App Review: Temple Run by Imangi Studios, LLC

Another mobile game that’s been going around Ryerson University is Temple Run by Imangi Studios, LLC. The objective of this fast-paced, action game is to run from evil monkeys along a path, while trying to find the hidden treasure by collecting as many coins as you can. Your character defaults as a male adventurer; however you can earn or buy coins for power ups such as: a temporary boost of speed, magnet to collect all the coins, change of character, and wallpapers.

Along the way, you will encounter fires and many mangroves which you will have swipe to jump over or duck and slide. Your character auto-runs so the only actions you will be taking are shifting (tilt) left and right, turning, jumping, or ducking from your obstacles. The further you get in the game, the faster your character runs. If you run into a wall, the evil monkeys will get to you and you game will be over. Tip: though it may be instinct to jump over the slight arc of fire, you will need to duck the arc, and jump over the fire only when it’s on the ground.

As you’re running, you will also receive markers to let you know how far you’ve ran (i.e. 250m, or 500m) – be careful of the dead ends. The background music to this game is sounds of drums and every time you jump, you can hear your character taking a quick breath in. Other sound effects include your character doing a quick yell and water splashing when you take a dive, and when you collect coins. Something I noticed about the game is that you can’t turn off the sound effects or music while mid-game (you would have to abandon the game to adjust the sound settings).

I’m not usually one to tweet my high scores but I thought it was neat that there was a built-in option to do so. It would be nice is if there was 3 lives to increase score, but you only have 1 life and once you’re off the path or the evil monkeys get to you, it’s time to start a new game. This game was very reminiscent of one of my favourite Disney games I used to play on my PC (back in the Windows Me/Windows XP days) - Tarzan Action Game, which was the same concept.

Temple Run is very thrilling and will test your reflexes - I’ll admit it, I almost dropped the company iPhone during my commute, but it’s safe and sound and ready for next week’s app review – yay!

To download in App Store: http://bit.ly/nWR24x
To download in the Android Market: http://bit.ly/I086PE

App Review: Draw Something by OMGPOP

Since its inception in March, Draw Something by OMGPOP has taken the Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University, and pretty much every app user by storm. Over the week, my Facebook news feed has been bombarded with numerous status updates on people’s phone batteries dying and withdrawal symptoms from this game but it seems to be all worth it. Due to the app’s super addictive nature, it’s also hardly possible not see someone playing Draw Something on their iPhone or Android in the hallways, or perhaps online with Draw My Thing, OMGPOP.com.

This app is like virtual Pictionary. To play this game on the iPhone, you first create a game with a friend via their email, OMGPOP username, or Facebook contact. If your friends haven’t been playing, you can invite them, or start a game with an online player chosen at random. After creating a game, you are presented with a word to draw for your opponent to guess (i.e. “Dragon,” “Ninja,” “Drake, “Klum,” “Mohawk,” and etc.) and the game continues with each round alternating between opponents. It sounds easy enough with the correct scrambled letters given, but only if your opponent is a great artist; otherwise you’re sitting there thinking “what on earth are they drawing?!”

If it’s your turn and you find that your word is difficult, don’t worry - you may swap it, provided that you have enough virtual currency. If your opponent guesses the word, both of you get coins and with enough coins, you can buy different coloured pallets to help you visually convey your word, and bombs that can help by eliminating some of the unnecessary letters.

This game has 99 levels, and the words become more difficult as you advance but it’s great because it’s always a different drawing every time you play; however if you play online, you may encounter repeated words. I didn’t play this game with an iPad or tablet; however I can imagine that it would be a lot easier to draw on a larger surface. After you’ve submitted your drawing for the round, an interesting part of the game is when you are able to watch your opponent guess during the replay of your drawing process (but it can become time consuming, so I’ve been pretty much skipping the replays)! Each successful guess increases your streak with your friend, creating a history of stats.

Draw Something definitely creates LOL moments between friends, whether you are sitting in front of each other, playing individually or in a group setting. Last year, I remember playing this game on Facebook or at least a very similar game; however I decided to remove it because too many players would cheat in the public multi-player, online rounds [i.e. people would quickly tell each other the words (leaving no time for others to guess), or drawing the letters so it takes the fun out of guessing the drawing]. A downer to Draw Something is that requires you to be online, so if you don’t have data or internet connectivity on your mobile phone, chances are you won’t be playing this game on commute, or on the subway. This app costs $0.99 (ad-free) but there is a free version available for the iPhone (with ads).

Another downside to playing Draw Something is playing the waiting game while in between rounds; however I haven’t encountered a limit to the amount of games you create so there is always someone readily online to play. Speaking of the waiting game, I feel that the Facebook API lags the app and as a result, it causes the game to crash; otherwise this app is amazing and I highly recommend it.

To play online at OMGPOP.com, private or public multi-player (sign-up is not required but gaining points will allow you special permissions on their site): http://bit.ly/HBAquL

To download on your Apple device: http://bit.ly/x3mvMW

To install on Android: http://bit.ly/xg43n5

What Makes the User Install Your App?

Using My Virtual Girlfriend Lite by WET Productions Inc. as an example, here’s some helpful advice when looking to optimize your App-Store page for users - less price.

We used a total weight of 5 for each variable shown on the Infographic. Screen Shot had the heaviest impact at 4.8 on a users decision to install an app. Pictures play a big role in a users decision, a good way to view this is by incorporating pictures of game play. 4.2 for rating was the next highest: it shows that users rely a lot on what others think of an app - get more reviews. The description of the app is what explains the experience.  4 out of 5 for the title: it’s important how you position your title to users. It doesn’t always have to explain the game, but it should give the user an idea of what he’s getting into. Lastly, the icon at 3 out of 5: this is probably lower because a user has already seen the icon, before being led to that page so it is at the bottom of the list. The higher the cost, the more relevant the description.

Jump Jump by Active8

During my TTC commute this morning, I started playing Jump Jump by Activ8 Game studios Co., Ltd. The instructions in the game were very clear; however they were very long and it felt like a drag to read. Essentially the objective of this game is to navigate your tiki man with diagonal arrows to collect all the fruit on your floating, cubed platform, all the while trying to avoid the random falling stones. If you get hit by a stone or jump off your platform, you will lose 1 of 3 lives. To re-gain your life, you must catch the “special fruit” by collecting 4 or more of the same kind of fruit in a row.

The diagonal arrows definitely made the game a little trickier; however I didn’t like the fact that these arrows were on the opposite sides of the screen. Note: this is not one of those games you can play with just one hand navigating on your iPhone and with your other hand holding a Starbucks Grande No-foam, Soy Americano Misto! Though when I finally got to my office and had a chance to sit down and play the game, it didn’t seem so bad: the diagonal arrows actually helped me improve my dexterity. I haven’t gotten far enough in the game to experience the banana peel on my platform; however the game says these effects are like quicksand and will delay you on your cube (making Mr. Tikiman a standing target for potential stones)! After collecting all your fruits, you unlock the next level with a bigger platform and more fruits to collect.

The biggest thing that bothered me with this game was the background music. I had to mute my iPhone because there was no option to mute the bad 90’s, happy piano keyboard pop track (which was looped after every 15 seconds) within the game! But regardless, it’s still a game I’d recommend for a morning commute – I’d fork over my drink for a couple of minutes for this. Download the game from iTunes here: http://bit.ly/HcJDso

App Review: Candy Train by PopCap Games

This week, I reviewed Candy Train by PopCap Games. Originally, I was going to review Peggle - one of my favorite PopCap games of all time, but I recently lost my phone and got a new one so perhaps next time! The goal of Candy Train is to accumulate as many points as you can by tapping the screen to guide your train. Every time you tap, you are able to change the direction of your train track to avoid a dead end or crashing into your own train. Throughout the game, pieces of candy and fruit (i.e. cherries) will appear – collecting these will give you bonus points. Within the game, you are able to change the speed of your train (I’d start slow). There is no background music (which I think is a little unfortunate) but expect to hear a train on train tracks and the occasional and sudden whistle blows – warning: the sound effects when you crash are quite frightening as well.

Also, if you think you can get away with earning easy points by creating loops, the tracks will automatically change during your second round so it forces to actually play the game. At first, it was a little intimidating when I loaded the screen and saw all the scrambled train tracks, however, it wasn’t hard to get started (since it will start on its own when you press play) – pretty straight forward, and no pop-ups! Overall, it’s a pretty challenging game and I probably wouldn’t play it while talking to your boss - it will definitely keep you on your toes.

App Review: Paper Glider Para Drop by Neon Play

This app is exactly as the name suggests - para drop. It’s simple to play the game: tap your screen to drop your little para-man out of his moving plane, and tap your screen again to open his parachute for a successful landing down onto the targeted trampoline below. Failure to open his parachute or hitting the target will result in the game displaying: “splat!” - a loss of 1 of 3 lives. Neon Play has made it a little more interesting: beside the target, you will often see either a campfire where your man can potentially burn and die, or a pile of “doggy doo”. It was hilarious to drop my para-man into the campfire because he’d scream (think Homer Simpson’s short scream), however I was slightly disappointed that there was no sound effect when he fell into the pile. Though I’ve only been playing with this app for a week, I found it to be very similar to Paper Toss by Blackflip Studios (same concept, different theme) - the closer you get towards the middle of the target, the more points you will accumulate.

The graphics is very clean and simple: background scenery. The first few times I played the game, along with my colleague, we were a little frustrated because we weren’t sure if it was our iPad and iPhone that didn’t recognize our tap but we learned later that you have to open you para-man’s parachute before the fence in the background (which is included in the brief-one-time instruction screen)! The background instrumental was awesome. The audio playing on the background of the menu screen was very catchy and even with a music background, I would still be one to just open up the app to listen to the music. The actual game has a nature background. Not sure if it was a glitch, but sometimes the game will have the same theme music as the menu, however, there is no option to change the music - just mute and un-mute.

There is no storyline to the game but what I liked about the drops were the motivational messages (i.e. Keep it up! Oh Dear. Close Miss!) and the “Boing!” was also a nice touch. There is an option to earn coins by playing the game or buying coins to change your parachute design and props for your backyard. As an avid tweeter, it was nice to see that their twitter handle @neonplay and website was presented on the opening screen, and so it made connecting with the developers easy. The wind speeds and directions change so it makes it slightly more challenging as you pass each drop - but that’s about it. I don’t see myself playing this game too often in the long-run, but it’s a good app for commuting and killing time. I’ve found that it gets boring pretty quickly and I probably wouldn’t play it for any longer than 15 minutes.

Download here: http://bit.ly/y4YFU6

Unity3D SDK is Now Available

The long awaited Unity3D Plug-in for Tapgage has finally arrived and is available.

We have partnered up with Prime31 to bring you a Unity3D plug-in for your Applications and Games. You can download the Plugin from Prime31’s website. You will also receive a $50 Advertising Credit for Integrating your Unity3D app / game with Tapgage.

If you have any questions or feedback please feel free to email us at Hi (at) Tapgage.com.

Tapgage releases new SDK and updates Dashboard

We have been working closely with many developers and listening to their needs. Here are some of the updates that you will notice:

• The SDK has been tweaked with a new UI design and Logo.  This can be easily change to match the UI of the apps integrating it.
• The SDK is now also iPad compatible. 
• The App Wall is now equipped with an Interstitial Ad screen at pre-roll. 
• The Interstitial Ad can also be used at any point in the game, which we work with developers to help optimize.
• The Dashboard now tracks a full range of stats to monitor conversions and effectiveness of Ads. 
• Developers can now internally promote apps and track clicks and installs. 
• Improved dashboard for better navigation. 

Looking forward to more feedback from Developers. If you have any suggestions please email us at Developer (at) Tapgage.com 

Interview with Oleksandr of AppMania

Where did your passion for gaming come from?

Everything happened by chance. Ten years ago or so, as a young architect I was invited to one of the game studios to check out their virtual game projects. The work was interesting, given the fact that there was no limitation to creativity, as there is in real architecture. Only later did I get interested in the Game Dev business. I wanted to know how all these companies operated and what the keys were to successful projects. Basically… what the most important thing was in development? Jumping ahead now, I can say that so far I haven’t found an exact answer to this question.

Did you always know you wanted to do something like this?

Actually, young people will often say they knew, of course for me, it all came much later because in my childhood there weren’t any computer games. But the good news for me was that I managed to catch the wave of rapid business growth and merge with this early on. It’s always a more advantageous position to grow along with the games. This helped me not to get lost and be able see the essence of the business. To see a small group of people who gave their lives from its professional beginning as I did.

That’s putting it deeply…. Can you describe yourself in 3 words?

This is the first time I’ve have had such a complex question… well…in 3.5: Strategically Moving 3DHumanJ

What do you think is the future of gaming consoles?

I’m not the first who’ll express this opinion, but I think in the future they will integrate partly with mobile platforms, partly with TV. In their pure form it seems they will cease to exist. Generations of technological change happen at such a high rate in the TV and mobile platforms far above the consoles, and they’re catching up to consoles in power, and this is not an accidental process - the line that develops more quickly seems to be the one which has the most market potential.

What’s the best part about working in gaming?

Here I can’t give preference to any particular stage. It’s a very important to create a really good and professional team. At this time you meet and converse with many interesting people. It’s also very important to work on pre-production and think what the audience would like, and what they won’t like. It is very important process when you’re preparing to bring the different parts of the project together and then see what happens Finally, when the project sees it’s first players - it’s a very exciting moment, because at this point, the producer finally understands whether it will be successful or not. That’s true whether you made ​​a bet on some decisions to have it a certain way or not. Even if everyone out there says this is a science, nevertheless it’s a lottery in many cases. Have you reached a target audience or not? Thankfully, this is happens in the testing phase in focus groups, and you have a chance to make some adjustments.

What would you share from your past experiences and knowledge that would help future designers and game developers?

This might sound trivial, but I’ll quote the words of my architectural visualization teacher – “Never try to lie to the audience.” Yes, the game is a fairy tale, but the story must be believable. Games are like an actor in the theater - they play a role and this role should look natural, so that the audience believes it.

Learning doesn’t stop after your degree, what are the best sources of knowledge for you on the web?

I’ve been working with the Eastern European regional markets a lot now, unfortunately they often do not have an English localization, and a lot depends on what you need at the moment. When I worked with artwork and AAA projects of course resources required such as CGTalk.com, a good idea is to visit and exchange experiences over there. Now, when I’m working with companies on business development, the personal contacts I make with certain people is important. I hope everyone understands that it’s rare for a company to come out and say that they went this way and that is not true - On what they won and what lost. That this is just good for making new acquaintances such as my group at Game Developers LinkedIn.com.   I’m well acquainted with the materials leading to resources such as ign.com, gamedev.net. But then again, if you want to work seriously with the market and work on projects and strategies for their development, you need to learn to compare different data and use to make your own conclusions.

Where do you think the market will be in 5 years?

Forecasting is a thankless job. After 5 years we will not see anything of what is on the market today… that’s my guess. I still think the nearest future is multi-platform projects and cloud computing. In games development budgets increasing, and the matter is not so much to build the highest quality game or visual components, it’s clear this is not the main thing.  It will be a race for greater interactivity and players involvement. More likely it will be about you, forcing a person to act in the space of a particular algorithm, react to weather conditions at the time of day etc. In that you can play with the same success when you ride on the subway or sitting at home.
 Another important aspect will be cooperation of game development teams, because it is more difficult to achieve success when you’re alone. Appmania already feels this way. Here we’re in constantly trying to establish new lines of international partnerships and access to different world markets with our new projects.  I think in the near future, in addition to large companies, we will see the fusing of small unique companies.

Why did you decide to start a LinkedIn group?

Interesting story. Generally, I like when someone invites me to work in new locations that are not in my home city and country. Changing environments, people… it’s stimulating to get rid of routine and do something new. And in one of these occasions, I arrived in an unfamiliar city and as were the early days on the new place and I especially did not know anyone, I was sitting at home with my laptop and thought it would be nice to create a group where you can communicate with those people from whom I am far away now and not lose touch. Well, if so many talented people I’ve met in different locations - we all can discuss important professional topics, it will be powerful. I opened Photoshop and drew a simple logo GAMEDEV and created a group on LinkedIn.com. After that I invited my former and current co-workers. At the first time everything went exactly as I wanted, but then people that I didn’t know, co-workers of my co-workers, people from other companies and countries wanted to join.  

       A month later I’ve got 150 requests to join into the group each day. It was a real panic and I spent a lot of time reviewing each profile every evening when I came home from work. I didn’t want everyone in the group, only those who actually engaged in the development of games. Apparently everybody liked my point of view. Now the new administration at LinkedIn is helping me control who joins, and this isn’t so difficult. However, such an audience of 40,000 people gives the many obligations and now I want to do something more for all of these people. I’ve been planning to create a separate portal on the Internet in addition to the group which would extend the capabilities of the group.

I think I’ll have to attract  some investors to build something of great quality that people around the world will benefit greatly. While it’s not in my immediate plans, I believe that one day it would be really great to have a terminal where everyone will be able to solve their business problems and help each other.

     Thank you for your excellent questions. It got me to think globally when answering them.

Regards,
Oleksandr Kompanets