Who says the big guys can't lend a hand to independent developers now and again? SEGA announced a new publishing initiative this week to help indies get their wares into the hands of the public, and already has the first title ready to go.
SEGA America and SEGA Europe have announced the formation of SEGA Alliance, their new initiative to help independent developers get their mobile games published worldwide.
"The SEGA Alliance will provide participating developers with comprehensive marketing and production support as well as creative consultation," the company notes in a blog post, and even has a debut title ready to show off.
Developed by Owlchemy Labs, Jack Lumber launched Thursday on the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch and "tells the tale of a supernatural lumberjack out to exact revenge on the forest after a tree killed his granny." (No kidding! We couldn't make this up ourselves, folks.)
“We’re very excited about being the first developer to partner with SEGA Alliance,” said Alex Schwartz, chief scientist at Owlchemy Labs. “We’ll be able to introduce Jack Lumber to a much wider audience than we’d originally hoped thanks to the resources provided by SEGA Alliance. Working with SEGA has been the opposite of dealing with a lumbering bureaucracy. We just focused on making a great game. Now Jack Lumber is branching out across mobile devices and players worldwide can show those treacherous trees who’s boss!”
If the idea of a forest massacre and a "time-warping, line-drawing, pun-filled mashup" from the creators of Snuggle Truck sounds like your kind of fun, head to the App Store and grab Jack Lumber for the special price of only 99 cents through Saturday, August 18, after which time the price jumps to $1.99.
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