illusion-labs posts

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Developer, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Illusion Labs goes to the big screen

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Apr 7th, 2009

This is only slightly Mac-related but it is really cool. We've posted about two of Illusion Labs' popular iPhone games here on the site: Touchgrind is a 3D simulation of a touchboard, and Sway is a really fun little platformer-esque swingathon that has you swinging from side-to-side using the touchscreen. Both games are pretty original in how they use multitouch controls, and so when Illusion Labs got their hands on a big tabletop touchscreen, there was only one thing to do: blow the games up and play them in a big way.

You can see how it looks above -- seems like a lot of fun. And it makes you think, too -- multitouch seems to be where its at for the future of user interfaces, and the iPhone is really a breeding ground for testing out the technology and coming up with new ways to use it. It may be a long time before we all have huge multitouch screens like this in our kitches and living rooms, but considering how ubiquitous the iPhone already is (and the fact that almost anyone with some time, $100, and an idea can publish an app on the App Store), we can start seeing the kinds of applications that will live on those screens right now.

Tags: big-screen, developer, illusion-labs, iphone, multitouch, sway, titles, touchgrind, touchscreen

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Software, Developer

Sway releases a free version

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Mar 25th, 2009

If you haven't yet tried Sway, the game from Illusion Labs and ReadyFireAim, now's the perfect time to do so. They've released a free version of the game that limits you to three levels and just two characters, but it's enough to try out the really unique control scheme. Back when I first posted about the game, I hadn't tried it yet, but it's now been on my iPhone for about a month, and it's excellent. Each of your thumbs is a "hand" on your characters (i.e., to grab something with your left hand, in game, you just touch your thumb to the left side of the screen), and then once you've grabbed something, you can swipe that thumb back and forth to sway the character around. It gets pretty complex, but practice makes perfect, and a few stages in, you'll be swinging from grip to grip with the greatest of ease.

The full version still costs $4.99, and if you enjoy the free version, I highly recommend it: there are many more characters that you can pick up and choose from, and the stages actually get really tough, as there's a lot of precise swinging that you'll have to do to explore the whole area and find everything there is to find. Sway might be a sleeper hit for the iPhone -- it took me a little while to figure it all out, but once I did, I found a control scheme that's delightfully original. If you haven't tried it out yet, definitely take advantage of the free version.

Tags: control, delightful, demo, free-version, funny, games, illusion-labs, iphone, ipod-touch, physics, scheme, sway, test, thumbs

Filed under: Gaming, Odds and ends, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Touchgrind in the App Store

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Nov 27th, 2008

I remain a complete non-fan of "fingerboarding," or skateboarding on a miniature skateboard with your fingers, but on the other hand (so to speak), I'm a huge fan of physics, especially on a touchscreen, so I'm torn about the release of Touchgrind, which has now made its way into the App Store for $4.99. Playing with a tiny skateboard in real-life seems kind of silly. But playing with a virtual skateboard that responds realistically to your fingers flipping and tapping on a multitouch screen could be really, really awesome -- like a skating game with the best controls ever.

Unfortunately, there's no free demos here -- either you jump in for $5 or you don't. But if you do, there's actually a lot on offer -- 3 game modes, 12 different boards each with their own abilities, and a set of tutorials to get you started. I'm intrigued: I'm not quite sure a mini skateboard will keep my attention for all that long, but it might be worth $5 just to see the physics in action.

Tags: app-store, boards, fingerboarding, gaming, illusion-labs, iphone, ipod-touch, miniature, skateboard, touchgrind

Filed under: Gaming, iPhone, App Store

Touchgrind: Multitouch fingerboarding for the iPhone

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Sep 9th, 2008

I really never got the idea of fingerboarding (though I never really got the idea of skateboarding either -- as much as I played Tony Hawk on the Playstation, the actual thing never appealed to me), but this little app is still fascinating to me, if only as a test of how precise the multitouch controls can be in 3D gaming. A company called Illusion Labs (same folks behind iPint, apparently) sent us a note about their new iPhone game, Touchgrind. As you can see above, it's all about using the two-finger multitouch to flip and switch a virtual skateboard from the top down.

Pretty interesting, even if you're not up for doing something as silly as pushing a tiny skateboard around with your fingers. It looks kind of fun, actually -- flip your finger out at a certain angle with a certain speed, and the little board responds. I'm curious to see, however, if it's an actual physics engine (which would be awesome), or if it's just responding to certain gestures and then running prerecorded flips. The game's set to come out in October. We asked Illusion Labs about a price, but they said they hadn't figured it out yet.

Tags: apple, gaming, illusion-labs, iphone, multitouch, touchgrind

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