Nine warriors from across the galaxy have been abducted, cloned, and forced to fight in an endless series of deadly arena battles.

These hunters have become, The Hunted.

I am extremely happy to announce that our next release is a multiplayer shooter named, The Hunted.
Work on the Hunted began more than a year ago when we challenged ourselves to make multiplayer a shooter work on a touchscreen device. My goal has been to recapture the awesome deathmatch experiences I had with my friends playing Quake, waaay back in the day, and bring it to a new platform and a whole new generation of players. With The Hunted, I think we've done it.

The biggest challenge to overcome was obviously the controls. While there are plenty of multiplayer first-person shooters on iOS none of them really control all that well, and it really compromises the experience. A game type that does control really well on touch screens is the top-down 'dual-stick' shooter. The only problem with top-down shooters is that you have a perfect view of the battlefield. No one can sneak up behind you and take you out with a melee attack, or duck behind a wall and make you wonder where they are going to pop up next. We knew that if we really wanted to deliver an awesome deathmatch experience we were going to have to find a way to make you feel like you were still a character in that world looking down the barrel of your gun.

Thanks to the awesome coding skill of our team we were able to do just that. We've combined a limited field of view, like the view you get in an FPS, with the top-down dual stick shooter controls that work so well on mobile and we've made the best mobile deathmatch experience you've ever seen. It's fast, it's fun, and it's coming to your iPhone and iPad very soon!

Keep an eye on our twitter feed and here on the blog over the next few weeks as we share info on the 9 unique character classes you can choose from, all the different game modes, and show off tons of new gameplay footage and images from the game.

Please help us to spread the word, real Deathmatch is finally coming to mobile!

Our vision for The Hunted has been based in that old turn of phrase 'The Hunters become the Hunted'. We wanted to play on the idea that no matter how adept you are at Hunting, or how high on the food chain you may find yourself, there is always something that could turn you into the prey.

We decided to put that idea front and center with the Human playable character who is simply named, The Hunter.

The Hunter was out in the woods early one morning when he found himself abducted by a flying saucer. When he awoke onboard the alien ship he found that he wasn't there for experimentation, or to be dinner, the aliens just wanted him to fight for their amusement.

He also finds that he is not alone in this torment, many other aliens have been taken from their homes and forced to fight as well. Each of them cloned dozens of times so that not even death can stop their endless battles.

Each fighter is given a generic title, Hunter, Brute, Stealth, that allow the thousands of spectators to bet and cheer for them without really knowing anything about them as beings. They are gladiators for a new time and place, but still nothing more than slaves

You will fight as one of these Hunters, and while you may find victory in the arena, you will never find your freedom. At least not while playing by their rules.

Next time we'll take a more in-depth look at The Hunter and talk about his weapons, special attacks, and strategies for victory. Until then, if you have any questions about The Hunted feel free to message me on twitter ( @Readmore ) or you can join the discussion about The Hunted on the Touch Arcade forums here: TA Forums.

In our new game 'The Hunted' you will have the choice of nine unique characters to take into the arena. Each of these hunters have their own strengths and weaknesses and it will be up to you, the intrepid player, to determine which character best fits your play style. To help you make that determination we're going to highlight each hunter over the next couple weeks so you can get an idea about what character you want to start with.

A little background

Before we can really get into the details about each character we need to go over how 'The Hunted' plays so that everything makes sense. 'The Hunted' is a dual-stick shooter, which means that there is a virtual joystick on the left which controls movement and another on the right that controls where your characters shoots.



The right stick controls the direction your character faces and also shoots their primary weapon. Each hunter has a unique primary weapon, which we'll explore in the following posts, but these weapons get dropped on the battlefield when a player is killed during a match. That means that, for a limited time, any character can pick up and use the primary weapon of another character which can create some really interesting 'player builds' and give you a temporary edge.

The right joystick also has two buttons, one to trigger your character's secondary weapon and another to use their special ability. As you can probably guess, each special ability is unique to the Hunter and gives them each a different play style and personality. As we explore each of the hunters over the next few posts you'll get a good look at each of these abilities and how they can be used to full effect on the battlefield.

The Hunter

The Hunter is a 'medium' build character in the game. This means that he has an average level of speed and durability to damage compared to the other hunters. He is also the starting character that every player will have access to right after downloading the game so he's a hunter that you'll more than likely spend some time with.

His main weapon is a double barrel shotgun, and it packs a punch! As you would expect from a shotgun it does tremendous damage when you are up close and personal with your target, but its long range effectiveness is limited. In 'The Hunted' we decided to go old-school and model every projectile fired from a weapon as it moves across the screen. This means that the farther away from your target you are the more you'll need to lead them if you want to score a hit. Also, when you are the target, it gives you an opportunity to dodge bullets, if you see them coming. The gif below gives you an idea of the spread on the shotgun blast over a couple different distances.

Tracking Dart

The Hunter's special ability ties into his history as an animal tracker and gives you the ability to stalk other players around the map. When you use his special ability the Hunter shoots out a tracking dart that will relay a target's location to you even if they are outside your normal field of view. Check out the gif below to see what I mean.



Once you've tagged a target they will continually give off a 'ping' until they die and respawn. This means that if you can tag your target with the tracking dart they won't be able to hide from you again until you take them down. As you can probably expect, knowing your enemy's location can be a huge advantage during a tough battle.

The final addition to the Hunter's arsenal is explosive grenades. These are really useful for clearing out space around a control point, forcing an enemy out of their cover, or giving you the time you need to escape and patch yourself up.

Between the double barrel shotgun, grenades, and tracking dart the Hunter definitely gives you everything you needs to put the hurt on your enemies. If you have any questions about the Hunter, or the game in general, let me know on Twitter ( @Readmore ) or you can join the discussion about The Hunted on the Touch Arcade forums here: TA Forums.

Next Time: The Kid

In our new game 'The Hunted' you will have the choice of nine unique characters to take into the arena. Each of these hunters have their own strengths and weaknesses and it will be up to you, the intrepid player, to determine which character best fits your play style. To help you make that determination we're going to highlight each hunter over the next couple weeks so you can get an idea about what character you want to start with.
If you missed our first post about the Human Hunter you can check it out here.

The Kid

Backstory

The Kid isn't actually a kid at all. He comes from a race that ages differently than Humans and who only ever grow to a height of 4.5 to 5 feet. Because of their small stature they have always relied on technology to help them overcome their physical shortcomings. This has bred an innate love of tech into their species and they travel the galaxy searching for new advancements that they can adapt to their own uses.

The Kid was abducted during just such a mission, while scavenging on a derelict space ship looking for technology he could rebuild or sell. Luckily he was wearing his exploration/combat suit, which is highly advanced and allows him to not only survive in the hard vacuum of space but also deal with any threat that he may encounter along the way.

Playstyle

The Kid is a 'light' build character in the game. This means that he is quicker on his feet than most Hunters but unable to absorb as much damage during a battle. Because he damages easily you'll need to constantly be on the move and harass your targets with The Kid's sweet weapons.

Arm Cannons

The Kid's main weapons are two 'Arm Cannons' that allow him to spray energy blasts across a room in record time. When you fire, each cannon alternates their fire with the other so that you can shoot a steady stream of pain across the screen. The gif below will give you a feel for this firing speed as well as the faster foot speed that The Kid has over the Human Hunter.

Cannon Blast

The Kid's special ability requires him to get in close with his target. His 'Cannon Blast' ability forces superheated air through his Arm Cannons and directly into the back, or front, of your target. The Cannon Blast not only deals damage but it also forces your target away from you which can be useful when you need to clear someone off a control point or you want to force them to take a trip on a teleporter.



The Cannon Blast is also really handy when someone tries to throw grenades at your feet. If you're quick enough you can use the blast to shove the grenades away from you without needing to clear out of the area.

Grenade Blast Combo

The Kid, like the Hunter, uses explosive grenades as his secondary weapon but, when you combine then with your Cannon Blast ability you can create a sweet character specific combo. Check out it in the gif below.



Using your Cannon Blast on your own grenades lets you shoot them much farther than any other character is capable of tossing them. This lets you grenade targets that would other wise be un-reachable.

The Kid is one of my favorite characters because I love to speed around the map and pin down the other guys with a constant wall of fire. His ability to move other players, and grenades, around the map is just an awesome bonus! If you have any questions about the Kid, or the game in general, let me know on Twitter ( @Readmore ) or you can join the discussion about The Hunted on the Touch Arcade forums here: TA Forums.

Next Time: The Brute

In our new game 'The Hunted' you will have the choice of nine unique characters to take into the arena. Each of these hunters have their own strengths and weaknesses and it will be up to you, the intrepid player, to determine which character best fits your play style. To help you make that determination we're going to highlight each hunter over the next couple weeks so you can get an idea about what character you want to start with.

If you missed our previous posts in this series you can catch up on them here:

1. Human Hunter
2. The Kid

The Brute

Backstory

The Brute comes from a race of savage warriors that live on a world of massive forests and emerald green seas. While they have no advanced technology their skills in physical combat are rarely matched, as is their ability to leap great distances and heights during the hunt. Once the Brute was abducted for the arena the alien battle masters set about creating a weapon to match his deadly power.

Playstyle

The Brute is a 'heavy' class character in the game. This means that while he moves slower than medium and light characters he can absorb more damage than any of them. This ability to soak up more damage allows him to charge right into the fray and shoot, or smash, his targets with ease.

Bounce Cannon

The Brute's main weapon looks like a large cast iron cannon but instead of shooting traditional cannon balls this weapon shoots projectiles that bounce off walls before finding their target. This makes the Brute especially effective against campers.

Trap Mines

As his secondary weapon the Brute can set trap mines to disable his target. Once these mines are set they cloak themselves and lay in wait until an enemy player walks over them. When detonated these mines deal explosive damage and stun the target to give you an extra second to pounce and finish them off.

Jump Slam

The Brute's special ability is a jumping slam that lets you close the distance with your target and then slam into them from above. This move deals a ton of damage to any target that you land on and then, if they survive, it pushes them away from the point of impact. This is a great move to clear out a control point or just to get bragging rights over your friends.



You can also use the Jump Slam to leap over walls in the game! This is not only awesome to do but it helps you overcome your slower foot speed by taking a more direct route than other players are capable of. It can also let you get the drop on your enemies and slam them before they even know you're there.

The Brute is a really great character and combo-ing his Trap Mines and Jump Slam together can have some really awesome results. If you have any questions about the Brute, or the game in general, let me know on Twitter ( @Readmore ) or you can join the discussion about The Hunted on the Touch Arcade forums here: TA Forums.

Next Time: The Ranger

In our new game 'The Hunted' you will have the choice of nine unique characters to take into the arena. Each of these hunters have their own strengths and weaknesses and it will be up to you, the intrepid player, to determine which character best fits your play style. To help you make that determination we're going to highlight each hunter over the next couple weeks so you can get an idea about what character you want to start with.

If you missed our previous posts in this series you can catch up on them here:

1. Human Hunter
2. The Kid
3. The Brute

Backstory

The Ranger grew up on a planet that had once been very advanced technologically, but a combination of environmental and economic collapses plunged her species back into a strange sort of dark age. While technology still exists from their previous civilization there are very few remaining who can operate or maintain it, and almost none who could recreate any of it from scratch.

Within these circumstances the Ranger servers as a hunter and protector for her people. Using her laser bow she is quick, silent, and deadly to both prey and any foe who may threaten her village. However, when the aliens came to cull a new fighter for the arena she was quickly outmatched and abducted from her home.

Playstyle

The Ranger is a 'light' character in the game. This means that while she moves quickly, faster than any other Hunter in fact, she also is unable to absorb much damage. Because of this, her play style requires fast movement and shooting from a distance to give her time to dodge any shots that are coming her way. Her weapons are well suited to this and make her a formidable opponent.

Laser Bow

The Laser Bow is a silent and fast firing weapon that can deal considerable damage when multiple shots find their target. It requires great accuracy, as there is no spread to its firing pattern, but if used correctly you can line up two or three shots before your target even knows they are being hunted.

Explosive Dart

The Ranger's secondary weapon, the Explosive Dart, excels at dealing damage from a distance and keeping her out of harms way. The Explosive Dart is a small projectile that latches on to any target it strikes and quickly counts down to detonation. While this is another weapon that requires accuracy it causes great explosive damage to its target, and anyone around it, after a few seconds.

Many times the Ranger can stick someone with a dart, hit them with a couple arrows and be half way across the map before her target explodes and the kill is registered.

Boomerang

While the Ranger would prefer to engage her targets from across the screen that isn't always going to be the case. Her special ability, the Boomerang, is most useful for those times when the enemy has gotten the drop on you. The Boomerang flies out in an arc from the Ranger and then returns on her other side. It only deals a small amount of damager to any enemy it strikes but it also stuns them for a couple crucial seconds. As the Ranger you can use this time to deal a quick blow or escape and search for a health pack.



You can also grab power ups with the Boomerang! Nothing is sweeter than using your Boomerang to snag a Double Damage just before someone else picks it up!

The Ranger is a really interesting character and, I believe, will be a favorite for a lot of players. If you have any questions about the Ranger, or the game in general, let me know on Twitter ( @Readmore ) or you can join the discussion about The Hunted on the Touch Arcade forums here: TA Forums.

Release Update

I am very excited to say that we just received word from Apple that The Hunted has been approved and will be releasing for iPhone and iPad this Thursday!

We're also going to be doing some special for launch day. For the first 24 hours of release all of our characters will be unlocked! This means that, if you grab the game on launch day, you can try out every one of the characters we have been highlighting and see which one best suits your play style.

I can't wait to start playing against all of you in the arena! I hope you'll keep reading about our characters this week and that I'll see you in the game on Thursday.

Next Time: The Lurker

In our new game 'The Hunted' you will have the choice of nine unique characters to take into the arena. Each of these hunters have their own strengths and weaknesses and it will be up to you, the intrepid player, to determine which character best fits your play style. To help you make that determination we're going to highlight each hunter over the next couple weeks so you can get an idea about what character you want to start with.

If you missed our previous posts in this series you can catch up on them here:

1. Human Hunter
2. The Kid
3. The Brute
4. Ranger

The Lurker

Backstory

The Lurker belongs to an ocean-dwelling species that found itself being hunted and killed off by a land-based species on their home planet. Rather than retreat from this threat, their scientists developed war suits that would not only allow their warriors to breathe while out of the water but also allow them to burrow through the ground in much the same way that they swim in the water. The result of this amazing breakthrough was a quick turn in the war as their land locked enemy quickly had no place on their planet that they could hide.

Plucked from his native ocean to fight in the arena The Lurker is ready to take out his frustrations on anyone who crosses his path.

Playstyle

The Lurker is a 'medium' class character in The Hunted. This means that, like the Human Hunter, he has an average speed and average level of durability compared to the other hunters. While his base stats may sit in the middle of the pack he is definitely one of the most interesting characters to play. His main weapon can blanket the play field with fire, and his burrow ability opens up all kinds of interesting strategies that you can deploy on your enemies.

Trident Gun

The Lurker's main weapon is a Trident Gun that shoots out about a billion bullets a second. This very heavy rate of fire allows you to cover an area with shots that will give your target little chance to escape. While each of these shots does a small amount of damage their overall volume lets you keep your enemy on the run and move in for the kill.

Explosive Grenades

With grenades as a secondary weapon the Lurker is great at controlling an area of the map. He excels in control point game types as he can use his grenades to clear enemies off the point or to harass anyone trying to take his point away.

Landshark

The Lurker has the greatest, in my opinion, special ability in the history of competitive shooters. He can burrow into the ground and stalk his prey as a Landshark! Once burrowed you can tunnel under the ground and choose when you want to burst through the floor, biting anyone who may be above you.

With this ability you can approach a control point without taking damage from standard weapons, sneak up behind an un-suspecting target and chomp them from below, or retreat from a battle to grab a much needed health pack.



To counteract this awesome ability the Lurker moves very slowly while burrowed and he can still be damaged by explosions. This makes grenades, trap mines, and explosive darts shot on walls all something to worry about while you are burrowed.

As you can probably tell the Lurker is my favorite character, he has a great standard weapon and the ability to burrow really changes the landscape of a battle for everyone involved. I hope you'll give him a try this Thursday ( November 20th ) when the Hunted hits the Appstore.

If you have any questions about the Lurker, or the game in general, let me know on Twitter ( @Readmore ) or you can join the discussion about The Hunted on the Touch Arcade forums here: TA Forums.

Next Time: Stealth

We're taking a quick break from our 'Meet the Hunted' series to talk about the game modes that you'll be able to enjoy when the game launches tomorrow! (Nov 20).

Hunted Game Modes

The Hunted allows for both free-for-all and team gameplay in four different games modes. We'll take a quick look at each of them to explain how they work so you'll know what to expect when you start playing.

• Deathmatch
• King of the Hill
• Krazy King
• Skulls

Deathmatch

Deathmatch in The Hunted has the same classic feel that you'll remember from early 90s shooters. It's kill or be killed in the arena. Each player you take out rewards you with a point and the first player, or team, to hit the kill max for that game wins. You can play in a game from 2 to 8 players either as a free for all or on teams, and it's a blast.

One thing that is different in The Hunted is that when you take out another player their main weapon is left on the battlefield for any other player to pick up. When you grab another player's weapon you can carry it around as long as you like but you can only fire it for one full clip of ammo. This lets you change out your damage potential for a few seconds and gives you a quick boost as a reward for your kill.

King of the Hill

King of the Hill is another classic multiplayer mode that appears in The Hunted. In this mode there is a control point, or hill, that appears on the map in a specific spot. To win the match you, or your team, has to hold the hill for a set number of seconds.

To hold the hill only you or your teammate can be inside it. You'll know this is the case because the hill will turn green and a green '+1' will appear on the screen every second. If there is an enemy player in the hill with you then it will turn yellow and no one will receive points until one of you leaves. When one of your enemies controls the hill it will turn red and a red '+1' will appear on the screen for each second they control it.



This is an awesome team mode because it rewards teamwork and it helps to concentrate all the action into one spot on the map. This usually results in some pretty epic moments.

Krazy King

Krazy King grabs all the awesome-ness of King of the Hill and takes it on the move! In Krazy King you're still playing King of the Hill but the hill doesn't stay in one spot anymore. The hill will disappear for a small amount of time and then re-appear in a different location on the map. This creates a mad scramble to the new hill zone and usually creates running firefights from one point to the other.



Basically, it's great; you should play it.

Skulls

Skulls is a really fun mode that combines aspects from a bunch of different competitive game types. In Skulls each time you kill a player they drop a skull on the ground. Anyone who runs over this skull will pick it up and add it to their collection. However, to get points for the skulls you are carrying you have to take them to a control point that is randomly appearing at different spots on the map.



This creates all kinds of awesome gameplay opportunities because if you have collected a lot of skulls you'll want to start avoiding conflict until the next control point appears so you can deposit them and get your points. It also makes anyone with a large number of skulls into a huge target for the other players because they are basically a point piñata for the first person who can kill them.

Fortune's can swing pretty quickly in this mode because someone can accumulate five, six, or seven skulls before hitting the control point and leapfrog any players who may be ranked above them. Teamplay also becomes more interesting because you can get into situations where you need to protect a teammate who is carrying a lot of skulls so that they can make it to the control point and score for your team.

Skulls is probably my favorite mode in The Hunted just because it creates so many interesting gameplay opportunities. I hope you'll check it out on when the game launches on Thursday and let me know what you think.

I hope you enjoyed this quick look at the Hunted's game modes. If you have any questions or comments about the modes, or any modes you'd like us to add, you can let me know on Twitter ( @Readmore ) or you can join the discussion about The Hunted on the Touch Arcade forums here: TA Forums.

The Hunted for iOS

That's right, The Hunted is out now all over the world! If you have an iPhone or iPad you can grab the game from the Appstore right now and jump in the game!

The Hunted on PC

But, what if you don't have an iPhone? Are you just out of luck, is there to be no awesome online deathmatch action for you? To that I say NO. To that I say, you can play in your web browser! That's right, simply by visiting The Hunted's Online Player you can play online with everyone in the game directly from your computer!

So what are you waiting for? Jump in there and start hunting some people! Here are those links again, just in case you skipped over them.

Download The Hunted for iOS

Play The Hunted Online in your browser

Good Hunting!

Welcome to a very special post about a milestone that F5 Games has just passed, our 20th Anniversary as a company! It is hard to believe that we have been in business for two decades, but I suppose time files when you're having this much fun. To celebrate, I thought it would be nice to take a look back at the last 20 years of F5. We'll take a look at how and why we got started, the ups and downs we've experienced, and of course the games we've made along the way.

So, grab your favorite beverage and settle in as we take a journey through the first 20 years of F5 Games.

Humble Beginnings

F5 Games was founded on March 10th 2005, mainly as a way to get into E3. Don't get me wrong, it had been my dream to start a game company for years, and that was the plan once college was over, but when we realized that if we started the company in our last year of college we could take a trip out to LA and get in to E3, we decided to move up the time table.

After making the trek to E3 we were more excited than ever to start working on a real game that we could release into the market. Our first attempts were focused on the PC using the Torque Game Engine (or TGE) from a company called Garagegames. While we learned a lot about development during this time we quickly realized that we were not going to have the resources to develop the game we had in mind without a publisher or investor to help us bridge the gap.

Unfortunately for us, there wasn't much interest in funding a few recent college grads to build a game company in Oklahoma. Since our publisher search didn't bear much fruit, we had to take another look at our situation and make some decisions. How could we still fulfill our dream of making games if we didn't have the resources to complete our vision? We ended up making two changes to our approach, the first was to slim down the scope of our game projects and focus on 2D development, the second was to go 'get real jobs' to pay the bills and work on our game projects as a side gig.

F5 continued in that mode, with us learning a lot and working on new game prototypes but not really getting closer to launching anything, for the next couple years. And honestly, the story may have ended there if something hadn't come along that completed changed the game; the iPhone.

The App Store Changes Everything

I can still remember watching Steve Jobs announce the iPhone in early 2007. It was such an incredible change from what had come before that I knew it would be a success, but I had no idea how much it would end up changing the world. After getting the original iPhone later that year we started to brainstorm what kind of games we could put on a computer that you always had in your pocket. We got into the Jailbreak scene and began installing apps and games that we found online and were amazed at what could be done without any official support from Apple. By the time Apple released the App Store we knew this was the future for F5, we were going to be a mobile first game studio.

We started working with the iPhone SDK and prototyping simple and fun game concepts, and that led us to our first official release, Independence Night!

Independence Night - Released 11-30-2010

It may not looks like much now, but it will always have a special place in my heart. This was the first time we were able to 'get over the hump' and take a game all the way to release on the App Store! And even for a straight-forward game like Independence Night, that is no easy task. Our little game about a boy defending his home from aliens by shooting fireworks at them had made it to the App Store and was even featured by Apple in the 'New & Noteworthy' and 'What's Hot' sections of the store! It was a small thing, but we proved to ourselves that we could do it.

Our next release was an attempt to build something 'for the market', which in 2011 meant a widely approachable puzzle game. Our contribution to the genre was a block dropping puzzle game called IncrediBlox.

IncrediBlox - Released 06-01-2011

IncrediBlox was a much more complete game than Independence Night and it did much better on the store. Part of the reason for its success was the papercraft visual style and tricky puzzles. The fun characters, challenging puzzles, and up-beat music made IncrediBlox a great way to spend a few minutes of your day. I'm very proud of how it turned out.

After IncrediBlox we set our sights on something bigger. We had been scoping out a game that we considered to be the perfect match for the iPhone. It was a turn-based RPG that you played with your friends. It was D&D in your pocket and you could take your turn whenever you liked. We called it, Pocket Heroes.

Pocket Heroes - Released 07-12-2012

We decided to put together a prototype of our 'Words with Friends RPG' and take it to E3 2011 to see if we could get anyone interested in our idea. We fired up a project in our editor named E3Quest and we got to work. Over a couple weeks we were able to put together a single area that allowed two players to quest together, use their skills to fight some enemies, and get some loot at the end. It was small, crude, and the absolute minimum product that showed off our idea, but it was real, and it was awesome to see it working in real time.

Showing the game at E3 ended up being great for us. Not only did we get some press coverage from mobile game sites like TouchArcade, and 148 Apps, but we also started to hear from publishers who were interested in working with us to bring our RPG to market. It was great to have people excited about our game, but it also cranked up the pressure on us to really deliver with this release. Honestly, we didn't think it would take all that long to build, we had built the prototype in just a few weeks, so surely we could finish the game in about 6 months right?

As usually happens in game development, especially when making an RPG, things ended up taking far longer than we expected.

We were still working on the game as we entered into Summer 2012 and we decided to travel to E3 again and show the beta version of the game to the press. We received great feedback and went back to the office to keep cranking until Pocket Heroes was done. This time period is probably the only time I have really 'crunched' for a game deadline, and I don't recommend it to anyone. At the time, it felt like we had to do everything we could to complete the game, even if it meant drinking energy drinks at 2:00 AM to get one more hour of coding in before waking up and heading into work the next morning. It was a grueling time, but it really felt like it would all be worth it once we made it to launch.

On July 12 2012, we finally did launch Pocket Heroes and it was a very exciting time. Unfortunately, because we had been pushing so hard, we hadn't left enough time to fully test all of the circumstances that our players would be playing in and the bug reports started coming in. We spent the next several months continuing to update and improve the game but there were some aspects of the design that we just couldn't 'fix'. Our design was based on a group of friends deciding to get the game and play through the quests together, and when you played that way, it was great. After launch we learned that a large number of players wanted to meet a party and team up in the app, which wasn't something we had prepared for. Even after adding that functionality, what we found was that without the draw of playing with their real-life friends, many parties just stopped moving forward in the campaign. If the other people in your party stopped playing you ended up dragging 'zombie' characters from one quest to the next, and that was not a great way to play.

In the end, Pocket Heroes was a flawed game that you could have a lot of fun with if you played it in a certain way. It is something I have always wished we could have solved better, but to this day there really hasn't been anything else like it.

After the grind of working on Pocket Heroes we decided to work on something much smaller in scope that we could complete quickly and find the fun in right away. That project turned in to House of the Lost.

House of the Lost - Released 10-30-2012

House of the Lost was a great change of pace for us and a game that we all really enjoyed working on. It came together quickly and we were able to launch on iPad after just a few months of work. Over the next couple years we brought the game to several additional platforms, including iPhone, Kindle Fire, and even the OUYA indie console. Working with OUYA was a great experience and it made House of the Lost our first game to appear on a console!

The OUYA version of House of the Lost really ended up being the director's cut of the game. It had all the enhancements we had added since the initial launch, controller input which suited the gameplay much better than touchscreen controls, and it even had 2-player couch co-op! If you are lucky enough to still have an OUYA with House of the Lost installed, fire it up and you are sure to have a good time.

After House of the Lost, our next big release was an attempt to make a multi-player shooter that worked on mobile devices. There had been attempts to make FPS games on mobile by then but they just didn't fit the devices of the time. Our solution was to make a top-down multiplayer shooter that limited your visibility like an FPS. This game was 'The Hunted'

The Hunted - Released 11-20-2014

The Hunted has always been one of my favorite games to build. I can still remember the daily testing sessions that tended to run past quitting time because we just wanted to get in one more match. We built an exciting game with varied characters, lots of game modes, and 8 player cross platform multiplayer. It was a blast to play, and to this day, I brainstorm ways to bring it back for another round.

Also, how can you beat a land-shark character with a machine gun?

Time For Something New

After releasing The Hunted in 2014 I decided it was time to slow down and try to come up with some new ideas before launching anything else. The next several years were full of prototypes, studying the market, and learning new tools, but we didn't release another game until we kicked off our card game phase with Blackjack Masters.

Blackjack Masters - Released 12-20-2019

Blackjack Masters was something I built myself to try and better learn what worked in mobile gaming and what didn't. It allowed me to work on building new kinds of game loops, adding competitive social elements, and improving on our UI design. It's also a lot of fun to play, until you meet a bad run of cards that is. Blackjack Masters has been one of our most popular games and started a run of successful cards games on the App Store and on our latest platform, the Infinity Game Table by Arcade 1Up.

Bringing Players Together with the IGT

I first heard about the Infinity Game Table when I saw their Kickstarter video pitching a coffee table sized touchscreen device that focused on people playing together. I was instantly hooked, and I knew that I wanted to make games for it. We backed the Kickstarter, and not long after we received our table I contacted Arcade 1Up to see if F5 Games could build games for the IGT platform. We ended up being the first 3rd party developer to release a game on the IGT and we have had a great partnership with them ever since.

Blackjack Masters Party - Released 11-22-2021

Blackjack Masters Party took what was great about the mobile version of Blackjack Masters and blew it up to a full size casino experience for up to 4 players! It really captures the excitement of sitting around a table in the casino, but without all the regrets when your hand doesn't work out. Blackjack Masters Party was not only our first game for the IGT but along with the iPad version it has also been the most successful game in our history!

Block Breakerz - Released 06-13-2023

Our next release, Block Breakerz, hit both the iPad and IGT in the summer of 2023. Not only did the game find a great audience on the Infinity Game Table but we also received a feature from Apple on launch day! The fun action gameplay makes it easy to pick and play with your friends, family, or kids. Just try not to get too made when they start beating you.

All-In Texas Hold'em - Released 10-31-2023

Later in 2023 we released All-In Texas Hold'em for the Infinity Game Table and iPad. This game had a couple firsts for us, it was our first 6 player game for the IGT and we also decided to write our own Poker AIs that players could compete against. This ended up taking a lot of research and work to pull off, but the quality of games you can have with computer opponents makes it all worth it. Texas Hold'em has been one of our fastest growing games and looks like it will surpass Blackjack Masters in the next year as our most successful game.

Euchre Masters - Released 05-21-2024

Just last year, in 2024, we released Euchre Masters to the Infinity Game Table and iPad. Euchre is a great classic card game that is very popular in the mid-west and we wanted to make it easy for new players to learn and enjoy. We also really refined our presentation and UI for Euchre Masters and it shines through in the finished product. This is one of the most attractive games we have ever made.

BlackHearts - Released 01-14-2025

And that brings us back to 2025! Earlier this year, we released BlackHearts for the Infinity Game Table and it has been doing well over its first couple months. BlackHearts was our attempt to create a brand new card game, one that takes inspiration from the classics like Hearts and Pitch, but delivers something new and fun to play. This was also our biggest card game release yet as it includes 3 games in 1, so it took a little more time to polish but we are very proud of how it turned out.

What Does the Future Hold for F5 Games?

Now that we have finished our look at the last 20 years of F5, what comes next? How do we take the next step and reach new players all across the world with our games? What propels us to continue on and still be around in another 20 years?

Looking back over our history has helped me to realize just how far we have come in our ability and knowledge of how to make a great game. There was so much to learn about game development and the business aspects of releasing a game that it feels like we have been building on our success, and learning from our mistakes, all to get us where we are today.

With that in mind, we have decided it is time to take a chance and swing for the fences once again. We are going back to one of our favorite genres and building not one, but two new role playing games! We are developing a tactical RPG that is focused on large screen devices as well as a new twist on the dungeon crawler that will be targeting mobile, and we are hoping to release both of these games in the next year! You can see a very early screenshot below of the tactical RPG and we plan to share more information about both of these games here on the website and on X over the coming months.

Thank You and Happy Anniversary F5 Games!

Thank you for reading this, very long, look back at the history of F5 Games; I hope it was interesting for you. I believe it is important to look at where we have been so that we can get to where we want to go. And I hope you'll come along for the ride. Here's to the next 20 years!