tetris posts

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, iPhone, App Store

Apple yanks iPhone game for being "too much like Tetris"

by Steven Sande (RSS feed) on Oct 8th, 2008

Shaker, a fun "Tetris-like" game with a martini theme, has been pulled from the App Store. TUAW provided a first look at the game back in early September. According to sources, developer Phunkware was told that Shaker would be removed from the App Store after the Tetris Company and Tetris Holdings LLC complained to Apple that the app resembled Tetris too closely.

It seems odd that Tetris would wait a month to complain about Shaker's similarities to their game. Shaker had graphics that were nothing like those in Tetris, and a "shaker" game mode in which the accelerometer was used to move and flip the falling blocks. The game supplied martini recipes to top scorers, and was quite a bit smaller in size (3.5 MB compared to 9.6 MB for Tetris).

Can we now expect iPhone games like Jewel Quest II and Trism to be removed from the App Store because of their similarity to Bejeweled? Let's hope not!

Tags: breaking news, breakingnews, game, iphone, tetris

Filed under: Software, iPhone, App Store

First Look: Shaker for iPhone

by Steven Sande (RSS feed) on Sep 10th, 2008

Finally, an iPhone app James Bond could love.

Phatware, yet another name from the Windows Mobile development world, has created a new business unit to create and sell iPhone apps. This unit, known as Phunkware, has come out with a fun (but rather pricey, IMHO) game called Shaker.

As the website notes, Shaker is similar to a "well-known classic puzzle game" that involves blocks in 7 basic shapes falling from the top of the screen. Hmmm, I wonder what that game might be... The twist, pardon the pun, is that this game has a martini theme.

Not only do the screen backdrops feature martini glasses with various condiments, but if you score well in a game and your score is in the top 10, one of 101 martini recipes is unlocked and available for your experimentation.

Why the name Shaker? You can play this game in Classic mode, using buttons underneath the game field. You can play it in "Shaken" mode, where you shake the iPhone to move the blocks, or in "Stirred" mode, using your finger to move the blocks around.

Shaker is available from the App Store (click opens iTunes) for $9.99.

Tags: app store, AppStore, games, iphone, tetris

Filed under: App Store

Developer to pull Tris from App Store tomorrow

by Robert Palmer (RSS feed) on Aug 26th, 2008

Tris Developer Noah Witherspoon has conceded to removing his app from the App Store after pressure from the owner of the copyright for Tetris. Tetris offers its own app for $9.99, while Tris is free.

Macworld reviewed both games, and found the official version, developed by EA, lacking. It takes about 30 seconds to load, and you can't listen to your own music while playing. Tris [app store link] isn't perfect either, rotating pieces the wrong way, and doesn't offer "ghosting": seeing where pieces will land before they drop (which always seemed like cheating to me).

The Tetris Company is well known for aggressively enforcing its copyright on the game. Tetris clone Quinn, for example, goes to great lengths to distance itself from Tetris: it doesn't even mention the word except for a small disclaimer at the bottom of the screen.

Witherspoon understands that The Tetris Company is entitled to enforce its copyrights, but said on his blog "the approach they're taking seems to me little more than bullying." Witherspoon is a student, and admits he lacks the means to pursue the case through the courts.

Witherspoon will pull Tris from the App Store on Wednesday. He wants to offer the app at some point in the future, but is evaluating his options.

[Via MacNN.]

Tags: EA, noah, quinn, tetris, tris, witherspoon

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Software, iPhone, App Store

iPhone game news from EA's press conference at E3

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Jul 15th, 2008

I'm at E3 in Los Angeles all week for TUAW's sister site Joystiq, and this afternoon we got to see the Electronic Arts press conference at the Orpheum Theater. Among bigger EA games like Spore and Dead Space, Travis Boatman (who has graced these pages before talking about mobile games on the iPhone) of EA's mobile games division came out on stage to talk about iPhone gaming. He said that obviously there is "a lot of interest" around mobile gaming lately, especially around the iPhone, and that EA is committed to capitalizing on that interest.

They premiered three games in the App Store at launch (Sudoku, Tetris, and Scrabble), and Boatman pointed out that they've tried to innovate in all three -- Tetris features a unique piece-drawing system, and Spore (full name: Spore Origins, a mini version of the bacteria stage of the game, complete with a creature creator) will use the accelerometer to control its creatures. Additionally, EA wants WiFi to be a big part of their games on the iPhone -- they're planning on releasing a patch to the Scrabble game that will allow people to play together online.

Finally, Boatman hinted that they were aiming to do a lot more with the iPhone's processing power -- they plan ports of Tiger Woods and Need for Speed on the iPhone. As Mac gaming fans, EA isn't exactly our favorite game developer, but getting big developers behind real innovation on the iPhone will help lift the tides of the software in the App Store.

Tags: app-store, ea, gaming, iphone, scrabble, spore-origins, sudoku, tetris, travis-boatman

Filed under: Gaming, Universal Binary

Quinn is not Tetris, is Universal

by Mat Lu (RSS feed) on Jul 22nd, 2007

I love this quote from the Quinn author Simon Härtel: "Quinn is an implementation of a popular falling-blocks game which, according to the Tetris Company, must not be named here." We've mentioned this game before as "...one of the most beautiful applications on the Mac." Version 3.5 continues to look great and finally brings Quinn into the Universal Binary age.

One of the coolest things about Quinn is its support for network play, allowing you go head-to-head against other players. This version also opens up some new customization options, so if you're missing your old-school (not) Tetris experience, you should give Quinn a look

Quinn is a free download from Simon Härtel.

Thanks Zon!

Tags: gaming, Quinn, tetris

Filed under: Gaming, Widget Watch

Widget Watch: Tetris Widget Round Up

by Fabienne Serriere (RSS feed) on Feb 15th, 2006

When digging around on the net this week, I found more than one solution to TUAW reader/commenter Aaron Garn's need for Tetris in the Dashboard. First up is MiniTetris by Shock Widgets, a slightly laggy, really miniature tetris. Secondly I found LIFEwaves' fig-leaf-decorated over-priced, and apparently discontinued version. Lastly, I bring your attention to pakkman781's free and flash-based tetris (on which I couldn't make the audio stop: Must ... mute... sound!)

I must say that neither of this options was as pleasant to me as playing gtetrinet (no, not by myself, sheesh!). Also, listen up, would-be future Tetris-on-a-mac creators, TUAW reader/commenter Chris wants Tetris to work with Mac laptops with built-in motion detectors. So get on that, mmkay?

Tags: dashboard, flash, minitetris, tetris, widget, widgetwatch

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