Welcome to The Black List, your one stop shop for the stories published on the site this week.

MONDAY JUST ANNOUNCED Deadlight > Do you know what the world needs? More zombie video games, that’s what. No, I am serious. The more of the undead we take out in a virtual setting, the better prepared the human race will be when the inevitable zombie apocalypse happens. Luckily new studio Tequila Works realises this and are providing us with another brain eater survival training simulator called Deadlight. READ MORE

TUESDAY NEWS Apple addressing exploitation concerns… slowly > The company that blacklisted Phone Story has conceded that many of its suppliers are still not meeting their obligations to their employees. As reported by The Age, the tech giant has confirmed that one third of its partners are failing to provide a safe workplace, while almost two thirds are demanding excessive hours from their workers. READ MORE

WEDNESDAY NEWS nanoBITES 68 > Certain Affinity’s pirate themed (and criminally underappreciated) Age of Booty is coming to iOS and Android devices. This excellent little real time strategy title is already available on XBLA, PSN and PC. This is just one of the stories in the latest edition of nanoBITES, our ongoing feature devoted to small but important news items. READ MORE

THURSDAY JUST ANNOUNCED Dwarf stars > Swedish developer Zeal Game Studio is working on A Game of Dwarves. The new title is certain to spark comparisons with enduring indie darling Dwarf Fortress. Both games challenge you to oversee a team of diminutive adventurers as they explore, mine and customise randomly generated subterranean environments. READ MORE

FRIDAY NEWS Towers of trouble > An ugly spat has erupted following the announcement of Zynga published tower building sim Dream Heights. As reported by Touch Arcade, indie developer Niblebit has issued an open letter implying that the game is little more than a clone of its popular iOS release Tiny Tower. Niblebit’s Ian Marsh has also suggested that Zynga attempted to purchase his studio before pressing ahead with Dream Heights. READ MORE

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Clockwise from top left: Dream Heights, Tiny Tower, Sim Tower and Corporation Inc

An ugly spat has erupted following the announcement of Zynga published tower building sim Dream Heights. As reported by Touch Arcade, indie developer Niblebit has issued an open letter implying that the game is little more than a clone of its popular iOS release Tiny Tower. Niblebit’s Ian Marsh has also suggested that Zynga attempted to purchase his studio before pressing ahead with Dream Heights.

Shortly thereafter, Nimblebit itself was on the receiving end of some unflattering comparisons. Kotaku published a second letter, this time authored by a party identified only as ‘drumcowski’. It claimed that Tiny Tower was likely inspired by Corporation Inc, a flash title published by Armour Games. (This notion was quickly rejected by Marsh). The mysterious drumcowski also suggested that all three games were descendents of EA’s PC classic Sim Tower.

What do you think? Was this the natural evolution of a subgenre, or does Nimblebit have legitimate grounds for complaint?

Image credits: games.com, Kotaku, Moby Games

Gimli ponders the implications of the mining super tax.

Swedish developer Zeal Game Studio is working on A Game of Dwarves. The new title is certain to spark comparisons with enduring indie darling Dwarf Fortress. Both games challenge you to oversee a team of diminutive adventurers as they explore, mine and customise randomly generated subterranean environments. Visually speaking, however, the two games are poles apart. Where Dwarf Fortress features retro inspired 2D graphics, A Game of Dwarves has been given the full polygonal treatment.

In its brief press release regarding the game, publisher Paradox Interactive cautions that “people might get short with you when you play” this game.  A pun that obscure and ungainly doesn’t come along every day, folks. Therefore it is being recognised with a coveted Thorson Prize. Congratulations to Paradox Interactive, which joins previous winners Namco Bandai and 505 Games.

A Game of Dwarves is in production for PS3 and PC. A release date is yet to be announced.

NanoBITES captures those small but important morsels of gaming information that otherwise might slip between the cracks.

ITEM! Certain Affinity’s pirate themed (and criminally underappreciated) Age of Booty is coming to iOS and Android devices. This excellent little real time strategy title is already available on XBLA, PSN and PC.

ITEM! It looks like you’ll have to wait a little longer for Rockstar’s take on the Max Payne franchise. Parent company Take-Two has revealed that the bullet (time) riddled action game will ship in May, rather than March as originally planned.

ITEM! Lightbox Interactive’s long awaited sequel to Warhawk is fast approaching. According to publisher Sony, the PS3 exclusive multiplayer epic Starhawk will arrive on store shelves in the second week of May.

ITEM! A new DLC pack is in the works for Paradox Interactive’s co-op romp, Magicka. The Other Side of the Coin will see players abandon their wizard’s robes and instead take on a range of villainous roles (vampire, necromancer, etc.)

ITEM! Sony has closed the developer responsible for Vita launch title Little Deviants, according to a report published by Develop. Bigbig Studios was also known for its work on PSP racer MotorStorm: Arctic Edge.

Looking for more nanoBITES? View previous instalments here.