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NintendoWare Weekly: Cave Story, Cave Story
Another relatively awesome week for DSiWare, WiiWare and, yes, even Virtual Console, as Cave Story arrives in both portable form on DSiWare and demo form on WiiWare. DSiWare also features a port of Two Tribes' Mac/iPhone puzzle game Frenzic. The Virtual Console offers the wonderful Neo Geo puzzler Magical Drop 2.%Gallery-108408%
What's in an icon?
Gedeon Maheux has an post about how an icon is designed from the aptly-named Iconfactory (specifically the Frenzic app icon), and while I don't have any design skills to speak of at all, it's an interesting look into how those little snippets of art are made. Icons are increasingly important, especially on the iPhone and OSX, as Apple leverages icons more and more in their interfaces, from the Dock to CoverFlow to the iPhone's home screen. He sounds a little sheepish that they obsess over icons, but why shouldn't they -- every time you decide whether or not to buy or use an app (some might say the most important part of an application's lifeline), you're likely looking right at the icon.There are a few things to take away here: they designed the icon not by itself, but right alongside all the other icons on an average iPhone screen -- in context, where people would see it. And they walked a thin line: while they wanted it to stand out as something you'd chose even among the apps you've already purchased, they didn't want it to be so bright or flashy that it broke the UI. Truth be told, Frenzic's icon still looks a little bright to me, but the lesson is good: the UI comes first.Ged closes with a sentiment I've agreed with for a while: while there's a disturbing trend of adding "On Sale" or "New!" to icons in the App Store (not to call anyone out, but ahem) that doesn't serve the developers or their customers. An icon, just like your app, should be subtle and simple and beautiful. After all, isn't that why we're all using Macs in the first place?
Iconfactory debuts Frenzic for iPhone
Iconfactory and ARTIS Software have released Frenzic for iPhone, a fast-paced puzzle game that matches the piece and color combination skills of Bejeweled with a series of pie-shaped game boards. The game is an ideal timewaster -- my favorite kind of game -- perfect for waiting in line or on the subway. Frenzic starts off easy enough: you're presented with a colored pie slice, and you must move it from the center of the game board to one of six other pies. Simply complete each pie with six pieces of any color, though matching colors wins extra points and bonuses. A video showing how the game is played is available here. As you progress, the time you have available to park the current pie slice decreases. Gameplay gets challenging when you are given a piece for a position you already have six of: then you lose a life.
Frenzic 1.2.1
Frenzic is a frantic game which has the player match and then move colored game pieces to form pies. Trust me, it is a lot more fun than that sounds, and it is even more fun when you play against someone else.Sadly, as with any game based on color recognition, there was a small portion of society that couldn't play Frenzic (or at least not very well). That's right, I'm talking about the color blind people of the world, of which I am one. Happily Frenzic 1.2 introduced a new option to help those of us who have trouble distinguishing colors.The current version of Frenzic is 1.2.1, the most recent update fixed an issue with the demo timing out. Frenzic costs $14.95 (though there is a guru package which includes an lifetime of online play for $24.95).
Help make Frenzic an iPhone app
Frenzic is an addictive puzzle game from the folks at The Iconfactory and ARTIS, which we took a look at back in February. It's really quite fun, and would be right at home on the iPhone (or iPod for that matter). I can see myself playing Frenzic while sitting on the train.The folks at The Iconfactory pitched the idea of Frenzic for iPhone to Apple at WWDC, but they could use a little love from you, The People! Check out this post at gedblog to learn how you can pester ask Apple to make Frenzic an iPhone app. Good luck, guys!
Frenzic
I should start this off by admitting that I am not very good at puzzle games. They often frighten and confuse me. Add that to the fact that I am not all that bright (as evidenced by my work on TUAW) and things do not look good for me and puzzles. I'll tell you what does look good though (see what I did there?): Frenzic.Frenzic is the new puzzle game from the good people of the Iconfactory and ARTIS Software. I can't really explain how it works, though obviously it involves colored wedges and some power ups (what good game doesn't have power ups?). You have to play it to get a feel for the game, luckily there is a free demo.Frenzic also has an online component allowing you to compete against other players, and land yourself high atop of the leaderboards. There are a few different ways to buy Frenzic: $14.95 gets you unlimited local gameplay and 6 months of free online Frenzic play (you can renew your online subscription for $9.95 a year) $24.95 gets you unlimited local and online gameplay forever (and you get to support cool software)
