This image is one of the mood boards for our new strategy game. Do you like it? When I look at this I imagine what Berlin must have looked like right after the war.
Tomorrow I will get you an interview with our art director and he can explain a bit more about the style of the new game!
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.isotx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/moodshot3.jpg"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-5739" title="mood board strategy game isotx " src="http://www.isotx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/moodshot3.jpg" alt="" width="498" height="287" /></a></p>
Can you imagine you armies marching through this city?

Sai is very pleased with all the attention she got this weekend! The tournament for her kiss is still running and she told me that the competing marauders look promising. Today we dive deeper into Sai’s obscure past.

<a href="http://www.isotx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/SaisStory03.jpg"><img src="http://www.isotx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/SaisStory03.jpg" alt="" title="SaisStory03" width="520" height="465" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5731" /></a>

<a href="http://www.isotx.com/?p=5718">Sai found herself in quite a predicament</a> after her airship crashed and she was kidnapped by Alesta and her band of marauders. Alesta told her that she worked with Sai’s father to fight against the Emperor of Rahmos. However, marauders are only loyal for a price. Alesta demanded one of his daughters and he chose Sai.

In the days after her kidnapping, Alesta brought Sai to Anchorpoint, the biggest pirate town in Kathos. At first Sai thought about escaping and going home. Her nights were filled with visions of her mother and her sisters. But whenever she saw Alesta, she was reminded of how her father had betrayed her. She wasn’t being kidnapped; her father knew exactly where she was.

When did she stop being a prisoner? One day, just after they reached Anchorpoint, Sai woke up and realized going home wasn’t among her options. Suddenly she fully understood what Alesta’s loyalty meant for her family. If Sai tried to go home, Alesta would sell the family out to the Emperor. And the Emperor didn’t deal lightly with traitors. Exile or imprisonment would be the best outcomes. However, traitors of the Emperor were mostly sent to the quarries in the North. Sai and her family would become slaves, chipping away stone for the rest of their days.

Sai decided that morning that a pirates’ life was all that was left for her. First order of business; commandeering her own air ship.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtRYNWkNhz8">Harlem Shake @ISOTX</a>

Marauders! Valentine’s Day might have passed but love is still in the air around Anchorpoint and the other pirate hubs and bars. Some raiders didn’t get all the loving they were hoping for, but maybe they have one more chance at it. Luckily for them, a very special lady is also on the lookout for some romance. Yes, you guessed it – Sai!

<a href="http://www.isotx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/SaiTournamentBanner012.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-5678" style="padding: 7px" title="2" src="http://www.isotx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/SaiTournamentBanner012.jpg" alt="" width="259" height= padding=7px/></a>

With so many suitors competing for her attention, Sai had little choice other than settling the matter the only way sky pirates would agree to – with a Tournament! The winner will have the unique change of taking Sai out for a night on the town, provided if he crushes his enemies!


<span style="color: #cccccc;"><strong>The rules: </strong></span>
Only players from level 20th and above can enter
Turn time is 6 minutes
Entrance fee is 8 gems
Tournament starts on 22nd of February

<span style="color: #cccccc;"><strong>The Prizes: </strong></span>
1st prize: Sai’s Kiss box – contains Baron and Atelian unit
2nd prize: Two tournament triplexes
3rd prize: 150.000 Iron
4th prize: 150.000 gold

As you all know, we are working hard on a new strategy game. Over the past couple of months the team at ISOTX has grown enormously. Time to turn the spotlight on one of our latest additions.
From the green hills of Ireland (where leprechauns and unicorns still roam, true story!) I present to you Brian, or TurleyB.

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<span style="color: #cccccc;"><strong>Brian, are you enjoying yourself at ISOTX?</strong></span>

Yep absolutely! Having a great aul time, the guys here at ISOTX are all sound lads and good fun to work with. I’m currently getting stuck in to the metrics side of things, looking at ways to best use all the data coming from the games and the website, which really appeals to me because I enjoy working with numbers and looking for trends and correlations. I’ll be working mostly on sales and monetization, making sure that players have interesting stuff to buy in the store and that we have satisfied customers.

<span style="color: #cccccc;"><strong>How are you going to make Iron Grip: Marauders and our new game better for the community?</strong></span>

Well I’m gonna be taking a hard look at our store to see what improvements can be made. I’ve been reading through the comments by the community to take all their suggestions on board, which are very useful. I want to make sure that there are appealing items for players of all levels, and above all that our users feel they’ve got good value and been treated fairly.

<span style="color: #cccccc;"><strong>What are your favorite games?</strong></span>

I love empire building type strategy games- my favourite series hands down is Civilization. I’m also a fan of RTSs like Command &amp; Conquer and StarCraft, and I like any FPS that has a strong team element. Any game that’s a wee bit different always grabs my attention like Portal, and I’ve gotta soft spot for older classic games like Colonization, Dune, Monkey Island and UFO.

<i>I made two references to love songs in this post (one is very famous and the other quite obscure). If you send me the correct answer, I'll give you a collection item of your choice! If you ask nicely, I might give you a hint ;) MechanicalAngel</i>

The bar grows quiet as Farlix softly starts talking, his voice sluggish: “It was twenty years ago, when I met the love of my life. I lost her the day I met her. Since then, I’ve loved no other girl, except Cinnamon of course. I can’t even describe her. Her breath was pure as whiskey and her eyes shone like the Northern Star,” his face is hidden in shadows, but the yellow light reflects a single tear.

<a href="http://www.isotx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/farlixInABar01.jpg"><img class="alignleft wp-image-5659" style="padding: 7px;" title="farlixInABar01" src="http://www.isotx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/farlixInABar01-300x294.jpg" alt="" width="240" height="235" /></a>

“All right, you wankers, I’ll tell you a love story if there ever was one,” Farlix seems to have regained some of his composure, but his eyes are still focused on an undetermined point in the distance. He clears his throat: “I was fleeing the troops of some low life, good for nothing, ass licking Baron, when I bumped into her. Well, bumped is a bit of understatement, it was more like two planets colliding. She fell down and her skirt was so short I could see her knickers. As she looked up our eyes met and I felt the gears of my heart shift into place. She was the one, I just knew it. And she was a real fox too!”

Farlix motions to the bartender for a refill. He takes a big gulp of his beer and continues: “She felt it too. I saw it reflected in her eyes. But the Baron’s lackeys were too close. I couldn’t save her. I tried, but they were too fast. I finally found you, were her last words as she died in my arms.
Since that fateful day, I have never loved another woman. I’ve had girls aplenty. Large, small, smart, dumb. Hell yeah, I even had some ugly ones. It don’t matter to me as long as I can get some.”

“My friend, I will now reveal to you my secret, the Farlix pheromone trick. If you follow my advice, I guarantee you, you’ll be up to your eyeballs in girls,” he leans over and whispers in your ear, the alcohol heavy on his breath: “get a cat. Birds love that and you will get all the real love you need from your furry friend!”

As the sun sets over the city of Utrecht, ISOTX artists are still hard at work. While the rest of the country is going home to their families, we are still making a new game for you! Curious what we’ve been doing?

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/embed/riT0J1H-0ew">Check out this sneak peek video</a> of one of our artists at work! And do you like the music? It’s composed at the ISOTX studio, especially for the new game!

Check out this awesome concept art! Maybe its a new unit in a new ISOTX game ?

<a href="http://www.isotx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/unitConcept012.jpg"><img title="Huge Chopper " src="http://www.isotx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/unitConcept012-300x169.jpg" alt="New unit" width="300" height="169" /></a>

It’s always a bloody pleasure to see young dogs go at it. Unseasoned sky pirates from all over Kathos pitted their warbands against each other in the Rookie Rumble tournament. Judging from the line at the Anchorpoint infirmary and the pile of bodies behind the morgue, these rookie captains promise a grim future for the pirate town.

<a href="http://www.isotx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/rookieRumbleBanner02_winners.jpg"><img src="http://www.isotx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/rookieRumbleBanner02_winners.jpg" alt="" title="rookieRumbleBanner02_winners" width="100%" height="282" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5631" /></a>

Perhaps one of the most intriguing things about this new generation is their tendency to pick a cryptic name. Hiding behind mere numbers, 4321 struck fear into the hearts of his fellow pirate in the European tournament. Coincidently, the name corresponds with the prison number of one of Kathos’ most feared criminals. The guy escaped his cell a while ago and the Duke of Torun lost sight of him.

The Europeans were really going at it though. Ash1mon won the underground EU tournament. Authorities have no idea how this tournament got started in the first place. However, this Ash1mon or whatever his name maybe, also won the USA tournament. The winner of the Asian tournament is Fragboy. He slaughtered his enemies in the ruthless efficiency this type of tournament is known for.

Who it is hiding behind these names remains a mystery. That makes these talented captains even more dangerous. You won’t know who hit you, before it’s too late!

We have a puzzle! Once put together it reveals a sneak image! - Can you put it together ? The top 10 scorers will be added to the hall of fame on the ISOTX blog.

Can you beat the ISOTX score ? Click on the image and find out!

<a href="http://goo.gl/xwA6E"><img src="http://www.isotx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/featureImageFB01.jpg" alt="Puzzle" width="250" height="250" /></a>