platform

Eat to win!

Munch Time is a reasonably entertaining physics-based arcade puzzler starring (yet another) cute cartoon animal. While most of the gameplay is derivative of similar, earlier games, Munch Time does offer up a relatively interesting twist with its tongue-swinging shtick.

You play as Munch, a photogenic chameleon, as he searches for his lunch on a series of increasingly complex levels. Munch can move across the ground with a tap, but his preferred method of locomotion is with the looping swing of his adhesive tongue, lunging from flower to flower by tapping on them. This requires some timing and momentum management to … Read more

Apple increases developer iAd revenue to 70 percent

Though it's certainly too soon to call iAd a failure, Apple has not been happy with the adoption rate of its advertising platform it has seen thus far. In February, Apple reduced the minimum buy-in for campaigns to $100,000 (down from $1 million at the iAd launch in 2010). It was also rumored at that time that the iAd revenue share percent would jump to 70 percent for developers.

Now, according to a report by AppleInsider, that jump in developer revenue has become a reality.

According to an announcement on Apple's developer center:

We have made the … Read more

New addictive iOS games that are impossible to put down

What makes a game addictive? Obviously your answer to that question will depend on what type of games you like to play, but certain games have a way of breaking down those barriers when they have just the right mix of challenges, rewards, and overall feel.

If you had never heard of Angry Birds, a description of the game probably wouldn't entice you to play. But once you fling your first bird at a structure and hear the sounds as it flies through the air and takes out the pigs, suddenly you start to want to chase that perfect three-star rating. Few games have just the right mix to keep you playing, but when you find one you can't wait to jump back in whenever you get a spare moment.… Read more

It takes a hero to beat this game

MotoHeroz is a mix of Trials-like platforming games (it's made by the same developer as Trials HD) and rally racing that makes for a fun diversion as you go for the best times. Featuring several colorful worlds to master, the game challenges you to navigate through 30 different tracks collecting coins on your way to the finish line. You can play the single-player mode and beat the posted time for each track to unlock new tracks, or you can play the asynchronous multiplayer mode to challenge your friends' or worldwide player times.

MotoHeroz is the type of game that … Read more

It takes a hero to beat this game

MotoHeroz is a mix of Trials-like platforming games (it's made by the same developer as Trials HD) and rally racing that makes for a fun diversion as you go for the best times. Featuring several colorful worlds to master, the game challenges you to navigate through 30 different tracks collecting coins on your way to the finish line. You can play the single player mode and beat the posted time for each track to unlock new tracks, or you can play the asynchronous multiplayer mode to challenge your friends' or worldwide player times.

MotoHeroz is the type of game … Read more

Zynga Platform lands Konami

The Zynga Platform has signed on a major partner.

The social-gaming company has inked a deal with Konami Digital Entertainment that will see the developer bring titles to the new Zynga Platform, the firms announced yesterday. Zynga has also signed on developers Rebellion and Playdemic.

Konami is one of the most-respected game developers in the world, thanks to its many successful franchises, including Metal Gear Solid, Contra, Silent Hill, and others. The Konami deal adds some additional legitimacy to Zynga Platform--a service that is still in its infancy.

Zynga announced its Platform service earlier this month. When gamers head over … Read more

Next-level platformers on iOS

If you haven't guessed already, I'm a big fan of platform games. Maybe it's my background of playing games from both the Mario and Sonic franchises or the sheer number of solid platformers in the iTunes App Store, but I simply can't get enough of them. There's just something charming to me about exploring a level, making all the right jumps, and trying to collect all the items to go on to next level.

There have been several popular platform games to come through the iTunes App Store, but as time goes on, I've noticed the genre evolving in interesting ways. Particularly with a few of the newer games, I'm seeing unique types of challenges being added that take the genre to places it hasn't been before.

This week's collected iOS apps are all platformers with something extra. The first uses an interesting foreground/background playing dynamic that adds to the action. The second is a continuous climber with added bonuses that keep trying to get higher and higher. The third offers tons of side challenges and secret areas for those who like to explore.… Read more

Paper platformer

Paper Monsters is a polished traditional platformer with some added extras and winningly cute art and sound design.

Paper Monsters will instantly evoke other classic platformers, but in a good way: the play and interface are intuitive (a roaming virtual joystick on the left, a jump button on the right, which you tap twice to double-jump), and levels with collectible coins ("buttons"), warp pipes, enemies to jump upon, checkpoints, and lots of hidden pick-ups and paths to encourage repeat play. As the game progresses through its four chapters, with four levels each, the enemies and environments get more … Read more

Little startup Infochimps has a platform for big data

Infochimps today announced a scalable platform for big data environments. The Infochimps latform is the first formal product for the company, which, to date, has served primarily as a big data marketplace.

The Austin-based Infochimps initially developed its data system behind the Infochimps Platform as the foundation for its big data marketplace. With the Infochimps Platform, customers will be able to leverage a proven big data system to construct big data projects for less money and optimize them more deftly.

A platform as a service (PaaS) model will heavily reduce costs by facilitating the creation of big data constructs while … Read more