CaseysContraptions
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Rovio's Amazing Alex arrives this week
Rovio has obviously had a ton of success (the most success on the App Store, arguably) with Angry Birds, but the company hasn't done much outside of that brand since it launched. That's all going to change later on this week, when Amazing Alex arrives as the first non-Angry Birds followup from the Finnish game developer. We'll get to find out just how much of Amazing Alex is actually original. The game was released on the App Store last year as Casey's Contraptions, a game which Rovio purchased whole hog from its creators. Casey's Contraptions offered up a lot of Rube Goldberg-esque fun, as well as a deep and powerful level creation and sharing system, so we'll see just how much of that Rovio kept, and what the company developed for themselves. Amazing Alex should be out this Thursday on the App Store, and you can see a launch trailer below.
Rovio rebranding Casey's Contraptions as "Amazing Alex"
We're hearing a little more every day about Rovio's next big mobile title. Originally, we thought that the game would be a truly original release, but that's not quite the case: The company has instead bought the rights to Casey's Contraptions, a really excellent iOS title that came out last year, and now Rovio CEO Mikael Hed says it's going to rebrand the property as "Amazing Alex." Other than the name, however, it sounds like Rovio's keeping the Rube Goldberg simulator mostly the same. Hopefully they will include the great multiplayer social system that was originally built for it. Casey's Contraptions co-creator Noel Llopis has also put up a blog post explaining his side of the deal with Rovio, and he says he and Miguel Friginal won't be involved in development of the game going forward at all. They never expected to sell the property, but when Rovio came along with "an offer we couldn't refuse," they gave it up. Llopis said he expects big things for the game: Sites who didn't cover Casey's Contraptions at all have already mentioned Amazing Alex, so Rovio's big app machine is already working its magic. Llopis also says the Rovio deal will allow him a lot of creative freedom going forward. He's not interested in building a company of his own, and says money won't even be a consideration for his next title. That, at least, is great. Rovio might have earned the ire of some developers for their overwhelming App Store success with Angry Birds, but in this case, it sounds like they made a smart move with a good title that will leave everyone involved happy. Thanks, Mikko!
Confirmed: Rovio acquires rights to Casey's Contraptions
Rovio's Ville Heijari has confirmed the rumor we heard yesterday is true, and Rovio is taking over the iOS Casey's Contraptions title from developers Noel Llopis and Miguel A. Friginal. We're still not sure what the exact business agreement is, but it sounds like an acquisition of all rights associated with the game, and Rovio seems to also have kept on Llopis and Friginal as developers for their services. The Casey's Contraptions title is going to be removed from the App Store for now, and return as an official Rovio title for both iOS and Android (along with other platforms, possibly, later on this year). As I said yesterday, this is a great move for everyone involved: Rovio gets a high quality title that really appeals to casual gamers of all stripes (with a really impressive social and content sharing backend), and Llopis and Friginal get the opportunity to bring their really excellent game to a much larger audience. Casey's Contraptions was always a great title, but now it'll have the Angry Birds-fueled marketing machine behind it all the way.
Rumor: Rovio's new game is Casey's Contraptions
148Apps has done a little bit of digging, and has possibly discovered what Angry Birds creators Rovio are up to next. Rovio recently released a thank you/teaser video for a full billion Angry Birds downloads, and in the very end of that video, a character appears: It's a younger kid, with some pulleys and balloons in the background. Haven't we seen that kid before? Indeed, it appears to be Casey, of Casey's Contraptions, an iOS game that came out around this time last year. That game is still available, in HD form anyway, on the App Store. Casey's creator Noel Llopis said this to 148Apps: "Before rumors start flying, Rovio is a perfect gentleman. Not a Zynga at all. Don't worry, all is well." That seems to point to the fact that Rovio has possibly acquired Llopis' skills and the game, and is presumably publishing it or a sequel in the near future. I'm not sure this is the game Rovio was talking about when they said they were making a non-Angry Birds title -- Rovio has acquired other developers before, so this seems more like an acquisition or a publishing deal than an official Rovio game. But we'll see -- Casey's Contraptions was a terrific game that suffered a little bit from lack of exposure, and Rovio has no shortage of an audience to bring to it. If indeed the two are teaming up on another Contraptions release, odds are that's good news for everybody.
TUAW's Daily iOS App: Casey's Contraptions
I won't mince words here: I've seen and played a lot of iOS games, and when I first saw Casey's Contraptions back at GDC this year (which is out today for the first time on the iPad), I thought it was the most impressive iOS game I'd ever seen. The Incredible Machine is what jumps to mind to describe it, but really, this game is more than that -- it's a full engine of physics gameplay. The idea is that you're presented with over 70 included puzzles by young Casey, and then you have to solve them with various items, which span everything from punching gloves to darts and RC cars. After that, you can also create your own levels and even share both created levels and solutions around with an incredible social backdrop. The whole app is very impressive -- the design is just perfect, there's a huge number of items to interact and build with, and the social features are really amazing and incorporated seamlessly through email and Game Center. Seriously, if you own an iPad, Casey's Contraptions is pretty much a must-have title. There are content and feature updates on the way as well (and if you don't happen to own Apple's tablet, there's also an iPhone version coming soon). Casey's Contraptions is in the App Store right now for US$2.99.
