Comments on: Freeverse's Accelerometer-Based Puzzle Game: 'Plank' http://toucharcade.com/2008/10/03/freeverses-accelerometer-based-puzzle-game-plank/ ... keeping in touch with the latest in iPhone gaming Mon, 22 Mar 2010 04:29:05 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Oliver http://toucharcade.com/2008/10/03/freeverses-accelerometer-based-puzzle-game-plank/#comment-4546 Oliver Wed, 08 Oct 2008 16:36:14 +0000 http://toucharcade.com/?p=810#comment-4546 I bought it and I'm disappointed. I find the game interesting, but I don't like the graphics. I love steampunk, but this looks too polished. Steampunk is all about dirty machines, smoke, dust, working stuff. This looks too polished, too "unused". I also find the marbles too hard to distinguish from each other. And the game overall feels too slow in the reaction and for me it feels that the game often puts the marble on the wrong place. There's no physics action implemented when putting the marbles on each other, like in Circulate Prologue. You can't put a marble in a gap between two other marbles - it will snap on top of one of the existing marbles. I really don't like this behaviour. And to make things worse, the game crashes very often. It's a good idea to "defragment" the memory with rebooting before starting this app, but I don't want to do this every single time. I also had a few complete hangs (-> hard reset) with starting the app and changing the volume. It hangs while displaying this volume hud. So I deleted it. Sad. Circulate Prologue makes much more fun, if you want to try an accelerometer based match-3-thing. I bought it and I'm disappointed. I find the game interesting, but I don't like the graphics. I love steampunk, but this looks too polished. Steampunk is all about dirty machines, smoke, dust, working stuff. This looks too polished, too "unused". I also find the marbles too hard to distinguish from each other. And the game overall feels too slow in the reaction and for me it feels that the game often puts the marble on the wrong place. There's no physics action implemented when putting the marbles on each other, like in Circulate Prologue. You can't put a marble in a gap between two other marbles – it will snap on top of one of the existing marbles. I really don't like this behaviour. And to make things worse, the game crashes very often. It's a good idea to "defragment" the memory with rebooting before starting this app, but I don't want to do this every single time. I also had a few complete hangs (-> hard reset) with starting the app and changing the volume. It hangs while displaying this volume hud. So I deleted it. Sad.

Circulate Prologue makes much more fun, if you want to try an accelerometer based match-3-thing.

]]> By: Steampunk Puzzler ‘Plank’ Hits the App Store | Smartphone User Guide http://toucharcade.com/2008/10/03/freeverses-accelerometer-based-puzzle-game-plank/#comment-4479 Steampunk Puzzler ‘Plank’ Hits the App Store | Smartphone User Guide Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:03:58 +0000 http://toucharcade.com/?p=810#comment-4479 [...] puzzle game Plank [App Store] has appeared as a .99 download in the App Store.  We posted a preview several days back. Balance the marbles on the plank by tilting left and right and roll them to [...] [...] puzzle game Plank [App Store] has appeared as a .99 download in the App Store.  We posted a preview several days back. Balance the marbles on the plank by tilting left and right and roll them to [...]

]]> By: Brian http://toucharcade.com/2008/10/03/freeverses-accelerometer-based-puzzle-game-plank/#comment-4441 Brian Mon, 06 Oct 2008 18:18:00 +0000 http://toucharcade.com/?p=810#comment-4441 Plank offers an innovation to the genre, which like Trism, sets it apart from other puzzle games. Sure, there is a common element to other popular games, namely matching 3 pieces. I have played a ton of FPS games in my life, but I still really liked Bioshock. I think this game could be very compelling... looking forward to this release. Plank offers an innovation to the genre, which like Trism, sets it apart from other puzzle games. Sure, there is a common element to other popular games, namely matching 3 pieces. I have played a ton of FPS games in my life, but I still really liked Bioshock. I think this game could be very compelling… looking forward to this release.

]]> By: fuzzymath http://toucharcade.com/2008/10/03/freeverses-accelerometer-based-puzzle-game-plank/#comment-4399 fuzzymath Sun, 05 Oct 2008 15:45:18 +0000 http://toucharcade.com/?p=810#comment-4399 companies will stop making match 3 games when people stop buying them. Why try something risky when when you can quickly pump out a match 3 clone and profit. Trism made over $250,000! companies will stop making match 3 games when people stop buying them. Why try something risky when when you can quickly pump out a match 3 clone and profit. Trism made over $250,000!

]]> By: Aaron http://toucharcade.com/2008/10/03/freeverses-accelerometer-based-puzzle-game-plank/#comment-4386 Aaron Sun, 05 Oct 2008 04:13:07 +0000 http://toucharcade.com/?p=810#comment-4386 Actually, it's not a rehash of a connect 3 game. It's a remake of the game from the ToySight game on the Mac. It's a skill/balance game that happens to have colour matching in it and it's very addictive. Don't judge a game from a screenshot or what the previous posters in a thread have been 'me too'ing. The screenshot and short clip don't do it justice. Actually, it's not a rehash of a connect 3 game. It's a remake of the game from the ToySight game on the Mac. It's a skill/balance game that happens to have colour matching in it and it's very addictive. Don't judge a game from a screenshot or what the previous posters in a thread have been 'me too'ing. The screenshot and short clip don't do it justice.

]]> By: palapalooza http://toucharcade.com/2008/10/03/freeverses-accelerometer-based-puzzle-game-plank/#comment-4383 palapalooza Sun, 05 Oct 2008 03:05:46 +0000 http://toucharcade.com/?p=810#comment-4383 This is very disappointing. There is so much that could be done with the iPhone/iTouch, so many new games that could be made. Yet what do they do? A rehash of an old idea with different graphics. What really gets me is when they say things like "We don't need to hear any ideas from players, we have hundreds of new ideas already" then they come out with something as tired as this. *sigh* They need to hire someone who's good at creating _new_games_ rather than programmers who can reprogram the same old games over and over again. Or maybe team up with a non-computer game company who have to come up with new and fun games all the time just to survive against computer gaming. Like Steve Jackson Games. Now _they_ know how to come up with new and creative games! This is very disappointing. There is so much that could be done with the iPhone/iTouch, so many new games that could be made. Yet what do they do? A rehash of an old idea with different graphics.

What really gets me is when they say things like "We don't need to hear any ideas from players, we have hundreds of new ideas already" then they come out with something as tired as this.

*sigh*

They need to hire someone who's good at creating _new_games_ rather than programmers who can reprogram the same old games over and over again. Or maybe team up with a non-computer game company who have to come up with new and fun games all the time just to survive against computer gaming. Like Steve Jackson Games. Now _they_ know how to come up with new and creative games!

]]> By: kevlar http://toucharcade.com/2008/10/03/freeverses-accelerometer-based-puzzle-game-plank/#comment-4376 kevlar Sat, 04 Oct 2008 21:59:20 +0000 http://toucharcade.com/?p=810#comment-4376 I was being sarcastic, obviously! I was being sarcastic, obviously!

]]> By: Ed http://toucharcade.com/2008/10/03/freeverses-accelerometer-based-puzzle-game-plank/#comment-4364 Ed Sat, 04 Oct 2008 17:27:27 +0000 http://toucharcade.com/?p=810#comment-4364 looks way slow-paced to me.... i like 3-matching puzzle games but i rather go play something more frentic, as Bartig said, Puzzle Quest REALLY adds some depth to this already-old genre... looks way slow-paced to me…. i like 3-matching puzzle games but i rather go play something more frentic, as Bartig said, Puzzle Quest REALLY adds some depth to this already-old genre…

]]> By: Bartig http://toucharcade.com/2008/10/03/freeverses-accelerometer-based-puzzle-game-plank/#comment-4359 Bartig Sat, 04 Oct 2008 16:07:00 +0000 http://toucharcade.com/?p=810#comment-4359 Oh great... I'm sorry, I already have Bejeweled 2. With the upcoming release of Puzzle Quest that adds incredible depth to the genre, I really don't need any other match 3-games. Oh great… I'm sorry, I already have Bejeweled 2. With the upcoming release of Puzzle Quest that adds incredible depth to the genre, I really don't need any other match 3-games.

]]> By: Butch Hauke http://toucharcade.com/2008/10/03/freeverses-accelerometer-based-puzzle-game-plank/#comment-4358 Butch Hauke Sat, 04 Oct 2008 15:08:18 +0000 http://toucharcade.com/?p=810#comment-4358 Yeah, the graphics look great, but it appears to be a bit slow moving. But I agree with WhySoSerious: I'm sick of the same ideas appearing over and over again. I'm sure I won't be buying this. Yeah, the graphics look great, but it appears to be a bit slow moving. But I agree with WhySoSerious: I'm sick of the same ideas appearing over and over again. I'm sure I won't be buying this.

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