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Grand Cru on creating Supernauts, developers take back control, and is F2P a form of digital pollution?

The past 7 days in bite-sized portions

Grand Cru on creating Supernauts, developers take back control, and is F2P a form of digital pollution?
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With the Develop in Brighton conference dominating the UK industry's attention, you shouldn't feel too bad about missing out on some of this week's biggest stories. After all, what normal person wouldn't choose a trip to sunny - okay, slightly overcast - Brighton over a week in the office?

Now you're back home though, it's probably time to catch up on some of the things you might have missed during your week by the sea.

Naturally, a good chunk of the news comes from Develop itself, but even the most over-zealous conference goer can't be in two places at once, so we've taken the liberty of covering all of the good stuff so that you won't miss out.

You can thank us later, but right now it's time to sit back, relax, and feast on the week that was.

Industry Voices
  • We need a new name for free-to-play, said former Zynga man, Matthew Wiggins.
  • Free-to-play is a form of 'digital pollution' explained Professor Richard Bartle.
  • PR mastermind Simon Byron revealed why more indies should look to emulate Mike Bithell.
  • Media Molecule's Rex Crowle explained the team simply wanted to 'spread joy' with Tearaway.
  • Flaregames opened up about becoming a boutique publisher and entering the free-to-play market with Fieldrunners.
  • We found out how Grand Cru's eternally anticipated Supernauts came to be.
  • Developers, not publishers, are now pulling the strings, according to former PopCap man, Giordano Contestabile.
Monetisation
  • Rollercoaster Tycoon 4 maintained its position at the top of the UK App Store charts.
  • Playmob spoke out about how it's saving the world one IAP at a time.
  • PopAppStore reminded developers to monetise outside of their game.
  • PocketGamer.biz's George Osborn added his two cents to the F2P debate.
User acquisition, retention, and discovery
Tools & Platforms
Funding, acquisitions, personnel and shutterings
Chris Kerr
Chris Kerr
What do you call someone who has an unhealthy obsession with video games and Sean Bean? That'd be a 'Chris Kerr'. Chris is one of those deluded souls who actually believes that one day Sean Bean will survive a movie. Poor guy.