11: Apple Design Award Winners 2014

Apologies in advance for the sound quality of this episode and for its late release. Your intrepid podcast host was moving cross country this week and our equipment and schedule did not cooperate as planned. 2013-14 has been great for iOS gaming, and Apple has picked five great games to honor with Apple Design Awards at this year’s World Wide Developers Conference. We’ve played (nearly) all of them and share our impressions with you! Threes A tiny puzzle game that grows on you Threes on the iOS App Store – $2.99 Threes on the Google Play Store – $2.99 Threes on the Amazon App Store – $2.99 *(Currently on sale for $1.99.) * Monument Valley An illusory adventure of impossible architecture and forgiveness Monument Valley on the iOS App Store – $3.99 Monument Valley on the Google Play Store – $3.99 Monument Valley on the Amazon App Store – $3.99 Blek Watching it move is like watching magic Blek on the iOS App Store – $2.99 Blek on the Google Play Store Out Now! – $2.99 Blek on the Amazon App Store – $2.99 Device 6 A surreal thriller in which the written word is your map Device 6 on the iOS App Store – $3.99 Leo’s Fortune A beautiful platform adventure game. Leo’s Fortune on the iOS App Store Links for this episode: The Apple Design Awards Toribash Wario Land 4 – Jeremy Parish reviews the game for 1Up in 2011 Nancy Morse’s review of Wario Land 4 Mario Maker Threes by Asher Volmer, for iPhone, iPad, Android, and soon Xbox One PuzzleJuice, also by Asher Volmer, for iOS Why 2048 sucks and Threes is a Masterpiece The “Threemails” – a publication of the complete process of the game including design documents and emails between the creators, with a note on rip-offs Video – Asher Volmer (developer of Threes) meets Alexy Pajitnov (developer of Tetris) and Henk Rogers (founder of The Tetris Company) Threes OST by Big Giant Circles Whale Trail Canabalt Blek trailer The Room and The Room Two Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors – an escape-the-room visual novel for the DS Simogo’s Complete Guide to References & Inspirations in DEVICE 6 The Prisoner – TV show Beat Sneak Bandit Year Walk for iOS Year Walk for PC & Mac Transistor