Hour 13 studios is proud to announce that we are now starting to provide web development, game development and database administration consulting to our available products and services. Our team has many years experience in all things Internet and we can help you to attain your goals. Soon you will see a restructuring of our web site to better differentiate from our game development enterprise and our consulting services.

Today we announce the introduction of the Developers' Journal -- a page where Jon and Air will, on occasion or from time to time (whichever comes first), spout off ramblings regarding the new things that we are working on here at Hour 13. Think of it as our version of a .plan file, only like a lot prettier and stuff. There waiting for you is the very first entry which features some juicy screenshots featuring our latest incarnation of a game concept, Mr. Incredible!

In other news: whenever it is that we make our next major news update, we'll probably remove some of the old news at the bottom of this page. So if you have some personal attachment to any of the literature here, you might want to save a copy for yourself. There is a slim chance we might get so fancy as to create a news archive, but that's about as likely as putting a half-dozen creme-filled pastries on Jon's desk and expecting some of them to be there 10 minutes later when you get back from the little boys room. Do you feel lucky, punk?

- Air

Hour13.com now features a fancy new layout, which is to say we took down the old and crapoliciously ugly one. If you have any problems with the layout looking less like 'fancy' and more like 'kindergartener scribble,' then drop us a line and we'll be sure to give you some good reasons to stop using what may very well be Netscape. At the top of that list, "Because I want to make a snazzy webpage and I want you to be able to SEE IT." Thank you. "But the old one worked in my select version of Netscape!" you say. I know, and I rest my case.

So what else is new here at the Hour 13 laboratories? Funny you should ask, because, ah, er, um, there's tons! But I wouldn't want to bore you, and plus a lot of it is top secret super duper double whammy classified. You can't get much more sensitive than that. Well, unless you're me. I mean... always cry when the Iron Giant is flying up towards the nuke... and... and... Superman... *sniff*... I... I'm sorry... you're gonna have to give me a few minutes...

Look at what you did. You made me cry.

It's okay, I'm better now. And I'm gonna spill Some Of The Beans. That's right. Beans are verily about to be dumped across the floor. Chicken Little is still waiting patiently for incredibly rich people to pay attention to her. But while she's all alone in the corner (you're hurting her feelings, RICH PEOPLE), a few pals have joined the H13 office bash.

Our newest friend is a cute little heroic alien-smashing robot by the name of Mr. Incredible. This wacky 2D shooter will be a small downloadable game, as will of course the enigmatic supa-secret Reptile & Samurai. Which, actually, is only super secret because it's just a twinkle in our eyes at this point. Which, in gamedev terms, means we're working on the devtools.

- Jon

Recently someone asked me why Hour 13 Studios isn't more active in updating our news pages. The obvious answer being that there is no news, and while this might apply to a number of other gamedev studios, I would like to offer a different reason. You see, we have news; we just don't have the time to brag about it. We lack that key member of our team-- the idea man if you will. You know who I'm talking about. Almost every decent developer has one. He sits around, drinks your coke, eats your pizza, and talks... alot. And when he goes home, he has nothing else better to do, so he updates the website with amusing news tidbits. You know, the person who says things like "Hey guys, I've got another great idea!" and while the rest of us are trying to figure out where this 'another' part comes from, he starts rattling off.

The brilliance is usually in the delivery, though. Like a great comedian, a great idea man has to know his timing. He starts out with what actually is a brilliant idea, laying out a setting and characters and some really juicy tidbits. An example, perhaps:

How about a game where we have a two-man puzzle-solving team: A giant and a midget, and you can play both of them. The giant is all big and strong, the midget small and weasely. We can make puzzles based on that. The giant can like open big heavy doors for the midget, and the midget can squeeze through small areas the giant doesn't fit.

Then, like a punchline, he leads in with "Wait ok, I have a better idea!" or maybe "And here's the best part!" and without fail, this is where the mindless dribble starts. That section of the subconscious that most people keep locked away, spilling forth for everyone to hear. Something like this, perhaps:

The giant is actually really small and the midget carries him in his pocket! And the midget will wear a huge sombrero and speak like Speedy Gonzalez! The giant should be all big and stupid, except he's tiny! So it'll be hilarious as he says "oh graahhduahah! I smash them for you!" but of course, he can't smash anything! It's like, so brilliant that I get excited just thinking about it! ohohoh!!

We just don't have someone like that here at Hour 13 Studios, and I think I speak for the entire team when I say that we really feel deprived.

- Air

An official demo for Chicken Little has been released for public consumption. Extra juicy details (and a download link to boot) can be found on the Chicken Little Main Page.

You are limited to Solo and VS modes and can choose from five characters and five stages. The full version features ten characters across ten levels, as well as extra modes of play, and it will hopefully come inside a big pretty box.

- Air