Author Archives: Amy Dallas

ClutchPlay Games Turns 2!

ClutchPlay Turns 2Valentine’s day isn’t just a day of love.  It’s also ClutchPlay’s official birthday. Two years ago today, we became an official corporation and every day since has been a crazy adventure.  We’ve had a lot of help along the way so this seems like a good time to say thanks to those who have helped and supported us.

So big, huge heart-felt thanks to the following:
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Chartboost U, here we come!

We’re incredibly excited to announce that ClutchPlay Games has been selected to become part of the 2014 class of Chartboost University!  For those of you who don’t know what this amazing program is, it’s a marketing bootcamp for indies put on by Chartboost, which is arguably one of the best and most indie-friendly User Acquisition and Ad platforms on the market.

I’ve wanted to go to CBU since it was first introduced last year.  Evidently, so did a lot of other companies.  We were one of nine team chosen out of more than 150 who applied.

Thank you Chartboost!  We could not be more honored!

 

ClutchPlay and KIXEYE in the News

This week our client, KIXEYE, opened an office here in Portland and invited us to join in the festivities.

While we were there, we were interviewed on the local news.

We’re so happy for our friends at KIXEYE, who have been incredibly great to us.  I can honestly say, we couldn’t ask for a better client.  They’re a great company and we’re really excited to see them expand into our fair city.  Congrats KIXEYE and thanks for including us in your celebration!

 

ClutchPlay Represents Portland’s Startup Scene in the Huffington Post today!

One of the highlights of PAX for me was meeting Eli Hodapp from Touch Arcade, who despite being in high demand, stood and talked with me for quite some time about the humble beginnings or our company.  I can honestly say, he’s a really great guy.

When he left, the other Showcase winners asked, ‘did he put your game in his book?’

The book they were referring to is a small notebook he carries around to make note of games that Touch Arcade might want to review.  And apparently, if you make it in ‘the book’ it means, your game is on their radar.  Fortunately for us, Little Chomp made it into ‘the book’ and today, that notation has turned into a kickass review!  Thank you Eli and David Craddock!  We are so excited to get such a great review from Touch Arcade!

From the article:

Little Chomp came out of nowhere and charmed me with its smooth controls, variety of fun goals to check off, and absolutely vibrant graphics and crisp audio. At only a buck, you don’t want to pass this one up.

Check out the full review of Little Chomp on Touch Arcade!

 

 
Many great things have come from being selected for the PDX Statup Challenge,
not the least of which was this amazing feature in the Huffington Post!

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Silicon Forest: Portland Embraces Tech Startups

PORTLAND,
Ore. — Until they moved into their office on the ground floor of a former factory in an industrial zone known as Produce Row, the four founding members of a startup video game developer suffered a gnawing sense that they were a company in name only.

They had all previously worked together in a decked-out loft space on the downtown side of the Willamette River, in a hipster-yuppie enclave rife with fair trade espresso bars and artisanal chocolatiers. But their former company, a game studio, was purchased by a California firm, rolled into a giant Japanese gaming conglomerate, and then shut down. It was early 2012, and they were all suddenly jobless. So the group hatched a plan to start their own company: ClutchPlay Games LLC …

Read the full article, Silicon Forest: Portland Embraces Tech Startups on the Huffington Post!

Celebrating Our New Space!

Many great things have come from being selected for the PDX Statup Challenge,
not the least of which was this amazing feature in the Huffington Post!

n-CLUTCHPLAY-large570

Silicon Forest: Portland Embraces Tech Startups

PORTLAND, Ore. — Until they moved into their office on the ground floor of a former factory in an industrial zone known as Produce Row, the four founding members of a startup video game developer suffered a gnawing sense that they were a company in name only.

They had all previously worked together in a decked-out loft space on the downtown side of the Willamette River, in a hipster-yuppie enclave rife with fair trade espresso bars and artisanal chocolatiers. But their former company, a game studio, was purchased by a California firm, rolled into a giant Japanese gaming conglomerate, and then shut down. It was early 2012, and they were all suddenly jobless. So the group hatched a plan to start their own company: ClutchPlay Games LLC …

Read the full article, Silicon Forest: Portland Embraces Tech Startups on the Huffington Post!
Many great things have come from being selected for the PDX Statup Challenge,
not the least of which was this amazing feature in the Huffington Post!

n-CLUTCHPLAY-large570

Silicon Forest: Portland Embraces Tech Startups

PORTLAND,
Ore. — Until they moved into their office on the ground floor of a former factory in an industrial zone known as Produce Row,
the four founding members of a startup video game developer suffered a gnawing sense that they were a company in name only.

They had all previously worked together in a decked-out loft space on the downtown side of the Willamette River, in a hipster-yuppie enclave rife with fair trade espresso bars and artisanal chocolatiers. But their former company, a game studio, was purchased by a California firm, rolled into a giant Japanese gaming conglomerate, and then shut down. It was early 2012, and they were all suddenly jobless. So the group hatched a plan to start their own company: ClutchPlay Games LLC …

Read the full article, Silicon Forest: Portland Embraces Tech Startups on the Huffington Post!
Tonight we celebrated the grand opening of our new space, courtesy of the Portland Development Commission and the PDX Startup Challenge.  Mayor Charlie Hales gave a speech to kick off the festivities.

Our office is shared by four other companies including Safi Water Works, OnTheGo Platforms, Walker Tracker, CoPatient and Alum:ni.

We feel so fortunate to have been given this opportunity.

PDX Startup Challenge 2013 Celebration

Portland Mayor, Charlie Hales, standing next to the projected image of our logo. The two heads you see poking out above the crowd belong to Bernie and me. 🙂

 

 

Little Chomp rates 8.8 from Tapscape!

We’re thrilled to announce that Little Chomp has been selected for the PAX East 2013 Indie Showcase!

It seemed like such a long shot that we almost didn’t even apply. Like the true Clutch Players we are, we literally got the application in 2 minutes before the midnight deadline back in December.

The moral of the story:  Great things can happen when you refuse to give up.  Being an indie is all about taking chances.  Lesson learned!

Boston, here we come!

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Little Chomp receives a very flattering and unexpected review from Tapscape, who dubs it, “A charming, addictive romp through a magical forest landscape.”

Little Chomp iPhone Game Review: Addictive Climbing Game

Little Chomp is an iPhone game developed by ClutchPlay Games. In this addictive little game, you’re tasked with helping a cuddly caterpillar climb from the forest floor to the canopy in record time, all while collecting coins and fruits.

Little Chomp works on a drag-based control scheme. Pull and release on Little Chomp’s tail to aim and fire him in any direction. Pulling and holding on his tail gives you a visual guide of the arc he will travel in upon release. The controls are very responsive, and they make the game a joy to play.

Read the full review of Little Chomp by Tucker Cummings on Tapscape!

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Little Chomp in New and Noteworthy

Finally… little love from Apple!

Yesterday the latest Little Chomp Update made it into the New and Noteworthy featured category on the App Store in 81 countries!

NewAndNoteworthy

And we also got a larger feature on the App Store in Japan…

BigInJapan

We’ve been told many times that if you don’t get featured when you launch, it will likely never happen.  Yet more evidence that you cannot give up.  Ever.

Good things come to those who wait and persevere.

Thank you, Apple!

Little Chomp Scores a 4.5 from Touch Arcade!

One of the highlights of PAX for me was meeting Eli Hodapp from Touch Arcade, who despite being in high demand, stood and talked with me for quite some time about the humble beginnings or our company.  I can honestly say, he’s a really great guy.

When he left, the other Showcase winners asked, ‘did he put your game in his book?’

The book they were referring to is a small notebook he carries around to make note of games that Touch Arcade might want to review.  And apparently, if you make it in ‘the book’ it means, your game is on their radar.  Fortunately for us, Little Chomp made it into ‘the book’ and today, that notation has turned into a kickass review!  Thank you Eli and David Craddock!  We are so excited to get such a great review from Touch Arcade!

From the article:

Little Chomp came out of nowhere and charmed me with its smooth controls, variety of fun goals to check off, and absolutely vibrant graphics and crisp audio. At only a buck, you don’t want to pass this one up.

Check out the full review of Little Chomp on Touch Arcade!

 

 

Better with Popcorn gives Little Chomp 9/10!

A fantastic review from George Prax at Better with Popcorn, who gives Little Chomp “9 hungry caterpillars our of 10.”  Thank you, George for the amazing review!

Little Chomp iOS Review [Pax East 2013]

There were an insane amount of games on display at Pax East 2013 the other week, but not only the Triple-A mega titles from huge companies like Ubiosft, Sony and Blizzard. Wading through the maze of booths, displays and sections from these big developers, it was rather easy to lose yourself in the sea of 70,000 gamers, but among the fray were a few gems in the form of indie and mobile titles there as part of the yearly Indie showcase.

It wouldn’t be fair for me to try and pick a favorite out of all of the games I saw, but it’s quite easy to identify the most charming of all those games. That game would have to be Little Chomp, from Portland studio ClutchPlay

Read the full review of Little Chomp on Better with Popcorn.