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Friday, October 21, 2011

Interview with Scribblenauts Remix Creative Director Jeremiah Slaczka

We had the opportunity to do a quick email interview with Jeremiah Slaczka, Creative Director for 5th Cell, developer of the Scribblenauts franchise. Recently released to iOS, Scribblenauts Remix is the latest in a line of highly regarded games, first released on the Nintendo DS in September of 2009.

We covered the game extensively at The Portable Gamer, so were really excited to see an iOS version, which comes in as a $4.99 Universal app (as opposed to the DS game, originally released at a $29.99 price point). While Slaczka was not able to comment on the pricing difference or strategy, he was able to answer a few of our more general questions.

We noticed that Remix seems to contain levels from both the original Scribblenauts game as well as the sequel, Super Scribblenauts, which added the ability to modify items names with adjectives. Our assumption, however, was a bit off base.

“Actually, the game is mostly based on Super Scribblenauts because that installment is superior to the original in every way,” said Slaczka. “The only things we borrowed from the first one were some original levels that we loved, and added adjective support for them.”

The touchscreen of the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad seems ideal for a game that was already based on stylus-based touchscreen controls. However, there were many criticisms of the original game due to its difficult and almost loose control of protagonist Maxwell. Slaczka says that this issue was fixed in Super Scribblenauts, and that fix has come over to the iOS platform. A second control scheme via virtual joystick was also added.

“Making the virtual joystick as good as it can be was a big concern. Overall, though, Apple’s system is very nice to work with in porting the game over, and the functionality of the touch screen is really ideal for Scribblenauts.”

We also wanted to know Slaczka’s opinion about the future of handheld gaming. This is a pretty amazing transitional time between the traditional handheld console market, with gaming-centric features, and the new smartphone world, with games only one of the features included with a device. What does this veteran of the traditional handheld console market (5th Cell also developed Drawn to Life and Lock’s Quest, two highly regarded game releases) think of the current trend?

His initial response is fairly non-committal, which makes sense. Don’t want to burn any bridges, right? “Well, all of this generation's handheld consoles are not even to market yet, so I think it is much too early to call any clear winner,” he said. “The 3DS is still in the early stages of its lifecycle, and we can only speculate on the PS Vita, but I'm really interested to see how they both hold up as their game selections mature.”

Continuing, Slaczka says, “However, I really like the iOS setup. It is concise and accessible to anyone who wants to develop for it, which has really changed handheld development. We will definitely be working more on this platform.” Great news, indeed. When asked about future plans, of course, he was less than forthcoming. We can only continue to keep our eye on this developer into the future, and will share details as we find them out right here.


Scribblenauts Remix


Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now:
$4.99
Our Rating: ★★★★½ :: SPARK OF GENIUS
Read Our Full Review >>
Released: 2011-10-12 :: Category: Games

Oh, and here’s a quick video of The Portable Gamer’s coverage of the original NYC launch event for Scribblenauts, starring none other than Mr. Jeremiah Slaczka himself. Enjoy!

Apps mentioned in this post: Scribblenauts Remix


About: Interview with Scribblenauts Remix Creative Director Jeremiah Slaczka is a post from 148Apps

Rob LeFebvre 22 Oct, 2011


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Source: http://www.148apps.com/news/interview-scribblenauts-remix-creative-director-jeremiah-slaczka/
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Five for Friday: Week of October 21

The was a great week for appaholics. With the release of iOS 5 and the iPhone 4S, developers are scrambling to update existing apps and bring out new ones that take advantage of the new capabilities. We look at 5 you may have missed that came out this past week. If we missed your favorite, be sure to leave a note in the comments.

Silverwiz

Silverwiz is a simple but feature-packed financial management app It helps manage savings and cheqing accounts credit and debit cards with support for recurring payments and budgeting.






Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots

The long awaited sequel to Halfbrick smash game Fruit Ninja hit the App Stopre this week. While it's a tie-in to a Dreamworks movie, the new Bandito mode provides plenty of fresh challenges for the avid slasher.






The Early Edition 2

The orignal Early Edition has been revamped for iOS 5. The app takes Google Reader feeds and puts them into an easy-to-read newspaper format for more information and less clutter.



Big Lens

Turn the iPhone camera into a SLR quality camera with Big Lens. It uses the same premise and the iPhone 4S camera, which is that more light is good light. The controls are simple to use and if you aren't making the iPhone upgrade it's an easy way to get your snaps looking like you did.


Big Lens


Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now:
$0.99
Released: 2011-10-18 :: Category: Photography

Adboe Reader

There isn't much to say about this one. We all know Adobe's Reader. the free PDF reader from THE source. Now it’s available for iOS for free and as easy to use on the touch screen as on the computer.



Apps mentioned in this post: Adobe Reader, Big Lens, Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots, Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots HD, SilverWiz, SilverWiz for iPad, The Early Edition 2


About: Five for Friday: Week of October 21 is a post from 148Apps

Lisa Caplan 22 Oct, 2011


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Source: http://www.148apps.com/news/friday-week-october-21/
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FrEEday Vol 63



Ghost Chicken:
Oh how the Halloween apps art starting to pour onto the app store. Ghost Chicken is one app following this spooky theme, but this game will test the speed and skill of any player willing to partake in its puzzling fun. Players need to stretch a chicken’s head to gobble up all the corn scattered about the stage before time expires. While navigating the stages, players will also need to avoid the hungry bugs that would love a piece of chicken for dinner. There are four difficulty modes to bring on several replays. But don’t ostriches stick their heads in holes?



DaVinci Quest:

Is it possible to meld a run-of-the-mill coin-push game with a combat game and make it enjoyable? The answer is yes, yes it is. This game allows players to battle coin-loving Jesters, Bandits with swords, and even powerful Bandit Bosses. Players will need to harness the powers of features like rage mode, combos, and of course defenses to beat this game. There are several characters to unlock and special skills and styles to master. Addictive is the name of the game here.



Family Feud & Friends:

Get ready to challenge friends on Facebook, as well as other Family Feud & Friends owners, to one of the most popular quiz games around. Players will need to come up with the most popular answers to survery questions posed to 100 people. There are thousands of questions to answer, ‘Fast Money’ play, and even the original theme music and scoreboard bring a touch of authenticity to this game. Now all we need is a Price is Right game!



Thundersword Across the Sky:

Those gamers that love swords, explosions, and rainbows have found their iOS pot of gold. Players take control of a sword that flies across the sky, imagine that, in hopes of collecting gems to transcend the space-time continuum. The path to going down in the history books is full of birds, tiki-men, and robots that all explode on contact. It will take some quick wits to master this game and go down the path to eternal glory.


Columns HD:

Columns is possibly one of the most popular match three games in existence and now it finds its way to iOS. Multicolored columns fall from the top of the screen and players will need to match three of the same color (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally) to keep the screen from filing up. Add on high scoring combos and six themes and this will grip players to keep trying to master this seemingly easy game. 



Apps mentioned in this post: Columns HD, DaVinci Quest, Family Feud® & Friends, Ghost Chicken, Thundersword Across the Sky


About: FrEEday Vol 63

 is a post from 148Apps

Chris Nitz 22 Oct, 2011


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Source: http://www.148apps.com/news/freeday-vol-63/
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Your Ghost Stories Review

Your Ghost Stories Review

By
on October 21st, 2011
Our Rating: ★★★☆☆ :: HAUNTING
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad

This app has enough scary stories to keep the fright going night after night.

 

Developer: The App Sack

Price: $0.99
Version Reviewed: 1.1
Device Reviewed On: iPhone 3GS

iPhone Integration Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
User Interface Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Re-use Value Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 3.17 out of 5 stars

Sometimes we just need a scary story. Whether it’s Halloween time, camping, a late night get together, or just a random spooky mood, everyone needs a good haunting tale once in a while. Your Ghost Stories puts over a thousand scary stories (with 8,000 more on the way) within reach, wherever and whenever.

The problem with scary stories is that people can only tell the stories they’ve heard and remember, the stories they have on hand in books, or stories they can find on the net. Your Ghost Stories is a repository of ghost stories that users can turn to whenever the mood strikes them or the moment is right for a good, spooky yarn. There’s no need to memorize a story, or search any shelves for a book, or spend any time searching the web for the right story. All users need to do is open the app and use its robust filtering and search features to find whatever scary story they want.

In the app, users can filter stories alphabetically, by type of story, by country, or by US state. This makes it easy for the user to glean the stories they will find most interesting from this app’s extensive library of ghost stories. Or if users don’t know what kind of story they want, they can use the app’s random story feature to randomly pick a story for them. After reading some stories, users can mark their favorites for easy access later. They can also share scary stories from the app via email, Facebook, and Twitter.

The stories in this app all come from an online database of user generated stories, and while they may not be of the quality of professionally written horror, some of them claim to be true accounts and it’s up to the users to believe them or not. Some of the storytelling may not be stellar, but the stories should be interesting and spooky enough to give users a good chill and since they are user generated they are varied enough that everyone should be able to find some that they like. The accessibility and ease of finding a good story quickly without the need for an internet connection are what make this app really useful. Your Ghost Stories is a great companion app for any camp-out, slumber party, Halloween, or even just a late night read.



Apps mentioned in this post: Your Ghost Stories


About: Your Ghost Stories Review is a post from 148Apps

Jason Wadsworth 22 Oct, 2011


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Source: http://www.148apps.com/reviews/ghost-stories-review/
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Hope’s Quest Review

Hope’s Quest Review

By
on October 21st, 2011
Our Rating: ★★★☆☆ :: STONE COLD
iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad

Carefully chart your course and keep Hope from getting crushed by stones in Hope’s Quest.

 

Developer: Rush Digital Interactive
Price: $1.99
Version Reviewed: 1.1
Device Reviewed On: iPad 2

Graphics / Sound Rating: 3.25 out of 5 stars
Game Controls Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars
Gameplay Rating: 2.75 out of 5 stars
Replay Value Rating: 2.75 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 3.13 out of 5 stars

Hope's Quest is a slightly deceptive game. Its name and opening cinematic showing all kinds of evil being unleashed from Pandora's Box suggest that the player is in for some sort of grand adventure. However, then the game starts and all one does is avoid blocks. Now that would be fine if avoiding said blocks made for a fun and engaging gameplay experience. Unfortunately, it really doesn't.

At its core, Hope's Quest is an action-puzzle game. Players move the character Hope across the grid, laying traps to capture the waves of incoming blocks/stones. With a few exceptions, the goal is to capture as many blocks as possible and to avoid being squished. High scores come successfully charting out your course ahead of time, a task that can be made easier by changing the view and using the limited "analysis mode."

Later levels introduce different block types in an attempt to shake up the formula, like link stones that set off multiple traps or fear stones that are supposed to remain untouched, but ultimately the block capturing mechanic that makes up the majority of the game gets slow and repetitive when stretched out across six worlds. It isn't like there's something broken about the game. In fact the virtual controls are quite smooth and responsive especially when activating Hope's slick roll animation. The problem is that it's all just kind of boring.

The aesthetics are decent at least. Hope's journey to discover the artifacts has her going from Egypt to Athens to Limbo. The music is pretty nice to listen to as well. The graphics however, are not bad but have the same chunky look as something out of an early original PlayStation game, which is ironic considering the game’s biggest inspiration is the PS1 game Intelligent Qube. It's even more apparent during the occasional cutscenes. What doesn't help is that Hope's banter with her floating magical cube companion also leaves something to be desired.

Hope's Quest's mildly inspired look only makes its gameplay seem that much less inspired by comparison though. Compare that to Intelligent Qube, whose stark, black visuals were more complimentary to the rigid game design. However, playing Hope’s Quest in small chunks may cover up how monotonous it can get. It's inoffensive but totally unexciting.



Apps mentioned in this post: Hope's Quest


About: Hope’s Quest Review is a post from 148Apps

Jordan Minor 22 Oct, 2011


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Source: http://www.148apps.com/reviews/hopes-quest-review/
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Toki Tori 2 Coming to iOS, Steam in 2012

Dutch developer Two Tribes has announced that they are bringing Toki Tori 2 to PC and Mac via the Steam digital distribution platform by Valve Corporation in Spring 2012 and are planning support for iOS, Nintendo and more. As in the original Game Boy Color release, the sequel will feature the young chick, but in an entirely new adventure developed from the ground up. The more exciting news is that Two Tribes will utilize an open development model. That’s right. They want gamers to follow their every move and be part of the progress, and more importantly, they’re giving access to playable early versions from day one. Gamers can follow their progress on the Toki Tori 2 development blog.

Collin van Ginkel, creative director at Two Tribes says “We’re starting with a super-early version of Toki Tori 2, which is basically interactive concept art, running on Steam for people to try out and we’re very excited to be able to involve the Two Tribes community in such a direct way.” The original game saw quite a bit of success over the past 10 years on a wide variety of gaming platforms, including Windows Mobile, Nintendo’s Wii via WiiWare and on iPhone in 2009.

As of yesterday, the first 200 gamers interested in checking out an early version can email tokitori2@twotribes.com for an invite to their Steam development version.



Apps mentioned in this post: Toki Tori


About: Toki Tori 2 Coming to iOS, Steam in 2012 is a post from 148Apps

Greg Dawson 21 Oct, 2011


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Source: http://www.148apps.com/news/toki-tori-2-coming-ios-steam-2012/
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