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Portabliss: GoatUp (iOS)
Did you know that you can download handheld games now? That's amazingly convenient! The only inconvenient part of it is finding the right games to buy -- and that's where we come in, with our Portabliss column. In each installment, we'll tell you about a downloadable game on the iPhone, iPad, Android device, DSi, 3DS, PSP, etc. Today: GoatUp. So I've been playing this game about a goat and ... why, yes, it is a Jeff Minter game! How did you guess? GoatUp, Minter's first platformer, is the expression of seemingly every Minter trope in one tiny, touch-controlled package. That means it's a score-based game with millions of incredibly random things happening all over the screen, flashing bitmap text everywhere, and items and areas that serve as references I'd surely find nostalgic if I had grown up playing European computer games. It's also the first iPhone platformer I've played in which the tilt controls are actually preferable to touch controls. The platforming is very loose, so that you can run and jump kind of haphazardly and still land on a platform. The default control scheme allows you to run left and right by tilting, and jump by tapping the bottom of the screen, which actually grants you enough precision to play successfully. And by "play successfully" I mean "make a goat climb a tower of grassy platforms, eating grass, picking up hundreds of items and spontaneously generating baby goats, who trail behind you after the fanfare of 'Congoatulations!'" GoatUp is available on iTunes for $1.99 for the iPad and iPhone. We're always looking for new distractions. Want to submit your game for Portabliss consideration? You can reach us at portabliss aat joystiq dawt com.
Daily iPhone App: GoatUp
GoatUp is a surreal game made by Jeff Minter, the game developer behind Xbox Live's Space Giraffe and a number of other colorful (and often abstract) retro games over the years. GoatUp has you, as a goat, jumping up a series of platforms while eating grass and collecting various items. The gameplay is often wild, as the series of worlds you go through features homages to the various ages of platforming games. It's always crisp and interesting, with excellent retro graphics, finely tuned controls, and a fun set of mechanics. Everything is backed up by a plethora of gaming references, from the silly to the extremely subtle. GoatUp is a simple title, but it's a lot of fun, and it shows just how much joy the iOS platform seems to inspire in a very experienced developer like Minter. The game features both OpenFeint and Game Center integration, and it's available from the App Store as a universal app right now for US$1.99.
Jeff Minter's first platformer 'GoatUp' hits iOS
Jeff Minter has been surprisingly prolific on iOS, releasing his fourth Llamasoft game on the platform. GoatUp is, like most Minter games, both arcade-style and ungulate-themed -- however, as a platformer, it's actually a first for Llamasoft. It's a vertical jumping game in which you lead goats up a series of platforms, eating grass and kissing other goats to increase the size of your herd. It's not a strict technical platformer, as Minter explained on his blog. "I hate pixel perfect precision and that sphincter-tightening anxiety that goes with every move in such games," he said. "I wanted to be able to bounce around on my platforms like a tiny caprine nutter, not worrying that I might die if I fell more than two inches onto a lower platform or if my hoof hadn't been *right* at the very edge of the platform I just jumped off." Should you find yourself in the mood to bounce like a caprine nutter, the game is available for $1.99 as a universal app.
