Foursaken Media has made a name for themselves which such quality releases as Bug Heroes [Free], it’s spinoff Bug Heroes Quest [99¢], and the wacky arcade cooking game Mad Chef [99¢]. In fact, they have yet to make a game that I don’t like, and it looks like they aren’t interested in breaking that trend anytime soon as their newest upcoming game Sky Gnomes looks like yet another winner. Rather than go into too much detail about Sky Gnomes, check out the hands-on video below where the developer does an excellent job of explaining all the ins and outs of the gameplay:
Sky Gnomes looks like it’s going to be a ton of fun, and I’m really digging how you’ll be able to race against the ghosts of other players. Also, it’s a really attractive game to look at, something that doesn’t quite show through as well in the above video. Further down the line, Foursaken is also in the beginning stages of a sequel to their first iOS title N.Y. Zombies [99¢]. They’re aware of how overdone zombie games are in the App Store, but they also know that the original game has quite a following of fans, and they’re eager to put everything they’ve learned through their last several releases to work on the N.Y. Zombies sequel.
Sky Gnomes is just being wrapped up, so shouldn’t be too long of a wait, and beyond that keep your eyes out for the sequel to N.Y. Zombies to hit sometime in 2012.
At last year’s Macworld, XMG Studio was showing off Cows vs Aliens [99¢], a game I thoroughly enjoyed when it came out and is still amongst my favorite games. This year, their big upcoming title will be a brand new licensed Ghostbusters game. It’s not really past the concept stage just yet, but the mock artwork and test animation videos I saw are looking pretty sweet.
Ghostbusters will have a heavy social component, as well as some augmented reality gameplay ideas. So, for example, you might wander into Starbucks and get alerted that there’s a ghost on the loose there, and you’ll need to find it using your device’s camera and wrestle it down into one of those fancy traps just like in the movies. Then, you can valiantly hold your device in the air and loudly declare “we came, we saw, we kicked its ass!!” as the entire cafe cheers you on. Or something like that, at least that’s how I’d imagine it going down.
Another upcoming project from XMG is a remake of their incredibly popular Drag Racer: Pro Tuner [Free] series. Drag Racer lets you get super involved with tricking out a vehicle with tons of customization options, from cosmetic stuff to performance improvements, and then you get to take your ride to the streets and compete against other players and their cars. The new version will feature completely redone visuals and a nice UI overhaul, which the team tells me is something they’ve wanted to do for a long time.
Finally, if there are any teenagers in your life, then they might get a kick out of the just released Totally Amp’d! [Free]. XMG has enlisted some actual established actors to create 10 episodes to play through, which let you do things like create your own music videos, record your own songs, and come up with your very own fashion designs for characters in the game. The production values are through the roof in Totally Amp’d!, and you can check out the first episode for free with the remaining episodes available as a $4.99 in-app purchase.
Smappsoft is another company that I had the pleasure of meeting at last year’s Macworld, when they were readying the release of their clever matching game Look Again! [$1.99/Lite]. We liked Look Again! quite a bit in our review, and a child-friendly spinoff was released later in the year called Look Again Jr [99¢] which takes the core gameplay of the original but adds in all sorts of learning-centric things for young kids like spelling and counting. It’s actually really well done, with brightly colored visuals and some solid voice work, and is something I’d suggest checking out for any of the parents out their with little ones.
One thing you might not realize about Smappsoft though is that they have a fairly large presence in the world of professional poker. Their Chinese 13 Card Poker [$4.99] has an almost cult-like following in the competitive card playing world, and a day doesn’t go by where I don’t see some kind of professional poker star tweeting about playing the game or looking for new online opponents.
Smappsoft is sticking with the poker theme for their next game, and are looking to turn video poker on its ear with the upcoming Pokertini. I was able to spend some quality time with Pokertini during our meeting, and let’s just say I had a pretty hard time giving them their iPad back. Pokertini looks like your average 3-hand video poker on the surface, with brightly colored visuals, a clean interface, and some jazzy background music. Video poker games aren’t anything new on the App Store, so initially it might be hard to see what all the fuss is about with Pokertini.
This is where the twists come in. There is a list off to the side of the screen that is filled with various types of powerups and game augmenters. Using coins you earn from playing, or by purchasing more through an in-game store, you can use these twists to change up some of the aspects in the game. Things like multiplying your bet amounts because you drew a great initial hand, or blocking high cards from being drawn from the deck because you’re trying to go for that low straight. The twist menu adds all sorts of crazy strategy to how you go about playing each hand, and is a really fun way to mix up the tried and true video poker gameplay.
The other big addition is a badge system that works almost like the mini-missions in Jetpack Joyride. At any time you can click the icons in the upper right of the screen to check which badge you’re currently on and what types of things you need to fulfill before advancing to the next badge. These can be tied to things like getting certain hands, winning certain bets, and more. This is the real carrot on the string for Pokertini, and I can already tell I’ll be spending an unhealthy amount of time chasing missions to upgrade my badge status.
Pokertini was a lot of fun during the time I spent with it, and it looks like it’s very near completion so keep your eyes out for it to hit the App Store soon.
After releasing their first iOS game back in mid-December, I got together with Resolve Digital at Macworld to discuss what they have planned for the future of the game. It’s called Fathead [99¢], and it’s a 2D side-scrolling motorcycle game. This is kind of a tough sell in the App Store, as there are already dozens upon dozens of similar games, but Fathead’s distinctive feature is that it’s entirely controlled with just one touch. This means it’s extremely important to keep tabs on your acceleration as you tackle the terrain, as there’s no braking or reversing if you happen to mess up.
This also takes place on one, gigantic, continuous level. There is actually an end to the level, but very few people have reached it so far. Checkpoints spread throughout the level mean you won’t have to start from the beginning each time, and the more checkpoints you can cross on one continuous ride without crashing then the more your score multiplier goes up, opening the door for some nice scoring strategy. Fathead really feels less like a normal motorbiking game and more like something akin to Tiny Wings, in that timing and finesse are the keys to playing a lengthy, high scoring game.
As for what’s next for Fathead, Resolve Digital has an update coming in just the next few weeks or so that will add 3 new environmental themes to the game, which you can see below. One is based off of the developer’s homeland of New Zealand, one is a desert theme, and one is a city at sunset which is loosely based off of San Francisco. I’m told that the new environments won’t change the layout of the current level, and are just cosmetic, but it’s nice to have some differentiation in the visuals. Also, new levels are a possibility down the line as well, if the success of the game warrants it.
After the new themes come out, another new update is in the works which will add a currency system and two brand new motorcycles to buy. The currency will be stars that you collect during your run, seen in the screen shot at the top of the page, and the two different bikes will each have their own unique attributes to give a different gameplay experience for each one. I didn’t get a chance to check out the new vehicles as they aren’t quite ready just yet, but I’m looking forward to them as well as the new environments coming in the next couple of updates.
It’s hard trying to justify having yet another 2D motorcycle game on my device, but something about Fathead just keeps bringing me back to try and get just a little bit further and increase my score just a bit more. If you aren’t totally up to your eyeballs in motorcycle games, then give Fathead a look and keep your eye out for the new updates to hit over the coming months.
MacPhun, the makers of FX Photo Studio, are working on a selective-coloring photography for iPhone called Color Splash Studio. Unlike similar apps already available in the App Store, FX Photo Studio comes with a slew of tools that allows you to further customize your photos including contrast, brightness, saturation, and hue. You can focus these edits to just the background or just the colored portion of your photo. You can also apply various filters (like sepia) to your background, making it more interesting than the traditional black and white backgrounds.
FX Photo Studio is already available in the Mac App Store [$2.99 - Mac App Store link] and will be available on the iPhone in mid-February.
We got a sneak peak of Color Splash Studio for iPhone while at Macworld 2012.
Sadly there will be no Apps and Accessories Live or ZEN and TECH tonight as Rene is delayed en route back from Macworld 2012 and Seth is, according to Rene, too busy nerf herding. So relax, enjoy a night off, and we’ll see you back here on Wednesday for iPhone and iPad Live with a complete recap of all the action from the show, and all the news for the week.
If you need a fix, we have a huge back catalog of episodes available for your viewing and listening pleasure — with no Hollywood style broadcast blackouts or delays! New media win!
The folks at Adonit have been working hard on their new product, the Jot Touch, a pressure sensitive stylus with a built-in antenna and a free SDK kit for drawing app developers. Adonit was showcasing the Jot Touch at Macworld, so I had a chance to check it out.
I will admit that the style of the Jot stylus lineup with the clear, flat nib has always seemed a bit awkward to me, but it only took a few minutes of use before I understood why this is a superior design. Because of the clear nib, I was able to see exactly where my markings would appear even if I was using a very fine line setting in the drawing app. This, combined with the Jot Touch’s pressure sensitivity, will make this stylus a fantastic choice for artists.
The Jot Touch is set to release in late March or early April.
Here’s a video recap of the top tech stories involving Apple for the fourth week of 2012, including a look at Apple’s earnings, Macworld, product news, the week’s business stories, and upcoming events.
The DIY brothers favorite products from macworld 2012 here in san francisco, look for more videos about the conference coming soon. we visit the connect case both with their awesome case that will be shipping soon, it use's the great idea of having a knife like clip on your iphone 4/4s Then we Visit Go runnur's booth with their awesome carry system for your active life please look for more review's and thoughts to come, this is a products both of us are getting behind and will be carrying. last but not least we head over to the Beat box the best ipod dock at the show, it delivers amazing sound quality and is super simple! something we here at DIY
At Macworld Expo’s MacIT conference, City of Austin staff members profiled how FileMaker Go has enabled them to rapidly eliminate paper work orders and streamline management of exhibitors in the vast Austin Convention Center using a fleet of iPads.
Another upcoming project from XMG is a remake of their incredibly popular Drag Racer: Pro Tuner [Free] series. Drag Racer lets you get super involved with tricking out a vehicle with tons of customization options, from cosmetic stuff to performance improvements, and then you get to take your ride to the streets and compete against other players and their cars. The new version will feature completely redone visuals and a nice UI overhaul, which the team tells me is something they’ve wanted to do for a long time.
Finally, if there are any teenagers in your life, then they might get a kick out of the just released Totally Amp’d! [Free]. XMG has enlisted some actual established actors to create 10 episodes to play through, which let you do things like create your own music videos, record your own songs, and come up with your very own fashion designs for characters in the game. The production values are through the roof in Totally Amp’d!, and you can check out the first episode for free with the remaining episodes available as a $4.99 in-app purchase.
The folks at Adonit have been working hard on their new product, the Jot Touch, a pressure sensitive stylus with a built-in antenna and a free SDK kit for drawing app developers. Adonit was showcasing the Jot Touch at 
