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TUAW's Daily App: Superbrothers' Sword and Sworcery EP
We've been following Sword & Sworcery for a while, with previews at last year's GDC and then again at Indiecade last fall. The app itself is now finally available for your iPad, and the post-release hype is off the charts. The gaming press loves this one, and last night, Twitter was full of the "#sworcery" hashtag as players got into the game and tweeted directly from it. As I said in our previews, the title is more of an experience than a game. It's got musical elements, lots of action and exploration, and a superbly crafted feeling thanks to the art and music of Craig "Superbrothers" Adams, and Capy's own incredible game design talent. There's only one mode, no Game Center integration, and some of the game's mysteries might leave more casual players perplexed, but honestly, none of that matters. This is a must-see experience on the iPad or the iPad 2. This kind of intimate, personal, indie, touchscreen experience is exactly what makes Apple's tablet so amazing. Yes, there's a lot of hype, and some Angry Birds fans will look at this game and wonder what everyone is getting out of it. But Sword & Sworcery is a milestone in the maturity of the iPad gaming platform, and for that, US$4.99 is just plain cheap.
Trade Nations dev picks up new funding, former Xbox exec Ed Fries
Here's another iPhone dev hitting the jackpot. Developer Z2Live is the company behind the hit iPhone social game Trade Nations, and it's picked up what's probably a nice chunk of change in a round of funding from VC firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson. Unfortunately, the actual total of funding hasn't been disclosed, but given the popularity of the game and its in-app purchase business model, there's likely six digits or more of money changing hands here. It's enough to attract some talent, too -- the company has also picked up Ed Fries to join the board of directors. Fries was originally a Microsoft executive who co-founded the Xbox Project and helped put together Microsoft Games Studios. More recently, he's been working on 3D printing at FigurePrints, a company that makes real-life printouts of in-game avatars. This position sounds like it will overlap with that one, but even so, Z2Live will most likely benefit from the experience.
Senators urge Apple to pull DUI checkpoint apps
A group of senators from four different states sent a message to Apple yesterday to pull any apps from the App Store that supposedly alert drivers of drunk driving checkpoints. The letter, which was also sent to Google and RIM, stated that "giving drunk drivers a free tool to evade checkpoints, putting innocent families and children at risk, is a matter of public concern," and mentioned just one such app, called PhantomALERT. The CEO of the company that makes that app claims it's completely legal, saying that police often advertise the same checkpoint locations before they're set up, warning drivers to be careful in certain areas and never to drink and drive. A police officer in Oregon, according to ComputerWorld, is pretty indifferent to the whole argument. "If things like these apps increase awareness on the part of drivers to slow down and drive to the signs posted and the conditions," he said, "that helps people stay alert and drive safely." So, it seems like much ado over something that's not a huge issue. Of course, if people are using these apps to dodge checkpoints, that could be a problem, but if police are advertising these things ahead of time anyway, it's hard to see why these apps are under fire.
Iconfactory working on open-source iOS frameworks for Mac OS X
The Iconfactory is one of the premiere Mac development houses, and as Iconfactory developer Craig Hockenberry posts on his blog, they've just contributed to the developer community "in a big way." The team has introduced an open source framework called Chameleon, which provides apps designed for iOS an easier porting path to run on Mac OS X as well. Most of the work came from tools built to handle Iconfactory's own apps, but they've released the code to other developers interested in reusing iOS code for Mac OS apps. A lot of the ins and outs we'll leave for the developers to figure out (the project page admits that Apple may be working on exactly the same kind of solution, and Iconfactory says that if Apple tells them to shut it down, they will), but the bottom line for us users is that developers accustomed to creating iOS apps will have an easier time bringing those same projects over to Mac OS X. That means more quality iOS apps making the leap onto the Mac App Store, and better selection all around. The project is far from done -- Iconfactory admits that it was really just a toolkit built for their own apps, and the code has lots of holes that the documentation doesn't cover. But they are working on it and accepting donations, and interested developers will be able to contribute as well. It sounds like an interesting project, and it should pave the way for even better apps on both platforms going forward.
Xperia Play ad rags on iPhone gaming
Sony has released a few tongue-in-cheek internet ads for its new Xperia Play smartphone (basically, the PSP phone everyone's been waiting for). In one of the ads, which you can see embedded after the break, performer/Daily Show correspondent/biggest fan of Flight of the Conchords Kristen Schaal goes after "another smartphone" and its gaming capabilities -- namely the iPhone and its button-free touchscreen. The actual criticisms are pretty vague, to be honest -- there are hints that touchscreen controls don't work so well and even some intimation that the iPhone's screen is somehow too small to see some of the gameplay. In general, everything lands more on the jokey side than any actual pair ups. But that's almost certainly an iPhone she's holding, and this is the most direct attack we've seen from Sony's side going after Apple and its mobile gaming market growth. The Xperia Play has lots of other things to deal with before taking on the iPhone (it's had a pretty disastrous pre-launch so far), but this is an interesting shot across the bow.
Rumor: Steam looking at iOS integration
This is interesting -- according to a Steam user who got to Valve headquarters in Washington, the popular game network may be looking at extending itself out onto the iOS platform. That doesn't necessarily mean that there would be a straight-up Steam client for the iPhone and the iPad (although how awesome would that be?), but rather, it sounds like Steam is looking at integrating either its social networking or achievement integration features out towards Apple's platform, in the form of an app or something else. Whatever Valve is working on, we can't wait to see it. Steam coming to Mac OS was a huge boon for Mac gaming, and the success of iOS was, I believe, a major reason that happened in the first place. Whatever Valve wants to do on iOS, there's no doubt it'll big a big bonus for customers. [via 9to5Mac]
Angry Birds Rio out now on iPhone, iPad, Mac
The movie tie-in game for Angry Birds, called Angry Birds Rio, is now available on the iOS App Store for 99 cents on iPhone and $2.99 on the iPad; it's $4.99 on the Mac App Store. The game features 60 new levels of the popular bird-throwing game and stars two characters from the upcoming movie Rio. It features full Game Center integration with all new achievements and boasts "a spectacular boss fight" of some kind. In short, if you like Angry Birds, you'll enjoy this one as well. The game unfortunately does contain those ads that had some feathers ruffled in the original version, but the ratings on iTunes haven't suffered very much. And the description on the iOS store does promise updates "throughout 2011," so there's more content to come. In case you don't want to spend the buck just yet, there are also free versions for both platforms that have six levels to check out. But it's Angry Birds -- while it looks from the screenshot like you're busting birds out of cages rather than attacking pigs, the catapult physics gameplay is still the main focus.
ForeverMap handy but a bit rough
ForeverMap brings maps of every location in North America to your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. The US$0.99 app lets you decide which maps you want, such as a state, a whole country or a province, and download what you need. Maps can be downloaded through iTunes or on Wi-Fi, but not on 3G. You can delete or add more maps as you wish, the only limitation being storage on your iDevice. The maps are sourced from OpenStreetMap.org. The advantage of the app is that you have the maps with you without any data connection needed. You can plan a route, find a nearby restaurant or museum, or find an address without ever being connected to the internet. The routes you plan can be for walking or driving, but the app does not give you turn-by-turn directions. It will show you as a moving icon on the map if your device has GPS. There is a bookmark function and filters so that you can select what you are looking for that might be nearby. %Gallery-119496%
TUAW's Daily App: Buddy Rush
Buddy Rush is an interesting entry to the App Store that's done very well on the Top Paid charts with its microtransaction-based business model. Basically, it's a Diablo-style dungeon crawler, though it's much cuter and more kid-friendly than most hack-and-slash games. It's also a full action RPG, with loot, experience, classes and everything else. The twist here is that it's social. You log in to Facebook when you start off, and you "play" with your friends. They're represented in game by NPCs, but they get rewards when you play with their characters and vice versa. It's a very interesting concept, and considering that even the text in the game is super kid-friendly, it's a weird genre mix that really appeals to an audience that's hooked right into online social networks. As I said, you must log in to Facebook to play the game, which may be a problem if you're careful about your online identity -- the app requires permission to access your friends and wall online. But for players who are already connected and aren't worried about a few extra wall posts promoting a game they like, it won't be an issue. The model's also out of the ordinary. You can buy in-game currency with in-app purchases to open up things, like extra character slots and extra items. None of it's really required, which is the right way to do it for a game like this, but since Buddy Rush is sitting on the Top Paid list on the App Store, somebody's definitely putting some money into this one. In short, Buddy Rush is an interesting experiment that appears to be working. The game is free on the App Store, and it was recently updated for the iPad as well. This is far from the last we'll see of this game and its kind -- my feeling is that social, connected, casual games like this across many genres are only going to get more popular.
Distimo finds higher prices, slower growth in the Mac App Store
Distimo has released its latest publication, containing an overview of the various app stores currently running, and the findings about the Mac App Store are quite interesting. While Apple's newest App Store is not quite up to the speed of the mobile platform, it's growing quickly -- the average top 300 Mac application generates roughly half the revenue of a top 300 iPad app. And there are other encouraging stats: the Mac App Store's average price (US$11.21) is by far the highest of the three stores, with the iPhone down at $1.57 and the iPad at $4.19. Two months after launch, the Mac App Store has 2,225 applications, which is fewer than the iPad's 8,099 applications at the same point in its cycle, but don't forget that the iPad already had the iPhone app market pushing it on right away at launch. Other interesting stats: the Mac App Store consists of 29 percent games, and in the most popular applications, 39 percent are games, which flies in the face of conventional wisdom that says there's no market for games on the Mac. Only 12 percent of the apps on the Mac App Store are free -- less than any other Apple platform. Finally, and perhaps most interesting, 17 percent of the developers of the top 300 apps on Apple platforms do publish their apps in more than one app store, either in Mac and iOS or on another platform. That means Apple's top developers are reaching out to other platforms -- but only 17 percent of them. For the other side, more than 80 percent of Apple's top developers, the Apple platform is the only one they're releasing their apps on. You can download the whole report over on Distimo's site.
TUAW's Daily App: Land-a Panda
Land-a Panda has been tearing up the App Store charts lately, and for good reason. It's a fun mix of platformer and physics puzzler that has you catapulting a panda through a series of levels in order to try and get him to his beloved mate. There's even a little Cut the Rope influence here. Your panda gets launched from a seesaw to start the level, and from there, he is fired from cannon to cannon to the other side of the map. Sometimes you have to time your launch just right, other times you can rotate the cannons around to line up your shot, and there are lots of other obstacles and mechanics that pop up later in the game. Land-a Panda is a lot of fun, and there's a ton of content to go through as well. There are 80 levels across a few worlds in the game already, and more content is on the way. It works with the Retina Display on the iPhone, there's full integration with OpenFeint and Game Center, and the whole experience is well-polished and works great. The app's not universal, but at US$0.99 for the iPhone and just a buck more for the iPad (and lite versions for both devices with 16 levels unlocked), it's a great deal that's easily recommended.
QuickCam for iPhone is quick
As we use our iOS device cameras more and more, we get interested in squeezing out better performance from the built-in camera. That's where QuickCam comes in. It's a US$0.99 app (introductory sale price) that works on the iPhone and the iPad, and the name says it all. QuickCam is really, really quick. In my tests, the app started about a second faster than the stock iPhone camera. Most important for some users, it has a burst mode, where it will fire off a series of pictures very quickly. It is sort of like the old motor drives that started out on film cameras. It's nice for sports photography, and anything where shooting rapid images is important. QuickCam also takes video, with a twist. While you are taking a video, you can grab stills at the same time, which is definitely a neat trick. Other nice features are a single tap to set exposure and focus at the same time, and a double tap, which sets exposure only. Flash is supported, and of course, both the front and back facing cameras can be used. Saves to the camera roll are very fast. Even in burst mode, as soon as you are done taking your photos, everything is in the camera roll and ready to go. %Gallery-119331%
Interview: Ngmoco's We Rule after a year on the App Store
Ngmoco's We Rule has arguably changed the App Store since its release. Before We Rule, the App Store was generally based on a rather traditional gaming model -- developers released games for a price, and customers paid or didn't pay based on that price. But with We Rule, Ngmoco (as outlined by CEO Neil Young at last year's GDC) showed that freemium could really work on the App Store, and the ensuing shift led us away from more traditional games and further into the idea of games as a service -- games that took advantage of a large free audience to make money with microtransactions. Now, a year after release, Ngmoco says that We Rule is doing better than ever. It's reached 13 million downloads and has seen 13 billion minutes played over the past year. On a daily basis, 15 million bottles of mojo (the game's main microtransaction currency) are being spent, and while plenty of those are earned for free in the game, there's no question that We Rule has seen plenty of success. TUAW spoke with Caryl Shaw, an executive producer at the company, and she told us a little bit about who's spending all of those minutes in game, Ngmoco's responsibility around microtransactions, and the future of We Rule and Ngmoco's other properties.
Ads in Angry Birds cause some squawking
Rovio's Peter Vesterbacka was pretty outgoing at GDC a few weeks ago, claiming that "it all works" when it comes to ad-driven business models on the App Store. But he might be relearning that lesson the hard way right now -- after an update to Angry Birds HD on the iPad added a "News" section in the replay screen that advertises other Angry Birds products, some users have gotten their feathers ruffled. That "News" section takes a while to load, and it must come up every time a level needs to be restarted, which means some players have raised their voices and voting fingers on the official iTunes listing. There's a few issues here -- first, we've seen in the past that most users don't actually mind ads in iPhone apps, as long as they don't mess up the flow of the app. It sounds like Rovio didn't quite plan this one correctly. Users who need to replay levels a lot (like those trying to max out their star totals) are seeing the ads quite a bit and losing that loading time every time, which creates frustration. Second, this is a free update to a paid app, and users who had already paid the US$4.99 for it are now frustrated that they're seeing ads, even if they are just for other Angry Birds products. So what's Rovio to do? The company has had success already with ads on the Android version of the app, but that was originally a free download. Given that the iTunes ratings are definitely suffering (the latest version only has 2.5 stars, as opposed to all versions' 4.5 stars), Rovio will probably have to put its ads elsewhere, either in the main menu of the app or out of the paid app completely. It seems like Vesterbacka and company have finally found a model for Angry Birds that doesn't work that well.
TUAW's Daily App: Lane Splitter
You may never have actually experienced this, but here in Los Angeles, every time we head out on the freeways, we face a dreaded threat: the motorcyclist. Not that I actually have anything against these guys (I'm sure they're very nice), but in LA, I've found that they tend to have a set of rules outside of the normal traffic -- even when you're parked on the 405 at a standstill thanks to a traffic jam, the guys on motorcycles are somehow able to split lanes, flying down the dotted line in between two long backups of cars. And that's what Lane Splitter is all about -- you play a motorcyclist rushing down a freeway, cutting in between various cars as you speed on. It's generally a Canabalt-style running game, but using the accelerometer to steer provides a fun driving twist to the game, and pulling a wheelie on your motorcycle can add up some extra points as well. Unfortunately, there's no Game Center integration, though there are global leaderboards, and an update is promised in the future (though it hasn't shown up since December). But Lane Splitter has another bonus going for it on this Friday: it's currently completely free for both iPad and iPhone. If you're down to do some traffic weaving this weekend, give it a look.
Cut the Rope wins at BAFTAs
Cut the Rope is still one of my favorite games on the App Store, and apparently the folks at the British Academy of Film and Television agree -- they've honored the game as the Best Handheld Game of 2010. It's actually quite an honor for Chillingo and developer ZeptoLab, as the game beat out presumably much bigger budgeted titles for the Nintendo DS and PSP, including the very big studio title God of War: Ghost of Sparta. It's definitely a nice indicator for the mobile gaming business that iOS and its associated developers have made a huge splash in the industry lately. The BAFTAs are like the British Oscars, only our friends across the pond also honor video games and interactive entertainment. Here are all of the video game nominees and winners. Cut the Rope is the only one I recognize as an iOS-only title, though there are a few cross-platform titles on the list that made it as well. Congrats to Chillingo and ZeptoLab on the win.
iPad 2 3G antenna causing problems with mic clarity
Apple apparently moved the iPad 2's microphone to the top center of the device, and that's causing problems in performance across the Wi-Fi and 3G models, says iLounge. The 3G model's mic is set in a different material than the Wi-Fi version (because of the extra antenna), and that means that the Wi-Fi version sounds "markedly cleaner" than the other versions, with the CDMA model sounding the most "slightly muffled and echo-prone." The problem is reportedly exacerbated when the mic is facing away from its target, like when you're using the iPad for FaceTime. I doubt this is a deal-breaker for most users, but it is probably something we'll see fixed in the next version of the iPad. It's interesting that this either never came up during Apple's testing, or it did and the company simply decided that it was good enough to let slip by. Meanwhile, if you need a nice clear microphone for your 3G iPad to use, there are other third-party solutions to check out as well.
New York Times website, iPhone and iPad subscriptions start soon
We knew it was coming, and now there is a date: the Gray Lady is charging admission this month. The New York Times digital products (the website, TimesReader app, phone apps and iPad edition) will be subject to a subscription fee for US customers starting March 28, with Canadian customers active now as a test population. Details were spelled out in a letter to readers and in a Times news story. As of 3/28, if you want to access the digital editions of The New York Times here are your options: At the New York Times website, NYTimes.com, you can view up to 20 articles a month at no charge. After that, you'll get a notice inviting you to subscribe. Links inbound from social media services like Facebook and Twitter will work independently of the 20-article limit, as will links from some search engines; Google inbound links will be capped at 5 articles per day, per reader. On smartphones like the iPhone and on tablets (iPad) the Top News section will remain free. To see any other sections, you must subscribe. There is no subscription plan available for just the NYTimes website. The lowest cost option is access to NYTimes.com plus a smartphone app for $15.00 per four-week period. A subscription to the NYTimes.com site and a tablet subscription is $20.00 for four weeks. Access to the website, smartphone and tablet editions is $35.00 for the same period. You can get a full breakdown on pricing here.
TUAW's Daily App: Dungeons & Such
Dungeons & Such is exactly what it sounds like. It's a very nostalgic homemade RPG game for iOS that will have you looking back fondly on the days of Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy on the NES. Sure, by modern standards, the graphics are a little lame -- this definitely isn't Infinity Blade we're talking about. Most of the game is in menus, and most of the art is static 2D pictures rather than brilliant 3D environments. But the game runs smoothly, the action is varied enough to stay interesting, and if you're a fan of old-school dungeon crawling, you'll probably find yourself right at home. There's quite a bit under the surface, too -- you've got full Game Center integration, in-game guilds to join, and you can even "hire" your friends to play with them asynchronously as you dive into dungeons. The game's being updated, too, with bug fixes, new items to find and other suggestions straight from users. Dungeons & Such is US$2.99 on the App Store right now, or there's a lite version to check out for free if you'd like to do that. It's not completely polished (as I understand it, the whole game is basically the product of one guy's hard work), but if you're interested in an old-school RPG experience, it won't let you down.
Play Rainbow Six: Shadow Vanguard (kind of) with this interactive trailer
This is a new one -- in order to promote its new iOS title, Rainbow Six: Shadow Vanguard (coming to the App Store tomorrow), Gameloft has put together this interactive trailer over on YouTube. Not only does the trailer show off some gameplay of the upcoming title, but it also allows you to actually make decisions as you watch about how exactly to play the game. I can't say it's entirely successful (though the game looks pretty good -- Gameloft is doing well at aping most gameplay styles for the iPhone, and in this case, they're doing it officially), but it's a really interesting way to market a title, and when it comes to the App Store, that's often one of the biggest priorities. You can see the trailer in action after the break. [via 9to5Mac]
