FinBlade
Encyclopedia
FinBlade is a British
mobile game
and mobile app developer. FinBlade was founded by John Chasey, Fergus McNeill, Steve Longhurst and Barry Simpson in August 2007. Many of the FinBlade team previously worked at mobile game
developer IOMO
.
analogue joystick for mobiles with their 2-Player Fireworks title announced in January 2008.
Later that month the new studio received critical success when FinBlade won the TIGA
Best Mobile Game category for Tomb Raider: Anniversary, developed for the New Media division of Eidos Interactive
. This was followed in June 2008 where they were nominated in the Best New UK/European Studio category in the Develop Industry Excellence Awards.
In the second half of 2008, making use of the Bedrock technology from Metismo
the studio's output was largely focused on the Apple iPhone
with many original and licenced titles appearing and charting on the App Store.
Google
Android support quickly followed with versions of many of their titles appearing for distribution on Handango
, before billing support was added to the Android Market
. FinBlade later received nominations in the 'Best Casual Game' and '2009 Groundbreaker' categories for Tennis Slam in the Handango Champion Awards for the Android.
In June 2009 with the advent of a broader range of mobile content available on the iPhone FinBlade also started developing applications, commencing with Red Bull GP on the iPhone, published by Red Bull Racing
, The Men Who Stare at Goats app promoting the film
adaption of Jon Ronson
's book, followed by a match report and news centre app for Liverpool F.C.
. All the app titles reached the top of their respective category charts in the UK App Store.
In December 2009 the iPhone title Battleship, based on the Hasbro
board game and developed by FinBlade, was published by EA Mobile to critical acclaim, described as the 'best board game adaption yet' by cNET.com
and receiving a Gold Award from mobilegamefaqs.com.
2010 saw a series of mobile versions of the Deadliest Catch
TV series from Discovery Channel
, published by Hands-On Mobile which won the Mobile Village Superstar Award in the Consumer App: Game category, and another Hasbro title Pictureka!, published by EA Mobile.
In 2011 the multi-format title Spellathon was developed for the charity mencap
, a spelling-bee game featuring Stephen Fry
, on the web and mobile devices which seeks to both educate and raise funds for the charity.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
mobile game
Mobile game
A mobile game is a video game played on a mobile phone, smartphone, PDA, tablet computer or portable media player. This does not include games played on handheld video game systems such as Nintendo DS or PlayStation Portable....
and mobile app developer. FinBlade was founded by John Chasey, Fergus McNeill, Steve Longhurst and Barry Simpson in August 2007. Many of the FinBlade team previously worked at mobile game
Mobile game
A mobile game is a video game played on a mobile phone, smartphone, PDA, tablet computer or portable media player. This does not include games played on handheld video game systems such as Nintendo DS or PlayStation Portable....
developer IOMO
IOMO
IOMO was a pioneering European mobile game developer and publisher based in Hampshire, England. IOMO was founded by John Chasey and Glenn Broadway in 2000. Initially a developer, the company was very successful in the early stages of the mobile game industry and worked with the majority of mobile...
.
History
The studio were one of the first supporters of the Zeemote BluetoothBluetooth
Bluetooth is a proprietary open wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks with high levels of security...
analogue joystick for mobiles with their 2-Player Fireworks title announced in January 2008.
Later that month the new studio received critical success when FinBlade won the TIGA
The Independent Games Developers Association
TIGA is the national trade association representing the business and commercial interests of video and computer game developers in the UK and Europe...
Best Mobile Game category for Tomb Raider: Anniversary, developed for the New Media division of Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive Ltd. is a British video game publisher and is a label of Square Enix Europe. As an independent company Eidos plc was headquartered in the Wimbledon Bridge House in Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton....
. This was followed in June 2008 where they were nominated in the Best New UK/European Studio category in the Develop Industry Excellence Awards.
In the second half of 2008, making use of the Bedrock technology from Metismo
Metismo
Metismo is a mobile middleware developer founded in August 2007 by John Chasey, Glenn Broadway, Nick Reed and Matthew Cope who previously had been employed at mobile game studio IOMO, a subsidiary of InfoSpace....
the studio's output was largely focused on the Apple iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
with many original and licenced titles appearing and charting on the App Store.
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
Android support quickly followed with versions of many of their titles appearing for distribution on Handango
Handango
Handango is an online store that sells mobile software. Handango offers worldwide distribution, support, and e-commerce services to its partners. Company's customers include consumers, software developers, mobile operators, and original equipment manufacturers...
, before billing support was added to the Android Market
Android Market
Android Market is an online software store developed by Google for Android OS devices. Its gateway is an application program called "Market", preinstalled on most Android devices, allows users to browse and download mobile apps published by third-party developers...
. FinBlade later received nominations in the 'Best Casual Game' and '2009 Groundbreaker' categories for Tennis Slam in the Handango Champion Awards for the Android.
In June 2009 with the advent of a broader range of mobile content available on the iPhone FinBlade also started developing applications, commencing with Red Bull GP on the iPhone, published by Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing is a Formula One racing team based in Milton Keynes, England which currently holds an Austrian licence. It is, along with Scuderia Toro Rosso, one of two teams owned by beverage company Red Bull GmbH. The team have won two Constructors' Championship titles, in and , becoming the...
, The Men Who Stare at Goats app promoting the film
The Men Who Stare at Goats (film)
The Men Who Stare at Goats is a 2009 comedy war film directed by Grant Heslov and written by Peter Straughan and released in theaters on November 6, 2009...
adaption of Jon Ronson
Jon Ronson
Jon Ronson is a Welsh journalist, documentary filmmaker, radio presenter and nonfiction author, whose works include The Men Who Stare At Goats. His journalism and columns have appeared in British publications including The Guardian newspaper, City Life and Time Out magazine...
's book, followed by a match report and news centre app for Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
. All the app titles reached the top of their respective category charts in the UK App Store.
In December 2009 the iPhone title Battleship, based on the Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
board game and developed by FinBlade, was published by EA Mobile to critical acclaim, described as the 'best board game adaption yet' by cNET.com
CNET.com
CNET is a tech media website that publishes news articles, blogs, and podcasts on technology and consumer electronics. Originally founded in 1994 by Halsey Minor and Shelby Bonnie, it was the flagship brand of CNET Networks and became a brand of CBS Interactive through CNET Networks' acquisition...
and receiving a Gold Award from mobilegamefaqs.com.
2010 saw a series of mobile versions of the Deadliest Catch
Deadliest Catch
Deadliest Catch is a documentary/reality television series produced by Original Productions for the Discovery Channel. It portrays the real life events aboard fishing vessels in the Bering Sea during the Alaskan king crab and C. opilio crab fishing seasons.The Aleutian Islands port of Dutch Harbor,...
TV series from Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
, published by Hands-On Mobile which won the Mobile Village Superstar Award in the Consumer App: Game category, and another Hasbro title Pictureka!, published by EA Mobile.
In 2011 the multi-format title Spellathon was developed for the charity mencap
Mencap
The Royal Mencap Society is a charity based in the UK that works with people with a learning disability.-Profile:Mencap is the UK's leading learning disability charity working with people with a learning disability and their families and carers...
, a spelling-bee game featuring Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
, on the web and mobile devices which seeks to both educate and raise funds for the charity.
Awards
- 2008 TIGA Best Mobile Game - Tomb Raider
- 2008 Nominated Develop Industry Excellence Awards - Best New UK/European Studio
- 2009 Nominated Handango - Best Casual Game - Tennis Slam
- 2009 Nominated Handango - 2009 Groundbreaker - Tennis Slam
- 2010 MobileVillage Superstar Award - Consumer App: Game - Deadliest Catch
Android titles
- Movie Quiz published by FinBlade (Link on Handango)
- Spellathon published by mencapMencapThe Royal Mencap Society is a charity based in the UK that works with people with a learning disability.-Profile:Mencap is the UK's leading learning disability charity working with people with a learning disability and their families and carers...
- Tennis Slam published by FinBlade (Link on Handango)
- WordSearchWord searchA word search, word find, word seek, word sleuth or mystery word puzzle is a word game that is letters of a word in a grid, that usually has a rectangular or square shape. The objective of this puzzle is to find and mark all the words hidden inside the box. The words may be horizontally,...
published by FinBlade (Link on Handango)
BlackBerry titles
- Deadliest CatchDeadliest CatchDeadliest Catch is a documentary/reality television series produced by Original Productions for the Discovery Channel. It portrays the real life events aboard fishing vessels in the Bering Sea during the Alaskan king crab and C. opilio crab fishing seasons.The Aleutian Islands port of Dutch Harbor,...
published by Hands-On Mobile - Spellathon published by mencapMencapThe Royal Mencap Society is a charity based in the UK that works with people with a learning disability.-Profile:Mencap is the UK's leading learning disability charity working with people with a learning disability and their families and carers...
BREW titles
- Deadliest CatchDeadliest CatchDeadliest Catch is a documentary/reality television series produced by Original Productions for the Discovery Channel. It portrays the real life events aboard fishing vessels in the Bering Sea during the Alaskan king crab and C. opilio crab fishing seasons.The Aleutian Islands port of Dutch Harbor,...
published by Hands-On Mobile - Movie Quiz published by CyberHull
- WordSearchWord searchA word search, word find, word seek, word sleuth or mystery word puzzle is a word game that is letters of a word in a grid, that usually has a rectangular or square shape. The objective of this puzzle is to find and mark all the words hidden inside the box. The words may be horizontally,...
published by CyberHull
iPhone & iPad titles
- Battleship published by EA Mobile (Link on UK AppStore)
- Battleship for iPad published by EA Mobile (Link on UK AppStore)
- Deadliest CatchDeadliest CatchDeadliest Catch is a documentary/reality television series produced by Original Productions for the Discovery Channel. It portrays the real life events aboard fishing vessels in the Bering Sea during the Alaskan king crab and C. opilio crab fishing seasons.The Aleutian Islands port of Dutch Harbor,...
published by Hands-On Mobile (Link on US AppStore only) - English Grammer in Use published by Cambridge University PressCambridge University PressCambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world's oldest publishing house, and the second largest university press in the world...
(Link on UK AppStore) - Ernie ElsErnie ElsTheodore Ernest "Ernie" Els is a South African professional golfer, who has been one of the top professional players in the world since the mid-1990s. A former World No. 1, he is known as "The Big Easy" due to his imposing physical stature along with his fluid, seemingly effortless golf swing...
Golf 2008 published by FinBlade - GrooveYard published by FinBlade (Link on UK AppStore)
- Halloween WordSearch published by FinBlade (seasonal availability)
- Liverpool FC Match & News Centre published by Liverpool F.C.Liverpool F.C.Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
- Manchester UnitedManchester United F.C.Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
Word It! published by FinBlade - Movie Quiz published by FinBlade (Link on AppStore)
- Pictureka! published by EA Mobile (Link on UK AppStore)
- Sopa De Letras published by FinBlade (Link on AppStore)
- Red Bull GP published by Red Bull RacingRed Bull RacingRed Bull Racing is a Formula One racing team based in Milton Keynes, England which currently holds an Austrian licence. It is, along with Scuderia Toro Rosso, one of two teams owned by beverage company Red Bull GmbH. The team have won two Constructors' Championship titles, in and , becoming the...
- Spellathon published by mencapMencapThe Royal Mencap Society is a charity based in the UK that works with people with a learning disability.-Profile:Mencap is the UK's leading learning disability charity working with people with a learning disability and their families and carers...
- Spot The DifferenceSpot the differenceSpot the difference is a name given to a puzzle where two versions of an image are shown side by side, and the player has to find differences between them. Usually, the image on the left is the original, and the image on the right has the alternates...
published by FinBlade (Link on AppStore) - The Men Who Stare at Goats published by Momentum PicturesMomentum PicturesMomentum Pictures , an Alliance Films company, is one of the leading independent motion picture distributors in the UK and Ireland and releases approximately 20 theatrical films a year, with several stv releases....
- Tennis Slam published by FinBlade (Link on AppStore)
- WordSearchWord searchA word search, word find, word seek, word sleuth or mystery word puzzle is a word game that is letters of a word in a grid, that usually has a rectangular or square shape. The objective of this puzzle is to find and mark all the words hidden inside the box. The words may be horizontally,...
published by FinBlade (Link on AppStore)
Java ME titles
- BMWBMWBayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
Racer published by Connect2MediaConnect2MediaConnect2Media is a global developer and publisher of video games for mobile platforms headquartered in Manchester, United Kingdom.The company, founded in 1997, specialises in the development, publishing and distribution of games for mobile handsets... - Deadliest CatchDeadliest CatchDeadliest Catch is a documentary/reality television series produced by Original Productions for the Discovery Channel. It portrays the real life events aboard fishing vessels in the Bering Sea during the Alaskan king crab and C. opilio crab fishing seasons.The Aleutian Islands port of Dutch Harbor,...
published by Hands-On Mobile - Ernie ElsErnie ElsTheodore Ernest "Ernie" Els is a South African professional golfer, who has been one of the top professional players in the world since the mid-1990s. A former World No. 1, he is known as "The Big Easy" due to his imposing physical stature along with his fluid, seemingly effortless golf swing...
Golf 2008 published by Player One Mobile - Fireworks (unpublished)
- Movie Quiz published by CyberHull
- Pub Darts 180 published by Vivendi GamesVivendi GamesVivendi Games, formerly known as Vivendi Universal Games, was the holdings company for Sierra Entertainment and Blizzard Entertainment. Vivendi Games was founded as Vivendi Universal Games after Vivendi bought Universal Studios in the early 2000s...
Mobile - Tomb Raider: Anniversary published by Eidos InteractiveEidos InteractiveEidos Interactive Ltd. is a British video game publisher and is a label of Square Enix Europe. As an independent company Eidos plc was headquartered in the Wimbledon Bridge House in Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton....
- Total FilmTotal FilmTotal Film is a British film magazine published 13 times a year by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched in 1997 and offers film, DVD and Blu-ray news, reviews and features...
Quiz published by Connect2MediaConnect2MediaConnect2Media is a global developer and publisher of video games for mobile platforms headquartered in Manchester, United Kingdom.The company, founded in 1997, specialises in the development, publishing and distribution of games for mobile handsets... - WordSearchWord searchA word search, word find, word seek, word sleuth or mystery word puzzle is a word game that is letters of a word in a grid, that usually has a rectangular or square shape. The objective of this puzzle is to find and mark all the words hidden inside the box. The words may be horizontally,...
published by CyberHull