G4′s Attack of the Show! ambushed our friends and neighbors at the Microsoft campus, capturing a whirlwind of video highlights and a cameo  of Vectorform’s Galactic Alliance HD. The four-player tower defense game made a big splash at CES this year, where it could be experienced on the new Samsung SUR40 for Microsoft Surface. Check out the demo from Director of Research Steven Bathiche, at 3:43.

Also showing up for Jessica Chobot’s campus tour was Skinput, a wickedly-clever project from Microsoft Research that turns the body into an input surface; Kinect Fun Labs, a new addition to the Kinect Hub; and our buddy Steve Clayton, a Microsoft storyteller who has covered our work with Kayak and Virtual Colonoscopy.

Maybe we should invite the gang over to see our latest? We do get the most surprising visitors…

“Visitors to the recent Sundance Film Festival were able to take part in Pandemic 1.0, a virtual treasure hunt set in a fictional world that brought together NFC phones and tags, social media and a real-world mission control set up to look like a disease-control hub,” Christopher Brown of Near Field Communications World writes about our work on Lance Weiler’s transmedia experience Pandemic 1.0.

Between covering unique uses of Near Field Communication (NFC) with retail in Korea and public transit in Spain, Christopher spent some time with Alison Weber, our Director of Communications, to hear about our work with 50 special Nexus S devices, and several hundred NFC tags.

“It was magical to watch people and how they responded to using this ‘secret’ media,” she said. “NFC is going to catch on like wildfire from watching people interacting with the technology at the festival.”

Enabling a seamless user experience based on proximity, NFC uses short range wireless Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to interact with mobile devices for transferring information. This technology serves as a new channel for users to interface with digital content.

Joe Engalan, Executive Director of Vectorform’s Game Studio is equally enthusiastic about the future of NFC. “In order to integrate the user as a part of the experience we connect with them and their mobile devices–seamlessly. Using NFC allows us to present an unbroken user experience. We don’t have to prompt users to do anything, type anything…they stay immersed in the experience, whatever that is.”

Photo courtesy of Mike Hedge

The write up reads: “Strategy in GO is difficult but rewarding, and it will surely challenge your mind.”  We are the ones who are feeling rewarded now, and thanks to everyone for your support.  Stay tuned to our blog and Facebook page for new and exciting developments!

Check out the full article here.

Galactic Alliance is a multi-platform title, available on Microsoft Surface and iPad, through the iTunes App Store. Galactic Alliance HD will be available for Samsung SUR40 for Microsoft Surface upon its commercial launch.

Click here to see the full press release.

Coming to an App Store near you!

Seattle, WA and Detroit, MI, August 2, 2010—The Settlers of Catan is a classic multiplayer board game, combining economics, strategy and chance, as colonists compete to build settlements from raw commodities. Created in Germany in 1995, and now available in 30 languages, The Settlers of Catan has achieved icon status. Over 15 million copies have been sold worldwide, and an estimated 20 million people play regularly, through a diverse set of traditional and digital game forms.

In partnership with Microsoft, Catan LLC, and Mayfair Games, Vectorform has created Catan for Microsoft Surface. Microsoft Surface is an innovative computing platform that responds to touch, natural hand gestures and real-world objects placed on the display. With a large, 360-degree, horizontal user interface, Microsoft Surface offers a unique gathering place where multiple users can come together to interact with content and each other–making it an ideal platform for games like Catan.

Working to maintain an authentic, interpersonal experience of board game play, Vectorform leveraged the social nature of Microsoft Surface. This functionality, defined by Microsoft as “together computing,” provides a distinct advantage and authenticity over games played on traditional PCs or personal devices. “Where a computer game is a solo computing affair, board games are connected experiences. Together computing has its place now, and will be more prominent in the future.” Vectorform Game Studio Executive Director Joe Engalan says.

Vectorform used the artistry of Mayfair Games’ analog version of The Settlers of Catan to illustrate the game elements, including resources, land, and evolving civilization. The digital board is complimented with real-world elements, including an acrylic die set which is seen and recognized by Surface’s built-in cameras. Additionally, an x-ray visor, fabricated specifically for the game, reveals a player’s cards to the player, while shielding the cards from competing colonists. “I’ve never seen real die used in a digital game,” Mollie Harms, Game Producer for Vectorform Game Studios, says. “I think the visors could revolutionize digital card playing. This is a new way to maintain secrecy that doesn’t hinder game play.” The visors, the dice, and the game-play experience on Surface were wildly popular with fans of the board game, who were involved in the design and development process, loaning time and feedback to informal focus groups.

Catan was first shown on Surface at Origins Game Fair in Columbus, Ohio, in July of 2010. The extensive media coverage generated over 15,000 views of a promotional video for the game, within 72 hours of publishing it to YouTube. Vectorform will also show the game at Gen Con Indy, taking place August 5 through August 8, 2010, in Indianapolis, Indiana. Additionally, on September 3 through September 5, 2010, Vectorform will demonstrate Catan at PAXWest, the Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle, Washington.

Vectorform will continue to promote Catan at conferences and private events through the summer, and is offering customized, branded versions of the game to a network of clients and partners for use on Microsoft Surface. In the future, Catan will be available for purchase through Vectorform’s App Store. Additionally, the Vectorform App Store will sell other titles, including titles for iPhone, iPad, and other platforms. “The future for Catan is very bright, and we are going to push that experience to new markets and communities. But we’ve got quite a few more titles in the queue, and they are all very exciting. Keep watching, because this is just the start of the empire,” Joe Engalan says.

Press Release