iWhat's iNew

September comes, and with it, the summer winds down. Autumn brings leaves, the Korean thanksgiving feast of Chusuk (anyone who e-mails me on that holiday with good wishes will recieve many blessings), and another Ambrosia Times.

Keep on Rockin' in the MacWorld

A lot has happened around here since July 8. Our first MacWorld was a success, and we kicked major tail. Folks gathered 'round to see Slithereens, Ferazel's Wand, Cythera, Manse, The Ambrosia CD, and, of course, Mars Rising. We had a great time, and enjoyed showing off our products, and meeting the people who bought them. It was truly amazing.

Hall of Shame

Somebody won the National Mars Rising Championship, but since he accidentally admitted to Ambrosia employees that he stole his copy of Mars Rising by using a pirated code, we're not going to print his picture or even mention his name. Actually, we had the picture for a while, but Hector was so disgusted that he ate it.

In the Works...

Developent on Slithereens is progressing nicely; it is in alpha testing as I write this. Our summer interns have been playing it a lot on our new iMac... more on that later. Jesse Liesch is doing a great job getting this one ready for beta. And my, oh my, it is mighty tasty.

Cythera is still in beta, and Glenn Andreas is very actively involved with its development. More improvements are being made to both the engine and the storyline. Recently, Cythera gained a newer skill system, which replaced an older, less sophisticated implementation. We're hoping to polish things up very nicely before release.

Ben Spees is on the attack with Ferazel's Wand, his second game with Ambrosia Software after the development of Harry the Handsome Executive. Ferazel is a habnabit, a cool magical creature that will rock your world very soon. I've looked at it, I've played it, and all I can say is.... wow. You need this game.

CD and iMac taste great!

The Ambrosia CD looks nice sitting in an iMac, which clever readers who don't live in a cave will have seen on our cover. Apple is spending US $100 million advertising these puppies, and it convinced us to get two of 'em. Even Andrew, who said they were ugly, ended up convincing two of his neighbors to buy the iMac.

In the front of our office, we have placed them side by side. The FedEx man came to drop off a package... and he literally dropped it as he gawked at the computer. "That's the most radical computer I've ever seen," he exclaimed. "I must have one!"

The Ambrosia CD has also showed up in other places as well. Australian MacWorld published an interview with David Wareing, the great Aussie superstar, and featured a contest with 25 copies of the Ambrosia CD as prizes. Many students who bought computers through their Universities and Colleges in the US got a free Ambrosia CD as well. And local Rochesterians got some freebies just by showing up to the iMac launch at the local CompUSA.

While the freebies are gone, you can still pick one up for $10. Or, if you register some software, you can grab one for $5. And we cover the shipping, handling, and whatever the postal service sees fit to lose.

Clothe thy naked body, lest Zeus smite thee with his electric bolts!

We also started selling T-shirts. While the creation myth holds that Zeus struck a cotton field with lightning and the shirt appeared, recent investigations have indicated that the shirts are hand-sewn by underpaid baby parrots in a warehouse that has no running water or electricity. Zeus was the one who zapped the parrots that didn't work hard enough. Just Kidding. The shirts say "Contents may be habit-forming" on the front, and feature the Ambrosia Logo on the back. Pretty nice. You can get yours for $19.

Cheers

Not much else to report. Our thanks go to Tom Langworthy and Pete Hopkins, who spent a bit of time as interns with us this summer. Tom returned to school at Wooster (which recommends the iMac!), and Pete will begin his senior year at a local Rochester high school. Ben Heffron will also be attending college this year.

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