Hey Folks!

We’re pleased to announce the release of our most recent update: Chickcharney! This update focuses on some forward-looking features as well as some good ol’ fashioned polish and bug fixes.

OUYA has always been about providing unique features and connecting developers and gamers, so we’ve added support for a feature called “Community Content”. Games that integrate this feature will allow gamers to easily share content created in that game. We can take things YOU have made, and feature them on DISCOVER.

We’ve built the foundation, and can’t wait to see what our amazing developers do with it. Of course, you won’t see anything right off the bat, but we are incredibly excited to announce that Landon Podbielski of DUCK GAME is already working on integrating this feature with its built-in level editor. Soon you’ll be able to share your quacktastic level creations with the world!

We’re also stoked to announce that Phil Royer (developer of Super Pixalo) is working on a new game called “BattleRoom” that will utilize community content. Keep your eyes out for BattleRoom coming soon!

Additionally, we’ve added support for Game Bundles. This functionality will allow us to group games together for purchase or download. Our first bundle is ChoplifterHD and The Bard’s Tale from inXile. Check it out and look for more great deals in the future!

You’ll definitely notice some animations that are making their way onto OUYA as well. Selection animations, idle highlights, and changes in tile size are all subtle improvements that make things feel a little better.

On the Developer side, you’ll have Community Content to play with, more tutorial videos to check out, and an improved Unity plug-in to make your lives easier.

As usual, this update comes chock-full of bug fixes, many of them reported by you, so keep ‘em coming! For the full update notes, check out the list below.

As a final note, as of this writing, we are sitting at 980 games published on OUYA. That’s crazy. We’re working hard to get better every day – providing a platform for creative developers and bringing fun and unique experiences to gamers. As we close in on 1000 games, all of us at OUYA want to say thank you to everyone that’s supported us, developers and gamers alike. We can’t wait to smash through 1000 games and continue to add new features to OUYA!

Full Update notes:

• We’ve added support for “Community Content”.

  • This feature will allow games to upload content that YOU create, so we can feature it in DISCOVER.

  • As games take advantage of this new feature, you’ll start to see content created by gamers featured in DISCOVER and on the Home screen.

  • BattleRoom and a DUCK GAME update are both coming soon – and will utilize this new feature.

  • Developers will get full details on how to integrate with Community Content in a Dev newsletter.

• We now support Bundles, so check out our first bundle of ChoplifterHD and The Bard’s Tale from inXile! More bundles to follow…

• The OUYA interface has undergone an under-the-hood revamp with some over-the-hood touches.

  • Scrolling in DISCOVER is a much smoother experience now.

  • You’ll notice some animation improvements throughout the OUYA experience. We’ve taken some time to add little touches of polish that we hope you all enjoy.

  • Loading times have been slightly improved across the board.

• Check the OUYA Presents video series in DISCOVER!

  • Bob will take you through some of the awesome games OUYA has to offer – complete with PROTIPS and silliness.

  • We’ve already got over a dozen videos to check out, with new ones added each week.

• Fixed an issue where exiting a game wasn’t returning to the set default launcher

• Limited the number of downloads in the queue to 10 – this fixes a few bugs that could occur with large numbers of queued downloads.

• Fixed an issue on the pairing screen where the incorrect number of connected controller would display.

• Patched a few Android security issues related to the Masterkey vulnerability.

• The usual misc bug fixes.

For Developers

• MAKE -> TUTORIALS has new videos from Alex, Bob, and Nick!

  • “Monetization Tips” provides information about monetization types and what might work best for your game.

  • “Product Types” walks you through the different products we support so you can easily figure out what’s the best fit for you and your game.

  • “More About Products” dives into some details and advanced functionality to take advantage of the OUYA products system.

• We’ve cleaned up the Unity plugin to make it much more simple to install and use.

• If you haven’t already noticed, we’ve revamped the Game upload and edit sections of the Dev Portal (devs.ouya.tv)

  • Provided more clarity around which sections still need to be filled out in order to submit a build.

  • Removed a bunch of confusing details and re-did the page layout to focus on the most commonly completed actions.

Our Cryptid this time is Chickcharney: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chickcharney

Basically the Chickcharney is an owl-like creature. If you find one and treat it well, it’ll bring you good luck – but treating it poorly will lead to misfortune. So be nice to the update! =)

-James, Producer Dude