Exciting Times For MilMo

Hello players,

What a ride we're on. MilMo has finally begun transitioning into the game we envisioned from the very beginning, a modern mix between console platform games and the modern Free-2-PlayMMORPG. We've now completed the game up to a point where the core feature set is nailed down and we can begin thinking about cool extras and the next big features.

Dark forces have come to MilMo

This summer, we'll begin taking the MilMo concept a lot further by rolling out a number of changes to boost fun factor and replay value.

Yarrn, the new pirate cat-NPC on level The Eternal Monument

First up is our new ingame currency

Coins are big, beautiful and shiny. Every map contains 8 of them, and they respawn every 24 hours in new random locations. Use Coins to buy items in the Cash Shop. The voucher system is no more! and obviously those of you who own vouchers have been generously compensated in Coins. 

You may recall that vouchers had to be traded in for one item at a time. With Coins, this limitation is history (they work just like June Coins). There is naturally a risk of confusing ingame Coins with June Coins. Our plan is to change the name and appearance of June Coins on the portals that use this currency (MilMogame.Com and the Brazilian versions of MilMo).

There are 8 Coins on each level, and they re-spawn each 24h if you pick them up!

What about Gems?

As you may suspect, Coins will eventually become the main in-game currency. Gems will remain unchanged for a couple of updates, but will eventually be replaced by Coins in all NPC shops and quest rewards. Critters will still drop Gems, but Gems will become a mana-like resource, used for magic, crafting and advanced technology. This also ties into the story and setting of the MilMo universe, in which Gems are the life-force, the essence out of which everything is made.

To sum this up, Coins will make MilMo more Free-2-Play since everyone can now get Cash Shop items with a little effort. It's obviously criminally fun to go coin-hunting. Einstein has said "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler". That's basically what we're trying to accomplish with the in-game economy, even though the path to get there has been winding and filled with surprises.

Helicopter Maps

This update also introduces a new feature: Helicopter maps. These remote islands contain special quests and NPCs, and have critters that drop a lot more Gems and lock boxes. There's also a bigger chance (risk?) of Imagination Devourers appearing! On the first such map, the "Eternal Monument", we're introducing a new MilMo NPC race - the pirate cats - along with an awesome new special ability: The Dirty Bomb!

Fly off to new, exciting places!

The Start Experience

In an effort to make the game more entertaining to new users, we've put effort into improving the 1st session experience. A beautiful start level has been added, improving the initial gameplay experience and introducing the various gameplay elements in an easy and thorough manner. There's also a gorgeous intro animation slide with epic music and a story that introduces the MilMo universe and its main storyline. We're hoping to add more of these story sequences throughout the game in the coming months, delving deeper into the story world of the queen of MilMo and the imagination devourers.

The Brink, a new start level for the new players

The Queen, new players will meet with her in The Brink

As you may have noticed, we have put a lot of effort into the economic (both in-game and real world) aspects of MilMo lately. This work is now nearing completion and we're putting our gameplay engines into full gear. We have scores of ultra-cool features lined up for the game and it's going to be a very interesting summer for MilMo!

Cheers,

Calle

Today's post is made by Calle Lundgren, Game Director at Junebud. Calle has been making games for everything from the C64 to the PS3. He has also had time to help found a successful band and to start up Junebud! He has a hand in everything that goes on at the company - especially MilMo. 

Level Up

Hello players,

It's been a busy time at the office lately. As some of you may already know Junebud recently teamed up with Aeria Games to bring MilMo to a wider audience. This is a big event for Junebud and for MilMo. Along with this deal comes a lot of work, and whenever we set out on a new, big stretch of development we usually arrange a JuneCon. This is basically an internal conference. Today's blog post is going to cover our meeting with Aeria Games, plus JuneCon 5, held the week after the visit. 

Most of the Junebud Crew on a much needed ice cream break during JuneCon 5.

MilMo is already live on the Aeria Games portal (www.aeriagames.com), so you old hands on the English version may have met new players who connect from there. We  did the integration a couple of weeks ago, and shortly afterward Lan Hoang, CEO of Aeria, along with Terry Ngo, their CTO and Pascal Zuta, Managing Director of the German Aeria branch, landed in Malmö. It was a nice, sunny day when we walked them around the office and introduced them to the Junebud Crew.

After introductions, Calle Lundgren, our game director, Fredrik Olofsson, our own CTO, and I sat down with our guests to discuss how we wanted to develop the partnership.

Lan, Pascal, Calle and Ola get down to business. The weather was great when Junebud hosted the meeting.

Aeria Games is a large company that publishes a lot of games. They're currently expanding their browser games section, so MilMo is a good fit for them. We also had a chance to sit down and talk about what kind of a company Junebud is, and what we do best. Besides, we wanted to learn more about our new allies. We had been looking for a partner who knew Free games and who had a big audience, and much as we had guessed, Aeria fit that bill to a 'T'.

After the meeting we felt we had a fresh perspective on MilMo. Aeria has a lot of experience with these types of games, and were willing to share. This meant Calle, Fredrik and I had a lot to consider when we sat down to take a look at how we wanted to expand MilMo. Once we had figured out an exact direction and a plan to get there, we called a company conference a couple of days later. 

The Junebud Crew at the opening of JuneCon 5.

We've been arranging internal conferences ever since the company started three years ago. The first one, JuneCon 1, was held in August of 2008. So last week we held JuneCon 5, focused on where we want to take MilMo during 2011.

It's usually Calle and I who do most of the talking, but we've learned to set time aside for questions and discussions. The best part about a JuneCon is the chance to share ideas and compare notes. When a development team grows beyond five or ten people it's hard to keep everyone on the same page. After a conference like this everyone shares the same perspective, which makes it much easier to push ahead as a team.

We had lunch at a nearby restaurant situated on an old river boat. Summer rocks.

No JuneCon is complete without good food. Fredrik, our CTO, decided on chili, Sara went with a salad.

MilMo has come a long way since its humble beginnings, as pointed out by Calle here.

One of the things we talked about was the evolution of MilMo from a primitive MMO with 4 levels, at the launch in 2009, through the pretty big game we have today, and on to the game we want it to become. I won't offer any spoilers, but there's awesome stuff in the making. There always is.

Fruit break!

Dinner with the Crew. Calle seems pretty happy!

After JuneCon 5 the whole team went out for dinner and bowling. I was surprised when I realized we've been working together for years, and this was the first time we did something like this. Sure, the team has gone out to dinner before, but we never went ahead and did anything physical like bowling, go-cart racing or laser tag before. Most game companies do these things pretty often in my experience. Anyway, all I can say is it was awesome fun!

At the bowling hall. The smack talk begins.

 

The gang really got into the spirit of bowling and before long, competition was fierce. I don't know about you, but I'm not much of a bowler so it was looking pretty bleak. Luckily I ended up on the same team as Fredrik, who turned out to be hardcore and walked away with the individual best score of the evening.

Aaand... away!

Go, community team!

Yes! A fleeting moment of victory for the art team.

We work all day making computer games, which can be hard work. One of the trickiest things is to remember to have fun and to make the games fun, even when problems seem impossible. And wouldn't you know it, going out and having fun goes a long way to fuel that fire.

We're happy about the deal with Aeria Games. The Junebud Crew is psyched about kicking MilMo up a notch, as I'm sure you've already noticed. We've decided on a break-neck development schedule with frequent game updates just to cram as much cool stuff into MilMo as possible, and soon. With a big, new audience ready to find out about the game, who knows what the future will bring.

Best regards,

 Ola

Today's post is made by Ola Holmdahl, game designer and CEO at Junebud. Ola's previous career includes teaching game design, doing game design and creating concept art. In a previous life he was a freelance artist and an academic (but not at the same time). Follow him at twitter.com/Olaholmdahl

Update 32: Walrus!

Hello players,

With this update we bring you the Sea Festival event. Ready, steady, beach comb!!! Maybe combat is your thing? Check out the cave in the Ancient Forest: something dreadful terrorizes the lands beyond. Eeek!

New weapon: the mighty Anchor!

It's the Shark Girl!

-20% on pirate items

New level and new bosses: The Hidden Tor

• New event: ‘Sea Festival’

• New weapon: Anchor

• New Sea Festival items in Cash Shop

• Lock box loot improved

• Mystery box loot improved

• New helicopter stations added

• New cannons added

• New members’ only level added

• Special discount on pirate-themed items in Cash Shop.

• Major server improvements

• Weapon wielding bug fixed

• Medal reward interface bug fixed

• Window added to new default home

Have fun!

-  the Junebud Crew

Nordic Game Conference 2011

Hello dear players,

You might wonder what we have been up to since we last gave you a blog post? Let me jump right in and share with you! During the 10th - 12th of May Junebud visited the Nordic Game Conference. Or more specifically it was me, our CEO Ola and our project leader Irene who went there. The NGC is held each year in Malmö, the same city Junebud is located in. It's so sweet to go home and sleep in your own bed when the lectures and the party is over. No uncomfortable hotel beds ;)

Indie Game Night at the NGC. Indie game makers got to present their games to the crowd. "Vikings on Trampolines" won the Nordic Indie Sensation Award!

The NCG is an excellent opportunity to meet and greet with the new indie talent from the Nordic countries (Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark and Iceland). It's also a chance to get to speak to the big guys at Massive, DICE, CCP and other well known gaming companies.

The crew behind ”Amnesia -The Dark Descendent” attended NGC. Have you played it? It's one of the scariest games around. Ever.

Here's me with the Bloodline Champions reps: CEO Tau and graphic artist Srdan

As usual my job was to take notes during sessions, and to be sure we got as much information as possible back to the office. A whole bunch of  classmates from my old game development school, the University of Skövde, were visiting NCG. It's so exciting to see what they're all up to nowadays. Some of them have founded their own game companies, like Stunlock Studios, makers of "Bloodline Champions", or Marklund Games who won a British Academy of Film and Television Arts for their game "Twang". Others are working at DICE or Mojang.

The makers of "Angry Birds", Rovio, attended the party!

As usual, the creators of the 3D program "Maya", Autodesk, sponsored all of us game developers with energy drinks.

Different color badges according to your type of conference pass. Apparently, I was a "delegate". 

Jocce Marklund of Marklund Games with his game "Solve It". They won the Dare to Be Digital 2010 with "Twang".

Ex class mate Magnus Söderberg and his company Triolith have made a game called "Wisp" for the Android market.

Me and Annette Nielsen, team member of Twang and talented freelance artist

Ola at the award dinner. Later that night the Swedish electro band ”Familjen” gave a concert!

What's more, Vlad Micu, the producer of the game called "Snobli Run", visited the Junebuds headquarters. He gave me, Ola and Calle some media traing. I hope I know how to behave in front of a camera now. It was really scary and so much fun to learn all the do's and dont's when someone gives you a mic and puts a camera in front of your face. This is something Ola and Calle are far more experienced with since their days of making World in Conflict and Battlefield 1942. Practice makes perfect, I hope!

Trying to get my head around things as Vlad is instructing me

Ola in front of the camera. The Junebud headquarters are located near the harbor in Malmö.

As for MilMo, we have been working hard to deliver next update. Hopefully we are able to give it to you during the next couple of weeks. There will be a lot of cool stuff, like diver helms, a shark fin and new levels. I can't tell you too much abut this at the moment. But those of you who are curious abut the mystical Prawn King got something to look forward to!

New outfits coming up!

That's it for now, see you online!

Yours,

Sara

Sara is the Community Manager at Junebud. She also works with Quality Assurance (QA) and scripting. She's got a bachelor's degree in game design, but likes the social part better than tweaking numbers. She usually spends her time moderating the forum, testing the game and planning new events. Twitter: twitter.com/saxen8