ErnCon Goes Gold!

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ErnCon, the top-down multiplayer space shooter by indie studio Woo Games, has gone gold. The one-month open beta has been a resounding success, resulting in several gameplay and interface improvements, new content, and sturdier game servers -- with nearly-invisible lag and improved stability.

“Furthermore, carefully listening to everyone’s feedback made ErnCon into a much better game -- an indie shooter the entire community can be proud of.”

But the good news doesn’t end here. To celebrate the launch, Woo Games will be giving away $1 in ErnCoins, the game’s in-game currency, to those who download ErnCon in the next two weeks. With the free in-game currency, players will be able to purchase premium content from the get go without spending actual money. Starting on April 4, new ErnCon players will get $0.50 in ErnCoins with every install.

Launch features:

   •3 additional missions (total of 5 playable multiplayer missions at launch) -- FREE
   •4 new weapons, 6 new "Elite" fighters and robots for expert players – also FREE
   •Achievements
   •Full tablet support
   •In-app purchases via Google Play
   •Custom-colored fighters and robots available for in-app purchase
   •One-player Survival Mode
   •Survival Mode leaderboards

“Unleashing beta testers on the production environment uncovered numerous issues that internal QA would never have found -- allowing a small developer like me to deliver a polished multiplayer shooter on Android,” says Ernest Woo, founder and CEO, Woo Games. “Furthermore, carefully listening to everyone’s feedback made ErnCon into a much better game -- an indie shooter the entire community can be proud of.”

Everyone can build and publish games on Android. To stay true to the platform’s DIY spirit, here’s what Woo Games learned from the open beta:

   •The initial mission lengths, 10 minutes, were too long for mobile play. They have been reduced to 4 minutes in the latest build; future mission lengths will be in the 3-5 minute range

   •UI animations are “pretty” only the first time you see them. Unnecessary UI animations have been removed to facilitate navigation through the Shop. Less is more!

   •Even though ErnCon is designed to appeal to hardcore players, open beta participants asked for more refined social gameplay. The final build makes it easier to message others, find and ally with friends, and meet new players

ErnCon is a free download. To install the game on your Android phone, visit https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.amorph.erncon or search for “ErnCon” on Google Play.

To learn more about Woo Games, visit http://woogames.com/.

Assets

Screenshots (new) Web (Flickr) http://www.flickr.com/photos/63559818@N06/sets/72157629255679450/ Download (Dropbox) http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9186800/ErnCon_launch_screenshots_03-21-12.zip

Trailer Web (YouTube) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYNwfnSuAdY Download (Dropbox) http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9186800/ErnCon_trailer.zip

Logos/headshot for Ernest Woo Download (Dropbox) http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9186800/Woo_Games_logos_headshot.zip

About Ernest Woo, Founder & CEO

With a desire to innovate on the promising Android platform, Ernest entered the Android Developer Challenge 2 in 2008 with his first Android title, FRG -- which became a top 20 finalist in the Action & Arcade category. Since this promising start, Ernest has developed games for various other platforms including a lit pressure-sensitive dance floor at LightSpace Corporation and smartphone browsers at MocoSpace.

Ernest fell in love with games on the legendary Commodore 64 when he was eight years old. Inspired by the Atari VCS/2600, NES, and PC, he realized that making games was his true calling. In high-school, for example, Ernest surprised his entry-level programming class with the precursor of ErnCon, a 1-on-1 space shooter based on Star Control. You may find Ernest crossing the continental U.S. and occasionally traveling to Japan to compete in Street Fighter IV tournaments.