The Legen-wait for it-dary Tintash Cupcakes

We had a special surprise for Tintash employees just this last week. Everyone was welcomed to work with these scrumptious cupcakes designed in the Tintash spirit.
Can't be easy to manually design all these octopuses! We must give credit to the local ChunkyMunky Factory whose talented baker made it all happen. You can find their facebook group here.
Must say the frosting on those cupcakes was some of the best I've had on baked goods. The pictures have been a big hit on Facebook with many outsiders curious how the design was developed.
Sugar remains an important part of the diet of a happy employee, so I'm sure we'll have more such delights to come.

You're Brilliant, and Tintash is Hiring!

Tintash (www.tintash.com) is an exciting startup working on innovative games and applications for mobile platforms through its development studio in Shadman, Lahore. Tintash is experiencing tremendous growth in domains like casual games, enterprise and education and looking to hire some sharp and enthusiastic young software engineers to join the team.

There are vacancies for those with basic experience on the Android or iOS platforms. The ideal candidate will have strong fundamentals in graphics, object oriented programming, algorithms, physics and artificial intelligence. Knowledge of web service technologies and scalable web service applications is a plus.

Tintash is a great choice for you if you:

• Would like to work with brand name clients around the world
• Have a passion for design and user interfaces
• Would like to get your hands on the sleekest new mobile devices on the market
• Appreciate a demanding but flexible work environment
• Want to join a team of bright young people who collaborate for regular training and review sessions
• Like the instant gratification of seeing your work distributed to consumers around the world
• Love table tennis and have an insatiable appetite for home cooked food and ice-cream

Apply in confidence by sending a resume to careers@tintash.com. Interviews will be arranged right away.

Stick Cricket HD Launched for iPad

Stick Cricket HD for iPad is finally on iTunes. It's been several months of effort for the Tintash team to bring this Stick Sports classic to the convenience of your iPad. Here are some of the features of this version:

• 2 Player (Wi-fi and Bluetooth)
• Detailed Statistics
• Game Center and Open Feint integration
  
• 14 levels of world domination
  
• 3 forms of All Star Slog
  

The press has been giving rave reviews to the iPhone/iPad ports of Stick Cricket.

The Sunday Times says: "This simple little app will bring you hours of pleasure, even if you are not a fan of cricket. For a game with only two buttons, it is surprisingly engaging and subtle."

Recap of TEDxKinnaird

Hundreds converged at the local Kinnaird College this past week for TEDxKinnaird, Pakistan's first university styled TEDx event. The theme for this second edition of the event was "Rethinking Us" and the stage was set for some very intriguing presentations:

• Natasha Noorani on Snapistan and how she was bringing together photographers across Pakistan to challenge stereotypes through their work. Taking and displaying a snap of the live audience and the line "Change your lens" are quite memorable
• Sonya Rehman described the growing movement of citizen journalism. She highlighted SeenReport and introduced us to an awesome young man Galib Khalil who spearheaded flood relief work in Pakistan and blogs here
• Faisal Mahmood of GIKI talked about his groundbreaking research in medical electronics. This creative tinkerer already has three patents and is an inspiration for other Pakistanis looking to make a career out of research
• Younas Chowdry acted out an original skit as part of Laal Theater group. It was a great idea related to how what started as a school project could leave a lasting impact.
• Elaine Alam shared her personal tale of briding religious divides in Pakistan
• Zubair Khan's self-deprecating humor was a huge hit. He's the ethical hacker of Pakistan.
• Popular blogger and doodler Mehreen Kasana uses doodles to encourage kids to learn in innovative ways. This was my favorite talk since the slides of her doodles were so attractive and made me think of Doodle Jump.
• I discussed the role of games in education, using some of my learnings from Tintash projects with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and BBC.

The audience was also shown two of the most entertaining TED videos around, here and here. There was a well thought out networking session involving a scavenger hunt and plenty of mingling.



Special thanks to the sponsors Canon for providing the speakers with free printers! (Mine is probably going to Tintash, I can't imagine having to take care of it at home)



And special thanks to our lovely and enthusiastic hosts who managed the event so smoothly.



I was only introduced to the concept of TED last year, but I've become a huge fan. Since returning to Pakistan, I've been struck by how entrepreneurship and innovation have become the cool thing to do. I notice how people get together at coffee houses like Gloria Jean's not just for casual banter, but to bounce off ideas for new ventures. And I notice how everyone is so excited about TED conferences as they continue to mushroom around the country and bring together like-minded people looking to try something new. At this conference alone, I learned about The Guardians, TNS Beaconhouse and Dreamfactory though networking with the audience, all of which are innovative contributions to our society. These conferences are becoming the melting pots where the intellectuals of our society are sharing and conceiving the next great ideas.

Game Developers Conference 2011 Kicking Off

It's that time of year again. Gamers, designers, marketers, entertainers and general enthusiasts are converging on San Francisco for the annual Game Developers Conference kicking off this Monday, 28th February. It promises to be a week full of networking and envisioning the role of games in our future.

As always, Tintash will be present at the conference and sharing its products and services. Contact us at bd@tintash.com to set up a meeting and discuss possible collaboration.

This year's event is special since it is the first time that Pakistan is being represented by a whole delegation comprised of representatives from the major game design companies. The Pakistan Software Export Board has been generous enough to support the effort in recognition of the country's going reputation as a hub for game design.

In another first, Pakistani gaming companies will headline another networking session under the banner of OPEN Silicon Valley on March 5th. This is a wonderful chance for Pakistanis in the United States to learn more about the role of game design in Pakistani entrepreneurship and promises to raise opportunities for investment and collaboration. This could truly be a landmark year for Pakistani game companies.

Stick Cricket is Numero Uno on iTunes in Australia, India and Pakistan

The Stick Cricket title continues to be one of the biggest hits on iTunes this holiday season. The game already has a successful fan following on PC and few have been let down by the iPhone/iPad incarnation.

The most downloads, no surprise, are in the cricket mad nations of India, Pakistan, Australia and England. Stick Cricket is the number one free download in the first three. Among top grossing games, Stick Cricket is number 2 in Australia and top 10 in UK.

Be sure to let us know what you like about the game, what features and modes you'd like added. This could be just the beginning of the Stick Cricket revolution on mobiles.

Tintash Releases The Nitwit Test on iTunes

We're giddy excited about the launch of our newest product on the App Store. Try out The Nitwit Test right here

The Nitwit Test is not your typical quiz game. It's a chance to solve some of the most surreal puzzles available on a mobile device. Prove that you're not the dunce of the class and compare progress with your friends through Facebook. It's a perfect party game, watch you friends try to prove they're more than a nitwit. Guaranteed to have you doubling over in laughter!

Stick Cricket Launched on iTunes

After weeks of designing, developing and debugging, the popular Stick Cricket title has made its way to the iTunes app store. Check it out here.

I remember playing Stick Cricket for the first time while still in college. It was a popular dorm room exercise (even in an American university!) to see who could hit the most sixes. Stick Cricket has correctly judged that most of the fun in cricket comes from the crash boom bang format of attempting to launch every ball into the stands.

The game has been a huge hit in our cricket-crazy office. We were excited to work on the project and contribute our suggestions to making the port to the iPhone and iPad just right.

The game is free to download and has an enticing in-app purchase option. Check it out!

Bam Bam Dash gets Rave Review on applicationiphone.com

Ok so you won't get much out of this review unless you read French but just check out how many stars the game got in the ratings! Thanks Elina for the review and we're happy to see the surge of downloads of this game among French iPhone users.

Here's one line that I definitely understand:

Le gameplay de Bam Bam Dash est excellent

Tintash in Singapore

We have a key team member traveling in Singapore over the next week and he is in a position to meet up with game and application development companies to discuss opportunities for collaboration on products. For companies interested, please do ping us at bd@tintash and we will be in touch!