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TUAW Video: a tour of Freeverse
Welcome to the first of what we hope will be many, many TUAW Videos to come. We've done lots of video on TUAW, from Macworld Expo coverage to WWDC interviews to fart apps and more. This time we're trying something a bit different. This time we're taking it slow and profiling Mac and iPhone users, developers, mavens and anyone with a story to tell. If you've ever seen MacHeads or Welcome to Macintosh (both of which are awesome), you know there are plenty of passionate Apple fans out there. If you're reading this blog you probably know this, right? Well, now's the time to tell these stories. We visited Freeverse in Brooklyn, NY and spent some time checking out the factory where Skee-ball, Moto Chaser, Big Brain Games, Burning Monkey Solitaire and the awesome Flick series of iPhone games come from. We found a passionate, creative team of coders and designers working hard to keep you entertained. We also got a peek at Warp Gate, which looks like a huge game to cram into an iPhone. Watch the video and tell us if you'd like to see more of these profiles. If you're a passionate Mac user with an interesting story to tell you can get in touch with us here. On an iPhone? Here's the link for the iPhone version of this video. Share
Eliminate now available on the App Store
Ngmoco's Eliminate has been building up buzz ever since it was announced, and now the first-person shooter is out on the App Store to try for yourself. As you can see above, it offers some relatively basic FPS gameplay when compared to shooters on other platforms (I've been having a lot of fun with Borderlands lately), but given that this is the iPhone we're talking about, this kind of twitch 3D gameplay is actually pretty impressive. You can play online over 3G or Wi-Fi, and as you play, you can earn credits and level up, which gives you access to more weapons and better gear. The game itself is free, but it's all based around a microtransaction system where you buy "energy" which allows you to earn those aforementioned resources. You get a certain amount of energy per day on your own, and if you use it up, you can't progress any further unless you get out the wallet or wait another day. And the game uses ngmoco's own Plus+ social interface to track leaderboards and accounts. Interesting plan, and we'll have to see if players vibe with it or not. Some have already voiced strong concerns about the in-game pay-to-play microtransaction system. If that doesn't vibe with you, and you'd rather play some old-school (and old business model) FPS gameplay instead, id's Doom Classic also got released on the App Store last weekend. That game comes at a cost of $6.99, but then again, with old-school Doom, you know exactly what you're getting into. And you won't have to buy any extra energy to charge your BFG and slay any demons you happen to come across.
Gamesalad offers $99 iPhone game publishing
We mentioned Gamesalad's plans to bring their publishing system to the iPhone earlier this year, and now they've done it: for $99 a year, they say that you'll be able to design games on their game creator development tool, and then publish them straight out to the iPhone's App Store. If you don't want to bother publishing the games yourself, you can create them and have them "viewed" through the Gamesalad Viewer (which we couldn't find on the App Store quite yet), or you can export them out as full applications and publish them as your own iPhone apps (Flutterby is in the store right now as an example of a Gamesalad Creator game). There's also a $1999 membership service that lets you customize every aspect of your games, and provides you with direct customer support, which is supposed to be for "elite users" (like, we guess, actual game companies). And truthfully, I've developed a few apps using just Xcode, and it's not too big a deal (though I've never had to go through an actual release or worked with end users, which I'm sure is most of the battle anyway). But if the thought of using professional coding tools to develop your little game idea sends you into panic attacks, and the Gamesalad creator seems more your speed, this might be a nice viable way for you to turn your gaming idea into App Store gold. It costs nothing to download and try out the creator, so if the idea interests you, you can work on putting a game together, and then pay later when you decide you've got something you want published on the iPhone. And hey, if you do put a game up, be sure to send a tip and let us know -- we'd love to see the end products of this process.
'Endless Racing Game' iPhone demo video isn't endless, is endlessly entertaining
We're not going to bore you with details, but we are going to tell you that it's more than worth your while to watch this demo video for the iPhone title "Endless Racing Game." We can't attest to how fun (or not fun) the game is to play, but the clip is certainly worth your 90 seconds of attention. Check it out after the break. [Thanks, Lena]
Win a copy of Boxhead - The Zombie Wars
If you've seen Minigore [iTunes Link] or played iDracula [iTunes Link] you're familiar with this game mechanism, now quite popular on the store: left thumb moves, right thumb aims and shoots, all in an isometric 3/4 view. Boxhead Zombie Wars [iTunes Link] brings some nice weaponry to the game, plus a raft of defensive tools to allow a little more strategy than either of the comparison apps I mentioned. Boxhead offers a Flash-based version of the game here if you're interested in how much gore and mayhem is involved. It's a lot, really, but perfect for the genre. Now you can win one of 10 promo codes to try Zombie Wars yourself. If you don't win, there's also a Lite version [iTunes Link] to try before you buy. Good luck! Here's a video of the game in action: Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 and older. To enter leave a comment on this post. The comment must be left before Sunday, November 1, 2009, 11:59PM Eastern Daylight Time. You may enter only once. Ten winners will be selected in a random drawing. Prize: One promo code for Boxhead Zombie Wars (Value: US$1.99) Click Here for complete Official Rules.
Happy puzzling holidays! Triazzle Holiday Edition is in the App Store
We loved Triazzle 3.0 [iTunes Link] when it came out in July, but with winter nearly upon us it's time to dust off the sleigh bells and dreidels because Triazzle Holiday [iTunes Link] is here in a new seasonally-inspired version. This slightly cut-down version of the US$2.99 app sells for US$0.99, and runs on any iPhone or iPod touch running OS 2.2.1 or higher. Triazzle is a puzzle game where you are given a sectioned triangle board and 9 (down from 16 in the full app) smaller triangle pieces that fit in the larger triangle like a jigsaw puzzle. The pieces are moved to the board and rotated to get the proper orientation, when all nine are in place, you have won. The rub is that many pieces can look maddeningly similar and there is only correct solution to each puzzle. So even if it looks right, you can be wrong. When you are right, you are rewarded with an animation and the match counter increments. This version of Triazzle is chock-full of holiday lights, Santa Claus, Christmas trees, Dreidels, Nutcrackers, and a litany of other things to make you think of the holidays. The game has 4 difficulty levels ranging from one for kids to level 3, which is really quite difficult. Animated hints are available along with an option invoking the Triazzle Tiki Gods to solve the puzzle for you. What sets Triazzle Holiday apart from just about anything else is its craftsmanship. Every screen is more gorgeous than the next, and the level of detail of the graphics can leave you breathless. If the visuals get too complex you can choose to display simpler backgrounds to make things easier to see. You can also adjust whether or not snow will fall, and you can set the volume level of music, ambient sounds, and game sounds. Music is a large part of the game. Right after the splash screen you are advised to use headphones. Drag them out of the closet for this one -- it's worth it. The music is wonderfully recorded and reproduced using such favorites as Jingle Bells and the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies from The Nutcracker Suite. In addition there is a lot of original music, including a spirited Klezmer number backing up a game full of Dreidels. Triazzle Holiday will only be available through the holiday season, so get your copy now, put on your headphones, and immerse yourself in this impressive game.
The dark side of Skee-Ball for iPhone
I won't make any excuses, and I won't beat around the bush: I'm addicted to Skee-Ball [iTunes link], at least to the very-entertaining iPhone version from Freeverse. In fact, the reason I haven't written about it until now is that every time I get ready, I decide a little more "research" is in order, and I find myself on another Skee-bender. It's getting ridiculous, annoying my friends and upsetting my home life. I'd like to say, "I can stop whenever I want to," but I keep coming back to the warm glow of the LED scoreboard and the comforting sounds of wooden balls racking up just for me. What makes Skee-Ball so entertaining for me is the realism of the gameplay. It sends me right back to my childhood; carnivals, arcades and Chuck E. Cheese's. The physics of the game are bafflingly realistic, with each roll responding to every nuance of the stroke or swing that launches it. Velocity, top and side-spin, friction... even the effects of bouncing off of the sides of the ramp or the edges of the cups feels natural. The prizes you can purchase with the tickets are reminiscent of the "big scores" of my youth: vampire fangs, bubble gum, fake moustaches, and glitter pencils. There's the occasional oddball prize, too (a banana, a robotic dog, a duck), presumably to remind you that it is, after all, just a game.
GeoMaster makes geography fun - yes, really
The French developers at Visuamobile make exceptionally well-designed apps. They sent me a promo code for GeoMaster [iTunes Link], and I wondered aloud how they would make geography attractive, both visually and as a game. Guess what? GeoMaster is pretty fun. If you know absolutely nothing about geography, then OK, this is like playing a strange guessing game. But I have to say it starts easily enough, so much so that you may be surprised what you DO know. The game play is simple: countries, states or capitals appear on the screen, and you must point as close to them as possible on a map within a time limit. You can choose from US cities or states, countries by continent, world capitals or French departments. In the case of cities, accuracy earns extra points. That's really about it, other than some high scores and an excellent amount of finish. This would make a good learning tool, I think, but it's also a fun casual game. Currently going for US$1.99 on the App Store, this is a good buy for parents and geography nerds, or anyone tired of the traditional puzzle games littering the space. Check out the gallery for shots of the game in action. %Gallery-76652%
Destroy the Death Star from the comfort of your iPhone
Wanna blow up the Death Star? There's an app for that! At least there should be soon. StarWars.com has word of the upcoming iPhone and iPod Touch game "Star Wars: Trench Run," letting players do the cool stuff Luke Skywalker did in Episode IV (minus the whining), namely: blow up the Death Star. Developers say "Trench Run" uses simple motion controls, relying on a player's command of the iPhone's accelerometer to avoid walls, other ships, gun turrets, and inexplicable solid beams laid across the trench (video). Manage all of that and they can take their shot at the Death Star's exhaust port and send the Empire reeling. Why did they never cover that port, anyway (YouTube)? If blowing up a space station the size of a small moon isn't a player's cup of tea, they can engage in dogfights with TIE fighters over the Death Star instead. The game's pitch promises music, sound effects, and clips from the movie for immersive gameplay, varying degrees of difficulty (from Easy to Jedi), and Leader Boards to let pilots see how they rank with other would-be Jedi from around the world. As exciting as blowing up the Death Star may be, the game screams for in-app purchases. Can pilots buy "Battle of Hoth" expansions down the road? And fly against the second Death Star? Can we?!? I mean... can they?!? Please? Until then, "Star Wars: Trench Run" has a price set of $4.99. No word on when the game will hit the App Store but it needs to happen soon. The Death Star must be stopped! [via starwars.com]
Sony PSP Go game dev taken aback by lofty ESRB rating costs
Nothing really new here -- the ESRB has been charging a nominal fee to get its saucy logos on your game for years upon years now -- but the discussion of fairness has recently surfaced with the introduction of Sony's UMD-less PSP Go. A few game developers are voicing concerns about the amount the ESRB charges (we're hearing around $2,500) in order for their titles to receive a rating, particularly when those very same titles don't have such a costly requirement in Apple's App Store. Subatomic Studios, for instance, can charge $2.99 for the iPhone version of Fieldrunners, while the same game is priced at $6.99 on the PlayStation Store. Naturally, the ESRB would love to get in on App Store ratings, but it's hard to say just how long (if ever) that cracking process will take. So, any of you devs put off by the ESRB fee? Put off enough to sidestep PSP Go development altogether?[Via Joystiq]
PSP Go Rewards program hitting DRM-laced brick wall
Needless to say, none of this applies to the Americans in attendance, but for international PSP Go buyers looking forward to taking advantage of Sony's PSP Go Rewards program, the always user-friendly DRM seems to be putting a solid kink in those enjoyment plans. According to a growing number of users at the official European PlayStation boards, an error by the name of 80109D53 is causing downloaded titles to not play back on the new handhelds. We're told that Sony is aware of the issue and is toiling away in an effort to fix things, but for now, it seems as if you can sidestep some of the risk by downloading your trio of free titles (which Sony offers if you're an existing UMD owner) directly to the PSP Go rather than sideloading 'em from a PS3. Any others having this issue? Figured out a solution? Shoot your mouth off in comments below.[Thanks, James]
Canabalt makes running for your life fun
Pitfall + War of the Worlds = Canabalt. [iTunes Link] The result of a 5-day coding session with the Flixel framwork, the free, web-based Canabalt quickly acquired fans and was soon ported to the iPhone. It's a fast-paced, great-looking game without complicated combinations or controls, and I can't stop playing. Gameplay The premise is this: Our hero's city is being destroyed by enormous, laser-wielding robots, leaving him with only one option. Run. Tap the screen and he starts off down the hallway of an office building and leaps through a window and onto the roof of the next building (and the next, and the next). You'll encounter obstacles along the way like boxes and bombs. Just tap the screen to jump over them. A quick tap executes a quick jump; press hand hold for a long leap. The longer you run, the faster he goes. Some buildings are taller than others. Some collapse as you run across. Others are steel cranes. You must make split-second decisions about when to jump to make it onto the next building successfully. Don't bother making a mental map, as the order of buildings is random. Each time you play, it's different. Look and feel It's greyscale and blocky, but Canabalt looks great. Flocks of startled birds take flight as you run past them. Crumbling buildings shake and send chunks of concrete into the air. Huge spaceships rumble past and marauding robots can be seen wreaking havoc in the background. The music sounds like a KMFDM album and is perfectly suited to the game's frantic pace. Other goodies You can compare your previous top score (measured in distance run before death) and brag on Twitter with the tap of a button. Canabalt is just the type of game you want to have in your pocket. Uncomplicated, quick, playable with one hand and fun. It's perfect of a physician's waiting room, long train rides and so on. It's a great fit for the iPhone.
Ask Engadget HD: Best home theater setup for gaming?
As usual, this week's Ask Engadget HD centers around a particular home theater setup question, as Philip is trying to set things up for one particular purpose: gaming. Movies and TV are great source of high definition, but some of us just want to hook up the Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 and go. We'll let him flesh out the details: "I'm finally ready to build the home theater I've always wanted, and while I'll definitely be watching TV and playing Blu-ray discs as well, it's going to be all about gaming. I've already got a PS3 and Xbox 360 hooked up to an old 20-inch LCD, but I need a real HDTV and surround setup now. I know some games support 7.1, is it worth the extra setup? Also, what HDTV in the $1,000 - $2,000 price range is best for games?" While 7.1 may not be the immediate move for everyone, we're sure some Killzone 2 players may appreciate the extra speakers. Let Phil know what setup you're running, and if you want to throw in a Xbox Live Gamertag or PSN ID as well we certainly won't be mad at you. [Note: This isn't about which system is the best, we've been there and while we might revisit the question later, fanboys, this is about the surrounding equipment so try and stay on topic, k? Got a burning question that you'd love to toss out for Engadget HD (or its readers) to take a look at? Tired of Google's blank stares when you ask for real-world experiences? Hit us up at ask at engadgethd dawt com and keep an eye on this space -- your inquiry could be next.
HandyGames releases App Store analysis presentation
Top20 iPhone Games Analysis 09/2009 View more presentations from HandyGames Germany. The folks over at German developer HandyGames originally put together this slideshow presentation for their own internal use, but they determined that it actually could be useful for almost anyone following iPhone releases and their development, so they released it out into the world. And they were right -- there's some good info in here. Basically, they did a survey of the top 20 apps, both paid and free in five different regions of the world on the App Store, and then compared different qualities of all of those apps to see what the most successful apps had in common. What did they find? Things like the fact that the majority of top 20 apps do not use all caps for the title and use an original IP for their releases. The differences are interesting as well: most paid apps are made by recognizable developers, while most free apps are made by smaller publishers. Free apps receive many, many more reviews than paid apps, though (if I'm reading the presentation right) they tend to be rated lower. Chillingo is the App Store's most prolific top developer, while Digital Chocolate releases games most often, with a full 1.5 releases per week since (I suppose) they started publishing games. Very interesting stuff, though the numbers still require a little backgound knowledge to deciper (Backflip Studios appears in a few rankings, even though they've only just started releasing games last month -- popular games, but only a few games nonetheless). Cool to get an overall snapshot of the kinds of games that are doing well on the App Store so far.
Monster Trucks Nitro
There are a lot of driving games on the iPhone, and like it or not, none that I've played quite get things right. Either the game controls are too twitchy or too mushy. Maybe I'm a Goldilocks when it comes to controls, but Monster Trucks Nitro has been sitting in my inbox for forever and I've liked it since I first played it. Sort of how Aera goes against the grain of traditional control schemes, Monster Trucks Nitro does a great job of simplifying the experience and looks great doing it. By simplifying the controls and using a 3/4 top-down approach to viewing the truck, you can focus on riding the gas/brake. I don't know if you've ever driven a monster truck before, but the key is NOT to turn a lot, so the issue of twitch vs. mush in controlling is absent. The physics on the game are a ton of fun. If you like bouncing around a simulated mud track knocking over tiny barrels, this delivers. There's the usual unlockable items (mostly vehicular in nature), and there are 8 tracks to play, plus high scores on each track. Personally I enjoy using the usual pinch/swipe controls on the camera view. Monster Trucks Nitro looks and sounds great, is a nice 3D pick up and play game for adults and kids. Well worth the reasonable $.99 you'll find it for on the App Store.
Bioshock for Mac on October 7th
I can personally attest to Bioshock being a terrific game, but the problem is that probably, many of you can as well. Let's be honest -- it actually came out for PC and consoles a full two years ago. At this point, a Mac port is probably useless, but it's coming out anyway. Feral Interactive has announced that they'll be releasing the port on October 7th of this year, so those of you Mac diehards who refuse to play games on any other platforms can finally get your fix. The game will be released for $49.95 in the US, and can be preordered on Feral's store right now. Or, you know, you can run out to Best Buy, pick up a copy for $20 and run it in Boot Camp, it's up to you. If you are going for the Mac version, however, you should know that the game doesn't support the Intel GMA integrated video cards, so you'll need a dedicated video card in your Mac to play it. Bioshock is a great game, as I've said, and if you really stretch it out, it might give you a good six months of free time entertainment -- just in time for you to pick up the Mac port of Hellgate: London, a game released in December of 2007. Oh wait.
Eleven iPhone games I won't delete
This won't be a detailed review of eleven games. This is a quick list of games that I've found impossible to remove from my iPhone -- some for fun, some for kid entertainment and some just because they are cool to show off. Several are free, some I caught on sale, but ones like Fieldrunners and Sway I'd buy at any price. Cro-Mag Rally [iTunes link] -- I used to play this on the older PPC-based iMacs and it was also an early entrant to the store. Cro-Mag is cute but it also plays exceedingly well. If you want something like Mario Kart on your iPhone, this is about as close as I've found. For a quick racing game that nearly anyone can enjoy, Cro-Mag is a true iPhone "classic." MotionX Dice [iTunes link] -- You never know when you're doing to need some dice. Plus, MotionX gives this app away, and it's a beautiful example of what can be done on the iPhone. When someone wants to "see something" on my iPhone, often I'll show them how the shadows cast by the dice change as I move the iPhone. Then we'll play some dice games. Flick Bowling [iTunes link] -- There are faster, cheaper versions of bowling on the iPhone. I find Flick provides just enough eye candy and immersion to suit my taste. Plus, it loads pretty fast and you can get to bowling without a lot of setup. It's a casual game that looks bigger than it is. Dizzy Bee [iTunes link] -- One of the big, early hits for the iPhone, in no small part because the super cute free version moved a lot of units. Dizzy Bee is the app everyone seemed to give to the kids to play with, but the challenges get pretty tough. Like any great game: simple to learn, hard to master. Plus, there's now a sequel. Keep reading for some games that are a little more under the radar and some genuine iPhone essentials...
Win a copy of Triazzle for iPhone and iPod touch
Triazzle [iTunes link] is a fun, quick game for you puzzlers out there. It's a casual thing, but with beautiful graphics and sound and a nice replay factor. David reviewed it here. Now you can win one of 3 promo codes and get Triazzle for free! Just follow the directions below. Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 and older. To enter leave a comment on this article. The comment must be left before Tuesday, September 8, 11:59PM Eastern Daylight Time. You may enter only once. Three winners will be selected in a random drawing. Prize: One promo code for Triazzle (Value: US$2.99) Click Here for complete Official Rules.
Gamesalad aiming to bring their development system to the iPhone
Here's yet another interesting take on the burgeoning App Store environment. A company called Gendai Games has a game creator IDE/app called Gamesalad, designed to let you put together rapid prototype-style games for the Mac. They've been doing this for a while, and they even let you export your games out to the 'net using an online portal. But here's the kicker: they're also planning to let you take those games right out to the iPhone. Their roadmap page talks about downloading to a test iPhone straight from a Mac, but presumably, they'd either have their own app on the App Store in which you could play your games, or even output it to some sort of wrapper app that you could then release on the App Store yourself. Their press release says they will allow for games "to be sold and marketed on the App Store," and that seems to us like there's compensation involved somehow, either through their portal, or through Apple's setup. Very interesting. Unfortunately, most of this is forthcoming -- their development environment is available for a free download right now, so you could start working on creating your masterpiece right away if you want, but you'd have to wait until sometime "in the next few weeks" to see what iPhone features they have planned. Part of the iPhone's draw as a programmer's platform is that it's relatively easy to develop for, and an environment like this promises to make it even easier and more accessible. Whenever you have a low barrier of entry to development, release, and sales, you end up with two things: a market possibly flooded with junk, but on the other end, lots and lots of creativity.
CrossOver Games 8.0 released
Codeweavers tells us that they've released version 8 of their Crossover Games software -- I tried it out a while ago, and found that while it was a pretty good way to play their recommended games, once you went off the reservation, things got a little hairy. Then again, that was a long time ago, and since then, they've updated the recommended games list quite a bit -- they're now saying that version 8 will allow you to play most of the Steam games, including the excellent Left 4 Dead, and the new Tales of Monkey Island episodic games. Additionally (and perhaps we're burying the lead a little bit here), this version is completely compatible with Snow Leopard. So while you still may be banging your head against compatibility for some apps (I'm actually sort of glad now that SL was sold out at Best Buy when I went by to pick it up -- think I might just wait until the compatibility issues get ironed out), Crossover Games should work just fine. And it of course works on both Mac and Linux, so if you have a spare 'nix box sitting around and want some Windows games running on it, there you go. Existing customers with a support entitlement can upgrade right away, the app can be bought for $40, or there's a free trial to try out as well if you'd rather do that.
