TOUCH ME I’M SLICK: PERSUASIVE GAMES’ EXPERIMENTAL JETSET
It would have been enough for Ian Bogost and his Persuasive Games outfit to simply port their 2006 “news game” Airport Security to the iPhone for a quick cash in. That game wickedly parodied the TSA’s ever-shifting carry-on rules, turning the ridiculous regulations into a brilliant hectic mini-game formula.
In it, you play as a security gate checker who has to strip every disallowed item from a growing line of impatient passengers — bottled water, shoes, Arabic-printed T-shirts, snakes (get it?) and hemorrhoid cream — but the rules are constantly changing, sometimes in mid-frisk, and rejecting an item that’s allowed smacks you with a civil liberties penalty as harsh as allowing through each forbidden toothbrush and pudding cup.
With its clickable interface correlating smoothly to the iPhone’s touchscreen, an easy port would have been enough, but instead Persuasive has very smartly turned it into one of the most socially- and feature-rich games the iPhone’s yet seen.
Billing itself now as “the first mobile game for business travelers,” Jetset (as it’s now known) uses the iPhone’s location-awareness to link fliers to whichever airport they’re currently in to unlock special local souvenirs (your guess as to which have to be in to unlock the ‘poutine’ and ‘Greek coffee-cup’), which can then be sent to friends via its interconnected Facebook app.
It’s a gimmick to be sure, but one that brings the out-and-about mobile game much closer to home-base, and one ripe for impromptu competitions between the weariest travelers, as the game keeps track of local, global and per-airport high scores. It was always smart social parody from the start, but in making it this much smarter, Jetset has quickly earned its wings in the top tier of App Store output.
Jetset: A Game for Airports [Persuasive Games, iTunes Phobos link]
See more posts about: Offworld Originals, Touch Me I'm Slick
TOUCH ME I’M SLICK AGAIN: AREA/CODE RELAUNCHES DROP7
In mid-December I was delighted to discover that Manhattan developer area/code had stealth released a port of Chain Factor — the Flash puzzler they’d created in partnership with CBS tv drama Numb3rs as part of a promotional alternate reality game — to the iPhone as snap7.
As it turned out, it was a bit too stealth for my own good: just hours after I’d posted it, the app had to be removed from the store. But now, a month later, it has re-emerged under its new name Drop7 at a re-introductory $0.99 price, and comes as very, very highly recommended as it did to start: it’s been one of my most regular smoke-break and long-trip iPhone companions since.
The only downside is — gasp — my high scores have been removed in transition, and I know I’ve had at least one absolutely brilliantly executed Sequence mode run where I scored well higher than my original 87k.
To learn more of what the game’s about read my original writeup, and find the game on the AppStore here.
Drop7 [area/code entertainment, iTunes link]
See more posts about: area/code, Drop7, Offworld Originals, Touch Me I'm Slick
TOUCH ME I’M SLICK: NGMOCO/HAND CIRCUS’S ROLANDO
If I didn’t think it’d be unfair to all parties involved, I’d simply title this one “why Rolando isn’t LocoRoco,” say my peace and be done — but it would be, so I won’t. But I will say, since it’s the laziest comparison and being used as a pejorative, that it clearly isn’t, and here’s why:
Yes, both games feature tilt mechanics (a feature better suited to the iPhone, for obvious reasons). And yes, as such, both feature balls, an understandable choice since those are the types of things that roll on inclines (and a design choice made for this type of game since someone first dropped a marble inside a wooden labyrinth).
And both, true, have chosen bold, high-contrast artwork that cutely personifies the movable objects. This is for a number of reasons: the more adorable the object, the more emotional connection, and the more we care whether or not it haphazardly rolls into spikes. The higher the contrast, the easier it is to follow the action, especially when you’re literally twisting and moving the screen in front of your face. (more…)
See more posts about: Hand Circus, Mikko Walamies, Offworld Originals, Rolando, Touch Me I'm Slick
TOUCH ME I’M SLICK: AREA/CODE’S DROP7
Update: Shortly after publishing, snap7 was removed from the App Store, but will be returning after the new year under a new name. Until then, consider this an introduction to Chain Factor and a preview of what’s to come, and I’ll update again when the game’s re-released. As noted via this January post, snap7 has officially been re-released to the App Store as Drop7. Check the updated post for more information!
In my top freeware games of 2007 recap, I noted a then-mysterious TV ad campaign related Flash game called Chain Factor. It was a curious mix of falling-block and number games, and, for me, stood so well on its own that it completely overshadowed the promotional ARG purpose it was supposed to serve.
It was cerebral but accessible, and, as I said at the time, was most surprising for blending the mechanics in a way no one (in this age of casual copycats) had thought of before. And it had that fantastic, circular, rising/falling Steve Reich-ian soundtrack. The ARG ended, the show was picked up for another season, and the masses cleared out, but I still found myself continually coming back for another run.
That’s why I’m so happy, then, to have realized this morning that area/code, the developer behind Chain Factor, have quietly ported the game to the iPhone as Drop7.
Billed now as Tetris meets Sudoku (which hits all the right notes, but check Factor‘s rules page for a better gist), the new version has adopted a much cleaner Helvetica design (which gives me NYC subway nostalgia) but kept — more importantly — that music. It’s also added a new Sequence mode which drops identical discs for all players to compare global high scores, though, so far as I can tell, they’re not charted on the web anywhere quite yet (also: a paltry 87,560 so far, if you’re wondering).
From top web game of 2007 to one of the top iPhone games of 2008’s a very happy progression, and Drop7 comes very highly recommended.
See more posts about: area/code, Drop7, Offworld Originals, Touch Me I'm Slick
