Players begin the game with a pair of birds and a simple tree aviary presented with the look and feel of a classic animated cartoon. Following clear and entertaining clues in the form of quests, players begin breeding, petting, naming, buying, and cloning birds to expand their aviary and menagerie and fulfill special orders from customers for custom birds. The offspring of any two birds combine the genetic characteristics of the parents, with the characteristics of the baby bird revealed when it hatches from the egg in the player’s birdhouse nest. Once birds are hatched, they begin to fly about the open tree aviary, pecking for food, napping, and singing in glorious song when petted.

“Lil’ Birds is a wonderful virtual pet adventure that’s free to play for players of all ages,” said Dane Baker, CEO of Villain. “Players can name, pet, and give treats to their lil’ birds in a lovely environment of hand-painted graphics, lilting music, and magical atmosphere that brings to mind a colorful animated film filled with fun game activities.”

Forming friendships can help players grow more quickly, as players can give treats to each other’s birds to increase their happiness and value while earning Magic Feathers that help them expand their aviaries. Players can also gift any bird to their friends, allowing players to help each other achieve quests and expand their flock. There are hundreds of goals to complete and achievements to unlock in Lil’ Birds. Players can earn XP, Coins, and Magic Feathers to buy new bird species and colors.

The magical Lost Forest adventure allows players to take any current bird to an animated forest to search for new mates. After discovering and freeing birds, the player must tame five birds in a fun minigame of hide and seek to complete their quest, after which they can breed their bird with any of the newly tamed birds to create new color and species combinations back in their birdhouse nests. Through gameplay, players will learn the right bird combinations to hatch special birds to fulfill customer orders. But players need never sell their favorite birds they have hatched, named, and raised, as once any type of bird is created it appears in the player’s Log, allowing a new baby bird of that type to be hatched for sale or gifting.

For more information on Lil’ Birds, visit villainhq.com/games/lilbirds.

Two of the 1.5 million Archetype players get busy

Villain™, an independent publisher of fiendishly entertaining mobile titles, today revealed that Archetype, its top-selling and critically acclaimed online first-person shooter game for iOS, has surpassed over one and a half million players and 100 million in-game frags as the game celebrates its first anniversary with a new update. The free update, which is now available in the iTunes App Store for Archetype, Archetype HD, and the free Archetype Cadet and Archetype Cadet HD apps, features new fair play measures to lock out cheaters and a new level for Cadet.

Archetype is an intense online multiplayer first-person shooter game with twenty levels and three gameplay modes including team deathmatch, capture the flag, and free for all. Up to ten gamers can play a team deathmatch anywhere, anytime using the game’s precise dual joystick-style controls.

“It’s a testament to our loyal fan base that Archetype has over a million and a half unique players, and they’ll be rewarded with a week of triple experience points,” said Dane Baker, CEO of Villain. “Since launch, we have averaged an amazing 10,000 frags per hour as we bring iOS gamers around the world together for maximum iPwnage.”

The 1.6 update for Archetype and Archetype HD includes new anti-cheating measures so new and veteran players alike can prove their skills on a level playing field. The Archetype Cadet and Cadet HD 1.1 update also includes the hard-hitting new second map, Avarice, for team deathmatch play. To celebrate the game’s anniversary, all Archetype players will receive triple the normal EXP for every match win and medal they achieve during the update’s first week.

Villain™, an independent publisher of fiendishly entertaining mobile titles,  today launched its new casual iOS games initiative with the release of Matchlings, a fun, fast-paced matching game featuring in-your-face cartoon monsters as the puzzle pieces. The puzzle game is now available in the App Store for iPhone and iPod touch for US $0.99 while Matchlings HD for iPad and iPad 2 is $2.99.

In Matchlings, the monsters interact with each other using special abilities that aid in clearing levels while scoring bonus points. The little beasts laugh, cry, and even act bored if gamers are slow to act. Players can play three different modes, all of which feature ‘match 3’ horizontal and vertical matching.

“Matchlings delivers an addictive matching experience for gamers of all ages with a fun twist as the little monsters come alive to help players rack up huge scores,” said Dane Baker, CEO of Villain. “The deceptively simple gameplay brings a new level of in-your-face action to the match-3 genre, whether it’s a three-minute Dash session or a three hour Endless quest for an all-time high score.”

Players tap or swipe any two Matchling neighbors to get three in a row. When a star is earned from matches, gamers can double-tap any Matchling to unleash its special powers. Players can experiment with each monster’s unique abilities to rack up the most points. Game characters include the shaggy Beast who can spin other characters to make them disappear, the tree monster Logoos who stretch out their branches to create complex match structures, the peg-leg tiger Pirates who march other characters out of the way to create a line of Pirates, and four additional cartoon personalities with unique abilities.

Matchlings and Matchlings HD have the following features:

• Three entertaining modes: timing-based Dash, move-based Snare, and unlimited Endless
• Earn stars to use power-ups to combine characters for massive points
• Seven unique character types, each with special abilities
• Share high scores with friends via Facebook
• Game Center support with global leaderboards

For more information on Matchlings, visit villainhq.com/matchlings.

“With 19 levels, three modes, numerous gameplay improvements, and a streamlined new lobby that unites all players for the fastest, most intense five-on-five matches, Archetype 1.5 represents a large step forward for online FPS gaming on iPhone,” said Dane Baker, CEO of Villain. “For just 99 cents, Archetype gamers will get maximum iPwnage for a great fragging price.”

Version 1.5 adds a massive 12 new levels, new Free for All (FFA) mode, a unified lobby, a new menu system, Capture the Flag (CTF) mode for all players, a number of gameplay improvements, and much more. From a single, streamlined lobby, players can now access a whopping 19 levels and three game modes, including six new Free FFA levels and three Capture the Flag (CTF) levels previously only available as a separate DLC purchase.

The Archetype 1.5 update, which is currently available for download on the App Store as a free update for all current owners, includes the following new content and features:

• Team Deathmatch, CTF, and FFA battles across 19 maps with seven weapons (including the Battle and Precision Rifles, rapid-fire AutoMag, shotgun, missile launcher, brutal melee axe, and CTF flag weapon) plus two grenade types
• New Free for All mode and 6 new FFA Levels including Obsidian Skirmish FFA, Aqualock FFA, Vault FFA, Cobalt FFA, Orion FFA, and Viridian FFA
• Three additional CTF levels and 3 additional team deathmatch maps for all Players (previously only available through the Frontier DLC; now unlocked for everyone)
• New unified lobby with streamlined matchmaking and access to all 19 levels
• Numerous updates including new fair play measures to block cheaters, an improved menu interface, and bug fixes

Archetype HD for iPad features all the same updates as Archetype, and the HD version is now priced at $2.99.

We announced today the release of major update with new features and explosive new in-app paid DLC for Archetype (Archetype HD will get the same update soon). The free update for the core game adds full Game Center support with multiplayer matching, Achievements, and Leaderboards, a new online multiplayer story mode, and a new Shotgun Arena among other improvements—and we have a new price of just US$0.99, too.

Grab Archetype v1.4.1 now!

Here’s an official-type quote from the press release:

“Players asked for more levels, Capture-the-Flag, and Game Center support, and we listened,” said Dane Baker, Lead Producer at Villain. “Gamers can now experience iPwnage with an unfolding story as they explore new maps located throughout the galaxy, wage war to bring home the flag, and take full advantage of Game Center to join matches, earn Achievements, and follow Leaderboards.”

The update’s multiplayer story mode takes players through the game’s original seven levels that comprise Chapter 1 of the Archetype adventure. The unfolding story is unlocked through Campaign online play and unfolds through logs and messages addressed to your combat tag.

After the update is installed, you’ll have the option to purchase the DLC in-app. The DLC delivers Chapter Two of the online multiplayer story mode as well as delivering six new game arenas, doubling the number available in the core game, and the much-requested (see, we did listen!) new Capture the Flag game mode. The upgrade costs US$2.99 in the US App Store, and includes the following new content and features:

» Capture the Flag mode: Battle it out with 10 players to capture the other team’s flag in new open arenas. And when you have the flag, you’re not defenseless—bash your enemies with the new flag weapon.
» Three new Environments, including the game’s first outdoor map:

- Crimson Moon: Outdoor Mining Base of Torim Kafto

- Aqua Lock: Derelict Dam on Thata Prime

- Obsidian Skirmish: Military deep space transport.

» Six new Arenas for Team Deathmatch (TDM) and Capture the Flag (CTF) play:

- Crimson Moon TDM: Open arena perfect for precision sniping

- Crimson Moon CTF: Avoid the deadly lava

- Aqua Lock TDM: Multiple elevations, open areas, and water

- Aqua Lock CTF: Use the waterways to confuse your pursuers

- Obsidian Skirmish: Fight your way through the Obsidian in traditional TDM

- Avarice CTF: Defend your flag in this revisited vertical arena

New players can try out Archetype with the addition of new content, Game Center support, and the story mode for less than a buck. Veteran players can re-experience the game in story mode or add a double-size portion of Archetype goodness with new levels and the new game mode. We hope you like it.

Grab Archetype v1.4.1 now!

We’ve redesigned the in-game HUD to take advantage of the additional screen real estate, and the new “Rocket Arena” mode and “Avarice” levels from the recent iPhone update are included here.

We’ve gotten a few questions asking about lobbies — rest assured that it’s all a single lobby, so when you’re pwning on iPad, you can still play in the same game against friends using their iPhones and iPod touches. Soon we will have the highly requested “tag transfer” feature too, so stay tuned for more on that very soon!

Elsewhere in the global Archetype community, this week we (read: all of you) passed the 17 MILLION KILLS mark! That’s all-time, global aggregate kills — and we’re only in our second month of the Archetype lifespan.

You’ve all also earned a whopping 7 MILLION EXP since launch as well. We have quite the dedicated horde of ipwners out there! We’re just humbled and pleasantly surprised. Nice pwning, people!

Lastly, I’ll wrap up by tempting you all with a Very Cryptic Non-Announcement. Heregoes: We’ve got something special lined up for later this coming week — and no, it’s not Capture the Flag – not yet anyway! So stay tuned to the PwnoSphere inside the Twitterverse and be the first to find out the glorious news!

In other news out of Pwnville today, we’ve taken the wraps off our new Web site, designed by the excellent Michael Heald. By our count, this is the third iteration since Archetype (iTunes link) launched in early June. We’ve hooked up a mountain of data for you, dear reader, including but not limited to:

» Global Top 10 list: Sorted according to EXP. We’ll be expanding this list to include the top 100, but if you want even larger lists or want something else altogether, send us a lil’ tweet on that Twitter thing or post to our wall on that Facebook thing and let us know.
» Heat maps for every level – including the new Avarice and Rocket Arena modes! These will be updated regularly, so keep checking back and gain an advantage over your opponents!
» Player profiles out the wazoo! Search for your own profile, find some blackmail material for your friends. It’s all there in black and white folks!
» Global player stats: Gawk at the killing and EXP-earning frenzy across our servers worldwide, in “past 24 hours” and “all-time” flavors.

This is Villain Dane signing off for now – until next time, happy fragging!

See anything missing here? Get in touch and let us know!