iArrPirate is our latest iLookApp, and it lets you turn anyone into a Pirate. In honor of Talk Like a Pirate Day (September 19th) we’ve even added some suggested pirate sayings to the Twitter posting feature.

Also, the iArrPirate50 contest is starts today. The person who makes the best tweet/photo from iArrPirate with the #iArrPirate50 hash tag by Talk Like a Pirate Day will win a $50 iTunes Gift Card! Full details and rules are available here.

You can also see the demo “Captain Jack” put together showing how he turned Fido into a Pirate:

We’ve taken iLookFunny a step further as this version supports all iPhone and iPod Touch devices. You can use your camera to take a new photo, or work with any other image already on your device.

When you’re done email it to a friend, post it to Facebook or save it for later.

iLookGangsta is just $.99 or if you prefer to play it really cheap try out iLookGangsta Free which is supported by ads (including iAds).

Be sure to keep an eye on this site as we have updates for iLookFunny as well as the launch of iArrPirate both coming very soon.

Following up on the success of iLookFunny, we are launching two new iLook Apps soon, as well as a major update to iLookFunny. Since the first release of iLookFunny the most requested feature has been the ability to use existing photos and not be limited to live photos taken then. The next most requested feature extends that to add support for iPod Touches. We are very happy to announce that we’ve delivered and all of our iLookApps will support the iPod Touch and existing photos going forward.

As for the new apps, the first up should be iLookGangsta – which allows you to gangsta’fy yo’self and your friends. We’ve had a blast turning everyone and everything around us into thugs, and we hope you do too.

After iLookGangsta will be iArrPirate. Just in time for Talk Like a Pirate Day September 19th. We’ve been big fans of TLAPD for years, and are thrilled to have something for other Pirate talkers to use to help celebrate this wondrous holiday!

iArrPirate, iLookGangsta and iLookFunny are all currently being reviewed by Apple and should be available soon. Keep an eye on this site, or follow us on Twitter to be the first to know when they are available.

iLookFunny Free has all the features of our recent update to iLookFunny and the only difference is the free version is ad supported. There’s no excuse give iLookFunny Free a try now!

We’re also putting the finishing touches and improvements on our next iLook App – iLookGangsta!

The price should change to free within the next hour or two and it should remain free through the weekend.

Get Gravity Sling Deluxe now!

Use iLookFunny to make anyone or anything look funny. Add silly glasses, moustaches or even clown wigs to anyone, or anything, you can take a picture of. We love to use it to get back at our friends by posting their funny faces to Facebook.

iLookFunny currently has 12 different things you can add to your photos as you take them, and we’ll be submitting an update shortly that almost doubles that amount.

Built in Facebook integration makes it easy to post your photos for all your friends to see them. Or you can save them to your photo album and post to Twitter, Facebook or anywhere else later.

What are you waiting for? Give iLookFunny a try and let us know how funny you’ve made your friends look!

iLookFunny

Earlier this week we submitted iLookFunny – a fun photo app that lets you put funny things on yourself or friends when you take their picture. You can add mustaches, googly eyes, awesome sunglasses, clown hair and more. Perfect for getting revenge or just for a good laugh. iLookFunny will even let you post your photos directly to Facebook for easy sharing with your friends.

iLookGood

We have also decided to make iLookGood free! The price change is effective immediately, so now there’s no reason not to try our this great mirror app optimized for iPhone 4.

In more iLookGood news v1.1 has been submitted. This version adds in “affirmations” which will now appear on the mirror as you look at yourself. These affirmations should be perfect for helping reinforce how great of a person you are. We also added in iAd support so be sure to check out the awesome new iAd platform as soon as the v1.1 iLookGood update is approved. Get iLookGood from the App Store now!

We’re very happy to announce that iLookGood, the first of our iLook apps optimized for the iPhone and specifically the iPhone 4 is now available in the app store! iLookGood is the simplest of our upcoming releases and turns iPhone 4’s front facing camera into a true mirror. With iLookGood you’re never more than a quick glance from seeing just how good you look. iLookGood also takes advantage of iPhone 4’s Retina display to present a high fidelity presentation that looks almost as good as you do.

We’ll have more iLook apps coming soon, so keep an eye on this page for more info! In the meantime get iLookGood from the App Store!

We’ve tried to make this as affordable to users as possible and have options to pay per script, per month or per year, depending on your own needs.

Take a look at our “5 minutes to Rehearsal” demo/training video below learn more, and check back here or on the Rehearsal website for more info as Rehearsal is realeased.

In my role on the IGDA Board of Directors I have been helping to craft our response to this unfortunate situation and that response has just been posted on our website and e-mailed out to our membership. I’m very glad the IGDA has been able to take a stand on this issue, though I realize issuing a statement is just one step in the process.I also realize there are some people who feel we should have responded sooner, but this statement has the full support of the entire board of directors, a cross-section of industry representatives from studio heads to independent developers. The process to gain that support takes time and I am extremely happy that we were able to do this so quickly.

The IGDA’s 2nd Quality of Life white paper is currently being written based on the data gleaned from our survey run last November. The final paper is slated to be released in Q2 2010. The IGDA released our first Quality of Life white paper in 2004 a few months after “EA_Spouse” posted a similar letter condemning the practices of EA and what those practices were doing to her then boyfriend. (As an aside EA_Spouse has since been outed as Erin Hoffman and she serves with me on the Board of Directors). That original paper showed a significant number of people in the industry were forced to endure crunch time of 65+ hours/week in their jobs. While our latest research shows that most developers today rarely crunch and feel that their studios work to avoid it, the scenario described by Rockstar Wives is still far too common in our industry.

It is my firm belief that the management at studios which engage in these activities are operating in a reprehensible and unethical manner.

I believe this regardless of whether the practices are disclosed during the interviewing and hiring process (as is purportedly the case at Epic), or whether it happens as a result of poor management and planning (as may be the case with Rockstar San Diego).

I myself have worked in a studio that enforced 80+ hour weeks with no end in sight, and while I was able to quit and move on to a better company more respectful of their employees, not everyone has that option. It is very easy for people outside of the situation to simply say “if you don’t like it then quit” but the reality is that for many people, particularly those with a family to support, are not in a position where that is possible, especially in today’s economic climate.

I have also been on the other side as a manager with people working 70+ hour weeks for me, and I know just how easy it is to slip into these scenarios. Fortunately in my situation we were able to keep this time down to just a couple months, and I believe I maintained the respect and appreciation of the people working for me. Ultimately people decide to make games for a living because they want to be here, and most are willing to put in a reasonable amount of extra time and effort to do what they love, and to make their games great. Issues like these come to a head when management loses respect for their employees and fails to appreciate the contributions and sacrifices their employees are making on their behalf.

My heart goes out to all those currently working under these types of conditions. Know that these studios are not the norm and it is absolutely possible to work in the game industry for a company that respects you enough as a person to allow you live a proper life. If there’s anything I can do to help either as an individual or as a member of the IGDA Board of Directors please let me know!

Sincerely,

Brian Robbins
Founder, Riptide Games
Member IGDA Board of Directors