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Posts Tagged ‘iPhone’

Ash: Review

Monday, May 2nd, 2011

RPGs come in all different shapes and sizes, and, recently, they have made their home on the iPhone. I recently got a hold of an exceptional RPG, Ash. Made as a tribute to the SNES era of games, Ash utilizes an old-school fighting system with several modern twists.

What’s Good

The Script and Story:
The banter between characters is well-written and very funny to read. It’s written professionally, which is a relief from the typo-ridden RPGs available on the App Store. Not only that, but the story is very, very well done. The game begins with two mercenaries-for-hire stumbling upon a mysterious artifact along with an even more terrifying creature. It only gets better from there. The story has that wonderful effect where it leaves you with wanting more, which gets me every time.

The Interface
Moving is simple–tap the screen in the direction you want to go. Want to swing your sword? Tap your enemies! This game utilizes the touch screen functionality of the iPhone very well. It responds quickly, making it feel smooth and efficient. You can also change the interface to a more traditional D-pad and A button if you prefer (this only applies to the overworld). (more…)

Stem Stumper Review

Wednesday, April 13th, 2011

How many times have you played a game with sound as your only guide? Never you say? Well then here’s a new challenge for you from Ananse Productions. If that challenge seems a bit too complex, you can switch the sonar mode off. When I played Stem Stumper for the first time I’ll admit it was far easier to understand with the visuals turned on. Then I went stealth and switched to sonar mode, navigating Mimea the vine through the various cognition evoking levels. Not only is this game one-of-a-kind, it also helps render a creative thought processes in a way that other games pay little attention to or simply don’t address at all. That’s what really makes this game unique and enjoyable for everyone. The Ananse team is truly breaking new ground for the industry with Stem Stumper. (more…)

PAX East 2011: Stem Stumper Interview

Tuesday, March 29th, 2011

While I was at PAX, I was approached by a rather tall man carrying an iPhone and large, sound-canceling headphones who pointed out my media badge and asked me if I’d like to try out his game. I said sure and set my pile of swag on the floor to check out Kwasi Mensah’s indie, blind-accessible iPhone title, Stem Stumper. After a few minutes with the game, I was impressed, and we exchanged contact information. I caught up with Kwasi via e-mail after the convention to ask him some follow-up questions about the game and his company, Ananse Productions.

Jes Richards: Why did you decide to do a blind-accessible game?
 
Kwasi Mensah: I started Ananse Productions to make games for people outside of the normal gamer demographic (18-35 able-bodied  straight white male). I knew I wanted the game to be accessible  but I was planning to also make a game with a multicultural aspect.. The more research I did into accessibility I realized that accessiblity was going to be big enough to focus on for our first project and it would give us a strong basis for making our other projects. We settled on blind accessibility to give us a focus but we tried to make the game as accessible as possible across all impairments. (more…)

News – Guitar Hero announced for iPhone, iPod Touch

Monday, June 7th, 2010

Although the iPhone 4 stole the show at Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference, Activision Senior VP Karthik Bala grabbed the stage for a moment to announce that Guitar Hero can now be purchased in the App Store for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Available immediately for $2.99, the game comes with 6 songs alongside 6 additional song packs for $1.99 each. Check out the press release for song lists and screens:

The Guitar Hero base app will feature the following tracks:

  • Queen – “We Are The Champions”
  • Rise Against – “Savior”
  • The Rolling Stones – “Paint It Black”
  • Vampire Weekend – “Cousins”
  • Weezer – “Say It Ain’t So”
  • The White Stripes – “Seven Nation Army”

Six additional song packs, featuring three songs each, will also be available at launch.

Song Pack featuring The Faint, Minus the Bear and Silversun Pickups:

  • The Faint – “The Geeks Were Right”
  • Minus the Bear – “Secret Country”
  • Silversun Pickups – “Substitution”

Song Pack featuring Band of Skulls, Obits and The White Stripes:

  • Band of Skulls – “Death By Diamonds And Pearls”
  • Obits – “Two-Headed Coin”
  • The White Stripes – “Blue Orchid”

Song Pack featuring Darkest Hour, The Dillinger Escape Plan and Protest the Hero:

  • Darkest Hour – “The Tides”
  • The Dillinger Escape Plan – “Farewell, Mona Lisa”
  • Protest the Hero – “Limb From Limb”

Song Pack featuring A Day to Remember, AFI and Breaking Benjamin:

  • A Day to Remember – “I’m Made Of Wax, Larry, What Are You Made Of?”
  • AFI – “Medicate”
  • Breaking Benjamin – “Diary of Jane”

Song Pack featuring Vampire Weekend

  • “A-Punk”
  • “Giving Up The Gun”
  • “Holiday”

Song Pack featuring Queen

  • “Another One Bites The Dust”
  • “Fat Bottomed Girls”
  • “Killer Queen”

Guitar Hero for iPhone will include familar elements such as character customization and challenges

Tap Tap Revenge, we hardly knew ye.

-NB

Individual Game Development

Monday, April 12th, 2010

Individual Game Development

            Now more than ever, it is possible to create a video game all by yourself and reap the benefits of it.  Teams and companies are becoming smaller and smaller.  We no longer need 100 people working on a game in order for it to be successful.  With the correct knowledge and experience, you can become your own Game Designer, Artist, Producer, Quality Assurance Tester, Audio Engineer, and Coder.  This CAN happen and there are now avenues for you to make a living doing it.  In the next few paragraphs, I will explain why I think that it is very plausible for a single person to be able create a video game and make a profit off of it. 

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News – Zombie Wonderland!

Sunday, February 21st, 2010

Zombie Wonderland!!!

What reminds me a little of Nazi Zombies for Call of Duty 5 World at War – “Zombie Wonderland” is a “fun, fast engaging variation of tower defense in 3D for the IPhone, with strong elements of time management and survival horror.”  You play the role of Chuck, a zombie clean-up dude working in the town of Niceville.  You get a birds-eye view of the area you are keeping zombie-free and guns to blast them down.  See this game in the App Store for the Iphone soon!

News – New Merlin Gaming App Coming to iPhone and iPod Touch

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

New Merlin Gaming App Coming to iPhone and iPod Touch

            16 February 2010 – FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME) and INTENIUM Console announced today that they are releasing a new gaming app for the iPod Touch and iPhone based on the extremely popular BBC One family drama Merlin.              FME teamed up with game developers INTENIUM Console, an industry leader in the European market to create a role playing game app for iPod Touches and iPhones.  This app will be available worldwide in countries such as the US, Canada, Australia, the UK and Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Spain and Portugal. It will also be available in five languages – English, German, French, Spanish and Italian. 

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