPhone. A downloadable gaming hit, the Hidden Expedition series of games have established themselves as a well known brand among casual gamers. This resulted in the redesign of Hidden Expedition: Everest carrying with it certain expectations. "We wanted to make sure we kept the core integrity of the game intact, however, our #1 goal was to make sure it remained a good game. Also, this was our first game for the iPhone so we felt a bit of pressure to get it right," said Shawn Wood.

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The final scene in Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst finds the user in Charles' chamber attempting to put an end to his wicked scheme and free the trapped souls. Poking around in Big Fish Games Studios, we came across the original sketches used to plan this climactic scene. We thought it would be fun to share them with you.

For those who have completed the game, these sketches will give you some insight into how Jeff Haynie developed the look and feel of the chamber.

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The process of creating a new Mystery Case Files game requires a great deal of work by many talented people within Big Fish Games. Some of those individuals are the Big Fish Studios' artists. These artists spend a great deal of time drawing, painting, and rendering the graphics you see in select Big Fish Games releases.

Before developers began creating Return to Ravenhearst, concept sketches and paintings were created to help the development team better visualize game play locations. These works also help everyone involved better understand the style, tone, and overall feeling of the game.

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In early September, members of the Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir development team were interviewed for the Developer's Voice series on the Nintendo Channel. Shawn Seavers and Adrian Woods of Big Fish Games were featured in the video as well as Sean Harrold and Elaine Eudy of Griptonite Games. The interview took the better part of the day and gives you a unique glimpse inside the art of game development.

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We've asked Bill Meyer and Adrian Woods to sit down with us and take a look back at Mystery Case Files: Madame Fate. We'll talk about the development of the game, the storyline, and the future of the Mystery Case Files franchise.

Bill Meyer and Adrian Woods are two of the key individuals responsible for the Mystery Case Files game franchise. Bill acted as the Art Director for Madame Fate while Adrian acted as Game Developer.

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