I last talked with the folks of Tatem Games at last year’s GDC. The Ukraine-based developer has had a few hits on the App Store already, and this year Tatem Games tells me it’s headed onto other platforms. For example, the popular Carnivores game is heading to Android and aiming for release on a major traditional console very soon. On iOS, Tatem has also been caught up in the freemium trend and is working on an engine to develop its own original freemium titles.
The first one of these is called Dream Gym, and I got to see a few nonplayable demos of it. It’s a freemium time-based title, very similar to Farmville and other popular games, but instead of growing a city, farm, or community, you’re growing muscles. Dream Gym is a workout title where you level up both a character and the gym itself, doing various exercises over time to earn XP and money.
Tatem has some interesting plans for monetizing the game beyond players as well. There is advertising built in to Dream Gym, and Tatem is hoping to get some in-game advertising funds, perhaps by selling space on in-game billboards and posters. The “workouts” in the game were also all designed by a real-life exercise trainer, so players could follow their 3D avatars and do the same exercises to work out for real. Doing so could lead to real-life rewards; Tatem’s rep suggested the game might offer a gym membership for leveling up or similar partnership ideas.
If you’re not a fan of the freemium farming games, you might not like Dream Gym, but the gym and fitness tie-ins should be interesting. It’s set to come out by May or June this year on iOS.
Tatem is also planning to publish a completely free title called Fill the Bag: Crazy Catering, a simple arcade game originally developed as a prototype for the company. It’s a simple but addictive game where you fill the trays of a series of schoolkids just by tapping on the ingredients each one asks for, then tapping on the kids themselves. It’s cute and fun, and Tatem says it will periodically update the app with season-styled skins, both as a gift for fans and to promote the company’s other games.
Tatem has a few other plans in place for the future, including publishing an iOS game called Epic Stand. It was originally developed for Flash (and you can see it in action online), and it should be out on iOS sometime in April.
Clearly, Tatem is keeping busy. We’ll keep an eye out for Dream Gym and see how the next few titles from this already quite experienced foreign developer turn out.
Tatem Games goes freemium with Dream Gym and more originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 13 Mar 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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