'TouchSports Tennis' Shows Off Impressive 3D Visuals
posted October 23rd, 2008 4:18 AM CDT by arn in Upcoming GamesHandHeldGames provided us with a preview video of their upcoming TouchSports Tennis game. We previously noted that the game was coming with "fluid character animation" as well as arcade quality sound, particle effects, and multiple difficulty levels.
Well, the video doesn't disappoint:
The game is played using both touch and tilt controls. Touching the court directs your player to that spot where the correct swing will automatically be performed. Tilting left or right will direct the ball in that direction.
The game should be ready for release next week in the App Store. No pricing information has been revealed, but the original press release indicated an "affordable" price point. Handheld Games plans to further expand their brand to other titles in the near future.
October 23rd, 2008 at 4:33 am
Wow. Looks good. I'm a bit dissappointed with not being able to choose what type of shot you can make, but i guess that's hard to implement, with the screen being it's size and lack of physical butons. By 'affordable' i hope they mean 1.79?
October 23rd, 2008 at 4:35 am
yeah… the game looks great. We'll have to see if tapping on the screen is enough gameplay to make it a good game.
arn
October 23rd, 2008 at 6:22 am
Yeah yeah, looks alone don't make the game, but the graphics on this are impressive. Making it the kinda game you buy just to show of to all your friends!
October 23rd, 2008 at 6:32 am
Haha, that reminds me a bit of Kroll. 'WOW STUNNING GRAPHICS!' and the 'WTF IS THIS' reaction from Catch the egg. Lmao.
October 23rd, 2008 at 7:11 am
I was wondering about the controls. I like the sound of it, tapping where you want the player to be, and tilting to determine shot direction. It would be nice to press on-screen buttons to determine the type of shot. But I'll reserve any more judgement till I play it. Looks great though.
October 23rd, 2008 at 8:06 am
i hope the gamplay is good !
the GRAPHICS is wow !
man..i love iphone
October 23rd, 2008 at 8:25 am
Graphics: 10
Gameplay: 2
Looks like all eye candy and no substance. I almost rather they moved to spots automatically and the touch screen was used solely for taking the shot. I can't imagine that only playing positional tennis would be all that entertaining. People would probably prefer worse graphics and better gameplay mechanics.
October 23rd, 2008 at 9:10 am
nickels, that actually sounds like a really decent idea. i don't think running around's really fun. maybe like putting pasted buttons on like real soccer 09? i dunno
October 23rd, 2008 at 9:46 am
too bad a two finger press or other gesture wasn't used for a different type of shot
October 23rd, 2008 at 10:25 am
Wow, it looks amazing, but I bet it could burn a pretty big hole through your wallet too.
October 23rd, 2008 at 10:33 am
Wow… that was amazing. This is a buy for me when it comes out.
October 23rd, 2008 at 10:57 am
Looks slow and boring. I would like some Virtua Tennis action, Sega.
October 23rd, 2008 at 11:05 am
Hey everyone! Just to reassure, the gameplay has been our number one priority! And it rocks. I'll leave the eval up to the reviewers. Were trying hard, in our first release to deliver an arcade experience with balanced gameplay, simple controls and a high replay value. Complexity can be added in as most comments here have been already discussed. Again, our goal is a control system that everyone can pick up and enjoy. Wait until you see the camera controls for multiple in game perspectives!
October 23rd, 2008 at 11:11 am
hmmmmmm. How would one control vitrua tennis on iphone? Oh yeah! A touchscreen dpad? LAME! This game is far from slow and boring. Then again, why not just play Tennis Slam! LOL.
October 23rd, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Graphics look a bit slow…
October 23rd, 2008 at 5:08 pm
How did they get Stephen Hawkins to present the game?
October 23rd, 2008 at 8:11 pm
Part of the strategy of tennis is to use different shots to outfox the opponent (ie. Lob them when they're at the net). Couldn't it be re-worked to have you place a finger at your intended destination, and then swipe in a direction to indicate the shot?
eg.
- flick forwards with one finger for topspin
- flick backwards with one finger for backspin
- flick two fingers forwards for power shot or smash
- flick forwards with a curl for a lob (like drawing letter "r")
- ball direction is indicated by the direction of your swipes
- ball power indicated by the length of your swipe (two-finger swipe already maxes power)
- tilt accelerometer let or right to add curve
Sigh… a pity I only have PPC mac mini, otherwise would like to try this (after afew months of learning how to program)
October 23rd, 2008 at 8:13 pm
^^ as in try to develop a tennis game with the above functions… iPhone developer program only works on intel-based macs. :'(
Hopefully can get the new MacBook within the next 4mths
October 24th, 2008 at 3:18 am
What about tilting to move the player around the court, with swiping to hit the ball- wouldn't that work?
October 24th, 2008 at 4:50 am
@ Barry:
Good suggestion. However, the accelerometer is pretty sensitive, so unless there's a reasonable deadspot in the middle, the character on the screen will look really jittery as they're rapidly moving out of the equilibrium point.
October 24th, 2008 at 9:33 am
Agreed. The deadspot will need to be just the right size, or preferably customizable to suit each person who plays.
October 24th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
The accelerometer is just too sensitive for quick and precise game play for Mass Market casual games. A good example is 3D Vector pong. The game looks awesome, but the difficulty in controls is just too high for the mass market audience we are trying to reach on the title.
Initially, I designed the product to click on the location then to swipe in the precise direction you wanted the ball to go… BUT…. I am going to save that for an incremental release - it was just too much of a last minute add-on approaching release. Probably in an incremental update.
Using the tilt - left and right was a great leverage of the accelerometer and was easy to implement. There may be more in store for tilt, just not in this release.
Were just sewing up the menus, polish and more polish of gameplay.
October 26th, 2008 at 5:31 am
@ HHG,
Its nice to know that you had already explored those possibilities and decided to attempt them at a later stage. Keep going!
November 10th, 2008 at 9:39 pm
"The game should be ready for release next week in the App Store"
What happened to it???
November 11th, 2008 at 2:16 am
Title is going through last polish for submission to Apple. We could have released it, but it needed just a bit more time. Were hoping for tomorrow.