app sass
So: Tetris Blitz. Whoa. Take a proven formula and a timeless original, then extract critical mechanics and substitute a wide array of pay-per-use flashy special powers. It’s strange they can still call it Tetris. The new “tap-to-place” mechanic is perhaps the most striking; the removal of the old dexterity and timing elements was initially pretty jarring, but upon further reflection I think it’s a pretty good compromise for touch-driven play. Tetris for a new generation? Maybe. Where it kills me is in its “everyone can win” structure– everyone can win, provided they’re willing to replenish a quickly-depleted store of in-game currency with real money. I appreciate the drive to keep old properties fresh and relevant in this ever-changing world of games, but seriously. Tetris nailed it, and I’ve yet to come across a successor that has done anything other than defile its corpse.
Single-device simultaneous multiplayer. On the suggestions of Michael Brough, I downloaded a few that would play on my device:
Circulets gave me some trouble, as fingers too quickly swiped off the screen would leave a dragged circle sitting right on the edge, rather than deposited for points as intended. If circles had just a little more momentum, I think it would be greatly improved. More than simultaneous players might also be neat.
Bam Fu has a really nice visual style, within which I particularly appreciated how cumulative round victories were counted on the fingers of each player’s in-game hand. When playing with more than two players, though, I found that tapping more than once to set targets to your colour was not an altogether intuitive action. You’ve got to think what the present colour is and then figure out the number of taps it will take to rotate it through the sequence and end on yours. Frantic, yes, but not in a fun way.
Bloop nailed it. Rather than tapping to make things your colour, you’re simply tapping on everything that already is your colour. This is much easier to parse, and more purely taps into the tangled-fingers rush that provides most of the thrill of these games. There are no distractions: simply do whatever you can to hit your blocks. And, best of all, keeping it basic frees up the players to start exploring game interactions beyond just what’s on the screen.
Dead Ahead got an early lead by having a clever title. It’s yet another variation on the “endless runner” genre, but I’ve really been enjoying its difficulty curve. The achievements tied to progress scale really well, and I’ve never felt choked by not buying in-game currency as I have in so many similar games. I have to make meaningful choices when it comes to my upgrade purchases, and as a result, I’m never overwhelmed by parallel loadout options. Where this game gets a bit strange is in its vehicles. The moped you start with, unupgraded, is a bit sluggish. Zombies have a pretty easy time catching up to you. So you upgrade it or you buy a new vehicle. Now you are irreversibly faster. By purchasing these higher-level rides, you are effectively increasing the difficulty, with no way to revert this. As a result, I’ve only upgraded once. I just can’t see the reason, otherwise; any faster and it seems like it would become a game of chance rather than of skilful dodging and careful ammo management. Odd. But enjoyable.
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A small reflection on my recent gaming habits: I’ve been finding that iOS games, in their relative bite-sizedness, appeal much more strongly than larger games to my recent thirst-for-discovery and haste in dismissing the familiar. I can jump in, grok the mechanics, and jump out without feeling like I’ve run anything to death. Or, when things come together well, I can stay immersed for as little or as long as I please.
I’d like to view this, though, not as an increased ideation towards casual gaming, but as a gradually refining preference for simple elegance. I’m appreciating more and more the value of a game that draws you in quickly, engages you meaningfully, and leaves hungry for the next play. Maybe there’s some sinister social psychology entrenched in that model, but more prominently I think there’s an important lesson there in engaging all sorts of gamers, not just the self-professed hardcore.
bervquest 