We were hoping it would eventually get on Xbox Live, but it seems like that won't be the case, at least for now. One of the devs for Marble Blast Ultra broke the bad news to everyone that there won't be a Marble Blast Ultra update.

Pat Wilson, one of the lead programmers, put the word up on his blog. According to his post, they weren't able to come to an agreement with their publisher (presumably Microsoft, but we could be mistaken) for updating the game, and it just so happens that the publishers are the only ones who have the power over putting the update up for download.

The last time we heard from Garage Games, they had a lot of plans for an update, including some multiplayer gameplay tweaks that focused on one's ability to control how his marble fell. It's frustrating for them, and it's also frustrating for gamers who loved the gameplay mechanics of Marble Blast Ultra. It won't stop us from wishing for an update for the future, but for now, we'll have to let the marbles drop where they may.

GarageGames is set to release an update for its 3D puzzle game, Marble Blast Ultra. The update is said to include bug fixes and some treats like additional multiplayer maps. Recently, one of GarageGames lead programmers, Pat Wilson, gamely answered questions with regards to the game and the said update.

The lead programmer remains humble about the success of Marble Blast Ultra, he mentions that the whole team knew that it would be a fun game but they weren't expecting it to be a hit. He adds that "when we made the top 10 most played games on Xbox Live one week I knew it was serious, and we started wishing we had more levels for people to play on the multiplayer side."

With regards to the bug fixes, Mr. Wilson mentions two "high-profile" changes: Friends Leaderboard bug which was reported very early on and will be fixed. The second is the Crash exploit. Aside from that, the other fixes will include the removing of the advantage of dropping during multiplayer action to protect the gamer's rating, text shadowing of the scoreboard on the HUD to make it more readable. The update also entails the HUD to be capable of informing voice activity so that abusive players will be pinpointed and kicked to the curb, and when you re-spawn in a multiplayer game, you should be facing the gems.

As for the multiplayer maps, there would be eleven new ones. He mentions how these maps are different from each other -- “Spires” is very, very different than all other multiplayer levels. All the gems are at the top of high-friction covered spires and platforms, and all the powerups are on the ground. The strategy is totally different, and it requires players to improve their flying, falling, and marble control skills. “Bowl”,  mimics the skiing movement that makes single player levels like “Black Diamond” so much fun. “Blast Club” is another level in the style of “King of the Marble” but with a larger, more varying playing surface, and a different central conflict point. Sounds promising!

The best part about this is that this update will not cost you those precious MS points. It's totally free - their way of showing that they are listening to their gamers' whim for downloadable content. He doesn't want to divulge when this update is going to be released, but he also mentions that they are planning on releasing gamerpics and themes. Also, they are also planning on releasing another game that would hit the Live Arcade channel, but that is still up in the air - for now.

If you want to pitch a game for the Xbox 360 Live Arcade, you better get in line.

Next-gen.biz reports that Microsoft says it's being overwhelmed by new game pitches for Xbox Live Arcade. When Microsoft requested applications for Xbox Live Arcade game proposals, they had no idea of the tidal wave of interest they'd receive.

At the Develop Conference today in Brighton, England, Microsoft's Jeff Sullivan said, "We're saturated."

According to stats from the conference, 65 percent of Xbox Live users have downloaded an Xbox Live Arcade game, with downloads now at 5 million. The conversion rate is around 20 percent (from trying a demo to actually making a purchase). And that's impressive, compared with less than 2 percent conversion in the PC market.
   
The top games are now Geometry Wars, Uno, Marble Blast Ultra, Gauntlet and Zuma.

Sullivan offered some hints for those folks hoping to get their games onto Xbox Live Arcade. He said to try for: 

• Gameplay that is immediately obvious to the player.
• Multiplayer options that include co-op play.
  
• A worldwide appeal - not just North America.
• Appealing graphics.
• Downloadable content options.
• Tie-ins with orther products or games.

While the name Mark Frohmmayer may not ring a bell, you might have already been enjoying one of the many great games that he has developed. This is because Mark Frohmmayer happens to be one of the programmers behind Tribes 1 and Tribes 2, and he is president and co-founder of GarageGames, which happens to be the company behind the popular Xbox 360 title Marble Blast Ultra.

"GarageGames is changing the gaming world. How they're made. How they're played. How they're marketed. Our mission is simple: to create truly innovative, feature-rich, yet affordable, tools and resources for developers at any level - and on any platform. It's this technical expertise, front-line experience, and commitment to originality that already reinvented the industry with our revolutionary Torque gaming platform and the one and only Indie Games Conference."

GarageGames does more then just make great games. For a infinitesimal $100 the company licenses the award winning Torque Game Engine. Which gives independent developers the tools to make their own great games at a fraction of what it could cost to license other popular currently available game engines.


Click 'Full Article' to read the entire interview

Still stuck on those expert levels? Looking for that last Easter egg for the achievement points?

Well compadres your in luck because the Xbox 360 scene has gotten pretty big so much as that they have made video walkthroughs for most of the stages of the Xbox Live Arcade game Marble Blast Ultra as well as the locations of all the Easter eggs up on you tube at the link below. If these end up helping at all be sure to message texasryder and thank him for passing this great find over to the rest of the scene the next time your on the xbox live dashboard.