Touch Arcade

The TouchArcade Show - 147 - A Quick GDC Wrap Up Posted: 21 Mar 2014 10:36 PM PDT As we mentioned last week, things were going to be a little weird with this week's episode of the podcast. Jared and I actually recorded this in our hotel room. The audio quality isn't great, but we figured you guys needed something in your podcast feeds. We chat about our favorite games of the week, what we're looking forward to, why Seabeard is so awesome, and my personal highlight: Meeting Flappy Bird creator Dong Nguyen. Don't forget to shoot us emails with any questions, feedback, or anything else relevant or irrelevant to podcast@toucharcade.com. We read 'em all, even if they don't make it into the podcast. As always, you can listen to us with the links below... And if you like what you hear, please subscribe and/or drop us a review in iTunes. Much appreciated! iTunes Link: The TouchArcade Show Zune Marketplace: TouchArcade.com Podcasts RSS Feed: The TouchArcade Show Direct Link: TouchArcadeShow-147.mp3, 47.2MB We'll be back with a full episode next week, so be sure to stick around for that. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Game of GDC: 'Seabeard' by Hand Circus Posted: 21 Mar 2014 05:45 PM PDT We've been pretty dedicated with our various game of the week choices over the months since we've started the column, but we're doing something a little different this week since 98% of our attention went towards games we saw at GDC. So, here's the Game of GDC. Weirder yet, since most of the games we've seen are either works in progress or prototypes, we've decided what we're shooting for with this nomination is the game that seems the most promising to be really radical when it's finally released. The clear winner seems to be Hand Circus's Seabeard. First off, I've always considered Simon Oliver to be a legendary game developer on iOS. He was instrumental in the early days of iOS in the transition to iPhone games instead of games that happen to run on the iPhone. It's an important distinction that anyone who was around in the beginning of the App Store will remember. Rolando didn't rely on D-Pads or virtual buttons, and instead just felt like it totally belonged, and could only exist on the platform. Somewhat similarly, Seabeard feels like a very special miniature world in your pocket. Instead of developing a very stereotypical free to play gravy train game, they've built a insanely captivating universe complete with real-world time integration and so many things you can do inside of it that we weren't really sure to make of the launch trailer. It's free, but it doesn't seem like it matters, as Simon has made it very clear that he doesn't want any sort of pay walls. Additionally, they're hooked up with Backflip, and all of their pay models have been totally agreeable. In a meeting at GDC, Simon Oliver gave us a complete walkthrough of the basics of the game, and I can't wait to play it. It seems like it's got all the hooks of Animal Crossing, with more. Since they're building the game with the intention that you can play it forever, you're never going to run out of things to do like you sort of do in Animal Crossing once you've fully tricked out your house. We've seen a lot of great things this week, but the game we're most excited for, without a doubt, is Seabeard.

GDC 2014: Watch Us Get Wrecked in 'Turbo Dismount', Upcoming Sequel to 'Stair Dismount' Posted: 21 Mar 2014 05:40 PM PDT One of the quirkiest and most oddly entertaining iOS games is Secret Exit's Stair Dismount [Free]. The original Stair Dismount dates all the way back to 2002, and sees you pushing a helpless crash test dummy-like character named Mr. Dismount down a flight of stairs and racking up the most damage possible to his body. It used rag doll physics so the dummy's tumble often resulted in hilarity, and there was a twisted sense of satisfaction as you inflicted injury on poor Mr. Dismount. Shortly after the original Stair Dismount came Truck Dismount, which again tasked you with inflicting as much damage to Mr. Dismount as possible but this time gave you a vehicle, ramps, and booster pads to do it with. Fast forward to GDC 2014 and Turbo Dismount is something of a hybrid of Stair Dismount and Truck Dismount. The goal again is to hurt Mr. Dismount as much as possible by forcing him to get into an auto accident. There's a ton of different levels which feature various types of intersections or other setups to launch your vehicle off of, and there's ramps, booster pads and other objects which you can use to set up the ultimate crash. There's also a ton of different vehicles to put Mr. (or Mrs.) Dismount in along with a variety of different positions for them. Basically, it's an auto crash simulator with tons of options, and it's a hell of a lot of fun to play. Check out our lengthy video where Jani from Secret Exit and myself get wrecked over and over playing Turbo Dismount. The iOS version of Stair Dismount arrived all the way back in November of 2009, and is one of my favorite iOS pastimes. It's been updated a ton over the years, and features many, many different levels and playable characters. If you haven't played it before, check it out, it's free. We checked out Turbo Dismount at GDC last year, and it was a very different game back then. While I really liked what we saw then, I'm really happy with the direction Turbo Dismount has gone and the state it was in when playing it at this year's GDC. It should hopefully arrive on iOS in the next few months, and for a brief teaser check out the web demo which you can find at TurboDismount.com or you can buy the Early Access version on Steam.

GDC 2014: 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' is Gameloft's Next Game Posted: 21 Mar 2014 04:55 PM PDT To coincide with the movie of the same title launching around the same time is Gameloft's Captain America: The Winter Soldier. It's another comic book beat 'em up, set in the Captain America universe (obviously) but the incredible part is just how much better it looks than Gameloft's previous similar games. Full shadows, reflections, and more. Check it out: I'm stoked for more Gameloft releases, but, of course, it's hard to look at anything they're releasing these days without wondering where the heck the new Modern Combat is.

GDC 2014: Rocketcat's 'Wayward Souls' Might Actually, Finally Be Close to Finished (and It Looks Amazing) Posted: 21 Mar 2014 03:30 PM PDT Rocketcat Games make some of my favorite iOS titles, and ever since they announced a spinoff to their action RPG Mage Gauntlet [$2.99] at last year's GDC, I've been dying to get my hands on a finished version. However, it's been a longer development cycle than Rocketcat expected, and it's seen several versions and name changes in the two and a half years since they began working on it. The bright side is that all that extra development time means the game, now known as Wayward Souls, is absolutely stuffed with crazy features, enemies, items and playable characters. Rocketcat's always entertaining Kepa Auwae walks us through a lengthy demo of the latest version of Wayward Souls. Enjoy. As I mentioned in the opening and we touched on in our conversation, Wayward Souls has a lot of depth in terms of character progressions and sheer variety of enemies and environments. By Kepa's own admission, it's a very niche and difficult game, but I think there's definitely an audience on iOS who will absolutely fall in love with Wayward Souls. The goal is to submit the game and have it release before PAX begins on April 11th, so if all goes according to plan, we'll finally be playing Wayward Souls in the next few weeks (fingers firmly crossed).

GDC 2014: 'Bean's Quest 2: Bean Dreams' is Looking Better than Ever Posted: 21 Mar 2014 03:15 PM PDT One of the iOS platform's greatest platformers is Bean's Quest [$2.99], released way back in July of 2011 from developer Kumobius. In case you aren't familiar, it's a platformer about a perpetually bouncing bean and, along with goals like collecting all items in a level and searching out a hidden axolotl, the main goal was to complete each level using as few bounces as possible. While it launched as a very short experience, Bean's Quest was continuously updated over the years with tons more content. The sequel, Bean's Quest 2, won't have that problem, as Kumobius is prepping tons of levels for the initial version along with plenty of new mechanics and little surprises to find. Check it out. You may recall that we checked out Bean's Quest 2 at last year's GDC, and it was initially supposed to launch before the end of 2013. However, additional projects like Time Surfer [$0.99] and the recently resurgent Duet Game [$1.99] have kept them from working on it as much as they'd like. All this extra time looks to be worth it though, as Bean's Quest 2 is looking much, much better than it was at GDC last year. Kumobius is hoping to release before the end of this year, barring any more interruptions, so keep an eye out for Bean's Quest 2 as it's on pace to surpass the original in every way.

GDC 2014: A Look at IGF Nominated 'Symmetrain', a Mashup of Endless Runner and… Spot the Difference? Posted: 21 Mar 2014 03:00 PM PDT Last night we had a small gathering for developer and fans of TouchArcade to come hand out and shoot the breeze, and one game that was getting a lot of buzz as it made its way around the crowd is Daniel Goffin's Symmetrain [$0.99]. While not exactly a new game–it was released back in late October, and Eli's even streamed it a few times on our Twitch channel–I personally hadn't seen it, and both its premise and lovely art style really caught my attention. As the title of this post suggests, Symmetrain mashes together an endless progression with a spot the difference mechanic. It sounds super weird, but it totally works. Check out our video of Symmetrain as we chat with Daniel about his game. The reason Daniel is at GDC showing off Symmetrain is because it was nominated for an IGF award in the Student Showcase category. It's easy to see why as it's a really eye-catching game with a really unique concept. If it sounds interesting to you as well, it'll run you just a buck to check it out for yourself.

GDC 2014: 'Pixel Powers' Is A "Super" Version of 'Pixel People' Posted: 21 Mar 2014 02:46 PM PDT Pixel People came out early last year, and we couldn't get enough of it in our review. If you loved Pixel People, the pseudo-sequel of sorts, Pixel Powers is something you can't miss. Instead of building a city, you're saving a city with a whole host of super heroes that you build up. Check out the demo: Pixel Powers is still in development, and I've got a feeling it's going to be huge. As I say in the video, the best part of Sim City always was dealing with disasters. This seems even better.

GDC 2014: 'Seabeard' By Hand Circus Looks Awesome Posted: 21 Mar 2014 02:46 PM PDT Not long ago we posted the announcement trailer of Seabeard, a new game from the developers of Rolando developed in partnership with Backflip Studios. Back then, we really didn't know what you do in the game as it seemed like you do everything. Well, after a brief demo from Hand Circus's own Simon Oliver, it really seems like the game is less of a "game" with a specific task/goal and more of a sandbox-y world you just enjoy. This game seems super promising, I really love how open it all seems and the potential for being something incredible (particularly given the pedigree it's coming from) just seems totally off the charts. We're super stoked for Seabeard.

GDC 2014: 'Dice Soccer League' Joins The Upcoming World Cup Games Posted: 21 Mar 2014 02:40 PM PDT It seems like everyone with an upcoming soccer game is racing to release titles prior to the start of the World Cup, and LambdaMu Games is no different. We reviewed the original Dice Soccer all the way back in 2011, and it seems that the sequel is a worthy upgrade in basically every way imaginable. Dice Soccer League is still in development, and is going to be launched before the World Cup starts in early June.