Playing requires you sign up for an account at InstantAction.com, GarageGames' web-based gaming portal, which is completely free of charge and gives you access to the rest of their game stable as well, including Marble Blast Online and Rokkitball. Hop on over and give it a try!

Rokkitball brings a new level of multiplayer gaming to InstantAction, combining the frantic pace of a shooter with the team strategy of a real-world sport," said Alex Swanson, Rokkitball Producer and Designer. "We plan to provide an on-going flow of new content to players through InstantAction, with several additional stadiums and enhanced team customization options already in the works."

InstantAction RELEASES 'ROKKITBALL'

Fast-paced Full-court Action Combines FPS Skills with Sports Strategy

EUGENE, OREGON - InstantAction.com, the web browser based action gaming platform that's revolutionizing how people play, today announced Rokkitball, a futuristic team-based game that's best described as football with rocket launchers and magno-beams. The game is available in public beta to play today at www.instantaction.com.

"Rokkitball brings a new level of multiplayer gaming to InstantAction, combining the frantic pace of a shooter with the team strategy of a real-world sport," said Alex Swanson, Rokkitball Producer and Designer. "We plan to provide an on-going flow of new content to players through InstantAction, with several additional stadiums and enhanced team customization options already in the works."

Launching on InstantAction with support for up to eight players, Rokkitball puts players on an ultramodern playfield with multiple goals. The tactics reward a combination of precision fire and team positioning to disrupt the enemy and control the field. Challenging bot players can be used to fill out games if there are too few humans, or to practice your skills when your friends aren't available.

"Rokkitball is a great example of the depth of games we can deploy on InstantAction," said Andy Yang, General Manager of InstantAction.com. "It begins to show the versatility of the platform and the quality of titles that we'll deliver more and more of to players."

Rokkitball was created by GarageGames internal studio.

To sign up and play Rokkitball or the numerous other games at InstantAction, please visit www.instantaction.com

About InstantAction
InstantAction is the leading multi-player action gaming destination that's revolutionizing how and where people play core games. It combines high-end visuals and action gameplay with social gaming, allowing players to form parties and easily move from one game to the next. InstantAction's initial portfolio of original games range from high-profile studios to newly discovered game development talent. InstantAction was created by GarageGames, an operating business of IAC (NASDAQ: IACI). InstantAction is located in Eugene, OR and on the web at http://www.instantaction.com.
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INSTANTACTION OPEN TO GAMERS

The Next Big Thing in Web Gaming is Here;

Sign Up and Play at www.instantaction.com

EUGENE, OREGON - MARCH 10, 2008 - InstantAction today invited gamers across the globe to enter its public beta. Offering fully 3D, console-like games in a web browser, InstantAction is launching with four games available to the public today.

"Initial feedback on InstantAction from gamers has been very positive and we are ready to pull the covers off and let everyone take a look," said Josh Williams, CEO of GarageGames. "Even though it's early, and there is a lot more to add and improve, InstantAction is already impressive. Now with the community's help, we're going to work on making it truly mind blowing."

With the public beta, four games - MarbleBlast Online, Screw Jumper, Think Tanks and Wideload Shorts' Cyclomite - are already playable. More games will be added in the coming weeks, including the much anticipated FPS, Fallen Empire: Legions.

Early comments from beta testers have filled the InstantAction feedback boards. Regarding MarbleBlast Online, one tester said of his first experience with the title, "This game is surprisingly a lot of fun to play." While another tester praised Wideload Shorts' Cyclomite proclaiming "Cyclomite is my new favorite addiction on InstantAction.com. It's good, crazy fun."

Social gaming is a core part of the InstantAction experience. Gamers can host parties and invite their friends to jump into a game via a URL link which can be sent via email or IM. Gamers can also seamlessly switch games and move their party with them.

"This is only the beginning. New games and features will be added each month," added Williams.

This brief snippet of GarageGames' Fallen Empires: Legions really looks like Tribes to me, but of course I just have a passing interest in the game. I'm not obsessed like lots of fans are. Tim Aste, the game's project manager, told us that they definitely were taking the best of Tribes and trying to turn it into their own game:

"The approach we took when deciding what we would focus on when making this game was to attempt to find the core element that we all enjoyed about Tribes... after a bunch of discussion in which we attempted to break down 'what made Tribes so much fun'... we hit upon the core element of 'Freedom of Movement'.

Freedom of movement is what it is all about. Instead of trying to recapture the same game play, we wanted something that captured the same feel."

The video shows some of the experiments that the team has been doing to try and fine tune the player's experience. Aste said the game will allow players to move on the ground and in the air and that both need to feel intuitive for it to work.

"We think we have succeeded. When you move around in Legions, it provides you with a feeling of power.. you can go anywhere, and you can do it rather quickly.. once you 'get' how to move, you can eye a point on the map that is far off in the distance, and you can just 'get there'.. quickly. You need to learn how to do it, but learning how to do it is pretty intuitive. It is really empowering, as you quickly learn what you need to do to move fast, and then you start the long road of mastering it.. the uphill climb to mastering the movement model does not seem to peak, and we are still getting better at it."

They also looked at how to tweak the difficulty of taking down a small, moving target like the other players, something that was "way too hard" initially. Their answer was to add contrails which did several things:

It increased the size of the visual 'area' a target took up on screen, so you can see the opposition better.

It indicated, in an intuitive fashion, the speed at which an opponent is moving.. allowing for a player to make predictive assessments of what is going to happen next and quickly sort out threats.

It made it easier to lead and get a bead on opponents.

Of course, Aste adds, it also just looks neat.

"It is gratifying just to see all these little trails all over the place.. "

The video is really just about polishing up the core mechanic of movement and tracking, not a glimpse at the final product, but Aste promises that they're not really planning on burying the core mechanic under a ton of unnecessary dressing.

"We are taking that core and really pushing it to what we feel is the utmost expression of the play.

"When our studio manager gave us the project, he pretty much gave us the directive to not worry about bulking it up, but to explore deeply the core.. what makes this type of game.. high speed with large terrains.. fun.. and we took this loose directive to an almost insane level. We deeply explored the core mechanic of moving and shooting, and we think we came up with something that is very cool."

Instant Action's site should have more details on the upcoming game in the near future and they'll be showing stuff off at their GDC booth next month.

Instant Action

GARAGEGAMES ANNOUNCES Fallen Empire: Legions FOR INSTANTACTION.COM

3D MULTIPLAYER FIRST PERSON SHOOTER COMING TO THE WEB IN EARLY 2008

EUGENE, OREGON - January 17, 2008 - After months of rumors and a recent video leak on the web, GarageGames today announced initial details for Fallen Empire: Legions, a first person shooter for the recently announced 3D online game platform, InstantAction.com.

"This is a first person shooter built by hardcore gamers who are wildly passionate about the genre," said Tim Aste, project director for Fallen Empire: Legions. "The game design allows for us to create a unique experience that brings FPS gaming back to its roots. Legions won't be just any ordinary jewel matching web game; in terms of graphics and gameplay it will set a new benchmark of what the future of gaming will be on the web."

"We created InstantAction to give ourselves and the rest of the development community an outlet to make the games they want to play. Rather than churning out sequels or licensed games, we're working with developers focused on creating cool gameplay," said Josh Williams, CEO of GarageGames. "Fallen Empire: Legions will be InstantAction's most advanced example of this so far. Marrying core games with the accessibility and social power of the web is a huge step forward in the industry, and I personally can't wait for this game to be released so I can hop on and start playing everyone."

Developed internally by GarageGames, Fallen Empire: Legions combines distinctive freedom of movement with fast paced first-person combat to create strategic, team-oriented gameplay. The InstantAction platform has allowed Fallen Empire: Legions to leverage the best of what the web has to offer, creating an evolving experience for players that can constantly be improved upon. This is first-person warfare at its fastest and finest!

To sign up for the beta test, receive exclusive sneak peeks of Fallen Empire: Legions, and earn free Action Tokens (InstantAction's virtual currency), please visit www.instantaction.com.

Shack News is reporting that they've discovered videos showing off GarageGames' unannounced Tribes-esque shooter for InstantAction.

The videos depict early alpha work on the game and were meant for internal use only, a source close to GarageGames told Shack News. Shack News edited the audio-free clips into a single video which you can check out on their site. The site also broke out a bunch of screens from the footage. It looks interesting, though not nearly as interesting as what we saw more than a year ago.

Tribes-like GarageGames Web Title Revealed by Alpha Video Leak [Shack News]

IAC and GarageGames announce InstantAction.com, the first browser-based Action Game Network

New York - September 18, 2007 - IAC (Nasdaq: IACI) and GarageGames today announced the creation of InstantAction.com, the first Web-based videogame network. Using GarageGames' industry-leading game development tools, InstantAction.com will provide compelling original action games through a standard Web browser. IAC has acquired a majority of GarageGames' equity, and GarageGames' management team will continue to lead the business as it builds out the InstantAction network.

InstantAction will also launch a Game Development Fund aimed at fostering a new generation of game development for the internet. Introducing new technology which allows graphically rich, networked games to run in popular web browsers with no download installation, InstantAction.com will enable easy access to singleplayer and multiplayer games with core-oriented mechanics and high-end visuals.

"We've been looking at the video game sector for years and it wasn't until we found GarageGames and their idea for InstantAction.com that we believed IAC could participate in a true internet innovation in online gaming," said Barry Diller, CEO of IAC.

GarageGames' CEO and CTO Josh Williams appointed Andy Yang of IAC to spearhead the InstantAction network earlier this year. GarageGames was founded in 1999 and created the Torque Game Engine, the leading platform for independent game development. GarageGames also created Marble Blast Ultra and its industry veteran founders led the development of the popular team-based action game Tribes.

"Working with IAC, we are now able to truly fulfill our vision to enable developers both large and small to deliver innovative ideas on an exciting new accessible platform for gamers," says Williams. "The InstantAction Fund will invest in talented teams who want to bring high-quality action gaming to everyone in the world through the internet."

The InstantAction.com site is now live and accepting registrations for early access to its private beta and is expected to launch to the public in early 2008. Its initial portfolio of original core-oriented games from high-profile studios and newly discovered game development talent will be announced in the coming weeks.

There are some great games available, including one of my favorite indies of all time, Gish, Marble Blast Gold, or stylistic black and white adventure game Vigil: Blood Bitterness, who's name I've been trying to remember for months now.

The worst that could happen is you spend five minutes filling out a form and get a free game out of it. At best - perhaps a Great Games Experiment love connection?

Perhaps not. Either way, everyone wins. Well, except those that listened to me the first time around. Foolish mortals. Michael Fahey

The Great Games Experiment

The Great Game Giveaway
GreatGamesExperiment.com is Giving Away a Free Game to Each New User

Eugene, OR, June 5, 2007 - GreatGamesExperiment.com (GGE) will be giving 1 free game to each new user that creates an account between June 7-14. The week-long giveaway will allow users to choose from 48 games* in the GarageGames.com Game Store.

Games participating in the Great Games Giveaway include award-winners such as Marble Blast Gold, ThinkTanks, Minigolf Mania, and Jets 'n' Guns Gold. All games are available for Windows, an additional 18 are also available for Macintosh users, and 11 can be downloaded for Linux.

Upon creating an account, users will be sent a message through their GGE account informing them of the Giveaway, and linking to the GarageGames.com Game Store where they can select their free game. Creating an account at GreatGamesExperiment.com is entirely free, and requires no obligation beyond a valid email address to become a member. The contest will begin at midnight on June 7, and end at midnight on June 14.

*Wildlife Tycoon: Venture Africa, Fizzball, and Fastcrawl are not participating in this promotion, and will be sold at full price during the week of June 7-14.

What is The Great Games Experiment?
The Great Games Experiment is a community in which gamers, developers, and publishers can connect through the games they have created and enjoy playing. GGE has been created with both gamers and game developers in mind. Visitors to the site can participate in the discovery of new games, make friends with other gamers, and even promote their own creations. To date, almost 4,000 games and over 10,000 gamers have combined to create the ultimate online gaming experience. The Great Games Experiment is one of the web's foremost destinations for gamers and developers alike.

GarageGames: GarageGames, the company behind GreatGamesExperiment.com, is located in Eugene, Oregon and on the web at www.garagegames.com. As the makers of Torque Game Builder, Torque Game Engine, and Torque Game Engine Advanced, they have been providing game development tools and technology at an affordable price since 2000. The Torque Game Engine was the original technology behind the Tribes series of games, and has been used since to develop countless games on Windows, Mac, Linux, and Xbox 360, notable among which is GarageGames' own Marble Blast series of games.