1.2 is packed with some really great updates, almost all of which were suggested by players. The biggest update is the switch over to a higher resolution, which we think really adds a lot.
Depict 1.1 is now available in the App Store. Make sure you update to unsure uninterrupted access to the game and access to all the new features. Watch a video here.
In case you haven’t heard, all of the features from version 1.0 are now free! If you’re looking to get more out of the game, have a look at the new in-app purchases: Custom Avatars and Lightning Round.
The Custom Avatars add-on unlocks an in-game avatar editor, which you can use to draw faces, symbols, and short words for use in the game.
Lightning Round is a frantic, guessing-only game type that leverages Depict’s huge database of stored player drawings. Drawings are shown to players in rapid succession with one goal: Be the first to tap the correct word for each drawing to earn points.
Other new features in version 1.1:
- Ignore player toggle
- Sound on/off
- Improved stability
The first update to Depict has been submitted to Apple. The big news in version 1.1 is in-app purchases. We have decided to keep the game free, and offer some $0.99 goodies for those who like the game and want to get a little more out of it. Other changes in this version include improved stability, OpenFeint chat, and an ignore player feature.
So what can you buy? Version 1.1 offers two in-app purchases:
Avatar Creator
This was one of the most requested features. In addition to the standard avatars, players can now draw unlimited custom faces, symbols, short words, etc and show them off in the game.
Lightning Round
A frantic, 1-minute long game where the goal is to guess as many puzzles correctly as possible. Drawings from past games are served up rapid fire as the players battle it out to see who can guess correctly first.
If this model works well, you can bet there will be more add-ons coming.
Depict has been approved an is on sale for just $0.99 for a limited time.
Grab it now in the App Store.
Adding an in-app announcement system to your app is an excellent way to “Apple-proof” your app. With 2-4 week approval times, having an instantly changeable notification system is the best way to reliably reach your users.
Let’s say your app was just approved and you find out it has a terrible bug in it. How are your going to inform your users of the workaround while you wait weeks for Apple to approve your update? Or, what if you just launched another app and you want to do a cross-promotion? If you think ahead and spend a little effort upfront, you can avoid 1-star reviews and achieve effective real-time communication with your users.
In our most recent game, Depict, we decided to implement such a system. Since Depict is a multiplayer game, we anticipated needing to announce server down-time or other unforeseen issues. He’s how you can add the same system to your app in under an hour…
We used cocos2d for our app, but this method could easily be adapted for other presentation schemes. Our system shows a notification banner at the bottom of the title screen which may also link to a web address.
First, create a banner named banner.png and upload it to your website. Here’s an example:
Next, create a text file named notification.txt and upload that too.
When your title screen initializes, use a synchronous ASIHTTPRequest to load the text file. If the file contains the word “none”, we’re done. Otherwise, save the string for later and use another ASIHTTPRequest (asynchronous) to load the banner image. When the banner finishes loading, turn it into a button and display it on-screen. In the button handler code, check to see if the string we saved from the text file is a URL and if it is, navigate to it. That’s it!
While you’re waiting for Depict to be approved, why not try out a playable demo of the game right now? The demo features gameplay similar to the solo-play mode in the full game. Sorry, no multiplayer action in the demo. However, you can checkout some of the sweet drawings our beta testers created.
Depict has been submitted and should be available in the App Store within the next two weeks. You’ll be able to pickup Depict for just $0.99 for a limited time directly following the release. Read more about the game here.
Depict is a unique multiplayer drawing game that tests players’ ability to solve simple drawing puzzles with strangers and friends.
It’s the drawer’s job to create something that will get everyone else to guess the right word out of up to six possible words.
Sound easy? You only get 1024 jumbo-pixels and 30 seconds to do it.
Coming winter 2009
Check out a video of the game in action on YouTube.
As we near the final stages of development on our latest project, we’re scanning the radar to see who’s going to be top-dog in the iPhone social network arena. Up to this point, we have been loyal fans of OpenFeint, but we’re keeping an open mind. Our latest challenge is allowing players to invite friends to a game via their buddy list. However, OpenFeint doesn’t seem to have any way to determine who’s online or offline. We’ve dropped a line to Plus+ as well as OpenFeint to see if either can offer a solution. May the best platform win!
(oh and yes, these are the only two platforms that matter right now)
Chuck the Ball and Ms. Chuck the Ball now support OpenFeint with over 15 achievements each. There’s also leaderboards where you can compare the sum of all your scores across each game’s levels with other players’ scores.