Tag: ios

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Games of 2011: Tiny Tower

I’ve spent a lot of time in 2011 playing games, but not a lot of time writing about them. Instead of my usual end-of-year game recommendations, I’d like to tell some stories or share some thoughts about the ones that meant the most to me this year. I’ll be posting one a day until Christmas. See all Games of 2011 posts.

Tiny Tower

There’s no avoiding it: the era of digital distribution is finally here. It has brought us many joys – sudden sales and new pricing models, better patch and upgrade management, and the concept that reinstallation should be allowed as often as necessary.

It has also brought pain, the most prominent of which is the dreaded microtransaction, small monetary charges for game content. In the iOS world, this is generally accomplished through what is dubbed in-app purchases (IAP). IAPs have gotten a bad rap not because of their existence, but because of their use. Given the endless joy the games industry derives from squeezing cash from customers, IAPs rapidly devolved from “buy new content” to “buy a power-up” to “buy a power-up you can’t advance in the game without”. This slippery slope lead to some great feel-good stories this year, such as “8-year-old buys $1,400 worth of Smurfberries and “Tetris Finally Gains a Subscription Fee“.

But again, IAPs are not themselves evil. Even in freemium world-builder casual games where you’re selling progress boosters, it’s possible to do it in a way that doesn’t break the game. But most game developers and publishers don’t have interest in finding that balance. Monetization is a more critical deliverable than thoughtful game design.

Tiny Tower isn’t on my list because it’s a particularly deep or compelling game. It’s most a time filler — some might call it a cow clicker — with a bit of style, humor, and grace. It is pleasant enough, but also addictive enough that one gets a sensation of relief when you delete it off your device, realizing how much free time you’ll get back when you’re not restocking shops every waking moment.

Tiny Tower *is* on my list because NimbleBit found the balance. IAPs are available to fill your coffers with “tower bucks”, which can be used for a variety of purposes to advance your tower. But there is no pressing, game-breaking need to purchase them with real money to progress in the game. The game happily throws them at you regularly – bonuses for fully stocking floors, or putting someone into their dream job, or even because it’s their birthday. Through diligent play, you can accumulate enough for every optional upgrade in the game without spending a dime.

Kudos to NimbleBit for wanting to make a game that appeals to both those who will splurge on virtual goods and those who don’t care to. I wish more developers would spend the time to find that balance.

Tiny Tower is available for iOS as a Universal app, as well as for Android.

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Games of 2011: SAMURAI BLOODSHOW

I’ve spent a lot of time in 2011 playing games, but not a lot of time writing about them. Instead of my usual end-of-year game recommendations, I’d like to tell some stories or share some thoughts about the ones that meant the most to me this year. I’ll be posting one a day until Christmas. See all Games of 2011 posts.

SAMURAI BLOODSHOW

It goes without saying that the gaming world has an prominent uncreative streak. The last thirty years have been full of cheap knock-offs and riffs on wildly successful games.

The recent rise of mobile gaming has been particularly bad for this. Any game mechanic with even mild originality will inevitably be copied into oblivion. Look at what happened to Fruit Ninja, Tiny Wings, or Angry Birds.

Knock offs that intend to deceive the consumer is bad business. Derivatives that build on top of existing ideals can end up being brilliant.

Strangely, the success of Popcap’s Plants vs. Zombies in 2009 did not give rise to a wide array of grid-based base defense titles. So when Sega released SAMURAI BLOODSHOW for iOS earlier this year, there was some shouting that it seemed familiar. But it is far more than just a knock off – in fact, it’s easily a deeper title than PvZ was.

Taking place in feudal Japan and featuring lots of Edo-period style art, Samurai Bloodshow invites players to fend off waves of attackers from crossing their back line. The grid system and need to pair up units in rows to effectively defend against different units will be old hat to PvZ pros.

Everywhere that felt like PvZ lost a step, Samurai Bloodshow goes the right way. Be it build out strategy (card collection and deck building force you to adapt), unit management (life bars and being able to stack units to increase their level), or resource management (finite deck size prevents infinite builds), Samurai Bloodshow feels more mature strategy game across the board.

Bloodshow also attacks one of my personal weak spots by awarding measured specific benefits as you work through the stages. Every defeated level either sends another card into your library or increases your deck size. This slow trickle keeps you wanting to progress, as you’re only as good as your deck is.

Many gamers find derivative games to be anathema, as though every game of merit has to be completely original and devoid of connections to past titles. This is silly, of course. Good ideas can — and should — be taken and refined into greater ones. Samurai Bloodshow makes a strong case for the power of refining an existing concept into a better one.

SAMURAI BLOODSHOW is available for iOS as a Universal application.

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Games of 2011: 7 Little Words

I’ve spent a lot of time in 2011 playing games, but not a lot of time writing about them. Instead of my usual end-of-year game recommendations, I’d like to tell some stories or share some thoughts about the ones that meant the most to me this year. I’ll be posting one a day until Christmas. See all Games 2011 posts.

My childhood is filled with the debris of paper puzzles in various states of completion. Crossword books, scattered copies of GAMES Magazine, and orange-capped invisible ink pens filled my attention long before handheld gaming grew up with the Game Boy Advance. I would spend summer vacations crashed onto a bed or nestled in the car, mechanical pencil in hand, one finger carefully holding place on the answers page in case I got too stumped. After completing a puzzle, I’d place a checkmark at the top of the page and move on to the next.

When I first came across Blue Ox’s 7 Little Words, I immediately connected with the simplicity. Seven clues, twenty lettered blocks – use the blocks to spell words that solve the clues. Solving is one part vocabulary test, one part process of elimination, one part riddle solving, and one part stumbling luck. My average thought process while solving a clue in the puzzle above:

> 10 letters, “study of abnormal behavior”. Hmm. Two three-letter blocks left, but I can’t think of a matching word with both “PRE” and “BIG”, so it’s likely five two-letter blocks. Hmm, “RY”. Ends in “try”, maybe – and there’s a “PS”. Could it – yes, let’s try PS-YC-HI-AT-RY. Yes, that’s it. Next clue.

The beauty of 7 Little Words for me is that it is pure and straightforward. No score, no timer, no hints, no obnoxious noises if you’re wrong, nothing to unlock by solving puzzles. No Twitter integration, no leaderboards, no achievements. No flashy graphics, no driving soundtrack, no significant animation. It’s just you and the puzzles.

There is one thing, though. Once you finish the seventh word in a puzzle, and all the blocks are gone, a large smiley face fades in as a pleasant tone plays. The puzzle gets a checkmark next to it in the menu.

But success is just a small marker on the march forward. There’s always another puzzle waiting.

7 Little Words is available for iOS. The base game is free; additional packs with 50 puzzles are typically $1 each.