June 7, 2009
Anyone following the progress of home-grown iPhone game gpsAssassin knows the time and effort spent to get it pushed out into the app store. Perhaps the most grueling portion of this process was waiting for confirmation from apple that it indeed had been approved. They don’t indicate how long it’ll take — so planning a launch party is equally difficult.
So without further ado, I’m happy to announce the “Kill Your Neighbor While You Kill Your Beer” gpsAssassin Launch Party hosted by Nicholas Holland and Jackson Miller of Side Hobby June 16 from 5:30 – 7:30 at Castle Centre{source} [click here for a map].
Bring your iPhone or iPod Touch to celebrate the text-based violence and mayhem that is gpsAssassin. Wearing a costume or steath assassin attire is encouraged as is taking pictures/screenshots for your Flickr account. I have no doubt that there will be some kind of exclusive launch party weapon/item/thing to entice you to pick people off as they casually sip beer. And if you aren’t yet smitten by Apple handhelds, there will be plenty of people at the party available to give you a demo (and by that I mean text-death/humiliation).
As For the Beer Killing…
Like I said in a previous post, the app is currently priced at $4.99, but will likely get cheaper (or free) in the near future. All the money made on the app between now and June 16 will be used to buy a Yazoo Keg for the launch party. So the five duckets you spent to show support for local developers is also beer money.
That my fellow geeks is a truly awesome way to give back to the community.
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Meetups, Technology | Tagged: apps, iPhone, games, gpsassassins, gpsassassin, Side Hobby, Launch Party | 
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Posted by Tom Cheredar
June 4, 2009
Although you guys probably heard it from Jackson Miller earlier tonight via Twitter, Apple has approved Side Hobby’s first iPhone application gpsAssassin, a location-based role playing game that lets you kill your neighbors with weapons made of words.
First let me clarify the official spelling of the app so that people can (hopefully) follow suit when (hopefully) spreading the word in the future. Previously I had incorrectly listed it as GPS assassins, which again is completely wrong. You won’t find it in the app store unless you spell it gpsAssassin. I’m also going to go a step further and provide a link to the iTunes download.
As for cost, the app is currently priced at $4.99, however Jackson said “we are still exploring the pricing and it will likely change.”
Sadly I’m going to refrain from speaking about the specifics of the game. This time I’m holding back because Jackson and Nicholas Holland (the other half of Side Hobby) asked me if I’d be interested in helping run a media blitz, which I of course said yes to.
Now that the app is published, what I will say is there are lots of things to do over the next week. I’m so excited my head feels like it may explode [or implode... which ever is more mighty and/or awesome]. They still haven’t nailed down most of the official communication, but I’m pretty sure there will be a beta tester appreciation launch party about a week from now. Also, there are other head exploding ideas I’ve suggested and I hope end up happening. Either way check back for new developments, as I’ll be gathering the discussion on this site as it comes along.
In the meantime, go to the iTunes Store’s gpsAssassin page and inflict some murderous review love if you’ve enjoyed playing the game. If you aren’t the reviewing type, then just marvel at the fishwreck screen shot (or else).
1 Comment | Programming, Tech Industry News, Technology | Tagged: iPhone, Jackson Miller, Nicholas Holland, games, rpg, gpsassassins, Launch, gps, gpsassassin, Side Hobby, App, apple | Permalink
Posted by Tom Cheredar
February 21, 2009
After months of agonizing wait, GPS Assassins was released to beta testers in the Nashville area, provided they had an iphone or iPod touch and an Internet connection.
The App was conceived from participants in the first Nashville Startup Weekend and uses the GPS navigation technology in smart phones to seek out others around the area to participate in a kill-or-be-killed, text-based role playing game. Basically, the object is to “assassinate” your friends and neighbors.
I’ve been beta testing for about a week now but, will hold off on the details since they are still in a very fluid state and it’s sacrilegious to critique an unfinished work of art prior to its official release. The final version should be available on multiple platforms, most notably T-Mobile’s G1 phone that runs Google’s Android operating system.
However, I will say that it differs from other text-based RPGs currently available in the app store because they do not emphasize an “economic” structure as found in both iMob and iMafia. Those games basically sputter out after you become the biggest dog on the block. GPS Assassins is much different and consumes my time like a kid brother version of World of Warcraft (meaning, you become obsessed with winning, not the clock).
By far, the best component of this app is its featured ability to make customizable weapon and armor items. And you pretty much have free reign on what you want to create. For instance, I crafted a “Boomstick” and then proceed to assassinate a high ranking member in the tech community…One Mean Muggin’… (See pic).
If you’d like to sign up as a beta tester, either beg a friend send you an invite or download the Ad Hoc application through Apple’s App store (run the program, which will pull up the mail app with your iphone or ipod touch’s Unique Device Identifier – UDID) and shoot an email to gpsassassins AT gmail. If they are feeling kind, you may get put on the tester list. But forewarned, your assassination is imminent.
2 Comments | Other, Programming, Technology | Tagged: apps, iPhone, games, rpg, gpsassassins, GPS Assassins, Nashville Startup Weekend, NSW | Permalink
Posted by Tom Cheredar
